There is an inherent danger lurking within the expert/client or master/novice relationship that we all need to be mindful of...and it is this. Being an expert or master only exists within the boundaries of that particular expertise or mastery. Overriding all of this is the human and personal relationship - and in this none of us is an expert or a master. What differentiates us is our level of knowledge through experience, our level of empathy through understanding, our level of rapport through trust and synchronicity, and our level of acknowledgement through respect.
Communication and Learning are fluid and dynamic and should be a dialogue, should work both ways. Once we are comforable with this philosophy, then we cannot have anything but have a deep love and understanding of what brings us to how we are being as coaches, trainers, educators, mentors, facilitators and teachers.
I wrote a published article called "Acknowledge the Knowledge - and Spend it!" in which I illustrate the importance of the communication and learning dialogue. I also go on to point out why we should all "spend our knowledge" rather than hoard it - since Wisdom comes from spending our knowledge. Here is that article:-
Part of my acknowledgment of living is that I learn something new every day. This can be something experienced or something cognitively deduced or something insightful. Whichever way it is sourced, I always try to be true to acknowledging the wonder - and to thank the provider.
I believe it is part of what enables me to keep an open mind on everything and helps me maintain an understanding, a respect and a humility for my fellow humans.
Working a lot with children brings all these beliefs and values right up to the surface, in close proximity, and - by the very nature of coaching and teaching - it means that I spend a lot of time dispensing knowledge or routes to knowledge.
This is a relationship, however, and an equilibrium has to be maintained for this relationship to work best. All communication is a two way thing even though the balance of speak/hear, give/receive, talk/listen, show/copy, teach/learn etc ebbs and flows through the interactions of the relationship. There are times when I'm the learner/receiver and the child is the teacher/giver - its inevitable - it happens. And its at these times when I'm enthused, and I acknowledge the knowledge.
I love the look on a child's face when I thank them for helping ME learn something new today. They can't quite believe what they hear - because they are always used to knowledge, understandings, teachings, to be going in only one direction.
This acknowledgment builds and maintains rapport, which is essential for the teacher/learner or coach/client relationship to prosper, for learnings on both sides to be fostered. A few years back I discovered that by preframing every new school term of coaching visits by telling each class "For me, you are all geniuses - the thing is you don't yet know what you are geniuses at! Part of our journey of discovery this term is to discover what that might be," - that the outcomes in terms of learning skills through enjoyment for every pupil were momentous.
Knowledge is the currency of wisdom - and in the same way that money is worthless unless it is used - knowledge is worthless until it is used. Money and knowledge are purely means of exchange. Learning is an illusion until we use, or spend, the knowledge. To be clever, or artful, is of no use until the person converts their knowledge, uses their skills, for a purpose.
For now - all of us need to acknowledge the knowledge, and spend it!
Thursday, 31 March 2011
Friday, 11 March 2011
Creating Your Vision
Ever woken up and had a "Eureka" moment, where you have just seen the future and the career and life that you really want is visualised there, in front of you?
Many of us find ourselves in that situation more than once in a lifetime, and it fills us with purpose, energy and drive to do something positive and meaningful.
How many of us have actually "realised" this vision? Probably none of us.
There are several reasons for this:
1. We become fixed to the outcomes and circumstances rather than focussing on the task of 'creating' or 'building' the vision
2. We listen to the opinions and criticisms of the vision from others, and decide they must be right rather than trusting your own wisdom
3. We rationalise our situation and then find excuses and barriers to success
4. We become overwhelmed by our thoughts about all the possible outcomes, and convince ourselves that we cannot possibly "deliver the goods"
I can guarantee that you have displayed at least 1 of the 4 behaviours before in some form when planning action.
The key point here is to see that these are external influences that we are clinging onto. Everything you see above is a product of thought, not reality.
Take this example:
You set out that you want to give every client the body and lifestyle they desire. That they really can achieve anything they want with you training them.
This is your vision
No matter what, that will not change - if it is something you are truly passionate about and have come to you in one of 'those' moments I mentioned earlier
Having not created this or even started it, who is to say whether it will be successful or not?
Noone, not even you
The only way it will 100% NOT be successful is to not take the next step and start creating the vision
The phrase "paralysis by analysis" is a very apt one in this case, because to think too much about something is clouding your judgement with too many thoughts to really find the truly right option.
