Teacher’s pest
Learning to drive was overwhelming, at first. Between the clutch and the wheel and the pedals and the signals and the mirrors, everything was happening all at once. It seemed impossible I could ever make sense of it.
I did, though. Eventually. Even though all of those same elements are still needed1 today, most of the time I don’t have to consciously think about them. I have developed expertise, and since I am not a driving instructor I’m unlikely to face that learning process again.
I’d guess you aren’t a driving instructor either, dear reader, but you probably do have to do some instruction at work. Explaining your products to your customers, or your billing system to your clients, or the application process to potential students. At one time you didn’t know how those things worked either, but it may have been a long time ago
Being able to put yourself back into the mind of a beginner, to see it again from their perspective, that’s a critical skill in our work. Not every topic expert is also an effective teacher3, either. It is no coincidence that we have several former teachers on the Help Scout team.
Whether you are working with customers and clients, or training up your own colleagues, try to see with the eyes of the beginner. They don’t know your internal jargon, or the way your products differ from competing ones. What is obvious and simple to you might be completely opaque to them.
When your patience is tested and it feels like people are being deliberately obtuse, remember your first driving lesson, or swimming lesson. Recall that confusion, the fear, your inability to grasp the concepts while drowning in detail.
Ask good questions. Be curious. Look for the “why” behind the “what”. Let go of your judgements.
Take a breath.
Take a moment.
And teach.
1 Except the clutch. It’s been ages since I drove a manual2. I don’t miss it.
2 AKA stick shift, for many of you.
3 I bet a certain teacher or professor just came to mind for you.
