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Not to toot my own horn (but toot! toot!), but I can tell a mean story. I remember a time when my team was winning games, but not in the dominating fashion that we should. I gathered the team around and told them about my childhood love of the video game Mortal Combat and how when you’d beaten your opponent, you had two choices. You could merely hit him and advance to the next level or, knowing a special code (which I, of course, knew) you could reach inside your opponent’s chest and literally rip his beating heart right out. I’m sure you can imagine that the next team we faced got crushed. Moral of the story: Don’t just beat the opponent…crush them.
So when I saw this TEDtalk called, The Clues to a Great Story, by Andrew Stanton, I knew I’d bring it on over here because I believe storytelling can be the secret sauce to successfully motivating our teams.
How many times have you and your coaching staff lamented having to say the same thing over and over again to your players? If you’re like me, a lot! I’ve found that telling a funny, yet relevant, story goes over better than repetition.
Not a natural story teller? Check out Stanton’s keys for telling a good story:
- Story telling is joke telling. He opens his TEDtalk with a very funny story about a man and his unfortunate encounter with a goat. Not only was it an amusing opening joke, but it also proved his point that jokes and stories should be engaging. I’m not a naturally funny person, but I can tell a decent story and I know my team is into it if they’re laughing out loud.
- Know the end from the beginning. Just telling the story can’t be the goal. What is your goal? Is it to encourage toughness? To promote camaraderie? To beat the previously unbeaten foe? Whatever it is, I’ll bet you’ve got a personal story that will resonate with your athletes. In my opinion, the more personal, the better. I’m not talking bearing-your-soul personal, but I-didn’t-know-coach-liked-video-games personal.
- Build anticipation. The Seinfeld show was successful because they could make an interesting story out of everyday occurrences. My most meaningful (funny, but relevant) stories have been about small moments in time that I describe with great detail. I draw the team in and then show them how our team fits into the story. Stanton says that we have to make our listeners want to know how it ends. Give them just enough to keep them engaged, then make the connection…they’ll love it.
If you haven’t tried storytelling with your team, I highly recommend it. Give it a try and let me know how it worked.
