Motivating vs. Lecturing
I had a couple come in together to talk to me about lecturing them. I was wondering how does a trainer motivate their clients to complete challenges on their own without feeling like their trainer is lecturing them? I felt awful that they had a terrible week because they wanted to be defiant and do exactly the opposite of what I was saying. They felt I was just telling them that they were wrong and they had to do things my way. That wasn’t my intention to make them feel bad for being themselves. I felt, on the other hand, that I was giving them ideas for how to plan out their week. Am I doing something wrong?
Hi Caitlin,
Not everyone will do and follow instructions. Some are willing to listen and try out what ever ideas or suggestions we give them, but others will just ignore or feel like their way is better than someone else. The problem is that they came to us at the first place because we are supposed to be the experts in this field.
What I usually tell my clients is that whatever advise I give them, they should at least give it a try to see if that will work and if not then we can try to figure out a better plan. I keep reminding them that since they are paying me money to help them, the least they could is to listen to me, otherwise what’s the point paying me. The best way to make them understand why they hire me at the first place is because they couldn’t reach whatever goals they had set for themselves on their own, so here I am. It’s like when you need a legal advice you go to a lawyer or if you need a medical advice then you go to a doctor, instead of taking matters into your own hands.
You will always run into clients who don’t want to listen and after you have given them your best, there is not much else you can do to convince them otherwise. At the end of the day, they need to be open to outside help and be willing to trust you. Sometimes the personalities don’t match, so a different trainer might be better for them, without blaming yourself if this this doesn’t work out.
I hope this helps.
Best,
Harris