In case you are wondering about how to ask for and receive VFR Flight following, Jason Schappert has recently created an audio podcast covering this topic along with some other questions from readers. As Jason comments, some of his students are afraid of talking to ATC because they are afraid of saying the wrong thing or not understanding a question being asked by ATC. Hence, Jason has included a recording of a real conversation with ATC and breaks it down into a few key parts which he explains in more detail. One of the key points that he made was to spell out the airport phonetically when talking to ATC in order to avoid possible confusion.
In addition, Jason covers the subject of carb ice, commenting that its important to learn about such topics because you never know where you may actually be flying, and answers another question about the best way to practice for the written pilot test. Hence, the short podcast is well worth a quick listen.