The Meat and Potatoes

Men, and some women, love the meat and potatoes. The detailed story with all the hype and emotion can often be misinterpreted as flowered and unnecessary. “Sometimes I just want you to hurry it up and give me the Meat and Potatoes.” The long story, well, "that’s what you have girlfriends for."

Now, do women love to chat, tell stories and get the details of every little thing down to the very smell or taste of emotion that covered the air? Yes, we often do. Now, can we oftentimes get lost in the background story and forget to get to the point in a decent time? Yes, this is true as well. Oftentimes, this is the fun part of the journey. Oftentimes it’s the stories within the stories.

The guts of things. Sometimes you have to cut through the skin and know at which angle you cut in order to understand how I am feeling about the guts. Sometimes you need to know the angle, the color, the knife shape, where it was manufactured, what the weather was outside and the strength behind the knife to understand the premise for the guts. Sometimes you have to set the stage before you can start the play.

I guess other times it’s important to avoid being a slow movie with a slow developing plot. Sometimes we want the gist of the plot and not the movie. Give me the trailer with an ending! Sometimes we want the back of a movie cover with a quick picture and who, what, when, where, and maybe the why, but usually that is left to the other 97 minutes. The Meat and Potatoes. Sometimes I guess people perceive story telling like a grandmother in a nursing home as she gives you every detail and the background of each leading thing all while taking 4 hours to tell a 10 minute story, but sometimes she just wants to share. Take it as a compliment!

In business it is especially important to learn about the Meat and Potatoes. If it takes too long to understand, you can lose other’s interest in what you have to say. Sometimes we take too long to get to the point. Sometimes we make a movie in our minds and forget to sum it up quickly. Sometimes people can do without the details, but sometimes they won't understand the kind of meat or why red potatoes instead of white if the background and details are not given first. Other times it is best to simply give the outlined version and hope that interest will fill in the blanks as you go.

I’m not sure there is a right or a wrong, but more of an adaption that can be made on either side! Give a little storytelling and take a little Meat and Potatoes. Learn and be open to it. It doesn’t mean your girlfriends won’t listen to the drawn out and detailed story over cocktails on Wednesday, it just means right now the man, and some women, want only the Meat and Potatoes.

Don’t be afraid to give the cliffnotes version but remember to ‘give and take’! It could be the changing aspect and life and relationships are compromise. Life is too short to not give and take and smile all the while.

So maybe I have flowered the Meat and Potatoes but I had to get my point across...