Did you see it?

From the June 2007 issue of Selling Power in a tidbit titled "Made You Look!" by Lisa Gschwandtner (p. 37):

"The perfect pitch is not about facts - it's really about what the facts can mean to your customers.

In their book, Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die, (Random House, 2007) authors Chip Heath and Dan Heath tell a story about Nora Ephron, who wrote the scripts for When Harry Met Sally and Sleepless in Seattle.  Ephron, who started her career as a journalist, still remembers the lesson she learned on her first day of school.  The teacher asked the class to write the lead for a story based on the following facts:

'Kenneth L. Peters, the principal of Beverly Hills High School, announced today that the entire faculty will travel to Sacramento next Thursday for a colloquium on new teaching methods.  Among the speakers will be anthropologist Margaret Mean and California governor Edmund 'Pat' Brown.'

Ephron and her peers diligently wrote new versions.  Most read something like: 'Governor Pat Brown will be among the speakers addressing the Beverly Hills High School faculty next Thursday ...'

The teacher looked at their stories and shook his head.  'The lead story is ...'

... There will be no school next Thursday.'

Customers have been conditioned to expect mediocrity.  Find a way to surprise them, and you'll have their undivided attention."

I will add that in addition to the exhortation from the article, remember this story when you're trying to see things in a new way.  It was useful to me and my colleague, Matt Washburn, today as we sought to hone a presentation we're supporting. 

So, did you see the lead???