I hesitated briefly with the answer when the caller asked me on the phone today “Was ist denn das ganz Besondere an dieser “Geheimer Verführer Stimme”-Seminarwoche auf La Gomera?”.Because I love this special seminar format, which has been attracting enthusiastic participants since 2008. And I love that special smile on the lips of everyone who talks about it afterwards.
I paused on the phone, because I wanted to get to the bottom of the question. What is very special about a seminar in which no more than twelve participants spend six days intensively dealing with their effect – their voice, their appearance and their language? In a place where they have no cell phone connection for six days(!)?
Several arguments spontaneously went through my head:
1. The island: "This seminar location is fascinating!" Already during the 20-minute boat ride from the port of San Sebastian to the pier of the finca, this special atmosphere sets in: The eyes "read" the steep rocky shore with its clearly visible cooled volcanic vents and basalt roses, you dive into another world. The famous Columbus island of La Gomera welcomes you with elegiac calm and austere elegance. This impression is then continued in the seminar house: spacious apartments built of stones, the spacious seminar room, banana trees, blossoms, five hundred meters of Atlantic beach just for us, etc. An all-round inspiring environment. A place where new things can be created.
2. The coach: As a seminar leader, I particularly appreciate this La Gomera week for the opportunity to work confidently on often sensitive topics for more than just two days. "Your workshop testifies to a special degree of appreciation on your part towards their seminar participants and is quite simply the best I've seen so far" , a participant wrote to me after his return. … But what would the best trainer be without the wealth of experience of its participants – so my next good argument is:
3. The selected group of participants: Schon beim Frühstück unter freiem Himmel macht sich gute Laune breit. Und gleich danach beim Aufwärmtraining am Strand zeigt sich, da haben sich Menschen gefunden, die bereit sind, mit Spaß, Energie, gegenseitigem Einfühlungsvermögen und Diskretion sechs Tage lang gemeinsam an Rhetorik, Körpersprache und Stimme zu arbeiten. Jeder der Anwesenden ist ja auf seinem Gebiet ein Experte. Das macht das wechselseitige Feedback so besonders wertvoll.
4. Individual coaching between the workshop blocks : Oft tauchen Themen auf, die man nicht unbedingt allen Teilnehmern „auf die Nase binden“ will. Dafür stehen in La Gomera nachmittags, also zwischen den beiden Workshop-Blogs, Coachingstunden zur Verfügung.
5. The six-day seminar duration: Maybe you know how darn rehearsed the personal way of speaking is. So it's good to be able to deal with the subject matter for longer than in the usual 2-day workshops. Every day you experience small progress and enjoy the feedback on it. This is how real solutions are tested. And in the days after you return, you not only know more precisely how to behave differently – you actually do! Authentic, effective, safe.
6. That the seminar has such a strong effect: One participant wrote to me: “Faszinierenderweise erlebe ich jetzt das Sprechen – nicht nur in Meetings – generell anders, bewusster. Die sechs Tage auf La Gomera wirken so stark auf meinen routinemäßigen Alltag! Es war der wohl effektivste Workshop, an dem ich überhaupt je teilgenommen habe. Respekt!”
What do you think: Which argument would be most important to you?
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