NLP trainers and NLP students giving workshops on the topic often come to me for my advise, or wish to re-train with me to update their skill set with me as a senior trainer who has seen and done it all: not just students of all flavors (and challenges), but even calamities inside the training venue. I would say things calmed down a long time ago for me, because the crystal ball gets a little clearer, and our experience allows us to create balanced NLP classes, where the biggest wave is the one of students’ personal breakthroughs.
10 NLP Trainers training tricks:
Tip 1: 70/30 Comfort rule:
For new NLP trainers in training I recommend staying AT LEAST in 70% comfort with both the topic and any possible demonstrations you may do. If that is a full NLP Practitioner, great. If it is not, organize smaller workshops first. The 70% comfort will make it possible for you to maintain a resourceful state, this is required to offer your students a better quality. Comfort, I regard content that you know at expert level, and demonstrations you have done in private many times over. The 30% discomfort allows you to learn, which allows you to offer a better training in the future.
Tip 2: Course Design is Key
Often people want to give all the credit to the NLP Trainer. This is actually false, and either ignored or underestimated by anyone who ever trained me at any level of NLP. I was lucky enough to learn course design in college, as well as practice initially designing workshops for kids between 5-15 years of age. I was able to slowly diversify my target groups and content. In the industry it is often assumed that a trainer is automatically also a course designer. This is false, and is like assuming that a musician can also always compose music. I think the difference is even larger, especially in NLP training. A stellar course design defines the experience of the student, the quality of the training, and the amount of learning. It is the very foundation that you stand on as an NLP trainer.
Tip 3: Design on the 30% up and the 30% interesting challenge.
In designing a workshop or an NLP class, base your design on the material being appealing in these different ways: It should engage the 30% of star students on their level, but also engage on another level the 30% on the opposite end which is the students who have an interesting challenge. Appeal to both, and you will walk away with an extremely high satisfactory rate from our client.
Tip 4: Find the Rapport Leader
Building rapport is crucial. I teach my NLP Trainers during their training to spot the rapport leader in the room. Here is a video on the topic: [youtube]https://youtu.be/lDGI82F_ijQ[/youtube]
Tip 5: Build Rapport with Everyone – Step into Maps & Hearts
While tip number 4 is my official technical advice, tip number 5 says you are to build rapport with everyone. This goes a little further than scanning all over the room with your eyes. It also doesn’t mean you have to mingle every break with the students (you also need your rest.) It goes a long way to not see a group as a group, but as a collection of individuals who with your help become a group. Each person has their own map of the world, and their own experience of life and of the training. I find if you choose to truly “see” people, with that I mean not noticing their looks, but their hearts, it goes a long way. People feel that. I find the best NLP trainers training you can give yourself, is to always ask yourself: “Who is this person? What is their story? What makes them interesting and cool?”
Part II will come next week on this blog.
By the way, I think the first thing that should be taught in an NLP trainers training is that it is a requirement to know and remember all of your students names.
