In our last 'NLP Core Skills' we had our youngest course participant (15) which proved again to Judy and me that NLP really is for everyone. But what do we particularly enjoy about introducing NLP to people for the first time?

John: So what is it we like about Core Skills - even though we run it half a dozen times a year?

Judy: Well, 'Core Skills' is our foundation programme if you like and I'll tell you what I like about it...

John: Go on, tell me what you like about it...

Judy: Well I really like people just coming in, not really having very much idea what they are expecting, and seeing how they easily and quickly get excited and interested, grab hold of it and start running with it. That's one of the things I really like...

John: And I think with me, we run this course, what 6 times a year - something like that, even though we run often with the same material (with a few tweaks as we go along) it's always the people that make the course. A whole new bunch of people who we have never met before and who have all sorts of different preconceptions about what NLP is. It's lovely to get to this place of discovery with all these people having all these 'ah ha' moments as they discover that NLP isn't some kind of cultish thing. That it's actually empowering, that it makes a lot of sense, in fact that it's full of a lot of common sense. And it's something that just helps people get on with their lives better - and they start doing that on this course.

Judy: Yes that right. I like the way it's almost always a pleasant surprise for people even when they think they know what they're going to get and think they are going to have a good time. I'm sometimes amazed actually - every time the whole way of learning is somehow a surprise to most people. That it's different and more fun and a lot easier, although in a sense more profound, than the learning they are used to. That's really good to see...

John: Yeh, I don't think I've ever talked to anybody on our Core Skills course who got what they expected when they came on the course. It's always in a positive way. They are learning all this stuff about NLP but also realising that by the act of learning this stuff they're actually learning so much about themselves at the same time. And when they actually begin to realise that they are the most fascinating thing in the room, they're the thing they know most about. And as they start to focus on what they want in their life and learn these tools that can really help them to move towards what they want it's great. It's almost like they are getting two courses; learning what NLP is and learning who they are too...

Judy: Yes, yes that's true. And it's happening for us as well. We've often said to each other, "hey, guess whose learning most here? It's me...". And in a sense it makes each course different because it goes forward together with everyone in the room creating this particular Core Skills course, this particular experience for people...

John: Every course we've run so far, that first module particularly but every course is different, there's always a surprise for us. Who is there makes the course. Sometimes we get quite quiet groups don't we, groups that are quite reflective and introspective, and sometimes we get quite noisy groups - people who just want to play and have a great time. And sometimes we have a mix of the two but each group is different and each group is learning different things.

Judy: If there is a moment for me, it's one of those moments where we gather on perhaps day 2 or day 3 and somebody comes back and tells just some little story, you called them 'ah ha' moments didn't you; something that may be quite a small thing but something that is actually a life-changing moment. They come quite often actually...

John: I love the story someone told on the last course. We were talking about how you talk to your unconscious mind, some elements of 'New Code' NLP and he was figuring out how to do that for himself. He decided that he had found this particular way, and he tried it out and sent his unconscious mind a message. He had a particular problem in mind and set out to the course on this Saturday morning. And he had just had this huge, almost explosive, 'ah ha' moment sitting at the traffic lights about ten minutes away from the course which completely and utterly answered the question in his mind. Not only answered the question but answered it in such a surprising way that he realised he suddenly had access to a whole new set of skills that he wasn't even aware that he could do before. When he came in to the course in the morning he just had to tell us - there was no choice about it - he just had to pass this message on and that was also part of his learning. That was a great moment in that course particularly...

...So we have the next course coming up and I'm really looking forward to it. 

Judy: I am too... Can't wait...

John: I wonder what new fascinating people will be coming along this time?

For more about 'NLP Core Skills' see: http://www.ablworld.com/Courses/CoreSkills.htm

PS. Don't forget Judy's free e-course on 'Performance Anxiety'. Hundreds of people have already downloaded it and you can find that here: http://www.ablworld.com/ecourses.htm.

PPS. Don't forget to tell people about our free 'Guide to Choosing an NLP Course'. A free and comprehensive guide to making sense of all the options. You can find that in the usual place here: http://www.ablworld.com/CourseGuide.htm.

PPPS. Take a look at our new Book section. Perhaps you might find something of interest and if you need any advice on what to buy don't hesitate to ask. http://www.ablworld.com/Books.htm