Content You Can Use #1
Stories, examples, analogies, and quotes for your next speaking opportunity
In this series, I’ll share stories, examples, analogies, and quotes I’ve collected over the past several years in the hopes that you can use them to make your next message compelling and sticky.
I have five for you today…
1/ The Streetlight Effect
What it is: A cognitive bias that occurs when people search for something only where it is easiest to look or where there is more light rather than where it is most likely to be found.
The story: A police officer encounters a drunk man searching for something under a streetlight. The officer asks what he's looking for, and the man replies that he's lost his keys. The officer joins the search but after some time, they still haven't found the keys. Finally, the officer asks if the man is sure he lost the keys in this location. The man replies, "No, I lost them in the park, but the light is much better here."
2/ Aesop Fable: The Three Sons and the Buried Treasure
The moral of the story: There is treasure hidden in industry (energetic devotion to a task or an endeavor).
The story: A rich old farmer, who felt that he had not many more days to live, called his sons to his bedside. “My sons,” he said, “heed what I have to say to you. Do not on any account part with the estate that has belonged to our family for so many generations. Somewhere on it is hidden a rich treasure. I do not know the exact spot, but it is there, and you will surely find it. Spare no energy and leave no spot unturned in your search.” The father died, and no sooner was he in his grave than the sons set to work digging with all their might, turning up every foot of ground with their spades, and going over the whole farm two or three times. No hidden gold did they find; but at harvest time when they had settled their accounts and had pocketed a rich profit far greater than that of any of their neighbors, they understood that the treasure their father had told them about was the wealth of a bountiful crop, and that in their industry had they found the treasure.
3/ Three Quotes
“I put myself in the way of things happening, and they happened.” - U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt
“Learning of any kind that involves zero investment of your thinking produces only imitation.” - Shwetabh Gangwar (The Rudest Book Ever)
“The measure of our courage is the measure of our willingness to embrace disappointment...” - David Whyte (Consolations)
4/ An Analogy in the Making
While watching some women’s March Madness this past week, I heard one of the commentators say something like: “When all five players on the floor are that good, you become the hardest team to scout.”
How can you relate that to something you teach?
5/ An Example: How connected devices are negatively impacting learning
I came across this post on Instagram, which shows how many interruptions kids experience via connected devices during a single class period.
What a powerful example!
If you’re experiencing interruptions with the people you work with or coach, maybe you can run a similar experiment.
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If you’re interested in working together or bringing communication training to your team, let’s talk.
Thanks for reading!
Jenny
Many Thanks Jenny . Always makes me smile .