“Learning is light!” - our parents lived with this slogan, trying to prepare for us better fate and provide education. True, the understanding of the very meaning and importance of studying varies greatly among generations.

Once upon a time it was enough to receive higher education to work at an enterprise all your life and be “like everyone else.” Nowadays, just a university is not enough, and in order to be successful both in the profession and in life in general, you need to study constantly.

Fortunately, now there are no problems with offering a wide variety of courses, seminars and trainings. There is everything for every taste, in any mode: in person, remotely, online, even hand in hand with a coach. Frankly, for any budget: there is training both for conventional hundreds of rubles and for tens and even hundreds of thousands. To gather students and listeners, an entire marketing industry works, carefully “packaging” our desires and needs into phrases that are close to our hearts on landing pages and in sales letters. But will all courses and trainings be useful to us?

I suggest right now that you decide on the main criteria for searching for “your” training courses and learn to separate the wheat from the chaff once and for all.

Choosing a training: a balanced approach

Surely you have a folder on your computer hard drive with the promising name “Explore”. It’s just that they still don’t get around to it, even though from time to time they are tormented by their conscience for the money spent. Why is this happening?

There are five main reasons for this.

1. Priority. Most likely, the decision to purchase a product was made impulsively, you did not calculate your strengths and - most importantly - interests and needs. No matter how much we would like to, we cannot cover everything in the world. We'll have to prioritize. This means that if self-realization as a successful lawyer is in the first place in your picture of the world, lessons in playing the guitar and cross-stitching risk remaining unlearned. Unless you consciously set aside time for this.

2. Specifics. If you come to learn a specific skill in a profession, that’s one thing. The scheme works here: learned - practiced - applied - implemented in life. If we are talking about trainings on self-development and personal growth, it’s more complicated here.

After all, we really want someone to solve all our problems in one fell swoop: to give us a “happy and harmonious life”, ideal relationships and successful realization of our potential. And all this in one bottle, please. As a result, we go to training without a specific goal, with an abstract “to make things better” and quickly fail without seeing results. Although perhaps they exist, we are simply unable to notice and appreciate them.

3. Teaching method. We are all different, and each of us has our own. Someone is ready to master and practice all the exercises themselves, without feedback and get your own results. But, admittedly, such an approach is only possible for a mentally adult person who knows exactly what he needs and goes exactly there. In other cases, we may need feedback from a coach, group support, answers to questions, perhaps even individual work.

When going to training, you should soberly assess your capabilities and aspirations and choose the appropriate training option. Otherwise, I repeat, you will simply add to the notorious folder on your computer. And you'll be wasting your money.

4. Personality of the trainer. Gone are the days when people quickly bought everything they had, all the training in a row. Now we are already “full” of self-development to our ears, and we need not just knowledge and skills, but also an example. This is where the manner in which information is presented by this or that coach, his image and what he conveys are important.

Buying a product without studying who its author is, how he lives, what he talks about and what is important to him is, at the very least, short-sighted. There is a chance to be disappointed in the training from the first words simply because there is an internal rejection of the trainer. Although at the same time he may have hundreds of satisfied customers.

5. Personal preferences and characteristics. You love live communication, group work and reflection? Then “boxed” training, no matter how cool and intense it may be, is unlikely to suit you.

This also includes the format for presenting the material. There are visual people who love to read, and they will prefer to study texts. There are auditory learners for whom it is important to hear, they will choose audio lectures. Some people are ready to immediately implement exercises without any theory, while others need to first figure out how it “works.” And the choice of training will also be different.

All these five points are worth considering when you are just thinking about purchasing new training. And you definitely need to pay attention to them before pressing the coveted button after viewing another beautiful landing page.

Criteria for training that is useful for you

So, let's summarize all of the above. The training that is useful for you is the one that meets the following criteria:

1. It is based on your conscious choice. You understand that yes, there is a problem here (and you guessed about it before reading the landing page), and it needs to be solved in the near future in order to... (here are your benefits from completing the training: what will change in your life and how you will see and feel it ).

2. You know exactly what you will learn and do not place illusory hopes on the training. Relatively speaking, no course will make you happy, healthy and successful presidents or managers of serious businesses. But there are probably those who will bring you closer to this, if necessary. For example, through training in public speaking (a skill), the ability to communicate, listen and hear (also a skill), working through negative attitudes, etc. Not “happy happiness,” but specifically: I don’t yell at the child, I know what I want, I double my income.