Some call this "getting to the heart of the matter"
A way to improve this when working with client's, and getting better results --> faster, is listening with no intent. The idea that by shutting off your conscious mind for a period of time, it will enable your wisdom to come through and find the perfect solution and set of objectives for you and your client.
Put this into practice and you will be well on the way to realising your client's vision, and I don't doubt, some way to realising your own.
Many of us find ourselves in that situation more than once in a lifetime, and it fills us with purpose, energy and drive to do something positive and meaningful.
How many of us have actually "realised" this vision? Probably none of us.
There are several reasons for this:
1. We become fixed to the outcomes and circumstances rather than focussing on the task of 'creating' or 'building' the vision
2. We listen to the opinions and criticisms of the vision from others, and decide they must be right rather than trusting your own wisdom
3. We rationalise our situation and then find excuses and barriers to success
4. We become overwhelmed by our thoughts about all the possible outcomes, and convince ourselves that we cannot possibly "deliver the goods"
I can guarantee that you have displayed at least 1 of the 4 behaviours before in some form when planning action.
The key point here is to see that these are external influences that we are clinging onto. Everything you see above is a product of thought, not reality.
Take this example:
You set out that you want to give every client the body and lifestyle they desire. That they really can achieve anything they want with you training them.
This is your vision
No matter what, that will not change - if it is something you are truly passionate about and have come to you in one of 'those' moments I mentioned earlier
Having not created this or even started it, who is to say whether it will be successful or not?
Noone, not even you
The only way it will 100% NOT be successful is to not take the next step and start creating the vision
The phrase "paralysis by analysis" is a very apt one in this case, because to think too much about something is clouding your judgement with too many thoughts to really find the truly right option.
Some call this "getting to the heart of the matter"
A way to improve this when working with client's, and getting better results --> faster, is listening with no intent. The idea that by shutting off your conscious mind for a period of time, it will enable your wisdom to come through and find the perfect solution and set of objectives for you and your client.
Put this into practice and you will be well on the way to realising your client's vision, and I don't doubt, some way to realising your own.
Wednesday, 9 February 2011
Communications #2 - The Reality Building
In my last post I concluded with arriving in the Reality Building – a building which receives the external raw data we experience through our senses and turns it into what we experience as reality. It is a building with five “senses doors” and filtering process desks some of which are labelled ‘Deletion’, ‘Distortion’ and ‘Generalization’.
Once everything we experience has come through these it gathers in the main hall – what we might call the “Hall of Now”. The “Hall of Now” is a wonderful place, a place where – if we so wish – we can stay through our entire waking consciousness. It can be a place where the ‘real’, for each one of us, exists and exists only. Everything about Now is to be found in the “Hall of Now” and nowhere else.
There is a useful thing to remember about Now - it's all that IS. The Past is gone, it was Now once, but is no longer. The Future has not happened yet. When it does happen it will be Now. The only place that is real is Now!
Everything that takes place in the “Hall of Now” is coded up and eventually sent to the “Hall of Memory” in order to make way for the constant stream of new input sensual data coming into the Reality Building. In the “Hall of Memory” it is processed with labels such as experience, knowledge, wisdom, belief, capability etc. It is held in the short term memory room, (a kind of waiting room or clearing house) before eventually being filed away in the various specific memory rooms.
In addition to the “Hall of Now” and the “Hall of Memory” there is the “Hall of the Future”. In the “Hall of the Future” all experience is imaginary, and we can programme this imaginary experience at a vast mixing console with enough choices and settings to last beyond a lifetime. Once we have programmed whatever scenario we want, then we can play it back to ourselves in the “Cinema of Attractions”.
Now these Halls I have just outlined all sound very straightforward, simple and easily recognisable. And when the atmosphere inside the Reality Building is clearer and purer – then that’s what each of the Halls is and does, plus a whole load more besides.
However this is the human mind and here nothing ever seems to work in a straightforward way!
• The “senses doors” can be wider, more open, or narrower or sometimes shut.
• The filtering process desks let some stuff through, and throw the rest out – based upon certain CRITERIA.
