Tell Them a Story

Our reading for Monday and last Wednesday has been about telling stories, and I couldn't help but think of Michelle Obama's DNC speech, where she tells the story of her family growing up.

The video is 25mins long, but the actual story takes place in the first 10mins. She talks about her father and the fact that he had multiple sclerosis. Despite being in daily pain, her father was determined to make it to work every day, to put food on the table for his family, and to put his children through college. "You see," Michelle says, "for him that's what it meant to be a man."

She explains that her family lived under the idea that if you work hard and do good by each other, then you can achieve anything (the classic American Dream). And she explains that when she met Barack, she knew he had been raised under the same ideal.

In our reading of Squirrel Inc, it is mentioned that often the best person to tell a story is someone who the story didn't actually happen to. I imagine President Obama is under a lot of pressure and his mind is on the coming election. Maybe he couldn't have told his story effectively because it would have been too jumbled with everything that is currently going on.

But Michelle was able to tell it through the telling of her own story. But what is interesting is she didn't just tell Barack's story, she also told the story of the middle-class American people. Made to Stick mentions "Connection Plots," and while the story itself was about how Michelle and Barack connect over their values, it was also about how the middle-class American people and the First Man and Lady of the United States connect in their values.

In Squirrel Inc, it is explained that telling stories can reveal who someone is and build trust. Stories can also reveal values and bring insight into decisions that are made through those values. By telling a story and revealing the values of Barack Obama, Michelle was able to instill trust in him through the American people.

There are a number of critics stating that the speech was too perfect, creating a Gandhi-like image, or simply all lies and spin to fool the American people. But it's clear from the video and from the praise of the speech that Michelle's story resonated with people. She told a story, and people not only listened, they connected. I believe her speech is a good example of what our readings were all about.