Some comments are just a bit odd, examples being – “I’m going to use my Jedi Mind Tricks on all clients today” and others can unwisely reveal personal information about clients which are clear breaches of confidentiality.

Of course despite the hype of what is presented in online forums, many practitioners rarely see paying clients. Online newsgroups are regularly full of posts asking for advice on numerous conditions, suggesting that the practitioner is ill equipped to deal with many such problems. The central problem for many such folks is that although they “feel anything is possible” the reality of working with members of the public is far removed from the whooping that occurs on trainings where people are taught to believe that “feeling good for no reason” is in itself a solution to all issues! I often get asked at training the following type of question

‘What do you do with X type (insert problem) clients?”

Often such individuals have been hypnotized into believing that simply rolling out a series of techniques taught on a training workshop is sufficient to resolve all client issues! The reality of course is very different…

Often practitioners also don’t fully appreciate that posting photos of being drunk on Facebook and other networking forums is not the wisest move. Some trainers use photos from younger days which are far more flattering and bear virtually no resemblance to how they appear in current times. This also may seem a bit strange for clients if they ever request a face to face encounter.

It’s also worth remembering that when online, some individuals don’t pay proper attention to writing about themselves in what could be considered as an accurate manner. At least one NLP “trainer” I know has even fabricated a hypnosis qualification which is really pretty foolish. He actually claimed to have completed a three year clinical hypnosis training and even posted the training school’s logo on his site. It was later removed when he was caught out! As my wife would say – ‘They don’t know what they don’t know” and fortunately many such hobbyists eventually move on to explore other pastimes once they realise that intelligent paying clients require substantive results from seeing professional assistance.

Developing a private practice requires ongoing investment of time, energy and money. The most skilled practitioners and therapists are committed to investing in this way and see clients every week as part of their professional work!

My colleague and good friend Andrew T Austin has also pointed out this exact same mindset during the Therapeutic Excellence series of workshops we ran together. The DVD set of the same name consistently points out the big difference between what is regularly taught in Change Work seminars and the reality of what happens in private practice. Often talk therapists also focus on simply listening to client’s problems without actually stimulating or provoking any useful change. This often means that the client’s “problems” remain unresolved.

Some of the worst offenders are NLP and other trainers who ignore many practical issues that impede a successful outcome for the client in favour of “feeling good”. Seminar attendees chant the mantra “Feel good for no reason” and “How much pleasure can you stand?” without appreciating that in many instances the client’s problem is not simply resolved by and emotional reframe and such an approach does not in itself empower the client to behave differently in day to day living.

During workshop demonstrations there is usually at least one enthusiastic NLPer who asks the immortal question to the client – “So how do you FEEL now?”

It may seem that I am regularly launching missives against NLP trainers, but unfortunately they are often guilty of some quite unhelpful behaviours which cause all manner of problems for others. Changing how a person feels is not wrong, but there’s also many other considerations when dealing with clients “stuck states”

I’ll be discussing this and other key issues for client success at the forthcoming Provocative Change Works weekend in London Oct 8 – 10^th. See http://www.nickkemptraining.com/courses.php#course3

Frank has not only become a great professional colleague but also a good friend who comes to stay at our house for a number of weeks each year. We regularly speak on the phone and these conversations have been invaluable in creating my own work. Frank is certainly one of the original thinkers and his original book “Provocative Therapy” remains essential for any serious therapist or practitioner.

Part 1: Provocative Change Works™ for Business - 8th October 2010 7-9.30pm

During this evening Nick Kemp will reveal many of the insights and strategies that have helped him to create a number of highly successful businesses, some of which had multi-million pound annual turnovers.

Here are some of the things you can expect during this evening session:

• Lighting the fuse - taking an idea to market and getting on the map
• Provoking client responses by provocative thinking
• Strategic thinking to create powerful creative business outcomes
• Creating impact in your communications in the visual and auditory realms
• Pricing and the psychology of pricing as a filtering system
• Creating the best delivery systems for your business

What the Business community is saying about Nick Kemp

"Everybody enjoyed the course immensely and I would like to thank you for guiding us through a very useful and insightful two days.Great feedback and lots of good work done after the course as well.

