If one of them reads this... I am in trouble

I come back home looking for what she did this time, and I find it in the kitchen: 

She put the plates on the drying rack. 

Not standing up vertically in the grooves, in the obvious way, but piled on top of each other. She didn’t even bother to spread them out–it makes no sense anyone would think that’s the best way for them to dry! 

But, all things considered, that’s not too bad, my housemaid has done much worse than that: 

She’s forgotten cleaning rags on the kids’ beds. 

She has left a duster on top of the sofa. 

She has changed the location of every single item in my kitchen. 

I get not knowing where things go, even though she’s been cleaning our house for years, but some things are completely baffling: 

One day she inverted the position of the cat’s food and water bowls, even though there’s a mat which clearly says food and water… Could she really be that distracted or ditzy? 

That’s what I used to wonder about, and I got pretty close to complaining to her about it–until the book The Housemaid came out. 

Hundreds of thousands of reviews on Amazon, top of the charts in many countries, displayed in every book store and newsstand here in Spain, you just can’t escape it. 

So I read it–and it blew my mind. 

It’s this story about a housemaid with a mysterious past, taking a job that is not what it seems… I’m not going to spoil it for you, but here’s the thing: 

The housemaid is a real badass. She doesn’t look it, everyone thinks she’s distracted and ditzy, but she’s definitely not. That’s just a front. And the people who underestimate her... it doesn’t end well for them. 

Then it got me thinking: my current housemaid isn’t one of kind. In fact, the same thing happened with every housemaid or cleaning lady I ever had…

What if it’s all a front? What if they are all doing it on purpose to mess with us–to mess with me? 

I can’t stop thinking of all these housemaids, getting together somewhere, drinking Aperol Spritz and having a real laugh about this: 

“Girls, today I put the bottle opener deep inside a bottom drawer, they’ll never find it.”

“Nice one! I just wanted to confuse them, so I left half of the hand-mixer in one cupboard and the other half on another.”

“Oh, I went for subtle: I moved all the paintings and the furniture off centre about 15 degrees, it will drive them mad until they fix them all.”

“That’s pure evil, I love it!”

“Right?? I am evil, MUAHAHAHAH!”

And I ask myself, “Are they just messing with me? Is this all for fun? Or are they real badasses too?” 

I just don’t know. And I don’t think I want to find out. 

So when she comers over, I smile, ask how’s she’s been, and get out of her way. 

When I come back, things are always out of place. 

But I don’t wonder about it anymore; I’m convinced she’s testing me. 

Pushing me, to see if I’ll crack and complain. 

But I won’t. I can’t risk it. I’ve got a family that needs me. 

It would be terrible if I slipped on a wet floor and hit my head on the edge of a coffee table 15 degrees out of place. 

Domestic accidents happen, right? 

So I fix the plates on the drying rack, and when I send my housemaid her money, I include a little bit extra. 

She’s really doing a great job. 

Movie scenes with a twist 

I recently talked about how the best stories should be based on a moment in time, with action and dialogue: if you can’t film the scene or act it out on a stage, then you have too much tell and not enough show. 

That’s usually true, and in most cases you want to stick closely to that. 

But it’s also true that when you’re telling a story you get to do something it would be pretty tricky to do in a movie: 

• Share thoughts 

• Bring back memories

• Go off into flights of fancy

• Weave in other stories

• Talk about books, movies, world events, science experiments, or anything that adds to your message

That’s what keynote speakers and stand-up comedians often do, either in the middle of their stories or between them. And, if you tell a longer story (pretty much anything above 3-5 mins) it’s almost impossible keep most of it as a moment in time anyway.

There are no major rules to follow here. As long as your story is visual enough for us to picture some of it, you’re still getting the benefits of storytelling while also being able to get out of “action scene mode” and make it richer.

So start by setting the scene visually, make sure you include dialogue throughout, and go off on (hopefully) fun tangents. 

It will work, or it won’t. 

But, unlike annoying my housemaid…

Some risks are worth taking 🤘

-Francisco 

Whenever you're ready, there are 3 ways I can help you:

1. Getting clarity through your story to stand out from all the other coaches, speakers and entrepreneurs out there 

2. If you dream of speaking on the Red Dot, take this Scorecard and instantly discover how likely your idea is to be accepted by a TED-style organizing committee

3. If you (or your team) got any storytelling challenges, I’m sure there’s something we can do together ;-)

Thanks for reading! Reply any time.