Good things happen to those who participate. But I'd planned on being a spectator, not a participant.
A couple nights ago, Isobel and I went to a Moth storytelling slam with our friend Jenny. Seats fill up quick at these things, and we hadn't exactly arrived early.
"Oh, great! Are you going to tell a story?"
The voice belonged to Sue, the host and producer of the show. I hadn't really expected her to say anything to us on our way in, so her enthusiasm was met with a blank stare. Assuming she was just being nice, I thought maybe she was greeting everyone this way to build some excitement for the event? But then she said, "You're a great storyteller, and we don't have enough people tonight."
Wait... hold up—Sue knows who I am? Did she just say she wants me to tell a story??
I open and closed my mouth, trying to process this new information. But, you know, while also trying to come up with something to say back to her. Finally, I managed to blurt out "Just listening tonight!"
Walking in, my attention returned to finding a seat. For some reason, people will never not be afraid of getting called on (even though it doesn't work like that at The Moth—you have to volunteer), so there were three open spots in the first row for Isobel, Jenny, and I. When it was time to kick things off, Sue made her way to the stage, stopping to ask once more if I'd tell a story. At this point, I figured my odds of getting picked were low, since plenty of people had surely signed up by now... so I put my name in.
You guessed it, I got picked.
So, without a story prepared or practiced ahead of time, I went up there and gave it my best shot. Stepping into the spotlight, and up to the microphone, I reminded myself of a few tips I read in Storyworthy by Matthew Dicks and picked up from Brandon Sanderson's rules for character development. Looking out into the abyss beyond the spotlight, I took a deep breath. One last thought popped into my head before I dove in—share the memory, not the evidence. I'd made that mistake here before...
But this time I came in second place, just two points shy of winning the whole thing.
Now, a couple of days later, I've had some time to connect the dots: I'm actually making progress on my quest for better communication. Challenging myself to a year of these Daily Snippets is working.
And Sue noticed before I did.
Think of a time someone saw potential in you. What would it feel like if you believed them?
onward.
-dmac