Current research supports the positive impact of conversations on dementia patients in several ways:

• Engaging in structured one-on-one conversations can improve the relevance and conciseness of communication in Alzheimer’s patients. Conversation interventions have been shown to help patients produce more non-redundant units of information compared to exercise or combined interventions.
• Analyzing natural conversations provides insights into the retained communication skills of dementia patients, beyond just challenges. Patients demonstrate abilities in turn-taking, eye contact, embodied behaviors, and interactional aspects of conversation even as transactional skills decline.
• Conversation partners can scaffold and support the conversation abilities of dementia patients through their own behaviors. This highlights the collaborative nature of conversation and the potential for developing interventions targeting both patients and partners.
• Storytelling and narrative approaches within conversations allow dementia patients to draw upon retained strengths in sharing autobiographical memories and personal experiences. This supports their identity, relationships, and well-being.
• While transactional communication (conveying information) becomes impaired, interactional aspects of conversation that enable social connection and ”being together” are often preserved in dementia. Focusing on these interactive skills provides ways to enhance social engagement.

In summary, research demonstrates that engaging dementia patients in conversations, with appropriate support from partners, can improve communication relevance, leverage retained abilities, facilitate storytelling and social connection, and ultimately enhance quality of life. However, more systematic evaluation of conversation-based interventions is still needed.

Sources:
Everyday conversation in dementia: a review of the literature … – NCBI
Conversation Intervention with Alzheimer’s Patients: Increasing the …
Conversational practices in one couple living with dementia
Effectiveness and Characteristics of Communication Partner …