• The labelling and processing in the “Hall of Memory” codes and labels experiences based upon certain CRITERIA.
• The atmosphere in the Building is contaminated by dust – which we can consider as being thought. Clarity of thought = less contamination; have a lack of clarity and everything becomes clouded with too much scrambled thought.
In order to function at our best, we need to be aware of these points and recognise that most of these things are within our control.
• WE control a lot of the processes on the “senses doors”
• WE control the CRITERIA
• WE control the level of volume and activity of thought
This is very comforting and useful to know, and once we do know, everything proceeds on a much more ecological and beneficial basis.
Trouble is – our culture, our lifestyle, our upbringing, our education, everything we’ve experienced up until now has been based upon NOT knowing about the nature of the Reality Building. And so – for better or for worse – we have lived our lives at the mercy of events, at the mercy of others, and – more significantly - at the mercy of our beliefs and at the mercy of our behavioural programmes – both of which go to make up our “Maps of the World”.
One of the ‘pillars’ of NLP is the quote “The Map is not the Territory” – and it is a representation we need to understand in terms of improving our communications with both our clients, colleagues and ourselves.
For now, consider the nature of the Reality Building and how it functions, and how much control is actually within our grasp. The next Communications Model blog will look at those controls and criteria, and examine some of the Halls in more detail.
Once everything we experience has come through these it gathers in the main hall – what we might call the “Hall of Now”. The “Hall of Now” is a wonderful place, a place where – if we so wish – we can stay through our entire waking consciousness. It can be a place where the ‘real’, for each one of us, exists and exists only. Everything about Now is to be found in the “Hall of Now” and nowhere else.
There is a useful thing to remember about Now - it's all that IS. The Past is gone, it was Now once, but is no longer. The Future has not happened yet. When it does happen it will be Now. The only place that is real is Now!
Everything that takes place in the “Hall of Now” is coded up and eventually sent to the “Hall of Memory” in order to make way for the constant stream of new input sensual data coming into the Reality Building. In the “Hall of Memory” it is processed with labels such as experience, knowledge, wisdom, belief, capability etc. It is held in the short term memory room, (a kind of waiting room or clearing house) before eventually being filed away in the various specific memory rooms.
In addition to the “Hall of Now” and the “Hall of Memory” there is the “Hall of the Future”. In the “Hall of the Future” all experience is imaginary, and we can programme this imaginary experience at a vast mixing console with enough choices and settings to last beyond a lifetime. Once we have programmed whatever scenario we want, then we can play it back to ourselves in the “Cinema of Attractions”.
Now these Halls I have just outlined all sound very straightforward, simple and easily recognisable. And when the atmosphere inside the Reality Building is clearer and purer – then that’s what each of the Halls is and does, plus a whole load more besides.
However this is the human mind and here nothing ever seems to work in a straightforward way!
• The “senses doors” can be wider, more open, or narrower or sometimes shut.
• The filtering process desks let some stuff through, and throw the rest out – based upon certain CRITERIA.
• The labelling and processing in the “Hall of Memory” codes and labels experiences based upon certain CRITERIA.
• The atmosphere in the Building is contaminated by dust – which we can consider as being thought. Clarity of thought = less contamination; have a lack of clarity and everything becomes clouded with too much scrambled thought.
In order to function at our best, we need to be aware of these points and recognise that most of these things are within our control.
• WE control a lot of the processes on the “senses doors”
• WE control the CRITERIA
• WE control the level of volume and activity of thought
This is very comforting and useful to know, and once we do know, everything proceeds on a much more ecological and beneficial basis.
Trouble is – our culture, our lifestyle, our upbringing, our education, everything we’ve experienced up until now has been based upon NOT knowing about the nature of the Reality Building. And so – for better or for worse – we have lived our lives at the mercy of events, at the mercy of others, and – more significantly - at the mercy of our beliefs and at the mercy of our behavioural programmes – both of which go to make up our “Maps of the World”.
One of the ‘pillars’ of NLP is the quote “The Map is not the Territory” – and it is a representation we need to understand in terms of improving our communications with both our clients, colleagues and ourselves.
For now, consider the nature of the Reality Building and how it functions, and how much control is actually within our grasp. The next Communications Model blog will look at those controls and criteria, and examine some of the Halls in more detail.
