Where Were You?

For the past year, comedian Amy Schumer has used her social media platforms to take a stand and get out the vote. Most of the time, unusual for a comic, her posts have been serious, factual, educational and motivational. For example, sharing voter rights or a number to call if you feel those rights are being dismissed. Every now and then she pokes fun at a situation or herself. Yesterday, she posted something that really struck me. She asked her followers, "Where were you when you heard the news (about President-elect Joe Biden and Vice-President-elect Kamala Harris) and what did you do?"

She received a wide range of responses from around the world. Many wrote about their phones blowing up with texts, being brought to tears, hearing car honks, dancing and cheering in the streets. popping open champagne, baking brownies. The descriptions tapped into the senses and touched our heart. 

They also really resonated because of how we skill up leaders in Business Storytelling workshops. We encourage participants to consider a personal story in lieu of a business story to get their point across. To describe a relatable situation using real words. That’s because we want our business messages to be remembered-- and we know the fastest path to long term memory in the brain is through the heart. 

We are at one of those “moments” that many of us are likely to recall the rest of our lives, regardless of who we voted for. Moments such as where we were on 9/11 or where we were when Princess Diana died, or maybe where we were when a favorite sports team won the championship. Thank you, Amy Schumer, for inviting us to call out this likely lifelong memory in real time. 

Ellen Weiss is an accredited partner in GENIUS Business Storytelling, training leaders on how to communicate and influence more effectively. Learn more about live, online open enrollment workshops at www.GENIUSofSTORY.com or PM Ellen about private sessions for your leadership team.