WORLD-CLASS TRAINERS AND PRESENTERS Want to be a Part of it?

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From: L. Michael Hall
Meta Reflections – 2010 – #14
March 24,  2010

WORLD-CLASS TRAINERS

AND PRESENTERS

Want to be a Part of it?

Once upon a time many, many years ago, Richard Bandler invited me to attend his training of trainers program and to write the “notes” on that program.  So I did.  And the title of the book that resulted is, Becoming More Ferocious as a Trainer (1990).  And given Mr. B’s focus and style, being ferocious makes perfect sense(!).  Years passed and so did the ninety-million-dollar lawsuit against the field of NLP and the beginning of Neuro-Semantics.  A few more years and suddenly there were enough Neuro-Semanticists around the world clamoring for their own Training of Trainers program.  And that’s where this story begins.

Now I had been an NLP Trainer for many years, I had trained dozens of both NLP Practitioner Trainings, and Master Pracs. and hundreds of APG courses.  I had also been around the community observing the best and brightest of NLP Trainers.  Further, I had read the books available in this field, but even with all that, I knew that we really didn’t have any “World-Class Trainers” in this field.  Sure we have one world-class Entertainer, who even to this day still brings more people into NLP than anyone else, Anthony Robbins.  But “World-Class Trainers?”  I don’t think so.

So, I began looking outside this field, observing at Conferences and workshops, reading, and interviewing.  And from that beginning I began putting together Neuro-Semantic Trainers Training for NLP and Neuro-Semantic Trainers (NSTT).  In the first trainings, I added what no other NLP Trainers’ Training had—the Meta-States model and hence “the Genius Trainer State,” Un-insultability, Presence of Mind under Pressure, Releasing of Judgment, etc.  Yet even with that, I still knew that was not enough.  Something else was needed if we were to develop highly effective trainers and from them would arise some truly world-class trainers.

I knew it wasn’t enough because in the field of Training and Development, there was no real lack of knowing the key competencies for an effective trainer.  The lack wasn’t in identifying the skill-set of an effective public speaker, presenter, or trainer.  The lack was in how to measure the skills and how to use the measurements to facilitate the development of the competencies.  And because this was the same problem we faced when we began Meta-Coaching, it shouldn’t be any surprise that we solved the problem of both by the Benchmarking Model.

What is the skill-set of an Effective Trainer, Presenter, and Public Speaker?

  • Rapport with the group (group rapport).
  • Engagement of the group participants’ mind and heart (Engagement).
  • Clarity, variation, and emphasis in one’s voice (effective use of voice).
  • Systematic use of non-verbal expressions, movements, gestures (spatial anchoring).
  • The experiential presentation of the content (state induction).
  • The framing of the content and learning processes (framing).
  • The formatting of the presentation in different learning styles (4-matting).

While there are more, these are the basic seven for effectiveness (we have others for Mastery).  We then identified behavioral expressions of these from the level of no-competency to little competence, some, average amount, lots, great amount, fantastic amount.  Benchmarking the language, expressions, behaviors, and indicators of these core presentation skills allows us today to provide a feedback mirror to trainers so that they know precisely how they are doing, where they are in their skill development, and where next.

That’s the key.  When you know where you are, you also know the next step for taking your skills to a higher level of excellence.  That’s the power of benchmarking.  It provides a way to shape behavior and provide an experiential basis for development.

  • Can you present and train with elegance, power, and charisma?
  • Do you have the inner knowing and confidence that your skills are effective?  Would you like to?
  • Would you like to be able to effectively influence the minds and hearts of people in a transformative way when you stand up?

NSTT begins with 5 days of these Platform Skills followed up by 3 more days of Training Skills.  Then there are 3 days of The Psychology of APG followed by 3 more days of Business Skills.  And there’s more.

Beginning in 2004 I have been looking for the most skilled, most successful, and most effective trainers among Neuro-Semanticists that I could find.  We even began the Master Trainer track to groom and develop higher skilled trainers.  Why?  I think it obvious.  If you want to learn the highest Presentation and Training skills — you need to train with people who can actually demonstrate those skills.  This year our first Master Trainer, Colin Cox along with Omar Salom will be co-training NSTT with me.  We will also have several other highly effective Trainers at the training.

Now a warning.  This is not for the faint of heart! You will be presenting everyday, and everyday you will be benchmarked on the skills that you demonstrate.  And with every presentation, you will receive immediate sensory-based feedback on how you used your voice, gestures, movements, how you engaged the group, got or did not get rapport, and on the content you present!  I only recommend this for those who have a robust sense of self, a commitment to self-development, and a passion to stretch to the highest limits of what’s possible for you.

Are you that kind of person?  If so, the NSTT may be the training for you.  Mere attendance will not qualify you for certification; you have to develop and demonstrate competency!  And if you don’t make it in the two-weeks, you will be supported afterwards until you develop the required competency.  That’s our commitment to you.  If you are already a NLP trainer, we have a special process for you as we recognize your previous trainings.