Our Story

One of my all-time literary heroes was and is Studs Terkel. As an interviewer and author his lasting contribution was a reminder that we all have stories to tell. Within each of us, we carry around biographies that are worth telling. Terkel's most famous book was "Working" in which a host of what I will call "regular people" talked about their jobs and their feelings about the challenges that came with them. (Fun fact: This book was even turned into a Broadway musical.) As Terkel's style of interviewing was conversational rather than, say, confrontational, he was able to elicit thoughtful comments from his many subjects. Drawing from Terkel's work, I believe we can all draw lessons from ourselves to better present ourselves to others. Whether it is in a formal job interview or a casual conversation with a neighbor, our encounters provide us with opportunities to communicate and/or connect. Accepting the premise of Terkel's work, one way all of us might become better connectors or comunicators is by incorporating our own stories into our interactions with others. For instance, it is one thing to tell a prospective employer that you want a job. But such a wish can be significantly strengthened if we can package that wish with a story about ourselves that explains the background of the goal. Presently I am working on my autobiography. I have no idea if anyone other than me and my family will be interested in it once it is completed. I am about one-third of the way through it and, frankly, am not thinking the jury on that is still out. Nevetheless, I am enjoying the process. The challenge of this book revolves around telling my story in a way that is coherent and interesting to others. Given that I am not famous, the challenge is all the greater. Also, the projected book represents a unique comunication exercise in figurng out ways to make stories through me more interesting. Normally, my style is to leave me out of whatever is it is I am talking about. Perhaps I need to change that. This is something that we all might consider about ourselves.