23. Ronald Reagan Meets Lenny Skutnik: The Catalyst of Human Interest Stories

On January 13, 1982, during a blinding snowstorm, Air Florida Flight 90 took off from National Airport in Washington, D.C., and suddenly plunged into the Potomac River, killing 74 passengers. Only five people survived the crash. One of them was a woman who owed her life to the courageous efforts of a federal employee named Lenny Skutnik. At the fateful moment, Mr. Skutnik, who was on his way home from work, dove into the icy waters, swam to the woman’s rescue. In doing so, he became a catalyst for a speaking technique used by every U.S. president from Ronald Reagan to Barack Obama.

Two weeks after the crash, Mr. Reagan, during his annual State of the Union address, lauded Lenny Skutnik for his heroic effort. In fact, Mr. Reagan had Mr. Skutnik sit next to Nancy Reagan in the congressional gallery. When the president introduced him, Mr. Skutnik rose to thunderous applause from the senators and representatives in the chamber. From that moment on, Mr. Reagan’s gesture became a tradition—since followed by George H. W. Bush, Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, and Barack Obama—to recognize ordinary people who had performed extraordinary acts. The tradition became known in Washington as a “Skutnik.”

The lesson for presenters is to find examples of human interest stories that help illustrate your own stories. After all, the story every president wants to tell in that annual—and constitutionally mandated—message to Congress and the nation is that the state of the union is strong. What better way to illustrate strength than to personify it with anecdotes of heroic efforts?

What better way to illustrate the strength of your business story than to personify it with anecdotes of satisfied customers, partners, or investors? Find your own “Skutniks.”

In a footnote to history, National Airport in Washington, D.C., has since been renamed Ronald Reagan National Airport.