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WHAT DO THEY NEED TO HEAR?

newsletter Aug 25, 2022

What Do They Need To Hear

By Eric Bugera

Language matters, but how you wield it matters too.

How you use language should be scaled to the person in front of you. As you learn, experience, and understand exercise physiology to greater degrees – you should become more comfortable with anatomic and biological terms. This can be fantastic for refining the way you interpret client data and how to problem solve.

Although you may have improved vocabulary, attention to detail, and knowledge of the human body – you still need to communicate like a human being. Your client is not (necessarily) a kinesiologist. They are not (necessarily) a trainer, and they most assuredly aren’t you.

When something new is learned, it is very common to view the entire world through this lens; however, the way you view the world and the way you interface with the world needs to be refined just as much as your knowledge and vocabulary.

Can you, as a trainer, understand to a deeper level than yesterday – but still communicate with a client in terms that are impactful for them?

This is the great challenge of personal training. Coaching a human being means understanding how to wield your knowledge, vocabulary, and passion in such a way that will still connect with the person in front of you. Regardless of how close to the mark you may be in literal terms, the end result is what matters in the eyes of the client.

Consider communication through metaphor as opposed to jargon. Examples instead of definitions, demonstrations instead of graphs.

Develop a library of stories, cues, examples, and conversations that help illustrate the point you’re trying to make. Training a client can be as much a performance as it is a physical experience.

A client is not keeping score, cross referencing everything you say against the textbooks of old. More than likely Pandora's Box will be opened from tips and tricks found through social media – of which will be using language even more inappropriately than you could ever dream.

You serve as the reference point. The trusted relationship you have crafted based upon explanations scaled to your client’s understanding and curiosity can then be used to your advantage. Debunk or course correct things they may be infected by through less scrupulous sources – all of your continued education and finer anatomical knowledge can be used with greater degrees of effectiveness in this now contextually appropriate setting.

Always remember that training is about training, not lecturing. The investment in education is beneficial insomuch as it helps inform how you should then train. Becoming a walking dictionary without any real return on investment in the trenches may tarnish a client’s perception of you.

Educate yourself to always have a depth of knowledge at the ready – turning away myths, misinformation, and self-destructive training practices; but, keep this knowledge under wraps in deference for actually spending time on the floor training and connecting with your clients.

They need to hear what they need to hear – only when they need to hear it. The average person can go their entire life making wild amounts of progress without ever hearing the phrase line of pull. If and when the time comes, make sure they know what it means and how it affects their gains – without all the word vomit that may interfere with the joy of actually training.

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