Why stories connect (Mexican food is not weird)

“This place is a party!”

We're at a Mexican restaurant with our kids, and Alice is loving the decor. 

She’s less than impressed with the food: she likes the nachos, but thinks the tacos are “too soft” and won’t even touch the guacamole. 

“Try this,” I tell her. 

She touches her finger to the salsa, licks it and then her eyes bug out. She immediately starts fanning her mouth and reaches for the water. 

My wife gives me a look, and I just shrug. 

“What? I just thought she should try some of the spicy stuff…”

When she stops freaking out, Alice pushes her plate away, looks around and says, 

“Look, they’re putting tomato sauce in a drink! Why would anyone do that??”

“Some people like it, baby.”

“I think Mexican food is really weird.”

“Well, they think it’s normal.”

She looks thoughtful for a moment, then says, 

“I guess… either all foods are weird… or no food is weird.”

“That’s actually very smart. I think it’s the second very smart thing you said today… Who are you? And what have you done with my real daughter?”

“Dad!”

She punches me in the arm and we laugh. 

We have dessert and the tres leches cake does a lot to improve her opinion of Mexican food, so she looks happy when we leave the restaurant. 

But I can’t shake the feeling my 8-year old is growing up too fast. 

All of us are weird… 

Everyone you meet is a unique snowflake. We are all completely different individuals and anyone who suggests otherwise is ignoring the beautiful diversity of human experience. 

Here are just some the ways in which we’re different: 

• Our background

• Our personal preferences

• Our views of the world 

The only thing you can be sure is relatable are undeniable facts like our age, where we live or the jobs we do. 

Right? 

Well… 

Nah. 

…Or none of us are weird

If we could only relate to people are exactly like us, no one would ever watch an astronaut movie. 

We can be different in many ways, but here’s where we’re not: 

Our feelings.

The reason we can watch a movie about astronauts (or superheroes, or vampires) and relate to them, is because those characters also feel happy, sad, afraid, frustrated, excited, have people they care about and don’t want to disappoint. 

They feel the same things we feel. 

That’s what makes a story relatable. 

As long as your characters feel something your intended audience also feels (or at least can understand), your story will connect. 

You don’t need to trust me on that–trust my daughter.

I may joke about it… but she’s pretty smart.

And not just for an 8-year old🤘

-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 ;-)

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