NLP training during the pandemic crisis has been a balancing act, looking at the numbers and the current situation at any given time in: Amsterdam, Bali, Los Angeles, and Mexico. Before the pandemic, we didn’t offer our classes in Mexico. This was a location we went to because of the restrictions but also picking a location where we could keep our students safe.
For the duration of the pandemic, we held an online NLP training. This class is now our flagship product and offers official certification by the co-creator of NLP in NLP Communication & Advanced NLP Communication, and covers the content of NLP Practitioner and NLP Master Practitioner.
We held:
- 1 x NLP training in Los Angeles (September 2020)
- 3 x NLP training in Amsterdam (October and November 2020, May 2021)
- 2 x NLP training in Mexico (January and April 2021)
The NLP training on Bali was canceled.
All NLP training classes were:
– Held at a time where local numbers were low & well-managed.
– Outside or with the doors open.
– Socially distanced.
– The students were quarantined or tested before the training.
– The students quarantined with the other students while in class
– Nearby or in-house possibilities for speed testing.
– In Amsterdam, we had dividers & space heaters.
Lesson #1: Transparency before & during the classes
I noticed that it calmed students’ emotions the more you gave them transparency. Because a lack of information causes stress, I didn’t want people’s brains to default into anxiety, worry, and imagining things going wrong. We sent detailed written and for some students phone-based and video-based communications to indicate that the trainers stood in their personal life on the side of caution and how the training would run. I would venture to say we were far more cautious than the average person.
Lesson #2: Giving people power increases power
Part of the reason why people felt trapped and powerless during the pandemic was because of the enforced rules. People had no choice, like prison convicts. When people feel powerless, they fight, flight or freeze. We wanted to give people their power back where it comes to rules. We ask the students to communicate their emotions and ideas to us prior to the NLP training. And on the first day in class, we did a questionnaire where people could indicate what rules they want and didn’t want for the group, themselves, and the trainer. Their answers were forward-thinking, empathetic, and collaborative for the most part. Their answers supported holding a training where we can all learn, be comfortable, and maximize benefits.
Lesson #3: Asking for collaboration
Telling people what to do causes push-back. Asking people to collaborate, so no one suffers, no one needs to be afraid, and we would be sure to stay healthy, and finish the class without any problems created a buy-in. To collaborate to have a great class.
Lesson #4: Emotionally intelligent discussions
In our classes, we are unique to teach Emotional Intelligence combined with NLP. I used these concepts to manage all communications before the training, asking for collaboration and empathy for others. More importantly, I used NLP questions and emotional intelligence to explain what our levels of care have been. We noticed most students had quarantined all year and were highly safe. And as we did ask for collaboration quarantining before the class, we found most students kept themselves away from others and extremely safe before the NLP training. Or they tested the day before the classes. We all wanted to do the NLP training without face maks and feeling safe, and we all did our part to make that happen. It is about letting everyone speak and feeling heard. People also become much less of a danger in our minds if we understand their map of the world. We can stop fantasizing and making negative assumptions.
Lesson #5: Empathy
I used NLP to put each student inside of another student’s shoes where it comes to them feeling safe, or the impact on their class and life if they were to get the disease. It turns out that people want to be kind and want others to be safe. Many people do the NLP training because they want to make life better for others, and the pandemic was an ideal time to show up in kindness.
What lessons did you learn during the pandemic? Any that relate to NLP training?
Resources
Book
Video
