“N ever let the truth get in the way of a good story” was something that my grandfather always said. I was lucky enough to be raised in one of those families that sit around the dinner table and tell LOTS of stories. 🍲📚 Stories about our day, stories about family members, stories about interactions with other people…
Through these interactions growing up, I found that I had a small gift for storytelling. 🎁 My grandfather was a public school superintendent in the town that I grew up in. I have often wondered if that is where the saying came from because the saying holds very true for corporate training. I assume it would also hold true for his teaching days, but I never asked him before he passed away. 😔
What the saying means to me in the corporate classroom is this; you might have to alter a few story details to drive a point home more effectively or make up an interaction to land a learning objective. Before you ask, I do not grapple with the idea of “lying” when it comes to never letting the truth get in the way of a good story. Just the same as the proverbial “wise man” who does not struggle with speaking in parables. 🗣️💡
📚 I’ll share an example of what I mean. I used to train customer de-escalation sessions for phone support specialists. I often told a story that I stole from another trainer. Quick side note, if you can steal other people’s effective stories, please do. Anyway, we would inevitably cover the topic of not mirroring irate customers. We would talk about the fact that you must keep your composure because if you get irate, the customer will likely become even more upset, and you’re not doing them or yourself any favors. 💬😤
At some point during that conversation, I would share the story of my colleague who took a manager escalation call. As the story goes, my colleague’s tone got softer and softer, and his voice got quieter and quieter while speaking with the irate customer. Slowly over about five minutes, the soothing patter of his voice started to calm the customer down. Toward the end of the call, he and the customer spoke with no more than a whisper while solving the customer’s issue. Finally, once the issue was resolved, after another few minutes, my colleague asked the customer, “Does that solve your issue?” The customer replied, “I think it does; thank you so much, but why are we whispering?” My colleague replied, “I don’t know, but I am glad we resolved your issue, and I hope you have a great rest of your day.” 😊🎤📞
Did any of this actually happen? Honestly, I have no idea. Maybe it did, maybe it didn’t. I suspect that it is at least partly true, but that isn’t the point. The point is that it was an engaging story. It was a story that drove home that we can’t raise our voices to irate customers in hopes that they will calm down. It highlighted that we want to be even calmer and more deliberate in the elevated conversations. It was a quick and easy story to tell, and it was sticky. People always remembered that story. People remember much more about the stories you tell than they do your well-prepared bulleted lecture anyway. So don’t be afraid to embellish a little to drive a point home. Never let the truth get in the way of a good story. 📚💡😄
