Watching the Next Food Network Star made that very clear. Each of the contestants has been told to tell the story of the food. Several of them have made the mistake of listing the ingredients and leaving out the story – they are no longer with the show. It is only with the story of the meal, the personal connection to why the chef chose to cook what he or she did, that the cooking show is able to transcend from a good cooking teacher to a show that people want to watch. It is the story telling aspect that makes the food and the chef come alive.
Larry McMurtry wrote a letter about his heart attack to Michael Eisner who in turn shared his story. The power in Eisner’s book “Work in Progress” comes from these stories and the self-disclosure. (See “Work in Progress” review.)
In our own lives, those that we want to be closest to should know our stories. It is always a risk to tell a personal story, but without the telling, we deny the other person a portion of ourselves.
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