I increasingly get requests to train around the world and teach my PCW model of communication in USA, Asia, Europe and the UK. Its a real privilege to be hosted across the planet and in this year alone I will have run trainings in the USA, Japan, Austria and Russia. Next year I already have trainings booked for USA, Poland, Austria, India, with Russia dates soon to be confirmed.

Often I am working with translators and this teaches me to be concise with my explanations and teaching. This also means a significant amount of organization and planning. Japan has been the most visited country in recent years and I’ll be in Moscow next week for the first time.

For those interested in hosting me, please e-mail info@nickkemp.com

I am lucky in my work that I get to travel the world over and this means experiencing dealing with all kinds of services. Here are some of my personal experiences of the best and worst customer service to date. Of course these are subjective opinions and customer service can improve and go down hill at any time!

The best customer service

My experience generally has always been that the USA has been really good for customer service. I have traveled all over the USA and some of my favorite cities include New York, Nashville, San Francisco, Austin and Seattle. Stores and restaurants are usually of a very high standard and its unusual to find poor customer service. Some of the best stores include B and H Photo and Rudy’s Music in NYC, Wild Ginger restaurant also in NYC and Hill Country Guitars (no longer open) in Austin Texas.

The USA was always my reference point, until I traveled to Japan. Japan is a whole different level of customer service, quite mind blowing. All my experiences in Japan have been superb. The transport system is fantastic, with the bullet train being the gold standard for rail travel. All the hotels I have stayed in have been excellent and the Japanese really understand and appreciate the value of looking after clients.

Airlines

I travel a lot, especially to Asia, USA and Europe. The best airline experiences have been with Etihad and Emirates. Both have had terrific service, great food and crucially great communication with customers. I always know I am in safe hands with these companies. KLM used to be great, BUT once they merged with Delta, they went downhill. In recent times British Airways have been good.

The Worst customer service experiences

I often talk about the worst customer experiences in trainings. Sometimes I am speechless at how unaware some companies are. In the UK PC World get the award for the worst service. I have literally been in a store with cash ready to buy an item and all they have to do is put it in a bag and still they manage to have me leave the store! Sometimes its lack of product knowledge and sometimes they simply don’t care.

As well as physical stores, customer service online can be variable. Again many businesses don’t appreciate that it doesn’t take much to have good manners when dealing with people. The best example in recent times was on a social media platform called Drooble where I asked a few probing questions about some of the paid services they were offering. Rather than respond in a polite manner I received the following hilarious response

Plamen Todorov@ you are one annoying ****, aren’t you? Learn to appreciate what others are doing for you instead of hating! It’s so simple, if you don’t like it, don’t use it – I promise, not gonna wipe out my tears!

Now that’s how to lose customers! LOL

I first came across NLP in the 1990s and attended a 7 day accelerated NLP training. It was fantastic entertainment and opened up my eyes to a whole world of possibilities. There were over 300 attendees on the London course and it cost 499 pounds plus VAT. Without doubt it was one of the best investments I have ever made. The trainers were highly entertaining and the crowd loved the spectacle which included a great deal of whooping by the assisting team and the whole event was like a rock concert or some may say an old school evangelist meeting. After the week long event I received my formal NLP practitioner certification which many attending described as their “NLP qualification”

I went on to complete numerous other NLP training’s including NLP Meta Master Practitioner, NLP Master Practitioner and NLP Trainer. From 2003 I ran my own certificated NLP training before focusing on developing the PCW model. There were (and remain) core elements in the NLP tool box that I love that have proved invaluable in developing my own work, but I also felt there was a great deal of superfluous material. From 2001 to 2005 I assisted on many of the same company’s NLP training’s which finally gave me the chance to better integrate the skills. Without this additional “fly time” I would never have made much sense of the approach.

Those of us on the NLP practitioner were encouraged to book onto the NLP Master Practitioner and those on the NLP Master Practitioner were encouraged to book on the NLP Trainer Training. Nothing wrong with that, except many people would attend all the courses back to back so in a few weeks would become NLP Trainers with minimal time for practice and integration.

NLP events with multiple certifications?