Thursday, 3 February 2011
The Mindset of "Work in Progress"
Work in Progress is a very useful mindset to adopt in terms of both training our clients, and also our own training and skills acquisition. We live in a results-oriented world of instant success, instant gratification, and very often these days the judgement of whether something is working is far too premature. The resulting action is usually to scrap it, abandon it, and start something else....in the almost clairvoyant knowledge that a few weeks further down the line we are going to abandon that as well.
These are the enduring reasons why people give up on new year resolutions, diets fail, exercise plans collapse through non-attendance etc.
Its very easy to justify our inadequacies to ourselves by being perennially judgemental and perfectionist - and out of those "failures" comes lower self-esteem, depression, lack of motivation, and a miriad of negative emotions.
So part of our inter-client communication should be the preframed understanding that our clients are on a journey of rediscovering themselves, and that this journey is dynamic and progressive...and that judgements at any stage are not going to inherently benefit this progress.
As an illustration, here is a coaching article I wrote about "Work in Progress" as a mindset:-
Its a simple enough phrase..."Work in Progress"...
And yet I've discovered that when using it with sportspeople (especially the younger ones), that it actually liberates them from any performance shortcomings where (more often than not) they would hang their heads, beat themselves up, and all the other attributes that go with our culture of instant success, instant gratification, instant...you name it!!
So what is the power behind these 3 words?
1. Well, have a look at the presuppositions when the player hears my response to their assessment of how they've played.
PL: "It went X, I did Y, I didn't do Z, I forgot to do M and I made a mistake with N."
PW: "Yes - and lets be realistic now. These parts of your game - it's work in progress."
What is it? It's work > which presupposes they are putting some effort into the activity away from competition. Which means they are motivated and active towards getting to grips with these parts of their game.
What's happening to the work? It's in progress > which presupposes its on the move from A to B and is improving, getting better. This implies positive and purposeful outcomes are already taking place.
2. Liberating emotional possession of competition errors.
What is the work in progress? IT is! (a nice little impersonal IT) > which actually puts a space between (1) the errors and imperfections of the performance and (2) the player themselves, by introducing that neutral and unemotional wedge (3), IT (ie the work being done to improve those particular parts of their game).
3. No impatient time constraints.
There's no start or finish to Work In Progress either - just a plan, programme and record of improvement, accelerated or organic. These are process goals related to levels of competency, for which the acquisition timescale has never been set.
Part of the difference between my approach to young players and say those of the non-coaching fraternity (ie just adult players etc) - is this very point of detaching the emotional effect of errors of performance from the players themselves. When players are bombarded with a continual chorus of "You should do X" and "You mustn't do Y" and (perhaps the funniest of all) "Don't forget to remember to do Z" - heavens, how confusing is that - these remarks are miles away from my "Keep on with the Plan - because this is all Work In Progress."
Try it on yourself, or with the next client you see displaying "perfectionist" symptoms - and notice the effect this mindset brings about.....
These are the enduring reasons why people give up on new year resolutions, diets fail, exercise plans collapse through non-attendance etc.
Its very easy to justify our inadequacies to ourselves by being perennially judgemental and perfectionist - and out of those "failures" comes lower self-esteem, depression, lack of motivation, and a miriad of negative emotions.
So part of our inter-client communication should be the preframed understanding that our clients are on a journey of rediscovering themselves, and that this journey is dynamic and progressive...and that judgements at any stage are not going to inherently benefit this progress.
As an illustration, here is a coaching article I wrote about "Work in Progress" as a mindset:-
Its a simple enough phrase..."Work in Progress"...
And yet I've discovered that when using it with sportspeople (especially the younger ones), that it actually liberates them from any performance shortcomings where (more often than not) they would hang their heads, beat themselves up, and all the other attributes that go with our culture of instant success, instant gratification, instant...you name it!!
So what is the power behind these 3 words?
1. Well, have a look at the presuppositions when the player hears my response to their assessment of how they've played.
PL: "It went X, I did Y, I didn't do Z, I forgot to do M and I made a mistake with N."
PW: "Yes - and lets be realistic now. These parts of your game - it's work in progress."
