As spring begins here in Iowa, my thoughts are turning again to which NLP training to attend this summer. I appreciate the reviews you publish, which give various perspectives, and would like to include, for your readers, my perspective on the training I received last summer.
A colleague and I attended the Master Track with Rex Sikes in WI. This two week training was truly outstanding. As a college professor in psychology I attend many conferences and I'm afraid I have to admit that I am not very easy to impress. However, I am thinking of going back this summer to the same training because of many factors:
(1) I am more competent....Something switched in my brain during this training, from worrying about knowing which technique to use when, to feeling competent and confident that I was beginning to understand the underlying processes enough to generate techniques appropriately, as necessary. This has made a dramatic impact on how I approach counseling clients, and my success with them. I have adopted more of an NLP attitude, a sense of experimentation, positivity, outcome orientation. My use of sleight of mouth patterns, linguistic reframing, time shifting, etc. has increased in quality and quantity. I have made particular strides in value and belief elicitation, direct and indirect, and the utilization of submodalities, so that now I am actually covertly helping some of my students build better attitudes while standing with them in the halls after class... I find this incredibly satisfying. I understand the importance of association and dissociation now, to process. The serious, extended practice with language patterns of the Milton Model and the packaging of meta programs and sorting styles gave me better tools for influencing and motivating students and clients, and sometimes even an occassional family member! I finally understood the concept of modeling excellence and how to watch/listen carefully enough to people doing what works well. Before, I would try to catch people's mistakes and not repeat them. (That tells you something, doesn't it?) We studied videotapes of dynamite lawyers and examined strategies, language patterns, etc. That was excellent for me.
(2) I am happier....the training helped me discover new skills, clarify values and goals, change some unwanted behaviors, and wipe out some barriers that were holding me back from moving ahead quickly in life. Moving ahead means different things for different people, of course, but for me it meant a career change, more comfort level with ambiguity, more faith in my own abilities to take charge and build my destiny...I'm not certain what path I'll take next but for the first time in my life that is AOK. This comfort zone is a direct result of Rex's program and the challenge and learning that happened there.
(3) The training was packed ... I don't go to NLP trainings because I have nothing better to do with my time or money. I go for specific goals and I like high value, high usefulness, for my money. I have found this level of high value packed into Rex's training. The Master Track was like a bootcamp of sorts: full days, full nights of learning. I felt the training was set up like an all-you-can-eat buffet for the inquiring mind: you could choose to stick with a modest fare or go wild...the training was so multi-layered. I could list specific course content, (and I will, a bit), but I am also talking about the content being lived and used constantly with us, by Rex and Carolyn. As we talked in class, at lunch or dinner, or talked late at night, if one chose to notice, our instructors were modeling indirect elicitation, installation, stacking presuppositions, demonstrating temporal predicates, causal modeling, advanced metaphors, etc. I think Rex notices what you need to work on and specifically models those patterns for you...and moves along to something new when it starts to sink in. Of course, you also get to watch him do this with the group as a whole, and with other individuals. This is part of what I mean by multi-layered. Sometimes Rex can seem confrontational...but there is always a lesson in it, and behind it a kindness. If a student is also interested in honing their own presentation skills, Rex is an advanced model to watch and listen to. Much more was going on with body posture, anchoring each of us, multi layers of anchoring...something like a grid on the floor...hand gestures...obviously, this is partly why I want to go back (and on to Trainers Training)...the presentation techniques were complex and I didn't catch it all, I'm sure. What I did catch more than intrigued me and has improved my own presentation skills. I have to say that although the CONTENT of my undergraduate psych courses last semester didn't change dramatically from the prior 4 semesters, I received the highest praise on course evaluations ever...hmmm.
(4) Rex and Carolyn are both great people....at my previous NLP training (which was also very good) I didn't get to actually know my instructors...they seemed very busy, and sometimes removed themselves quickly after classes...which I can understand because with 70 students...well...you can only stretch so far. But the Sikes Master Track could not be more opposite. Rex limits class size dramatically...we had about 15 people. Rex was available every single day, ate each meal with us, and sat up to the wee hours as long as there were people who wanted to talk. We learned much at 1 a.m. I was very impressed with the total devotion of Rex and Carolyn to our class, and their unending energy to give to us as long as we wanted to learn. Carolyn is a decided asset to the training and worked with us individually by request.
(5) Besides being an interesting, stimulating person, Rex is fantastically competent....he is truly very funny (we laughed so much, so often, so consistently), dynamic, and an absolute master of NLP. One of the reasons I want to go back is to watch with new eyes what he does presenting, eliciting, anchoring, etc., and listen with new ears...his language usage is amazing. He constantly models what he is teaching. (constantly???...well...generalizations aside...it seemed so!) Rex has an exceptional skill for working with a group of people and making his presentation seem "for you", very personal, at the same time. His teaching skills are outstanding...again, the smorgasbord analogy works here...there are multiple layers of training going on if one keeps one's eyes and ears open. This is vitally important when assessing the value of an NLP training.
(6) Classmates and accomodations: both quite agreeable. Because of the small group size and the meal arrangements (we all ate together as a family) I got to know several classmates well. What an interesting group, from all occupations, from several countries. Their varying experiences enriched my learning. Several people in our class had already had prior trainings with Rex and were quite happily and eagerly back for more...they gave us inside tips and insights. The retreat center we stayed at was lovely and tranquil with blooming prairie grasses, ponds, miles of walking trails, and a kind, attentive staff. Bring BUG spray..BIG cans! The food was good, buffet style, many choices, even for vegetarians. I felt the rooms and retreat center had the feel of a monastic setting almost, enjoyable but simple, so you could focus. No flashing lights down the street and sirens going off across town here. There was this quaint little bar we frequented a mile down the road where we tried our skills on the locals...fun.
(7) In sum...the Sike's Master Track in Wisconsin was a catalyst for change for me and many others...an excellent value for the money spent...and a dynamic NLP experience. The breadth of NLP information and opportunity for attitude change was uplifting. Not only did I learn a depth of NLP, but the training was an invitation to excel, to connect. I heartily recommend Sikes.
Patricia Linehan
Assistant Professor of Psychology
William Penn College
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