Loaded Question- Distance Or In-Person Training - The Best And Which Program Recommended?

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Permalink Reply by Jack Hirsh on November 19, 2009 at 5:58am

Hi Michael,

I have done both. I got started in hypnosis through distance learning. I bought Jerry Kein's basic to advanced class on E-bay and went through it. I learned so much from those videos and yet I still felt like I was missing something. So I started looking into live training and decided that is what I needed. I booked a flight to Dallas and trained with Richard Nongard. It was a great experience. I loved the instant feedback from working with people and I loved that I could pick Richard's brain and get answers to questions I had instantly. The other nice thing about a live class is you are practicing your rapport building skills and hypnosis skills on people that are going to be honest with you. Friends and family that allow you to practice may not want to hurt your feelings and therefor may not give you the best feedback.

Both are good and have there place. The one thing you will get with distance learning (especialy through video) is you can refer back to the video as many times and as often as you like. So I guess I think a combination of the 2 is a great way to go. Besides you should never stop learning and never think you know all there is to know.

Good luck
~Jack

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Permalink Reply by Michael Jackson Burney on November 19, 2009 at 6:46am

Thank you for your input. Sounds like if you could only do one to start, you would opt for the in-person training? Mike

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Permalink Reply by Hugh Cole on November 19, 2009 at 8:42am

I have done a lot of trainings. My Girlfriend has rearranged my Tape collection so many times, it's getting hard to keep it all straight. But yes it is a great advantage to be able to review the material. However, The single most valuable resource of my career is something I call "face time" and you only get it sitting in front of the face of a great trainer. The material on the DVD's is usually great, In fact most people will record thier training and sell it as an adjunct to the training. But... Lunch with say .. Scott Sandland, Richard Nongard or Jonathan Altfeld ... worth it's weight in Gold. Looking back over it all if I were a new hypnotist starting out. I would be in Las Vegas or Los Angeles the next time Mark Cunningham teaches the New Curriculum, But that's just me and it's not meant to slight any of the other great trainers here on Hypnothoughts,

Hugh Cole
The Pretty Goodest Hypnotist on the Planet

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Permalink Reply by Jack Hirsh on November 19, 2009 at 9:49am

Hugh,

I agree with you regarding Mark Cunningham's training. I have seen the New Curriculum videos and now wish I had taken the training in person (I still might). He doesn't waste any time going over the history of hypnosis, he figures you can get that anyplace. What he does do that is great is pause every time he covers a technique and has the class go practice it for a half hour or so. This is valuable skill building time and experience, something that you just can't duplicate through distance learning.

~Jack

Hugh Cole said:

I have done a lot of trainings. My Girlfriend has rearranged my Tape collection so many times, it's getting hard to keep it all straight. But yes it is a great advantage to be able to review the material. However, The single most valuable resource of my career is something I call "face time" and you only get it sitting in front of the face of a great trainer. The material on the DVD's is usually great, In fact most people will record thier training and sell it as an adjunct to the training. But... Lunch with say .. Scott Sandland, Richard Nongard or Jonathan Altfeld ... worth it's weight in Gold. Looking back over it all if I were a new hypnotist starting out. I would be in Las Vegas or Los Angeles the next time Mark Cunningham teaches the New Curriculum, But that's just me and it's not meant to slight any of the other great trainers here on Hypnothoughts,

Hugh Cole
The Pretty Goodest Hypnotist on the Planet

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Permalink Reply by Jonathan Chase on March 19, 2010 at 2:27pm

Hi Michael,

If you are a naturally talented hypnotist then you may well get away with the book and dvd stuff. But, I've had people who have done it this way come on a class and say they wished they had done both.

If I were you I'd look for a mentor. There is no replacing being able to learn from someone who has been there and done it.

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Permalink Reply by Jackie Spencer on March 19, 2010 at 2:52pm

I vote combination! Lots of HMI lectures are great on dvd. But there is information that becomes more meaningful to me now that I've been doing this awhile. I love having the discs to watch over and over again and have all new ah-hah moments each time. But there's nothing like working with students in an environment where it's safe to screw up to build real confidence rather than having to project confidence without experience. My first experiences were based on the concept that if I do what the lessons said, the way they said, I'll get the same results. No practice first. And it's worked. But live practice, live teachers make all the difference in the world.

And mentors?! Invaluable. Absolutely.

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