Once Upon a Cycle Rally: Telling Stories

Eleanor Roosevelt once said, “Do one thing every day that scares you.” I took the former first lady’s advice this weekend and attended a Harley Davidson rally in Milwaukee. Take a quick look at my bio and remind yourself why this was most likely a terrifying experience. The last time I was surrounded by that much leather and cigarette smoke I was in Europe, and the leather goods had neither fringe nor eagle emblems emblazoned on their backs.

We were there for work, not play. My good friend worked for a motorcycle injury law firm this summer, and her bosses wanted to begin writing a book. She enlisted both me and another friend of ours to go interview bikers at the rally to compile enough experiences for said book. One woman, when asked if we could use her name in future publications, asked us if we wanted her real name or her stripper name. (She wasn’t kidding.) Another man began complaining about biker stereotypes, and I told him that the leather whip in his hand and the story he almost began about a sexual encounter at the side of the road was not really helping his qualms. Almost everyone we had spoken to had injured themselves rather seriously and then gotten back on the bike as soon as the anesthesia wore off. These people were impressive, and not just because they could stomach fried cheese curds without immediate digestive upheaval.

So what did I learn this weekend? One, with 144 people, the world’s largest beer bong (filled with two kegs of Wisconsin’s Finest Horny Goat Beer) can be finished in five seconds–or, a gross of individuals can undertake a gross task. With fervor. And two, I re-realized the importance of listening to peoples’ stories. It would’ve been incredibly easy to write off these individuals whose affinity for patriotic headkerchiefs was seemingly only outweighed by their affinity for the 3PM mudwrestling. But listening to their stories was humbling. Taking the time to learn about others is underrated in a world where hard facts are often stressed as the bottom line, but a shift should probably be made towards anecdotal importance.

The question is: why is story telling so important, and how can you do it effectively?

One word: uniqueness. No two people will tell the same story, and no two people will tell the same story exactly the same. The one way to set yourself apart from everyone else talking about the same subject, whether it be a job interview or a debate, is by making the topic personal. Emphasizing your personal stake in the topic increases your ethos–speaker credibility–because your audience can clearly see you aren’t just reciting what you read from Wikipedia. It also makes your message more memorable. We’ve talked several times about making your point stick with your listeners, and there’s no better way to do this than telling a story. Stories play to your emotions and therefore make it easier for you to recall them.

How do you tell a good story? One particular method stressed for job interviews is called STAR. The mnemonic is broken down as follows: Scenario, Task or target (what was required of you?), Action you took, and Results. This is a simple and succinct way of being able to craft and deliver your stories by keeping it personal but also getting your point across. And simple is a key word here. While stories don’t tend to get interrupted–another great reason to use them to get your point across–people’s attention spans might be cut short if you tend to ramble. If you hit all the important points on the STAR (pun definitely intended) you’ll be able to cover all the important points without losing your listeners in the process.

Why do we watch movies or read books? Why have blogs exploded all over the Internet? Because we intrinsically understand and appreciate the importance of telling a story, and in some ways we can reach a common ground through the stories we tell. Don’t just tell stories–listen to others’ as well. Perhaps they’ll give you a story to tell in the future.

The power of persuasion is also quite pervasive when it comes to story telling. I’ll probably own a motorcycle in the next few months, so long as it doesn’t come with a leather overall prerequisite.

To our readers: why are stories important to you? What’s the best story you’ve ever been told?