I think it's very easy to get the message across to people in person, as I do it all the time.

Let them bring it up, in the form of high heating or gasoline costs.  If you start, it sounds like proselytizing.

Never use the term "peak oil."  It either introduces something they don't know, which you have to explain anyway, or they have heard it and think it's one of those weird online conspiracy things.

Tell them prices are high because of supply and demand--the amont of oil being produced can't keep up with the quickly rising worldwide demand, particularly from China.  They understand S&D, so you'll have no trouble there.

Then hit them with a fixating stat: The world uses 85 million barrels of oil per day.  That's old news to everyone here, but when non-energy geeks hear it for the first time it stops most of them dead in their tracks.  

Then tell them oil production has been declining in the US48 since 1970, and mention other exporting countries that are seeing big drops.  This is where they get the wide-eyed look.  

Finally, tell them that this isn't really old news--some geologist guy named Hubbert predicted the US48peak in 1956.

If they're still breathing, tell them they can find more information on TOD, EB, etc.

Lou, That's great advice.
Maybe even use the figure 3 and a half billion gallons of oil a day rather than 85 million barrels.  Very few people would know that a barrel is 42 gallons and using gallons may more easily create the proper perspective.
Almost a thousand barrels a second is even more impressive...
Iougrinzo

    Since last fall after talking to my brother about how much oil we use world wide per day he would hear the number and yet nothing would register in his face. So after some thinking I gave him an analogy of how much oil we use on a world basis and the rate we use it per day. I use over the road tanker trucks which haul between 7 to 9,000 gallons (I use 8,000 gal) and a 5 lane wide freeway.

    So you're standing on a bridge over a 5 lane wide freeway with tanker trucks rolling by you at 60MPH. 5 trucks abreast and nose to tail in each lane as far as you can see in both directions. Roughly one set of 5 trucks going by per second. That is how much oil we use world wide every second of every minute of every hour, night and day, of each month during the year. And next year due to growth we need to add another lane for some more trucks.

84,000,000 mb/d
3,528,000,000 gal/d (42 gal / barrel)
147,000,000 gal/hr
2,450,000 gal/min
40,833 gal/sec
8,000 gal/truck
5.1 trucks per second
60 MPH = 88 feet/sec
    He looked a little sick by the end but since he is my brother I had to push him further by asking if we should talk about coal or natural gas or any commodities. Shut up I think was his reply. I am always stunned by the shear volume and velocity that 6.5 billion of us on this planet use each and every day.

With world oil produxtion at 85.1 million b/day, your trucks need to speed up a bit !  :-(
That's a great analogy. To really drive the point home, go to a bridge with a digital camera at a spot with 5 lanes of one way traffic. Get trigger happy with the camera, and PhotoShop that picture! Or, should I do it? I know a few spots with wide enough freeway to get the feedstock pictures to PhotoShop to death.
Mad Maxout
   Very cool idea I never thought about a PhotoShop pic. I can see the vision in my head but to see it in a pic/poster would be even more sobering. I can down load pics from my camera from there on I do not have the time or skill to PhotoShop it. If you do go for it if you have the time and let me know. My brothers reaction would be priceless!         JC