How to Speak to Racing Drivers if You Want Them to Win

3 principles I use to help drivers get the most out of themselves, when I'm on my game that is!

This weeks paid subscriber only edition is about how to talk to racing drivers so you actually help them, rather than doing their head in, and exhausting yourself. I don’t get this perfect, but I would have been out of business (or in an institution) a long time ago if I didn’t suss this out.

A driver outside of a kart is like a fish out of water - if you don’t talk to them right, you needn’t bother - Photo from Stu Stretton

Drivers are a nightmare to deal with, especially when you are trying to help them. I know because when I was at a race track I couldn’t care less what anyone said to me - or maybe I was like that always!

So it’s easy to lose patience with them, and try to deliver hard truths - sometimes in a belittling manner. But really, it would be smart to treat them in a way that matches how we want them to turn out - as very high calibre individuals.

I want to see drivers become leaders, giants of humanity, and conquerors of their own limits.

I've got some core principles for communicating with them effectively (nicked from Carl Rogers mostly and adapted to racing) that is aimed towards that.

The goal is to help them grow and improve, not just as racers but as complete badasses in their own right.

Don’t worry: It's not about mollycoddling drivers or using cheap psychology tricks. In fact, drivers will quickly see through and shut down anything that smacks of fakery. Instead, it comes down to having genuine respect for them, understanding their unique perspective, and keeping it real.

I don’t get it perfect, and when I steer wide of the mark on these principles I pay the price. This means I lose the connection with the driver and it takes time to get it back.

Now they actually care about the solution. That's night and day better than them being controlled and instructed what to do. Drivers by their nature have to be the driver of their destiny, obviously… and if you tell them the answer, you just shot yourself in the foot!

Here’s the Core Principles I Use for Talking to Drivers