I’m standing in front of my wardrobe, and I’m stuck. 

I start grabbing a white t-shirt, but stop. I let it go. 

I reach for a black shirt, then I change my mind as well. 

I really want to wear the white one, but I’m afraid–because I know what will happen. 

There were four white shirts in my wardrobe, but now there are only two. 

I’m going to a friend’s birthday party. I won’t be anywhere near the kitchen. I’ll probably be drinking beer. That should be safe, right? 

*

I’ve been at the party for an hour and it’s all good. I’ve had a couple of drinks, and I can’t even remember what I was concerned about. 

My friends and I are in the middle of an animated discussion about if kids should wear make-up or not when someone opens a good bottle of wine, and I accept a glass. 

30 seconds later, the glass is empty–and my white shirt is covered in wine. 

One of my friends says, 

“Take it off and give it to me, I’ll have a go at cleaning it.” 

Then her husband says, 

“Wow, she’s never done that for me!” 

I smile, but all I’m really thinking is, 

“Three white shirts down, one to go…”

I have a feeling those are the last white shirts I’ll ever buy 😅

The quiet thing 

Here’s one of the things I didn’t tell you in the beginning of that story: 

Two of my white shirts have stains I can’t clean. I got tomato sauce in one when I was making pizzas, and the other got some mystery stain when I was barbecuing. I can only wear them around the house now.

I didn’t tell you that because you could’ve guessed something like it from what I’ve said, and a little bit of mystery makes the story more interesting. 

Here’s the other thing I didn't tell you: 

I’m clumsy, especially at parties, when I get animated and start gesticulating madly. I’ve gotten wine all over myself and all over a friend’s beautiful (and expensive) silk white blouse (she wasn’t impressed). No matter how much I’m aware of that, I can’t seem to avoid it. 

Now, that isn’t a terrible existential flaw I torture myself over. It’s just a bit annoying. But the reason I didn’t say any of that is simple: just like when someone starts telling me, “I’m the kind of person who…”, I find that type of exposition boring. 

The whole idea of storytelling is show, don’t tell. If you’re “the kind of person who…” something, then just show me one instance of that, and I’ll get it. Way more interesting, way more memorable and, in many cases, way more honest: 

Just because we have an internal monologue, that doesn’t mean we constantly rehash to ourselves in paragraph-long form who we are, what we think, what we’ve been through, etc. We already know that. If you didn't think it in those words, no need to pretend you did.

Sure, sometimes you have to give the audience a little bit more context, but there’s no need to overdo it. And, if the thing you’re not saying is heavier, or vulnerable, it might hit a lot harder if you let the audience understand it through your actions. 

Sometimes, you have to say the quiet thing out loud. 

But if you want to make your stories better… 

There are times when you don’t need to say it at all 🤘

-Francisco 

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