Make them an offer they can't refuse (or forget)

I’m 10-years old and I’m at my uncle’s house for Christmas with the whole family. 

After the meal, we’re all together in the living room when everyone goes quiet, and I see my grandfather sitting in his armchair, smiling. 

“Marcela, come here,” he calls, and my youngest cousin walks over, looking nervous. 

Grandpa whispers in her ear, Marcela nods, then he pulls out an envelope from his pocket and gives it to her. She kisses his cheek and walks away.

It’s just like a scene from that boring Godfather movie grown-ups can't stop watching. 

“Vicente, your turn,” Grandpa calls, and another cousin goes up to him. The same thing happens. 

One by one, he calls all the kids, until I hear my name. 

I walk up. Grandpa quietly says, 

“I hear you’ve been really good in school this year. Keep it up.” 

I get my envelope, kiss him and move back. 

Inside the envelope I'm shocked to find 50 bucks–I can buy lots of superhero comic books with that!!

I look around and now there’s a line in front of my Grandpa with all my aunts and uncles. They look as excited as kids. 

“Do you also get lots of money??”, I ask my Uncle Lula. He grins and says, 

“Only if we behaved very well.”

I don’t know this yet, but for the rest of my life, whenever I think of my grandfather, this is the first thing I’ll remember. 

Becoming unforgettable

If you think about the past few days–and don’t look at your calendar–you’ll realise you have already forgotten most of what you’ve done this week. 

We forget most things, and that’s normal: our brains just can’t store that much information. 

Maybe you can recall what people said to you, or how they made you feel, but your most vivid memories will be in the form of moments, as if they were scenes in the movie of your life. 

My grandfather was generous. He cared about his family. He cared about education. These are facts I know about him, but when I look for proof of how I know them, it’s moments like that Christmas that come back to me. 

And that is why storytelling is more effective than other forms of communication: because a good story is in the right shape for our brains to keep. 

You need more than being memorable to move people to action, but even the most persuasive message in the world is no good if no one can remember it.

Here's how you fix that:

• Find a moment to serve as an example 

• Make it vivid through descriptions and dialogue

• Make it relatable through the emotions the characters feel

That's how you make them an offer they can't refuse–or forget 🤘

-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.