Jacqueline de Rojas
Vice President McAfee UK and Ireland

"Our day with Nick Kemp was a turning point. The solutions are obvious as we look back on them! But on the day Nick found us confused and stressed and left us clear and focussed. We changed the company name to reflect the range of products we now have and this has immediately helped to communicate to existing and new customers so much better. Nick's direction has meant these changes are felt within the organisation as well. The ideas came from ourselves with his guidance - and this means we have so much more ownership of the process. The follow-up from Nick has also been welcome - checking, tweaking and confirming the original plan as it rolls out. The focus and clarity Nick brought to us has meant increased sales activity as well as a more efficient work pattern to deal with this. From struggling to striding!"

Mal Williamson
Director Engage Now

"We wanted to help our staff consider that there is more than one response to a given situation, and help them explore a range of possibilities in terms of reactions. Alongside that is the awareness of the power and effect of language to help increase rapport, not only with colleagues, but with our customers.
Feedback from Nick's work was impressive, in the highly regulated world of insurance we do have to operate to a script when talking to customers to meet FSA requirements; however we are now looking at the specific words we use.
Additionally our staff are more aware of their 'state' as a major factor in improving our ability to perform tasks, and how to seek to control this."

Sue Lewis
Operations Manager Towergate Partnership Ltd

Part 2: Provocative Change Works™ Advanced Skills Workshop - 9th-10th October 2010

This is an opportunity to learn the approaches that make up the Provocative Change Works™ tool kit, which is equally effective in personal development, therapeutic intervention and business contexts.

Here are some of the things we will be learning during these two days:

• Identifying and utilizing the first 26 Provocative Icon cards for accelerated provocative change
• Exploring the "Full Representation Hypnotic Inductions" to change client "stuck states" to fluid states
• Time Framing client sessions - how to create a future client session while working in the "here and now"
• Practising the PCW exercises to develop multi-level sensory awareness and exquisite state control during client sessions
• Learning the art of improvised and creative interactions, for accelerated results in therapeutic and business situations
• Working one on one with Nick Kemp as demonstration subject (limited opportunities due to time considerations)

What people are saying about Nick Kemp in therapy and personal change

"You are totally disarming and beyond formalisation. There is ease and naturalness about you and you make people relax really quickly. You got the power man!"

Frank Farrelly, Creator of Provocative Therapy

"Do you know Nick Kemp? - (he is) exceptionally bright, and I have immensely enjoyed communicating...The kind of exchanges that I have been having... are the kind of activities that I think can really advance the field."

Steve Andreas, NLP Author, Trainer, Developer

"Nick Kemp is what a trainer should be."

Doug O Brien - Master Trainer & Hypnotherapist

"I have known Nick Kemp for a number of years as both personal friend and mentor... no one has done more to promote Frank Farrelly and his highly effective treatment modality of "Provocative Therapy" than Nick Kemp. In 2004 when both myself and Nick met Frank Farrelly for the first time, the only readily available material was the classic 1973 book, "Provocative Therapy." Since that meeting, Nick and Frank have become firm friends and there is no doubt the rest of us have benefitted enormously from this unique relationship.

Andrew T Austin
Clinical Hypnotherapist, Neurolinguist & Author of "The Rainbow Machine"

This started me thinking about the whole issue of pricing and NLP/Hypnosis products.

I appreciate that artists and trainers need to recoup costs of CD and DVD runs and that in many instances such material is very niche and the potential market is quite limited. However in my view far too much material is overpriced and of a very poor standard.

When I think of the value of any product I consider the following two things

• The richness and usability of the content
• The production and presentation quality of the product – how does it look and sound?

