I Prefer Training 15 Speakers, Not 1500

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published by Jonathan on Mon, 2010-11-22 16:37

Here's Why I Like Training 15 People Max -- and not 1500+!

I'd far rather coach 15 people at a time, maximum, to become gifted presenters, than share my best secrets en-masse to 100's of people. (Though some of my courses accept up to 30 people, my speakers course accepts 15 maximum).

The 1st format guarantees major results in terms of integrated new skills, for every single participant. That rocks!

The 2nd format guarantees students can be complacent dissociated learners who may or may not take anything away with them. I want nothing to do with that. (This is one of the big reasons I haven't offered "CEU's" to students. Some people who need CEU's will take almost any course that fits their schedule and budget just to meet their requirements. Some view courses that help them meet their CEU requirements as an unfortunate necessity, rather than a privilege and an unprecedented opportunity to learn and become more gifted. Granted, some of those seeking CEU's will be motivated students. But by not offering them, I have found that everyone who attends my courses comes entirely for the fun & the deep skills they'll get from attending, not to mention the likelihood of some major personal and professional breakthroughs. You can be assured of meeting some amazing people at my courses, all of whom, literally ALL of whom, are deeply motivated to get blazingly good at these skills! I simply don't see complacent students at my courses. Ever. And for me, that makes my work a joy!

It is true that in the second format (i.e., training 1500+ students at a time), an occasional gem of a student will learn and retain a lot, but will still have next to no functional skills in place by the end, if they haven't been building the new skills into their behavior, every day of a course, with constant feedback.

There is no joy for me in the largest audiences. But when I can work with a small group of accelerated learners and committed speakers, every one of them will have tackled their biggest "Achilles Heels," and learned a profoundly effective model for presenting, in 5 days or less. That's inspiring work!

Public Speaking