International Teaching Seminars Blog

1. Enjoy Learning

Regard trainings as the antidote to all previous formal learning.

• Engage with your innate ability to learn, by learning as you did before you ever started formal education.

Ask yourself:

• “What is going to make it interesting for me to be here?”
• “What is going to affirm me in my sense of myself?”
• “What will allow me to learn in my own way?”

2. Know your Outcome

Ask yourself:

• “Why am I here?”
• “What do I want to achieve from being here?”
• “How will being here make a difference to my life?”

3. Be Curious

• Ask yourself “What am I curious about?”
• Be proactive in getting to know and working with other people. You will be amazed at the different world they have created for themselves.
• Test your reality!
• Know that the answer to “Doesn’t everybody do this?” is “No!”
• Be open to what happens rather than immediately judging it for yourself.
• Be willing to experience the unfamiliar. Tolerate not know and even some confusion.

4. Choose your State

Ask yourself:

• “What would be the best state for me to be in if I want to learn the most, and the most easily?”
• “What would the qualities of that state be?”
• “Do I have to be sitting down to learn?”

If you learn better by moving around, or standing, then feel free to do so, at the back or at the sides of the room.

5. Get a Different Perspective

• Move your position in the room frequently. In this way you will literally get a different perspective. The training is very different from different parts of the room.
• During demonstrations feel free to move so that you can see what is going on.

6. Ask Questions

You will find that many questions will arise.

• Be proactive in seeking answers – from yourself, from other participants, from the coaches or from the course trainer.
• Be curious. Questions draw things out of people which they may not have thought about before – and that includes the trainer.

7. Take notes – or not

Handouts will cover the essential points.

• Check out “Do I need to be taking notes? What is my preferred style? What will work best for me?” This may vary over time.
• You may find it useful to record your own responses to Ian’s questions.
• Date your notes, as it is often fascinating to notice how you are changing.
• Note any questions that arise during the training for you to ponder later. Often, as you gain more experience, you will find you get answers.

8. Use the Techniques

• When you are learning new NLP techniques, you will benefit most by working with issues that matter to you.
• You may want to play safe at first until you are sure that you can trust your psyche with other people, but in reality you will not have to disclose personal history unless you wish to. A lot of NLP content is free.

9. General points

• Have fun. Let go of taking too seriously. Develop your own flexibility.
• Know that it is OK to trance out. You will be processing from the inside.
• Model the course trainer. Be in rapport with him/her. Go to second position in order to find out where he is coming from, which representational systems he/she is using.
• Pay attention to your body signals. You may feel unusually alive or tired and need to ‘sleep on things’. You may notice you are having more vivid dreams…..

Do you have any suggestions that would help people who are new to NLP get the most from their NLP training? If so, feel free to leave a comment below.