I worked at a small engine repair shop during college. We sold and repaired lawnmowers, chainsaws, and weedeaters. We always had to be aware of our surroundings because everything we worked with could easily take off a finger.
One day, my boss (and uncle) was away for lunch. A customer needed a new starter rope put into his lawnmower. It was an easy job, so I knew I could knock it out quickly.
I grabbed the starter rope spool, determined my needed length, and swung the scissors to cut it.
And . . . cut a chunk out of my finger with standard SCISSORS. The blood just gushed everywhere.
When my uncle returned, I was in the bathroom cleaning the wound and arresting the bleeding. I walked out, and his face looked like he was the one losing blood. “What happened, and how bad is it?”
I explained what happened with a bit of embarrassment.
It was my only significant injury while working there, and as I type, I look down and see my scar.
There are a couple of points from this story:
- The little things usually get you when you aren’t paying attention.
- Things can go wrong when you get in a hurry.
And for this blog, here’s another: One of the best tools when coaching others is to tell a short story.
Stories make the lesson memorable and portable.
Don’t believe me?
If you want to illustrate that things can go wrong when you get in a hurry tomorrow, you will be able to remember and retell the above story.
So, the next time you have a coaching conversation, think of a story you can tell.
The best stories:
- Have an element of tension. (I set the stage with “everything we worked with could take off a finger.”)
- Have a simple point. (Things can go wrong when you get in a hurry.)
- Are personal. (The stories we tell about how we learned a lesson are the best.)
To be a better coach, you must get better at telling stories.