Latham’s diary is a lesson on why we don’t edit anecdotes
I was reading excerpts of Mark Latham’s diaries last weekend and I was struck by how neat and complete his entries were and my immediate reaction was, “these must’ve been written and re-written way after the fact”. I even joked with my wife that it was probably a fake. Perhaps my reaction was influenced by my copy of Mark Twain’s diaries which have been left by its editors in pretty much their original form. For example the entry for 1 July 1867 Twain starts with:
“After all this racing, & bustling & rollicking excitement in Africa, it seems good to get back to the old ship once more. It is so like home. After all our weary time, we shall sleep peacefully tonight.”
Which is then followed by a detailed account of his hotel bill at the Royal Hotel, Tangier, Morocco.
To me the mixture of the literary and banal makes the Twain diary ring true while the other Mark’s contribution sounds false regardless of its actual veracity.
This is why we make a point never to edit the anecdotes we collect in organisations. The incomplete sentences and incorrect grammar help the reader hear the voice of the teller and if their story doesn’t resonate it’s quickly discounted as a fake or half truth.
Anderson, F., M. B. Frank, et al., Eds. (1975). Mark Twain’s Notebooks & Journals: Volume 1 (1855-1873). Berkeley, University of California Press. pp. 367-368.
Shawn, author of Putting Stories to Work, is one of the world's leading business storytelling consultants. He helps executive teams find and tell the story of their strategy. When he is not working on strategy communication, Shawn is helping leaders find and tell business stories to engage, to influence and to inspire. Shawn works with Global 1000 companies including Shell, IBM, SAP, Bayer, Microsoft & Danone. Connect with Shawn on: