Homeschooling Principles in Corporate Learning, Part 1

Overcoming Resistance: Telling a Compelling Story

“The question is not – how much does the youth know? when he has finished his education – but, how much does he care?”[i] — Charlotte Mason

As a corporate trainer, you are familiar with this scenario. The Chief Learning Officer wants a company-wide training opportunity for the latest initiative. You build out the training and develop the marketing material. In the invitation, you share the latest statistics about why the topic is important and describe what participants will get out of the training. The sign-ups trickle in slowly. You add additional dates and times, just in case it’s a scheduling issue. Nothing changes. You deliver the training and make the recording available to everyone. You have more sign ups than attendees, and very few people watch the recording.

Unfortunately, the subject doesn’t matter. The fact is that it is incredibly difficult to get people to do anything. Bo Seo calls it the “Butt Off the Coach threshold: the ridiculously high amount of energy required to persuade anyone to do anything in this world”[ii] in his book Good Arguments. Whenever we attempt to persuade someone, we battle “ignorance and illogic, but also apathy, cynicism, inattention, selfishness, and vanity.”[iii]

This challenge isn’t unique to corporate learning; it’s everywhere! If there were a magic pill that could make other people care about the things you believe are important, it would be one of the most powerful drugs on the planet. The homeschooling community is no different. A lot of ink has been spilled and many voices have explored how to make children care about and love learning in a homeschooling setting. Many parents choose homeschooling because they want their children to enjoy learning! But, just like every politician, school teacher, and corporate trainer, they come to the same realization:

You can’t coerce learning.

Homeschooling expert and creator of the award-winning Brave Writer program Julie Bogart puts it this way: “It’s impossible to demand inspiration, passion, or self-discipline without affinity for learning… Adults try! We use grades, little statues, and ice cream sundaes to prod kids into reading, diagramming sentences, and practicing piano. Meanwhile that same child will stand in the hot sun for five hours shooting free throws to break a personal record. No reward except satisfaction. How do we get more of that into traditional school subjects?”[iv]

Corporate trainers ask the same question. We provide certificates, pins, and lunches. I have even seen companies offer cash or additional vacation days to incentivize employees to show up for training, and yet, we still have problems with motivation. Homeschoolers have invented some of their own strategies for combating resistance and motivating people to care about their learning. These strategies are corroborated by research on how minds change. Over the next few posts, we will take a look at several strategies from the homeschooling think tank and consider what they could look like in corporate learning.

---

STRATEGY 1: Reveal a compelling story.

Stories create context, understanding, and empathy. Sarah Mackenzie, author of The Read-Aloud Family, says it this way,

“If you want a child to know the truth, tell him the truth. If you want a child to love the truth, tell him a story.”

In short, stories connect people with facts. We don’t always have to be the ones telling the story; we can help others reveal stories from their own lives to the same effect. In How Minds Change, science journalist David McRaney describes the “deep canvasing” strategy that was so effective in changing public opinion about LGBTQ issues in America. A deep canvasser doesn’t argue with someone they are trying to convince using facts. Instead, they reveal the emotional story behind someone’s beliefs and help them unpack those emotions and stories to change their minds.[v]

Stories in the form of case studies are used by many corporate trainers, but with a little creativity, we can expand their use, increase our effectiveness, and help employees to care.

• Jazz up your invitations and marketing emails to include cliffhangers about a case study you want to feature in an upcoming training.

• Ask leaders to share their own leadership best practices using examples of great (and not so great) leaders they have had in the past.

• Put leaders in their employees’ shoes by role playing common leadership challenges.

• Feature career stories from employees throughout the company to show the many paths to career success.

• Share stories of companies that failed to uphold safety measures and consider where they went wrong.

As you think through different strategies for using stories in your corporate learning programs, don’t forget about principles of great storytelling, such as narrative arc, character development, and simple plot devices to make your stories compelling. Don't fall into the trap of making your characters too good to be true, especially when you are featuring real stories from real people in your organization! When a character or person is too perfect, we take away their relatability, which reduces the impact of the story. Consider asking people to describe some of their not-so-flattering career moments. When we create a space where flaws are ok, then we open the door for people to admit that they need help and learning!

Come back next week to hear how the metaphor of a feast applies to corporate learning.

Explore with curiosity and compassion:

• What stories have been compelling in your life?

• How does your company use stories in corporate learning?

• What recommendations do you have for others interested in using stories to boost motivation for learning?

---

[i] Mason, C. (2012). The Original Home Schooling Series (p. 10176). Start Publishing LLC. [ii] Seo, B. (2022). Good Arguments: How Debate Teaches Us to Listen and Be Heard (p. 142) Penguin. [iii] Seo, B. (2022). Good Arguments: How Debate Teaches Us to Listen and Be Heard (p. 142) Penguin. [iv] Bogart, J. (2019). The Brave Learner: Finding Everyday Magic in Homeschool, Learning, and Life (p. 17). Penguin. [v] McRaney, D. (2022). How Minds Change: The New Science of Belief, Opinion and Persuasion (p.14-55). Simon and Schuster.

Subscribe to Lydia's Substack