I never really thought about it when I was younger. Whenever someone asked me what I did for a living I would say, “I’m on the radio,” or, “I do a talk show.” Lately my answer is, “I’m semi-retired” or I learned a good one a few months ago: “I’m ‘medically-retired.’” It means I didn’t plan on it, but certain health situations made it necessary to step back.
Recently, I’ve felt like the proper answer is: I’m a storyteller.
As far back as I can remember, I’ve always enjoyed a good story. I love to listen and learn. Over the years I’ve grown to like telling the stories. I did it for years on the radio. My colleagues might not think of themselves as storytellers but isn’t that what we’re doing? We either read a story that we’ve found on the newswire or on a website or we relate something that we’ve written or adlib about something we know about. Telling the story.
I even feel like I’m a storyteller when I’m broadcasting a game at one of our area high schools. Yes we are describing the action on the field or the court but we’re also telling you a story as it develops. One thing I especially enjoy when broadcasting a game is when an unexpected story develops. It’s always amazing to see the story within the story develop. Huh? Stay with me.
It seems to happen at every game no matter the sport. Something develops in the game that you may not have expected. It can be anything. A player who doesn’t usually get a lot of mention suddenly becomes the center of attention. It just might be their night or maybe something is going on in their personal life that ignites them. On the contrary, the star player may be dealing with an injury or a situation at home and he or she doesn’t play like you would normally expect and someone else steps up. There can even be a few different stories that develop in the same game.
I’ve done thousands of interviews in my career and I still do to this day. Working for New Bedford Cable Network I do an education show called “Classroom Chronicle.” On that show we spotlight what is going on at any of the schools that New Bedford students can go to. That includes New Bedford High, Greater New Bedford Regional Vocational Technical High School and Bishop Stang. Also the area elementary and middle schools, the Charter Schools and the universities. Basically anywhere New Bedford kids might go. One of the things I always like to do during those interviews is find out something personal about my guest. Sometimes it can help them relax. Why do they do what they do? Have they always been interested in what they’re doing? If they’re an adult, where did they grow up? What were they like in school? I find that many of the adults I talk to like to look back and remember where they came from or why they got started. The kids just seem to go with it and tell me their stories while I think, sometimes, the adults filter things thinking, “Nobody cares about that. Why is he asking me that? I want to explain the upcoming open house.”
Everybody has a story, if not several. I want to hear yours.
A couple of years ago I had a chance to sit down with the candidates for City Council and School Committee and I did the same thing. “Tell me about yourself. Why do you want to run for this office? Have you always been interested in this?” Sometimes I can see a shift in their eyes when I ask them a simple question or when they can just tell me about where they went to school or memories of their mom and dad. Politics can be so insane these days, even locally, where people just want to explain what their positions are or what the other guy is doing wrong. Take a breath. Tell me about you.
Everyone has a story and don’t tell me there’s nothing interesting about yours. Maybe no one has asked the right questions yet. Everything we do is for a reason or the result of something else that happened. I’m just the curious guy who wants to know what those reasons are. What makes you… you?
What is your story? Wanna share it with me?
One thing I did learn a few years ago is to listen. It’s one thing to have prepared questions but if I don’t listen to your answers I might miss a golden opportunity I hadn’t planned on. And you have to really listen to what’s being said. Many times we don’t. It’s very common to just wait for the person to finish talking so you can ask your next question. You don’t really hear what they’re saying, you are just waiting for a pause so you can talk.
I should also mention how important it is to listen to the stories of your grandparents, parents, aunts or uncles or anyone with a few years experience on them. (Code for….old.) They’ve probably got a million stories. And while you may be thinking that they just go on and on with stories about the old days…..someday they will be gone. Don’t let their stories disappear with them. Ask before it’s too late. Record it. Write it down.
Amazing stories could be just a question away.
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