In many cases NLP products are retreads of the exact same material and worse still the production quality is very poor. These days I rarely buy NLP or Hypnosis products for these reasons and time permitting I’m going to have a big clear out of material I bought over the years of which very few items have stood the test of time. Many new NLPers are like rock band fans in that they buy everything only to later realise that some products are essentially fillers and not really that great.

Costs and Production quality

Much of the cost of producing a DVD are in the filming and editing part of the process and many people don’t realise that this can be very time consuming as well as very costly. What surprises me is that many NLP DVDs are dreadfully produced with poor visuals and poor sound and the same products are then sometimes sold at massively inflated prices. It’s as if some NLP trainers have the view that their material is of such a high standard that the production quality control doesn’t matter. The first ever NLP product I ever bought was an enhancement 6 CD set which was pressed on basic CDRs and wouldn’t even play on my CD player!

I recently had this same conversation about quality control on Facebook where a marketing style guru placed a clip online of him talking about his marketing skills. The actual content was ok if a little basic, but he didn’t even bother to iron the white sheet as a backdrop making the clip look very amateurish. This would be ok, BUT once again here is someone claiming to be a professional in presenting skills. How long does it take to iron a sheet for god’s sake?

I have had lots of conversations over the years with most of the major distributers of NLP and Hypnosis products and they all indicate that there are different pricing bands for public interest. Changes magazine is especially geared to the £30 or less unit price and I have had great success selling the Provocative Change Works for Phobias DVD set which is £29.99 and consists of two DVDs with commentary by Frank Farrelly himself. I am always mindful of ensuring that all purchasers get really good value for their money and when I used to run NLP certificated courses I ensured that they remained sub £1000 and were confined to sensible sized groups. Amazingly the same events would cost almost 200% in some cities for the exact same certificate with ten times the number of attendees. Often product tables at such events were very expensive and it’s not uncommon for prices in some instances to be hugely marked up during such workshops…

The Decline in the commercial marketplace for products

In recent years both book, commercial CD and DVD prices have all fallen dramatically and CDs have all but disappeared from the high street in favour of mp3 downloads. Customers want material immediately and this has affected buying behaviours. Film companies are increasingly concerned about illegal downloads and file sharing. NLP trainers who charge exorbitant prices run the risk of people looking for these more illegal ways to obtain such material. I don’t condone such behaviour, but suspect that either legally or illegally everything will move towards a downloadable format in the public domain. I suspect DVDs with suffer the same fate as CDs and with the advent of the ipad and I also suspect that electronic books will further affect high street and online book sales. The problem for many NLPers is that NLP as a brand is in decline with even Tony Robbins having his USA show cancelled after it attracted just 2.8m viewers. In the UK attempts by some NLP trainers to emulate Paul McKenna’s success in the book market also have fallen flat and bargain book stores are also already currently selling many recent titles at bargain basement prices to clear stock.

Using the latest technology in creative ways

I am also amazed at how few products display any real creativity in either content or production. In 2003 I created the first DTS muti channel audio hypnosis CD, so a listener could really experience an induction with all manner of different sounds and suggestions from different channels. In 2006 the first Frank Farrelly DVDs I released had alternate viewing angles which again allow for a richer viewing experience. In 2006 I started to add video and audio commentary to my own Provocative DVDs again using the technology available to produce an enhanced experience for the viewer. The last Provocative Change Works for Anxiety DVD set has green screen video narration for all the sessions, so it’s an excellent teaching tool for those interested in this work. These innovations are pretty rare in my experience and you are lucky when buying some DVDs if you even get a booklet with the product and a DVD menu on the actual disc!

 I don’t claim to have the best products, but I do care about providing good value and I have had great feedback over the years from companies such as Anglo American Books and Crown House Publishing who really know this market. This is what they said about my first commercial CD “The Adventures of Well Being Now” release back in 2002 –

" We are sent many CDs and audiotapes from therapists for review, but it is truly unusual to come across a product that is as effective and professional as this offering from Nick Kemp. As well as being a useful tool it should be of great interest to those who wish to use the more complex language techniques inherited from Milton Erickson's great work. Highly recommended!"