What is it? It's work > which presupposes they are putting some effort into the activity away from competition. Which means they are motivated and active towards getting to grips with these parts of their game.
What's happening to the work? It's in progress > which presupposes its on the move from A to B and is improving, getting better. This implies positive and purposeful outcomes are already taking place.
2. Liberating emotional possession of competition errors.
What is the work in progress? IT is! (a nice little impersonal IT) > which actually puts a space between (1) the errors and imperfections of the performance and (2) the player themselves, by introducing that neutral and unemotional wedge (3), IT (ie the work being done to improve those particular parts of their game).
3. No impatient time constraints.
There's no start or finish to Work In Progress either - just a plan, programme and record of improvement, accelerated or organic. These are process goals related to levels of competency, for which the acquisition timescale has never been set.
Part of the difference between my approach to young players and say those of the non-coaching fraternity (ie just adult players etc) - is this very point of detaching the emotional effect of errors of performance from the players themselves. When players are bombarded with a continual chorus of "You should do X" and "You mustn't do Y" and (perhaps the funniest of all) "Don't forget to remember to do Z" - heavens, how confusing is that - these remarks are miles away from my "Keep on with the Plan - because this is all Work In Progress."
Try it on yourself, or with the next client you see displaying "perfectionist" symptoms - and notice the effect this mindset brings about.....
Wednesday, 26 January 2011
Communications #1 - How we make Reality
As one of my gurus, Jamie Smart, has often said – “as human being beings we are made for a world of things and experience.”
And how we, as individuals, process that world of things and experience to make sense of it all, is hugely individual and subjective.
The world and everything around us is made up of a continuing and unending stream of data, probably around 2 million bits of data at any one time. In our interaction with the world, we accept information in through our senses. With all the information coming in through our 5 senses, the volume is vast - so much so that if we were to try and make a cognitive and conscious analysis of it all, then there would be literally no time left for us to do anything else.
It is well documented that consciously we can deal with seven + or – two bits of information at a time – so a threshold of between 5 and 9. (If you think of how we mentally store phone numbers, you can see clearly why we break them up into more easily remembered groupings rather than try and remember them in one long string of data.) It is also known that our minds can broadly accept about 132 bits of information per second – which is a long way from the 2 million!
So how do we cope with this endless stream without blowing our minds and pare the 2 million down to 132?
Well it’s all done through a series of filters, where we focus and gather information, then DELETE, GENERALIZE or DISTORT that information based upon our ‘models’ of the world, our memories and our beliefs.
In order to make sense of anything, we run what we see (Visual), hear (Auditory), feel (Kinaesthetic), smell (Olfactory) and taste (Gustatory) past what we already know by way of experienced memory or believe to be true. By doing this we are hoping to find a match to help process the data and thus make sense of what we perceive as reality. But since yours, mine, his, hers and their maps of the world are all different in some degree – then it stands to reason that we will all perceive things differently. Even if we are all present at the same event, we will all have a different representation of that event.
Now, our beliefs are a very important part of how we make up our reality because our beliefs help to draw focus into our sensory filters. According to Roberts Dilts and Tim Hallbom :- “A belief is an idea that you hold to be true and it shapes your sense of reality about the world. It’s a classic example of a Neuro-Linguistic Programme.”
So as you can see, the “World out there” is not a constant thing, it is whatever we make it up to be. And the interesting thing about that is that it places us in the position of choice about our world and not as being dependent its consequences. What is commonly known as “Being at Cause” rather than “Being at Effect”.
At this point in the topic of “reality” there are a number of directions that we can take. This is rather like coming into the foyer or vestibule of a large building (perhaps a railway terminus) and then deciding which way to go to get to the room (or the train) we want. The most important thing at this stage is that we have made it into the building!
In the course of our practical workshops, this journey into “The Reality Building” is illustrated through sensual experience and exploration so gaining a greater understanding of the “Building” from the outside. This will give you greater knowledge about how we already construct our model of communications with both ourselves and others, and how we can broaden this and learn how to improve and enhance our communications.
And how we, as individuals, process that world of things and experience to make sense of it all, is hugely individual and subjective.
The world and everything around us is made up of a continuing and unending stream of data, probably around 2 million bits of data at any one time. In our interaction with the world, we accept information in through our senses. With all the information coming in through our 5 senses, the volume is vast - so much so that if we were to try and make a cognitive and conscious analysis of it all, then there would be literally no time left for us to do anything else.
