Seventy Percent

Those of you who know me, probably realize that there are times when I take a story or conversation just a little bit past the correct stopping point. I have a tendency to speak without always considering what I will say until it is said. Biblically this would be what was referred to as a "loose tongue." Personally, it has always provided a source of humor (or at times awkwardness) around my friends and colleagues.


Perhaps an illustration will demonstrate what I mean. Let's say for instance I am telling you the story about my brand new, super fast sports car. I begin by describing the feeling of the wind as I cruise over 100 mph down a stretch of highway, mountains visible as far as the eye can see. 


If I stop right there, everything is great. You have a good visual of me driving my new sports car. Here is what happens if I am truly telling the story... "mountains visible as far as the eye can see...then I rounded a corner and drove off of the cliff accidentally!"


See what happened there? A perfectly good story is ruined by a last minute addition or detail. My team at work has started referring to this as the 70 % rule. If I would just stop my stories or helpful tips at 70%, they would remain interesting and helpful. I have a tendency to move past the 70% well into that last 30% which is often unknown, unthought out territory. This leads to awkward or best case humorous situations. 


A story about how  great a conversation was going, leading up to a huge sale, becomes a less good story when I suddenly add "oh, but I think that's the lady that hung up on me." 


Another byproduct of this is what I will refer to as the "don't let on that you actually didn't know the information that was just presented even though it was assumed you knew" rule. Again, someone brings up an interesting fact that I did not know, but others in the group had assumed I would know based on position. I then point out, "oh that's cool I didn't realize we could do that.." This is followed by strange glances and stunned looks------


So in conclusion, I will attempt to complete my anecdotes and stories at around 70% to avoid the unnecessary add-on that ultimately ruins the context of my tale.