In recent years I have noticed a trend for even more accelerated and what some call boutique NLP training’s. These are event more condensed with the promise of multiple certifications in just a few weeks. OK, fair enough some people like collecting certifications. I have yet to see anyone attending such events having a good understanding and working knowledge of how to use these skills. Of course some such students may exist, but it seems that this style of event literally bombards students with information and the ad copy seems endless and I’m half expecting the trainer to throw in a George Foreman barbecue set as an additional perk!

I’m highly dubious about this kind of teaching and over two decades of meeting NLP folks from all over the world reinforces this view. Maybe it’e me but we seem to be in a new era of crazy where the imagined status in NLP trumps any skills integration. Promises of “start a new career” and “change your life in just a few weeks” seem rampant online. Those promoting such events, frame certifications as “qualifications” and even certification bodies sometimes fail to check online copy, so some characters hype their certification status to attract more customers. I’ve seen claims of “internationally respected NLP Master trainer” where there seems to be no actual evidence of the person ever achieving this level of training. Terms like “Master Coach” may sound terrific to the wider public, but personally I am unconvinced by such status seeking. I remember Frank Farrelly (creator of Provocative Therapy) comment “How on earth is anyone going to be a master of anything in just a few weeks?”

Check out the trainer’s history

Before booking on any training, my advice is to check a trainer’s history and I don’t mean all the certifications they have collected! Some people are like magpies and collect such information like scouts collecting badges. Look at how the trainer is using the skills in daily life. If they put out videos, how well are these communicated in terms of language and pace. I’ve seen some footage where the trainer is like an announcer for the Grand National, they are speaking at such speed!

I’m a big fan of trainers who see private clients or who can demonstrate using the skills in a business or coaching context. I’ve heard stories of people spending thousands on accelerated courses with no real insight into what they learned. The idea of “unconscious installation” is a wonderful idea to inoculate against all concerns of not understanding content, but I am personally unconvinced that this translates into actual usable skills.

Conclusion

Everyone will have a preferred style of learning, but my suggestion is to really consider what you are signing up up before spending thousands on a training. Some very expensive trainings have just a 24 hour cooling off period once you have paid…
I would also ignore any “certification” suggestions as these are essentially meaningless in this era where there are no agreed universal standards for NLP and are really just records of attendance.

Like any investment, my advice is to do proper research and not be persuaded by a hard sell phone call or sales presentation at front of stage. Often introductory events are geared to attract people for up selling to far more expensive training’s. There are many superb trainers out there, but all the ones I recommend favour longer training periods where attendees can properly integrate skills. NLP when taught in an ethical and well considered manner can be hugely rewarding and my hope is that these core skills can be made available to a wider audience who fully appreciate the need to proper integration and learning.

(Originally published in Rapport magazine)

I first came across NLP over two decades ago and it changed my life, Without NLP I would never have heard about Frank Farrelly and developed the PCW model that I now teach in UK, Europe, USA and Asia. NLP as a brand has numerous problems which are mostly self-created. The heart of this is the incongruity about what is claimed by using these skills and what can be demonstrated in real life.

If you are one of those people who states, “You’re bashing NLP”, best skip the rest of this article. If you are still reading, then I would respectfully point out that its only through reflection and critical thinking that we expand our thinking and NLP is no different in this respect.

The public perception of NLP

My own experience from talking to the public is that often they are confused by all the different explanations on what NLP is and myriad ways in which it is taught. Even the two co-creators have very different views and there are no uniform standards. I hear that at least one group of NLP trainers after many years debate, still can’t agree on a definition of what NLP actually is!In this internet era, hyped claims about NLP are very common, but in my view not that helpful in generating credibility for the skill set. There seems to be a trend of NLP enthusiasts now presenting themselves as wizards, sages and shaman which personally I find a bit odd!
I have attended NLP trainings where a trainer will regularly exaggerate and embellish stories year on year to a ludicrous level where I feel I am in Monty Pythons “Four Yorkshiremen” sketch. It’s not helpful and many in the NLP world would in my view, greatly benefit from dialing back some of these assertions and this would present a better more congruent image to the wider public.
If all this sounds a bit nuts, this is all before we even look at trainers claiming to be stunt doubles for film stars, possessing magical telepathic powers and others claiming “100% success rate with all client issues” in one session. This last example is when I know the practitioner has reached a new level of delusional thinking. I applaud the enthusiasm, but when there’s zero evidence this is certainly not “walking the talk”