It is well documented that consciously we can deal with seven + or – two bits of information at a time – so a threshold of between 5 and 9. (If you think of how we mentally store phone numbers, you can see clearly why we break them up into more easily remembered groupings rather than try and remember them in one long string of data.) It is also known that our minds can broadly accept about 132 bits of information per second – which is a long way from the 2 million!
So how do we cope with this endless stream without blowing our minds and pare the 2 million down to 132?
Well it’s all done through a series of filters, where we focus and gather information, then DELETE, GENERALIZE or DISTORT that information based upon our ‘models’ of the world, our memories and our beliefs.
In order to make sense of anything, we run what we see (Visual), hear (Auditory), feel (Kinaesthetic), smell (Olfactory) and taste (Gustatory) past what we already know by way of experienced memory or believe to be true. By doing this we are hoping to find a match to help process the data and thus make sense of what we perceive as reality. But since yours, mine, his, hers and their maps of the world are all different in some degree – then it stands to reason that we will all perceive things differently. Even if we are all present at the same event, we will all have a different representation of that event.
Now, our beliefs are a very important part of how we make up our reality because our beliefs help to draw focus into our sensory filters. According to Roberts Dilts and Tim Hallbom :- “A belief is an idea that you hold to be true and it shapes your sense of reality about the world. It’s a classic example of a Neuro-Linguistic Programme.”
So as you can see, the “World out there” is not a constant thing, it is whatever we make it up to be. And the interesting thing about that is that it places us in the position of choice about our world and not as being dependent its consequences. What is commonly known as “Being at Cause” rather than “Being at Effect”.
At this point in the topic of “reality” there are a number of directions that we can take. This is rather like coming into the foyer or vestibule of a large building (perhaps a railway terminus) and then deciding which way to go to get to the room (or the train) we want. The most important thing at this stage is that we have made it into the building!
In the course of our practical workshops, this journey into “The Reality Building” is illustrated through sensual experience and exploration so gaining a greater understanding of the “Building” from the outside. This will give you greater knowledge about how we already construct our model of communications with both ourselves and others, and how we can broaden this and learn how to improve and enhance our communications.
Thursday, 13 January 2011
5 Ways to Improve Your Week
When was the last time you had a good day at work?
Where everything just went right, you had a smile on your face and time just flew by?
For some of us, it would have been recent, others maybe slightly longer.
What about having that feeling for a whole week?
I guarantee that the number would significantly drop in this case.
The question should be, why?
Why is a great day so great? What makes it special?
In our industry, we are really passionate about training and its benefits, but it is something that we enjoy more....helping people. I'm willing to offer that the great days are made by having great 1-2-1 or group conversations or sessions where everyone has taken something from them.
The key to our industry and having a long and rewarding career in it, is to relate to our customers and give them the best service possible so they keep coming back.
So.....here are 5 ways to make this feeling last forever, day in, day out:
1. Add Value
When you see someone on the gym floor, or even entering the club, greet them. It can be as simple as a sincere "Hi, how are you?" or "Can I help?". Conversation starters can be a lame as you like, but then add value to someone. Give them directions to somewhere, if they look at what you are doing on the gym floor get them involved, pay them a compliment, and get them more invested in the conversation and more importantly, in you.
2. Build Rapport
No relationship, however formal, can develop positively without rapport. It is the building block of a relationship. Adding value may "get you in the door", but work on ways to build rapport. Remembering someone's name is a simple and effective way of building rapport, and they will automatically invest further in your conversation because they will feel a need to remember your name, and so your rapport with them gets deeper. Other examples could be developing conversations to talk about what a client has done in the recent past, particularly after major holiday periods when they will have a lot to talk about.
3. Abundance
Professionally, not really something we think about, but it is true of any social/professional circle - the more people you talk to, the more opportunities come your way. This is a great way to think about your own professional relationships, and how to build them with clients. Talk to everyone on the gym floor in the club, make eye contact, but be polite not overbearing and ultimately try your best to add value wherever you can. Then you have a reason to be there, talking to that person and the conversation seems genuine. A fantastic "client getter"
4. Enjoyment
Ok, probably sounds like im struggling for more ways......but hear me out.
