A reprint of a favorite tip from 2014.
Many of you know that I am a bicycle/camping enthusiast. Over the years, I have modified and purchased newer and newer gear for camping and cooking at the campground. Of course, every camper has their “favorite” camping stove: the lightest; the smallest; the quietest; the best gas burner, etc. Everyone believes their choice is “the best.”
A few years ago I was at REI (the “best” camping store) and overheard a customer ask the salesperson, “What’s the best camping stove?” Eager to hear his take, I was surprised when, instead, he asked a question. “What kind of food are you going to be cooking?”
Ah! Brilliant!
Here was not just a great salesperson, but a great “coach”. Rather than tell the customer what stove “he” thought, or even “others” thought was the best, he used specific questions to ascertain more information about the “needs of the customer.”
Good coaching for storytellers is quite similar. Quite often, students and coaching clients ask me, “What’s the best way to…?; How do I…?; How can I…?” My “best” response to any of these queries is to follow up with another question; questions that will assist the client in focusing in on their goals and understanding of their story.
Who’s your audience?
What’s the story about?
What do you want the audience to feel, experience?
How long do you have to tell?
These and other secondary and tertiary questions will lead the client AND the coach along the appropriate path for this particular story/situation.
Last year I had a coaching session with Sean Buvala. I presented an idea for a new character-specific story. I was having difficulty finding the right direction to go; understanding how to begin. Sean asked one simple question that got me thinking and going. He said, “Who are you telling the story to?”
The “best” answer to a question about the “best” way to accomplish something is most likely another, specific question.
The coach, or the salesman, knows the different techniques (stoves). But you know your story (what you are going to cook)!
- National Storytelling Network? You should be.
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