The problem with focusing on personality

Some who are critical of NLP talk about it in terms of pyramid selling and note that many training companies focus on getting the public to complete a series of courses, often at great expense. There is often a presumption that the mass population need “motivating” which reminds me of classic religious evangelism. Nothing wrong with that, but it’s a long way from developing critical thinking. When the focus is on the personality of the trainer, rather than developing skills this can unwittingly promotes a cult of personality.
I remember posters marketed by one training company with a photo of the trainer stating, “Trainer X taught me EVERYTHING I know”. Film titles like “I am NOT your guru” perfectly creates a “guru association”. This is fine if you want to join a group, but I have always marveled how NLP genuinely allows us to think for ourselves. The tragedy in my opinion is that I’ve seen many such trainers do superb work and they would in my view be far better highlighting where they “walk the talk.”

Let’s end on a positive note

NLP is a terrific set of tools and some of the very best work out of any commercial spotlight. I have seen many examples of this is Europe, USA and Asia. In all these instances people are literally “walking the talk” and doing exactly what they claim to be doing. A greater focus on this way of collaborative working would in my view be far more productive in ensuring that NLP is recognized for the brilliant set of tools it undoubtedly is.

As Steve Andreas once said

“No one of us is smarter than all of us”

Maybe its my imagination, but the claims made online for personal change courses seem to be at an all time high. I recently queried a remarkable claim on social media which stated

“Our program gives you the skills and qualifications to set up in full-time private practice as a Life Coach, NLP Master Practitioner and Healer in just five weeks.”

This seemed like a pretty bold statement and my advice to any prospective booker is to look into such claims in more details. As the old saying goes “Let the buyer beware” or “Caveat emptor”

Interestingly a week later an all singing dancing disclaimer appeared alongside the statement –

“Earnings and income representations are aspirational statements only of your earnings potential.
These are exceptional, non-typical results and are not intended to be and are not a guarantee that you or others will achieve the same results. Individual results will always vary and yours will depend entirely on your individual capacity, work ethic, business skills, level of motivation…”

The disclaimer of course (for those who bother to read the small print) renders any such claims totally meaningless. Note the terms “aspirational” “non typical results” “not a guarantee” “results will always vary” etc In other words BOOK AT YOUR OWN RISK!

Of course people have the absolute right to spend their money on what they want. The problem for the personal change business is that many such claims can create all manner of grand expectations for customers and in many instances lead to inevitable disappointment.

My own personal experience is that there are some really excellent trainers around, BUT there are also many who create totally delusional expectations for potential customers and this kind of hype does little to enhance the credibility of the field as a while. From what I see to date there are no checks and balances from accreditation and certification bodies, so they can sometimes become complicit in presenting an image that in my opinion actually creates problems for the field as a whole?

Too harsh? Agree? Disagree? To paraphrase Groucho “These are my opinions, if you don’t like them, I have others”

Working as a professional trainer can appear wonderfully glamorous from the outside, BUT the reality of earning a living this way is a lot of hard work and there are no short cuts. Beware of the daft ad copy suggesting 6 figure income from attending “boutique courses” and always do proper research before deciding on who to train with.

Also my advice is to stay clear of courses costing thousands without checking the terms and conditions and the trainer’s professional reputation. Remember “certifications” are NOT “qualifications” and in twenty years I would only recommend a handful of trainers to clients.

Ok, now for some of the dreaded questions often asked before and during trainings –

1 “If I can’t attend the full 3 days, can I have a video of the training?”

Most people don’t appreciate that editing footage takes considerable time and money, if its to be done properly… One of my pet hates is people paying for a training and then skipping key parts of the training. Its like walking into the cinema halfway through the movie and then wondering what nothing makes sense!

2 “What exactly will we be doing each day?”

This is usually asked ahead of the training where people are focused on information at a forensic level. Yes, I appreciate its useful to know what the workshop theme is, but when people ask this question usually they are IMO way too focussed on information rather than listening and watching.