Anglo American Books

What I didn’t know when I sent them this CD was that they are literally bombarded with products from NLPers and most are rejected for lack of originality and poor production. In recent times I deleted a bunch of collaborative CDs from my catalogue as I considered them to have been “ok” a few years ago, but now not really up to standard. They would still sell, but I’m no longer happy with some of the content on them that’s a bit too basic for my current thinking!

In these tougher economic times I suspect that members of the public are understandably looking for better value and better quality for their money. Some trainers are stepping up to the challenge and companies like SpartMedia (http://www.spartmedia.co.uk) have become the cutting edge company for video releases, with great production quality and sensible production and filming pricing.

 For all the talk of excellence and sensory acuity IMO many NLPers don’t still don’t seem to appreciate that talking about excellence, and then releasing over priced or sub standard material can be viewed as somewhat hypocritical. My own research suggests that NLP products in general are much less in demand and NLP as a field has peaked in terms of public interest. Some NLP training companies are literally throwing thousands of pounds at Google advertising in a desperate attempt to sell events and courses, but at £8+ for a single click this is a costly exercise!

Fortunately there are a number of exceptions to this, and in recent times many talented trainers including Doug O Brien, Steve Andreas and Andrew T Austin have released some excellent, thought provoking material, which I would heartily recommend checking out.

 Recommended links for great products at sensible prices

http://www.23nlpeople.com/alphastim/CDs-and-DVDs.php - Andrew Austin’s Store

http://www.ericksonian.com/?page_id=4 – Doug O Brien’s Store

http://www.nickkemp.com/spartcart - My store for Hypnosis, Provocative Therapy and NLP DVDs & CDs, also some FREE hypnosis downloads

http://www.nlpmp3.com – Lots of FREE NLP & Hypnosis downloads/trainer interviews and paid products

http://www.storiesfromtheoutsideinn.com – Free 5 minute hypnosis downloads from myself and Doug O Brien (click on the blue sign to explore site)

This piece is about the danger of hobbyists in NLP and Hypnosis and how such folks can unwittingly create untold problems for others.

A hobbyist can be defined as

“A person who pursues an activity in their spare time for pleasure”

Most NLPers are in fact really hobbyists, (but behave otherwise) and few develop an ability to financially support themselves from using their NLP skills in a professional earning capacity. This of course does not stop them believing that they are “qualified experts” who can tell other trained professionals how to behave in clinical and business practices. This type of behaviour is what I have an issue with and my view is that such behaviours (which are often encouraged by NLP training schools) actually do damage to the reputation of NLP as a field. The net is full of superlative terms pushing training events many of which would not be out of place in the original 1960s Batman TV series – “AWESOME” “IMPACTFUL” “AMAZING” “LIFE CHANGING” “ZAP” “POW” (ok I made the last two up, but you get the idea!)

First let me make it clear that I have no problems with hobbyists. As a musician I consider myself to be a hobbyist in that I am still very much at a learning stage and unlikely to progress beyond being an enthusiastic hobbyist I have an awareness of my technical limitations and am also realistic about my playing ability! Playing is definitely for pleasure and I practice in my spare time. I don’t admonish other professional musician for having different views and fully respect their dedication to training even though I may have a different taste in the music played. I also appreciate that developing skills takes time and real ongoing application. I am lucky enough to study under a world class musician and it’s truly a humbling experience!

A few years ago I gave up posting online about NLP and Hypnosis as such forums became festooned with NLP hobbyists posting quite ludicrous advice on these subjects. In most instances such folks had completed a few simple courses and then considered themselves to be experts, often simply parroting phrases without any real insights. Of course everyone learning about a subject has to start somewhere, BUT one of the reasons for NLP’s poor image among many of the public is that there is an increasing focus on “speed” rather than application and integrated learning. Suddenly everything has to be done quickly and we are bombarded with “Instant Success” “Change your Life in a few days” “Fresh approaches” and other such nonsense. In most instances this is marketing hype and the emphasis on “feeling good” overshadows all other considerations.