3. You are satisfied with the pace and method of learning. You are ready to allocate two hours a week for a webinar, half an hour a day for exercises, you have this time and the opportunity to agree with your loved ones so that no one bothers you. You know that the training option you have chosen is right for you: are you ready to go alone, or rely on the support of a group, or enter the coaching process with the understanding that no one will teach you and all the answers already lie within you.

4. You trust the coach and somewhat admire him and his success. You know what to expect from him, you like his way of presenting information, you follow him on social networks and/or on the website, read his materials and they resonate with you. And he is already where you want to go, or on the way to it, and you see it.

5. You believe that this training will help you and are willing to do a little work. You see examples of other people, look at reviews and understand: “Yes, this is what I need!” Alas, no matter how valuable and important the information is, no matter how bright and charismatic the coach is, if you just came to listen and convince someone that you are right, nothing will happen. You will simply once again prove your own truth that everyone is a deceiver and charlatan. But this is also your choice.

Try testing your chosen training according to these criteria, and it will be much easier for you to make a decision. Learn the best from the best!

From the editor

Before registering for a training, you need to clearly understand what it is and what it is not. What is the difference between a training and a lecture or coaching, a business coach explains Aigul Irgaleeva: .

We sorted it out with the coach. Who is this coach? Answers the most common questions about coaching Laura Marcante: .

No matter what training or educational course you sign up for, 80% of the money spent on it goes down the drain if you don’t understand how your brain absorbs information. So he says Galina Ievleva. Read her article about how to properly approach the issue of your education:.

If you want the training to bring you real benefits, you must have a certain resource to apply the information received in practice. How to find resources for all this, Pavel Rakov tells in his book “Where to get the strength for success in any business and personal life”: .

Like a fish needs a bicycle?

How can I determine whether I need training or not? Very simple. Each of us has current life challenges. Get a job, make peace with your husband, seduce your boss, increase business profitability, buy milk, kill a competitor... If issues are resolved in a working manner, training is not needed. At all.

It’s another matter if some task has been a task for so long that it’s already a problem. The faucet has been leaking for years, the staff is stealing, the husband is cheating, there is no work for six months, women ignore charisma... “And caviar does not go down the throat, and compote does not pour into the mouth.” Obviously, outside help is needed. Or just a kick in the ass. And training can come in handy here.

It may be more useful to consult a specialist, but here we are talking about training. By the way, consultants often recommend trainings. Specific. For the task.

All trainings have a drawback - people choose them themselves. This means that sometimes they mistake the door. Any training has its own goals and objectives. And no matter how flexible the trainer is, it is not always possible to teach the participant to correctly write a resume in cutting and sewing courses. We want to be given exactly what we need. Therefore, you need to choose the right training.

What do you need to decide? What problem are you going to solve with the help of training? Or what goal can be achieved with it. Stop being afraid of the audience, learn to control your weight, become a great negotiator, recruit staff wisely...

By the way, it is worth remembering that the objectives of the training are educational. They don't treat there, they teach. Practice skills. Therefore, the most correct questions when choosing training are “What do I want to be able to do?”, “What do I want to learn?” However, there are trainings where consultants are trained. There you can solve your problems. Along the way.

Having chosen a task, evaluate it. Decide how much you are willing to pay to solve it. Money, time, other resources. Because for some trainings it’s not a sin to fly thousands of kilometers. And it’s a pity to even spend a weekend on others.

Then you can start looking. The Internet is here to help. You can look for training in your city. It’s possible – all over the world. The radius is determined by how much you estimate the need for the corresponding skill to be. Sometimes, by the way, it turns out to be more reasonable to invite the right coach to your city than to go to him.

There is a ton of information online. It’s rare that a trainer or training center cannot afford to maintain its own website. Just enter the search engine and search by keywords. For example: “Uryupinsk training dating seduction.” There will be a lot of links.

Then simply choose according to the parameters that are important to you. For some, the gender of the trainer is important, for others the absence of the word “manipulation”, for others it is based on price, for others it is important how much training is on the market. But this is worth talking about in more detail.

Who's at the helm?

Personally, it is usually important to me who will conduct the training. I would like the coach to be an experienced person. Both in terms of coaching experience and in life. The coach must be at least somewhat more successful than me. Not everything is necessary. Yes, and it’s difficult.

I look at the coach's photo. I'm reading the coach's resume. I get acquainted with his articles and books, if there are any. I'm interested in how he communicates on forums or blogs. I'm looking for feedback about him and his training. Sites like Odnoklassniki are also good. And if you’re lucky enough to communicate with graduates, it’s just a celebration! A lot becomes clear.