3 “Can you keep me posted about the next event?”

I fully appreciate that not everyone can make specific training dates, BUT some people endlessly entertain “the idea of attending a training” but never commit the time. I had one customer cancel attending the first training, so I moved her to the one the following year and then a week before the event, she wanted to cancel again as it wasn’t “convenient” BUT could I send her the manual! You can guess the response

4 “Will I be a qualified X from attending this event?”

Unfortunately certifications are often misrepresented as “qualifications” and course prices get hiked to ludicrous levels with the promise of more and more grandiose certifications. Worse still now there’s a trend of multiple certifications and workshop attendees cite as “qualifications” on their websites!

5 “I only learn from the material presented in this way”

One of the worst groups I ever taught had a core of member who insisted on only doing certain exercises and refused the idea of anything that did not conform to their expectations. Most such individuals don’t of course work professionally as coaches and/or trainers, but love the idea of the status associated with attending such courses! Fortunately this behaviour is rare…

I run trainings from all over the globe and most groups are an absolute delight to work with. Of course if you run trainings for a living, you will inevitably encounter one of the dreaded five questions mentioned here!

I teach in 13 different countries and have been organizing workshops for over two decades. These days most of my events are hosted by other parties and I am regularly approached by people to host my trainings. Part of the reason for this is that the Provocative Change Works model is my own work, so you can only get the opportunity to learn the model from myself.

I have learned that there are basic commonsense considerations that are essential in successfully promoting events, but common sense is sometimes not that common. Below is a list of do’s and don’ts

Where and when is the event?

This is basic stuff, right? Well, actually not always! I have seen attempted promotions for events where the date is not clear at all in the ad copy. Worse than this is where the hotel location is not specified. If you want to drive customers crazy before you drive them away, then not listing the actual venue is one of the best ways to do this. Some promoters try to get the best last minute deal on venues and so don’t commit to any location. This is a terrible strategy as for every pound you same, you will lose ten times that amount with customers unable to book their own accommodation. I know of many previously delighted customers that will not book with some training concerns for this reason alone!

What can I expect from attending?

Another basic question? Well, not always! I remember a major London NLP concern advertise an event many years ago as “Esoterica Hypnotica” It was a weekend course that cost thousands of pounds. Out of curiosity, I enquired about it. (BTW IMO any course of a few days costing thousands of pounds for a “certification” as opposed to “qualification” is supremely daft) The office member commented “If you have to ask, then you are not ready to sign up” Then they admitted “Even we won’t know what the course is about” Unsurprisingly the event never ran…

The Squeeze ad turn off

A pet hate of mine is where promoters advertise an event as “Normally X amount” but today’s price is “Y” (40 – 50% less. This may have worked in cut-price sofa showrooms, but IMO it’s a horrible way to present pricing. Yes, an early bird option is  fair game, but this cheezy way of pricing is a real turn off for many

Give great value and engage with customers

Some promoters get a bit carried away with hyping events and overpromise. In 1990s many big training companies had teams of sales staff hammering the phones to get bums on seats. I can recall numerous London workshops where attendees had maxed out credit cards to become “masters” of some skill set. Of course, it’s entirely their decision, BUT as Frank Farrelly once commented: “How are you going to be a master of anything in a few weeks?” It’s smarter to engage with customers and pay attention to group size, so everyone receives good attention.

Careful with the upselling

Some companies run one day “free events” and then really pressure attendees to sign up for thousands of pounds of trainings. I met a couple in the USA who had a giant bookcase of manuals and materials from a “motivational presenter” Well, the promoter had successfully motivated them to part with a great deal of money even though both their businesses were failing. Its a fine balance, but personally I think it’s better to “play the long game” and build customer trust and respect.

The Best Hosts

I have a number of hosts globally that I have worked with for many years. Each of these hosts has great attention to detail and are excellent in all their communications. I always have really good clear and concise interactions and we have many repeat customers. This September I will be training in Japan for the 17th time, teaching PCW. Before Japan, I will be back in Birmingham with new UK host Pete Dalton and then in October and November, I’ll be in Europe.