A coach's tale - storytelling in coaching with Sotiris Karagiannis

Well, our second event of the year was about storytelling and I was wondering whether I should create a story about it, but I would rather let our star of the evening Sotiris Karagiannis to speak with his stories, my task was only to make this happen. 30 participants, great group as you could see all those happy faces when we did the picture before and after.

Somehow I still have a tendency to start with once upon a time, but this is not the right place even if for some people it still might be a great starter. But I was curious, I do use stories and am kind of storyteller myself, so I was curious what is the experience of other people and if there are certain areas where you will use stories in coaching more than the other.

Sotiris defined 5 areas of where stories could be used very well from his experience and long practice in coaching and mentoring. Those areas are:

• Envisioning and goal setting
• Problem solving
• Reframing and creativity
• Empowerment
• Success and self-esteem

With stories we retain almost 70% of information and we should not forget, that before we were able to write, we shared the knowledge among us with stories told from one generation to another. Stories hold the values, give us information about what is important for us, what is appealing.

"Storytelling has its roots in the tribal traditions of oral cultures back when memory was the library. Elders passed on their wisdom through the vessel of story. Storytelling is still transgenerational today – it appeals to multi-age audiences."?(Burch, 1997)

"Storytelling, although a potent form of communication, is non-invasive as a coaching tool. People will respond much more readily to the gentle power of a story rather than a ‘pull-your-socks-up’ type of instruction, or probing questioning, which very often only breeds resistance in the recipient. In a coaching context, the client can be allowed to reflect on a story in their own way, and search for what the message means for them personally." (Sotiris Karagiannis, 2022)

So why do we need stories in coaching, according to Sotiris, we not only pass information or knowledge, but also use the stories as a tool that enables us to pass the wisdom from one generation to the other, encourage personal healing and? boost creative thinking.

During the 90 minute workshop we had a chance to talk about personal experience, look into research and neuroscience, had opportunities to ask questions and the curiosity filled the room the same way like emotions filled the stories.

I think that we all can agree that listening to stories is moving us on a deep emotional level and believe me, Sotiris brought stories, that brought me close to tears and I can say, details of the story are a bit blurry but what remained is the reflection of a feeling I had. Speaking as a coach and mentor myself, connecting with a client in a safe environment that story presents is also an opportunity for those that might otherwise feel too vulnerable to express their emotions.

So let's finish with my favorite story:

A colony of frogs was making its way through the forest when two of the group fll into a very deep hole. The other frogs all gathered around the opening of the hole, and seeing how deep it was, shouted down to the two that had fallen in: "You'll never get out of there alive. You're dead already. Don't even waste your time trying."

The two frogs in the hole, however, ignored the calls and gestures, and tried their utmost to jump out.

After some time, one of the trapped frogs felt it could not longer continue, it was totally exhausted from all the jumping, and, giving in to the advice from the frogs above, lay down to die at the bottom of the hole. The second frog, on the other hand, did not give up. It jumped again and again, trying its very best to escape the hole, despite the shouting and gestures that were coming from the opening: "Don't waste your time. You'll never make it. All your efforts and suffering will come to naught. Give up."

And then, with one huge effort, the frog leaped out of the hole to safety. "How did you do it?" asked the other frogs in amazement. "The hole was so deep." Answering them in sign language, as it was deaf, the frog explained that it hadn't heard what they were shouting and had taken their gestures as a signs of encouragement.

I hope that I could welcome you next time at one of our next EMCC events. If you on the other hand like to share your "story" with other fellow coaches, mentors and our community, let me know and we can work together to make it happen.