Some trainers arrange presentations of their programs - it is useful to attend.

What is the price?

I won’t lie, the price of the training is not at all important to me. Still, I like to get more for less. But I always try to view training fees as an investment. I invest to receive.

You can pay one euro if you know how to get ten with the help of training. However, two will also do. The effect can be anything. In health, in improved relationships, in self-esteem, in professional skills, in improved working conditions, in income, finally. If desired, all this can be easily expressed in numbers.

Other training costs are also expressed in numbers. Time, travel, accommodation, refusal of other trainings, missed opportunities to work on your own.

In short, what is important is not how much it costs to participate in the training, but how the price of the training relates to the cost of solving your problem. And the more you earn, the more advantageous this ratio becomes.

What do they teach?

This is, of course, the very first question. But, in addition to the promised knowledge and skills, I am interested in what technology is used as the basis for training. NLP, hypnosis, psychoanalysis, stalking, Gestalt therapy, cold dynamics, “the struggle of the Nanai boys,” psychodrama, acting?.. At one time I purposefully studied in trainings based on technologies unfamiliar to me. And now I try to try new things.

Sometimes it happens that the technology is so interesting that even the personality of the presenter seems not so significant. Then I walk without looking. But this is already my coaching professional deformation.

Separate food

If you go (or plan to go) to trainings quite often, you should remember that not all trainings combine well with each other. Tough confrontation training does not fit well with empathy training. NLP training is not very good when combined with explosive personal growth training. Mindfulness training is the opposite of trance training.

Those. All this is well absorbed separately. And even by one person. But it is important to remember that every training has a trace. And it takes time to integrate new habits into life. And while they are embedded, they are vulnerable. Therefore, it is better not to learn something opposite at this time.

What goes well together? The trainings of one course are ideally combined. They are often called steps, segments, cycles. They complement each other, strengthen and build upon each other. As a rule, the programs of the same trainer are combined well. By the way, I prefer to go through everything with the trainer I like. Or at least the maximum. If the trainings do not combine, the trainer will warn you.

In any case, I try to give myself a break after studying. Or after training. Or after the course. But after the course there is a longer pause. This way the benefits are maximized.

What to expect from the training?

We learn in hopes of getting a return. What do we have a right to hope for? For drastic changes in life? To increase income tenfold? To the sudden attraction of others towards us? There are some patterns.

Firstly, the effects of the very first training in your life are inevitably brighter than the results of the last. The simplest metaphor. If your car has a broken tire, no gas, and dirty windows, it’s easy to perform a miracle. We replaced the wheel, filled the tank full, wiped the windows and - lo and behold! The driver has seen the light! The car has moved! Thanks to the Great Magician! What if the car drives like that? Then the finest adjustments will “only” improve some driving characteristics, reduce wear and fuel consumption. Good, of course, but not a miracle.

Secondly, even the most advanced technologies radically improve your life only when you use them. And preferably regularly. And rarely do any trainings provide completely automatic integration of a skill. We must use it. We need to train. Must be used regularly. “You can lead a horse to a pond, but you cannot force it to drink.”

Thirdly, a person is too complex a machine to really change much about him during training. The training can be perfect, but you shouldn’t expect speed reading training to change your entire life. Something will change. And the changes will be significant. There are simply millions of programs in our unconscious. And even after the best training of our lives, we are still us. Still people. But that's probably a good thing.

More and more people seeking to develop their personality in a variety of ways are choosing training courses. Essentially, we live in an era of training – on sales, on gender relations, on personal growth, on psychology, business training, etc.

Given this diversity, it is not surprising that those wishing to improve their skills in a particular area are faced with the fact that they do not knowwhat training to choose.

There are a lot of options and the presence of, for example, 10 training programs on the same topic does not mean that you will get the same result for each. After all, among them there are both really useful ones, with experienced trainers, and those conducted purely for pumping out money.

Questions to answer before choose training

No matter how professional the coach was, before choose his training, It is worth clarifying the following points.

Why do you need this?

Have a clear idea of ​​what you want to achieve as a result training courses . Make sure the topic matches your needs - don't waste time on something that only slightly touches on your interests.

How much time are you willing to devote?

It directly depends on how much free time is available.which training to choose- video (for viewing at a convenient time), online (remotely) or still with a live visit, adjusting to his schedule.

Is this too difficult for you?

It is important to choose training , the program of which will correspond to your level - a beginner should attend training sessions, and not those where professionals gather, where no one will chew on basic things.

Source: Istock

Criterias of choice

Regardless of whether the desire to pass is spontaneous training at the training or it is planned, it is advisable to make your final choice only after carefully studying each of the options according to the following list of criteria.