Interestingly many who vocally proclaim the powers of NLP in online forums rarely (if ever) show any of their work in public! I know of at least one  NLP trainer has yet to write any articles and produce any form of video or audio of their “work”.  After decades  it seems strange to me and many others that in this instance all that remains in sight is a trail of verbose and abusive posts complaining about other’s viewpoints! Other hobbyists who try and spectacularly fail to make a living out of NLP ultimately return to paid employment and remove any references to NLP from their business profiles. Many NLP “trainers” are essentially hobbyists and despite in some cases holding court to a few entranced devotees, they have never actually used these NLP skills in any real measurable context, but still cling to imagined status in the very small combative world that is “NLP”

The Myth and reality of workshops v Private Practice

A great deal of the hype and myths about the power NLP start during NLP workshops, when trainers demonstrate techniques. Often seminar attendees are so entranced by such demos that they decide that they too could aspire to run their own trainings and actually believe the many online campaigns that suggest that anyone can “make cash from NLP” without looking at the reality that few training concerns are actually truly commercially successful…

There’s an old music hall joke where I magician asks for a volunteer from the audience, a boys steps up…

Magician “Now you’ve never seen me before have you?”

Boy “No dad…”

Many of the “volunteers” on NLP and other workshops are of course not true representations of the way in which members of the public would respond to a trainer’s suggestions. As I have previously blogged, workshop attendees have often paid thousands of pounds to attend a workshop, often in the mistaken belief that a certificate given out to all attendees, will then “qualify” them to work with members of the public in a professional capacity. Often seminar attendees are so entranced by such demos that they decide that they too could aspire to run their own trainings and actually believe the many online campaigns that suggest that anyone can “make cash from NLP” without looking at the reality that few training concerns are actually truly commercially successful…

Of course as I have often mentioned in this blog, certifications are really little more than postcards from attending an event and have no value whatsoever as “qualifications” in the true sense. This kind of hype fuels the hobbyist mentality and of course many such folks come down to earth with a jolt when they discover they are seriously out of their depth. Of course with the advent of the internet we now have 2^nd Life and all manner of other new age fads and many NLPers have drifted into these cyber realms and feel quite at home in such virtual environments. This is a shame because NLP when used with proper duty of care can be a powerful medium for change. However in my experience of working with substantial numbers of clients, many members of the public become wary about NLP when they see quite ludicrous claims made about the field.

Many NLP trainers and practitioners are all too often like rock tribute bands, they can emulate, but they can’t create original work. They usually have a standard set list and never deviate from well rehearsed routines and have no ability to improvise outside rigid structures. This is especially true in some training schools where NLPers literally parrot what they were taught in their original trainings. This parroting often includes extensive sound bites blurted out without any real thought. I stopped running certificated NLP trainings as I increasingly realised that a large percentage of the material was outdated and I felt uneasy about suggesting that members of the public sign licensing agreements that were in my view far from “fair and reasonable” Often the trainers themselves look bored in the same way that telesales staff sound bored when reading off the same script day in day out!

Genuine skill development comes from application, questioning and an ability to reflect and refine approaches. There are many great individuals who adopt this way of working and it’s important to remember that my criticism here is of those who have inflated ideas of their own capabilities and who are often actually quite lazy and more interested in their imagined status of being a “Master” of a discipline (they sat in a training room for 9 days and were told they were now a “master”) than actually putting in the hours, interacting with peers and reflecting on how to improve their skills. Other titles like “Master Trainer” can be like medieval patronage of old, given out as favors to those who are “in the circle of trust”

 I set up www.nlpmp3.com as a free resource for anyone interested in a range of viewpoints on NLP from all schools of thinking. Let’s also remember even the two creators of NLP can’t fully agree on what the field really is, so “NLP” is a somewhat confused ill defined field. Fortunately there are both hobbyists and professionals more interested in advancing the field than fan worship and I applaud such individuals. There is always a place for hobbyists in the world of NLP and Hypnosis, but in my view this place is not working with paying clients or as “trainers” insisting that a particular view is the only true view, dismissing all other perspectives. If NLP is to survive in the long term there need to be proper agreed standards of duty of care and a proper code of ethics. Amazingly some training schools don’t even have these two elements and continue to encourage hobbyist thinking but of course such hobbyists provide an invaluable revenue stream to some NLP training schools.