Lets say you do 20 sessions a week with clients..
How many can you say "I really enjoyed working with that person"?
I can honestly say that a mix of 1,2 and 3 will help, but challenge yourself to be enthusiastic and passionate about every client you work with.
Before each session think "My client is going to leave with a massive smile on their face, and im going to make it happen". Get them to achieve something they have never achieved before, and something that they wanted to do! This is will give you massive job satisfaction, and give you much much more repeat business.
5. Listen and learn
Think of the client consultations you do.....and now think about what you talk about with clients?
Usually, we can all say that its "what goals have you got?", "how many times a week do/will you come to the gym?", "what training experience have you had?", "what do you like to do in the gym?"
I would offer you that if you ask one question "why did you join the gym?" and then listen to your client with nothing on your mind for 10 minutes, you will get everything you need to know about that person, and will find a solution that you never saw before. Even if they go silent for a moment, leave them to fill the silence and see what comes out.
Worst case scenario, you have had a really relaxing 10 minutes........but I guarantee that's not even close to what you get!
Try these and post back your thoughts, we would love to hear them
Where everything just went right, you had a smile on your face and time just flew by?
For some of us, it would have been recent, others maybe slightly longer.
What about having that feeling for a whole week?
I guarantee that the number would significantly drop in this case.
The question should be, why?
Why is a great day so great? What makes it special?
In our industry, we are really passionate about training and its benefits, but it is something that we enjoy more....helping people. I'm willing to offer that the great days are made by having great 1-2-1 or group conversations or sessions where everyone has taken something from them.
The key to our industry and having a long and rewarding career in it, is to relate to our customers and give them the best service possible so they keep coming back.
So.....here are 5 ways to make this feeling last forever, day in, day out:
1. Add Value
When you see someone on the gym floor, or even entering the club, greet them. It can be as simple as a sincere "Hi, how are you?" or "Can I help?". Conversation starters can be a lame as you like, but then add value to someone. Give them directions to somewhere, if they look at what you are doing on the gym floor get them involved, pay them a compliment, and get them more invested in the conversation and more importantly, in you.
2. Build Rapport
No relationship, however formal, can develop positively without rapport. It is the building block of a relationship. Adding value may "get you in the door", but work on ways to build rapport. Remembering someone's name is a simple and effective way of building rapport, and they will automatically invest further in your conversation because they will feel a need to remember your name, and so your rapport with them gets deeper. Other examples could be developing conversations to talk about what a client has done in the recent past, particularly after major holiday periods when they will have a lot to talk about.
3. Abundance
Professionally, not really something we think about, but it is true of any social/professional circle - the more people you talk to, the more opportunities come your way. This is a great way to think about your own professional relationships, and how to build them with clients. Talk to everyone on the gym floor in the club, make eye contact, but be polite not overbearing and ultimately try your best to add value wherever you can. Then you have a reason to be there, talking to that person and the conversation seems genuine. A fantastic "client getter"
4. Enjoyment
Ok, probably sounds like im struggling for more ways......but hear me out.
Lets say you do 20 sessions a week with clients..
How many can you say "I really enjoyed working with that person"?
I can honestly say that a mix of 1,2 and 3 will help, but challenge yourself to be enthusiastic and passionate about every client you work with.
Before each session think "My client is going to leave with a massive smile on their face, and im going to make it happen". Get them to achieve something they have never achieved before, and something that they wanted to do! This is will give you massive job satisfaction, and give you much much more repeat business.
5. Listen and learn
Think of the client consultations you do.....and now think about what you talk about with clients?
Usually, we can all say that its "what goals have you got?", "how many times a week do/will you come to the gym?", "what training experience have you had?", "what do you like to do in the gym?"
I would offer you that if you ask one question "why did you join the gym?" and then listen to your client with nothing on your mind for 10 minutes, you will get everything you need to know about that person, and will find a solution that you never saw before. Even if they go silent for a moment, leave them to fill the silence and see what comes out.
Worst case scenario, you have had a really relaxing 10 minutes........but I guarantee that's not even close to what you get!
Try these and post back your thoughts, we would love to hear them
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