It's best if training at the training Acquaintances who have already received certain results have undergone this test before. This way you will get the most accurate estimate.

Reviews on forums, specialized review sites, and social networks are also a good option. Depending on their quantity and content, you can draw conclusions about the quality of training, the skills of the trainer, organizational and other points of interest to you.

Do you have previous experience working with a trainer?

If you have already attended events led by the coach of the training in question, you won’t have to think for long - no matter what your friends say or reviews on the Internet, you will already have your own opinion, which will not allow choose training Bad quality.

Is it possible to preview?

For example, using video recordings, online webinars or live introductory meetings.

This point is important, because if you go for an expensive business training blindly, without knowing anything about its contents, the risk of wasting money will be great.

Is the trainer and his training mentioned in the media?

As a rule, notes and articles in magazines are published from time to time about successful trainers. They are also interviewed by TV channels and radio stations.

Why is it necessary to analyze the needs of the client’s company? First of all, in order to find out the most problematic areas in the current functioning of the company. Thanks to this, it becomes possible to offer exactly those training programs that will be most useful to this particular company. Conducting training without analyzing needs leads to the fact that the training is not for those people who especially need training, but for others; the choice of training is made incorrectly; The lack of detailed information about the client’s needs does not allow adapting the training program to obtain maximum results.

Analysis of the company's needs begins from the moment when the gap between the desired and actual level of employee productivity occurs. For example, buyers leave a large number of complaints. Or the sales department does not fulfill its plans, and recorded telephone conversations with clients show an insufficient level of professionalism. Another situation is when employees from different departments assembled into a project team do not work together effectively.

Training is worth conducting if the gap has a significant effect on the work of employees and the organization as a whole. For example, one of the company's most important strategic goals may be to provide exceptional service. Contact with 70% of buyers occurs by telephone, but buyers receive complaints about the poor quality of operator training. In this case, it is necessary to conduct training on telephone conversations, as they contribute to the implementation of the company's strategy.

You then need to discuss this gap with the company's executives and key people. The company's top management must understand the importance of solving the problem in order to provide support for training programs. After this, three types of analysis are performed: organizational, task and individual analysis.

One day you feel the need to grow up personally. Become faster, more collected, bolder. How and what training to choose?

It makes sense to go to training if you are faced with a common problem that does not require a detailed analysis of the causes, unraveling of family history, or delving into the subconscious. You just feel some lack in yourself that needs to be compensated. Uncertainty, stiffness, lack of communication skills. It is important to understand that trainings do not reveal the underlying causes of the problem, but only correct your behavior.

We choose

There are many training companies, in fact all the advertising is the same, they all promise the best. Therefore, you need to choose training only on the recommendations of those people who have personally completed it. And choose not so much a company as a specific specialist. The effectiveness of training in most cases depends not on techniques or techniques, but on the trainer.
What else is important to consider? Firstly, you need to understand that if two months ago a friend excitedly talked about how she was taught to accept herself as she is, and a month later she equally excitedly talks about a training that will make her better and slimmer, then probably she is too suggestible - it is better to listen to the opinion of someone else. Secondly, the effect of the training can be short-term - you should focus not on the person’s recent impressions, but on distant reviews and results.

For memory

When you are at the training, everything seems simple and clear. So you go out and start using it. But actually implementing skills outside of training turns out to be unexpectedly difficult. Information disappears in whole blocks. Therefore, it is important to immediately, that same evening, apply it to real life. You need to repeat each exercise many, many times before the skill becomes automatic.
Within the training, barriers and frames are removed, you become more relaxed, more confident, stronger. But as soon as you find yourself outside the established team, one on one with a boss, a young man, a stranger, all the acquired skills can immediately evaporate. Therefore, it is important to continue communicating with those you met during the training. Meet in a cafe and share experiences.

And if it doesn't help

There may be several reasons. It happens that a person does not perceive the group form of work. It happens that in order to achieve an effect, it is necessary to unearth the underlying causes of the problem, which is impossible to do during training.
Sometimes you understand what needs to be done, but you can’t bring yourself to do it. It’s like healthy eating: everyone knows everything, but only a few eat right. There is no need to force yourself. Don't put global goals. Don't promise yourself to improve for the rest of your life. Decide that you will only live by the new rules for three days. Three days is not scary at all. And during these three days you will get a little involved, because according to the law of feedback, the world around you will react to your new behavior. And it’s much easier to get involved when you’ve seen at least a little bit of the desired result.