As a
bagpiper, I play at gatherings as varied as weddings and resorts at
sunset. This winter a friend of
mine, a funeral director asked me to play at a graveside service for a homeless
man. No friend or family members could be found. My friend and a minister
had kindly offered to provide a simple service at a pauper's cemetery in rural
Kentucky.
They asked me to play. Yet I was not familiar with the backwoods. Driving out to the service I got lost and harried, looking for signs. I finally arrived an hour late. The minister had already left it.
Only the backhoe and the gravediggers remained. They were quietly eating lunch. I felt badly and apologized to them for my tardiness. Yet I was resolved to honor this man in his death, thinking of the many forgotten people like him who had no one to acknowledge their life at the end.
I got out my bagpipes, walked to the side of the fresh grave and looked down. The vault lid was already in place.
I paused, looked up at the sky, then held up my bagpipes and began to play.
After a few minutes of playing I glanced over and noticed that the workers had put down their lunches and were listening. Suddenly I felt the numinosity of this moment, a connection will this man and all those who are alone in their passing, so I played with all my heart.
Two songs later I started Amazing Grace, letting myself scan the countryside. That’s when I saw the diggers were quietly weeping. Soon, so was I. When I finished, I quietly packed up my bagpipes and started walking back to my car, feeling much more at peace with the world.
As I opened
my car door I heard one of the workers exclaim, "Sweet
Mother of Jesus, I never seen nothin' like that before... and I've
been putting in septic tanks for twenty-two years."
~ I adapted this from an oft-repeated, apparently anonymous story, shared with me by three subscribers to this blog.
Lesson: Tell a story with a poignant (or other emotion), unexpected twist at the end and it may stick in others’ minds so much that they can’t help sharing it with others.
See the Power of Surprise in Stories of Varying Lengths
1. Some
stories with a twist at the end are told in a couple of sentences, sometimes
evoking a humorous twist, as when Jon Stewart said, “I celebrated Thanksgiving
in an old-fashioned way. I invited everyone in my neighborhood to my house, we
had an enormous feast, and then I killed them and took their land.”
2. Others are longer vignettes like the Bagpiper.
3. Some dip us
into another world, in books like Blue Zone, short stories such as O. Henry's,
especially his Cabbages and Kings and gripping movies such as Body Double, Body Heat, The
Sixth Sense and (my favorite) The Usual Suspects.
Regardless of the length we loved to be surprised and to share that experience.
Craft Your Repeatable Story to Live a Bigger Life in 2010
What phrase,
vignette or story could you tell, with an authentic and surprising twist at the
end to underpin your description of those you admire, the cause you back, or
your profession or product or service you sell?
Make Yourself Memorable
Want to make
your story or description so compelling it helps you get what you want in your
work or life? By phone, let me
help you craft that captivating message.
See what others have accomplished in just one hour of coaching. Or
consider bringing me to speak at your meeting.
If you found this post helpful you may also be interested in these:
• Become More Frequently-Quoted
• Clever, Kind and Connected (What's your slogan?)
• The Most Vivid Labelers’ Influence
