“Cool story babe, Now make me a sandwich.”
The boardwalk in Venice, California is filled with every cliché imaginable. That includes people and product! The woman looks normal until she starts talking about the impending invasion. There is the pit bull with angel wings and sunglasses, and the dog named GIN whose owner swears he is not an alcoholic. There is a tank top, daisy duke, or a sweatshirt with every saying imaginable. I chuckled at the tank top that said, “I flexed and the sleeves fell off.” In case there is a saying that is not already on an article of clothing, you can customize your own with whatever saying you want.
“Cool story babe, Now make me a sandwich.”
This saying is kinda funny and very chauvinistic. Yet there is a point at its core that is true. Author Barbara De Angelis has an interesting theory. It is her theory yet I was the one kicked out of a chamber of commerce for repeating it. Her theory is that men and women communicate in the same format as their reproductive organs. Which means that women go round and around to tell a story and men get straight to the point.
“Cool story babe, Now make me a sandwich.”
Imagine the woman has told her story, she went round and round and around in the telling. She finally got to the ending, the crescendo of the story. The man may have even feigned interest in the story at least for a while. When she was done, his true feelings came out. He just wanted the sandwich.
While this seems chauvinistic there is a point to be taken. It is true that everyone has a great story to tell. The problem is that most people don’t tell the right story and they don’t tell it effectively. Most people when given the opportunity to speak, think they are Steven Spielberg spinning a Hollywood blockbuster with a huge crescendo of an ending. The problem is that by the time they get to the end, few are listening. Whether they went for a sandwich literally or figuratively, they went fishing!
To be an effective speaker, you really have to know just one thing.
You have to know more than your audience knows. You have to know that your audience has the attention span of a flea. It is incumbent on the speaker to use your scalpel of clarity; cut out the essence of your message. Then begin at the end. Go back and tell your story after you have gotten to the point. It is like giving money to get on the turnpike. You can’t get on the turnpike unless you pay the toll. Your toll to your audience is the essence of your message. You have to give it to get on the road. Right now you are holding it until you complete the turnpike.
“Cool story babe, Now make me a sandwich.”
Your audience may not tell you as directly as this tank top, but your audience wants to get to whatever is on the agenda after you: the meal, the program, or the game. After you are done speaking, you want them to want more than a sandwich. You want to provide the meat: provide it early.
The online feature magazine, JenningsWire.com, is created by National PR Firm, Annie Jennings PR that specializes in providing book promotion services to self-published and traditionally published authors. Annie Jennings PR books authors, speakers and experts on major high impact radio talk interview shows, on local, regionally syndicated and national TV shows and on influential online media outlets and in prestigious print magazines and newspapers across the country.