So what’s the best hope for NLP?

This blog may seem a bit harsh, but IMO this kind of debate is essential if NLP is to be taken seriously in a professional capacity. Personally I am not that interested in “being right” but welcome honest and open discussion. I am aware that many really don’t want this for commercial business reasons and censorship abounds within the NLP communities and societies in many forms, none of which is IMO very healthy. I’m looking forward to presenting at the London NLP Conference and in San Francisco at the IASH conference, provoking some new discussions about the value of duty of care and continual professional development.

STOP PRESS - Amazingly I now notice that there is a trend of some NLP hobbyists who are in financial dire straits now advertising themselves as psychotherapists. Seems the grandiose NLP titles no longer work in a marketing capacity to attract clients...

http://www.nickkemp.com/videos.php?gid=15

I had a long chat recently with Steve Andreas who suggested that many trainers would be very reluctant to see real clients during a training session for the reasons I have outlined. I have regularly blogged about some of the unrealistic expectations presented in NLP workshops where there is a strong emphasis on the speed of results. During workshops both Andrew and I always wait for the following inevitable question to the client/demo subject at the conclusion of any demonstration which is

“So how do you FEEL now about the problem?”

The emphasis here of course is on FEELING rather than any other issues.

In private practice members of the public don’t follow the rules and behaviours commonly found in workshop events. In many instances they respond in exactly the opposite manner which would throw a serious spanner in most trainers’ interactions. It’s like a musician who can play sheet music perfectly, but fails to improvise or play other tunes that are not in the prearranged repertoire!

My view is that working in this way is the real test of any trainer or therapist and I am planning to run a 2011 event based around this way of working.

The Advanced Mastery Training is quite unique and a far cry from the standard NLP trainings which in many instances recycle the same material. One of the key differences in the work presented by Andrew T Austin, Steve Andreas and Lucas Derks is that the work presented is finely tuned and road tested. It’s also unusual for trainers to bring in members of the public for client sessions during the event. I have attended many London NLP trainings when longstanding assistants are often used as demo subjects for the trainers, to make the demos run “smoothly…”

Steve Andreas presented an excellent session on the subject of regret and to my amazement he created this whole section in just a few weeks. Steve has a relaxed style of presentation and a precision that many other trainers would do well to aspire to. The 2010 AMT training is among my three favorite all time trainings, superb company, a great group and wonderful setting in Boulder Colorado.

The recent 7 day Advanced Mastery Track was undoubtedly one of the best events I have attended in the last decade. I was happy with my own contribution and the standard of training from the five trainers was quite excellent. The group also had a keen interest to learn and was willing to explore the material offered by each trainer. Steve, Connirae, Mark and Heather did an excellent job of ensuring that everybody was very comfortable and it was a real please to stay at the Andreas residence. This was one of my absolute favorite trainings with a rich diversity of material.  I was also able to chat to Charles Faulkner which sparked some more ideas about my own work. It’s rare to find such events which embody the spirit of curiosity and investigation and  those present traveled from as far afield as China, Europe and from all over the USA.

 Steve, Connirae and Mark hav done an amzing job organizing this and the standard of teaching is way beyond the stock NLP Prac and Master Prac typical events. In fact you would not find any of this material in such events...

Today starts with me working with a member of the public and then teacing more Provocative Change Works material. This is going to be a truly rock and roll day with lots of new approaches which I have to date kept under wraps!

Also see http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=96Wx1E4d8hs