My wife and I have long been fans of The Moth’s Radio Hour Podcast. On long car rides, we heard many good stories.
In addition to the national show and podcast, they host smaller, local events.
In 2018, my wife wanted to go on a date night to a local storytelling event. Since I was going, I prepared a five-minute story. I didn’t know what to expect. Part of me thought I might be required to tell a story (you aren’t).
I’ve written about giving five-minute personal talks at our company. If we made people do those, I should be brave enough to give one in public.
The venue had about 200 people. They asked if I wanted to put my name in a hat to tell a story. I was nervous, and this was my chance to back out. But I put my name in the hat. I figured I wouldn’t get picked.
The first storyteller told a moving story. He would be a tough act to follow. Of course, that is when my name was drawn. I couldn’t back out, so I got up and told the story.
It was fun. I got a few laughs and some compliments. I didn’t think much more about it. This winter I got a text from Chloe Salmon, the producer, director, and host of The Moth Radio Hour. She wanted to use that story on an upcoming Radio Hour. It just ran live last week. I heard from a few friends from around the country who heard it.
If you want to listen, here it is on Spotify and Apple Podcasts. My talk starts about the 17:20 mark, but check out the others, too.
If you can, attend one of these and put your name in the hat.
Great talk Mike:
I'm a huge fan of MPR where The Moth is broadcast and I have heard it a few times. I've always wondered how you got involved in those. Will be on the lookout when they host a local one in the Twin Cities
You're being humble. You definitely had a lot more than a few laughs!