Relationship skills training and online certification.
Part 1
I am prompted to write this article having been asked by clients if I provided online certification for the Communication and Relationship programmes I teach.The programmes in question, in this instance, being NLP Practitioner/Master Practitioner and Hypnosis,understanding that the questions posed can be expanded to include other fields.
The question triggered me to consider the implications of providing such a programme and I decided to share my thoughts, with the intention of obtaining others views on the subject.
I have reached some conclusions,how could I not,and will not present them immediately so the article will be in 2 parts.
Note:The relationship skills being discussed are assumed to be those set of skills useful in enabling an individual to act as a certified,proficient Agent of Change(e.g.:Coach,Therapist,Councillor)with others.
A brief overview of some of the questions I asked myself.
- 1:Can skills involving personal relationships between two or more people be taught, and used/practised effectively, with the information technology currently available to us, without the teacher/trainer being physically present?
Note: I have said people, but the question could be applied to people and other living organisms such as Horses or Octopi.
- 2:Can the teacher/trainer be confident that the individual being trained has assimilated the necessary skills to the extent that the teacher/trainer is willing to certify the individual as a proficient practitioner, who will be able to use these skills as an Agent of Change, with positive results for the practitioner and others?
- 3:Can the teacher/trainer be confident that ,the individual professing to have learnt these skills is the same individual at the remote end of the technology being used?
- 4:Can the individual being trained be confident that the certifying teacher/trainer is who they say they are, and possess the necessary skills required to teach/train and then certify them?
Examples of some of the subjects I consciously/unconsciously considered when reading and ruminating on the questions as stated above.
- Relationships are complex
Any relationship between two or more living beings is very complex and not predictable.
“Hit a croquet ball with a mallet and you may be able to reasonably predict where the ball will go.Now exchange the ball for a living hedgehog and the mallet for a living flamingo”
Ask Alice (“Alice in Wonderland”)
- Relationships will effect others actions directly and indirectly
The actions of an individual/s in a relationship will ,at many levels, modify the actions of other individual/s in the same,or connected,relationship/s.Very often the above is not known consciously by the individuals.
“Ever noticed the change in a group when a charismatic,whatever that means to you,individual approaches the group?Or how the laughter of a small child,or the playful antics of a puppy or kitten can shift the state of those around it?”
- Living beings senses are normally unconscious processes and contextually adaptable
Living beings have multiple senses the use of which is rarely available to conscious awareness, and in some instances, probably never should be.
These senses are very sensitive to minute changes, or news of difference, based on a comparison of changes in state, and changes in state can be enhanced or de sensitised depending on the context in which they are active.
“Should you ever be sent to a Jungle, having lived in an urban environment, or visa versa, I suggest your senses would first be overloaded and then self adjust the individual senses thresholds appropriate to the new context”
- Information by itself is not knowledge
Individuals assimilate information (news of difference),which is filtered through their senses, neurological structures and filters, but until the information is connected to other already existing information and experiences, the information is meaningless and can not be called knowledge.
“That is a Cat…..There is a flap in the door……and ?”
- Knowledge does not equate to skills
Knowledge, in and of itself, does not produce skills.
“If I throw this dart at that board and hit it, the pointy end will stick in it…Knowing this does not mean I will be a skilled darts player”
- Information and knowledge are not always consciously available
Information is assimilated both consciously (the individual has some awareness that it exists) and unconsciously (the individual has no awareness it has been assimilated)
“Watch an individual who is severely phobic of spiders in a context where there is a probability of one or more being present, they will not necessarily be aware they are scanning for the little beasties yet they will detect the smallest of them with minimal cues very quickly.The same information is available to you and you had no conscious awareness it was there ,assuming you are not phobic of them yourself, until you notice the behaviours and state of the arachnophobe.”
- Building skills requires practise and direct,appropriate feedback
Skills, both physical and mental, require practise and direct, timely feedback for them to be acquired and used proficiently. Any delay, no matter how small, can distort or delete the feedback, as can existing filters, possibly making the feedback of no practical use.
“How long did it take you to learn to walk ,talk, ride a bike, catch a ball? Each involved immediate and sometimes painful feedback”
- Skills are most effectively used unconsciously
With practise and direct feedback, skills eventually drop from conscious awareness into the unconscious for periods of time.
“When was the last time you had to think about getting through a revolving door?”
When skills are practised consciously they are rarely as effective or efficient.
“Consider the process of catching a ball…could you coordinate all the senses and physiological processes needed to catch it consciously?”
- Skills and learning are usually very context dependant
Skills are often specific to a particular context and can be degraded when used in a different context.
“Playing a guitar upside down is a challenge for any guitarist”
Having read the above, please consider the questions and I will introduce you to my conclusions in Part 2. And look forward to your insights.
Perceptions Edge 