From Classroom to Car Culture – How My Teaching Skills Enabled My Automotive Storytelling

It's no secret that I once trained to teach Secondary School English, and spent some time in school managing my own classroom. Yet, despite it almost happening a decade ago, I still get met with the same response: "wow, you're so brave."

The truth is, many still have the perception that teaching is one of the toughest jobs out there purely for the amount of sacrifice a teacher has to make. And, whilst that is still true, there are so many more things a teacher must do to do their job successfully.

Take me, as an English teacher, as the example. As well as having to manage behaviour, ensure a safe learning environment and enable the children to get through their English subject, I also had to convince them, through storytelling, passion and enthusiasm. Without putting it bluntly, you often have to persuade the children in your classroom that your subject is important and worth listening to. I know it shouldn't be the case, but it is. It's not that they don't want to learn, but they need to know the value that the lesson holds for them, which is quite similar to marketing, really.

The leap from teaching to automotive

In truth, I was also one of those students, and it's much easier to see it now in hindsight than when I was younger. I had to be persuaded to learn, because I didn't really know what life had in store for me. So, as I was gearing up to leave college, then university, I faced the dilemma that every fresh, young adult faces. What next?

That not knowing lead me back to the only thing I knew. Learning. Training to teach meant another year of working out what I needed to do, and following a career path that so many had already set out for me to follow. It felt safe and there was no risk - or so I thought. I became a teacher because that's what I thought I was meant to do. And, when there wasn't a real love or passion there in the first place, it was never destined to work out.

On paper, moving from teaching to automotive marketing might look like swapping whiteboard pens and teenage attitude for a fast-paced and trending sector. In reality, the transition wasn’t just a career pivot, it was a chance to take the skills I’d spent years honing and apply them in a brand-new area. Let me be clear, until I entered the automotive industry, I had no real intention of working there. Why would I? I'd never been exposed to it.

As I learned the lingo of torque, infotainment systems and brand positioning, I realised my teaching toolkit was perfectly suited for helping people understand, connect with and get excited about cars. After all, it was just like persuading your audience to learn, though this time I was persuading them to buy.

How my teaching skills still drive my work

As a product marketer, you're known as being a translator of products. You deal with complex systems, coding lingo and challenging performance figures to learn, yet somehow you have to present this in a way your audience will understand. Sometimes, that means breaking down complexity to speak to the general public without the value proposition losing its spark. Despite the challenge, there's always a way to break down the benefit and meaning to any audience you speak to, even a toddler.

Essentially, teachers know the secret. If you can explain tough Shakespeare sonnets and plays to a 14 year-old, you can explain aerodynamics and electric vehicle charging figures it to anyone. Modern cars are full of sophisticated technology: hybrid drivetrains, stop-start systems, advanced safety features, and even explaining the rear folding position of the seats can be tricky. Instead of overwhelming people with jargon, I focus on making these innovations relatable. After all, just like appealing to your teenage audience, you know there's a buyer persona you are catering every word to.

Some of the most complex topics I have found of late seem to be around the electric vehicle charging aspect. We're no longer speaking miles to the gallon or pence per litre, we're now introducing pence per kWh, charging speeds and range optimisation. Though these are relatively easy to understand once you grasp them, as an industry, we're still locking people out from making the switch by adding all this challenging and frightening lingo to people who just want to know how often they'll need to top up their charge and how much they expect to pay.

Patience and adaptability under pressure

In teaching, no two lessons go exactly to plan. Even if you have two classes of 11 year-olds, both will provide a different output to your lesson. That mindset prepared me for automotive marketing, where a campaign can shift overnight due to design tweaks, supply chain delays or shifting priorities. You also learn very quickly that different stakeholders interpret your ideas in a variety of ways, so you also end up adapting outcomes to predict their needs.

Some of the best work I ever completed came after spending time nurturing relationships with such stakeholders. I never wanted to just create literature that met their needs, as they weren't the intended audience, but I always produced high-quality work with their potential observations in mind. It's the same relationship building process in the classroom. Despite teaching over 150 students and dealing with hundreds more in the corridor, it's vital that you build a relationship with each one of them. You may never actually teach a child, but you need them to know that you, as a teacher in the school, are a safe space and someone to be trusted.

I'd also argue that building relationships with teenagers is actually much harder than building those with adults and stakeholders. Why? Because with adults, you're on the same playing field. You're all there for the same reasons and with the same objectives in mind. However, with teenagers, you have no idea what their agendas are from day-to-day. You also aren't as aware of their influences outside of school, what's happened with their peers at school or what they are even focusing on every day. Plus, I'll mention the p-word: puberty. At any given point, tensions can run high and you're left clueless and confused as to what caused them.

The power of storytelling

Stories are how humans connect, whether in a classroom or a showroom. Children are much closer to the magic of storytelling though, I would argue. As you grow from an infant into a teenager, you have a vibrant and amazing imagination. In fact, within early years development, teachers must include an element of play to ensure young children can start leaning on their imaginations. Even teenagers, despite sometimes acting older than their years, are impeccable day dreamers and imaginers.

So, translating this to the adult world is much harder. Why? Adults simply don't dream as much or as vividly as children do. They are more sceptical to storytelling, and that's partially due to their critical thinking development. I don’t just talk about horsepower or range; I try to tell a story in a waty that meets adult needs. One thing I can fall back on here is emotions. Anything to do with cars is an emotional experience, whether that's the thrill of the drive or treasuring precious memories, most adults can picture storytelling through emotion.

I remember working on some digital brochures and trying to think of a way to resonate with the audience intended to read them. Bear in mind that I would never meet the audience, I had to determine the right language and layout to picque their interest. One of the best stories I ever told was by walking the audience through every texture, detail and emotion of the car, signposting these to familiar concepts the buyers would associate with. I've still got the praise from the stakeholder that fed back on this brochure, telling the entire business it was the best example of what the client wanted to achieve from their sales enablement.

Your skills are transferable too

Changing industries can be daunting, but every profession has universal skills. Whether these are critical thinking, organisation or project management skills, to emotive skills like curiosity, empathy or adaptability, these all translate more easily than you might think. My classroom-to-car-culture journey proved that great skills aren’t confined to one path, they’re tools you can carry anywhere, no matter where you go.

Truth be told, since I started working in the automotive industry, I've never wanted to leave. But, I do know people who have bounced between industry-to-industry, gaining some incredibly valuable skills and experience along the way. Even if the jump feels scary, you also have transferable skills that your chosen industry would be lucky to have. So, leverage that.

Want to continue following my story?

I regularly post about my professional journey and how my skills from teaching have transferred into how I work today. If you're interest to connect, find me on LinkedIn and let me know if you came via my blog!