Using the Why Why So So technique to help PT clients
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The common saying when programme writing, is that you need to know where you are starting and the place you want to end up, in order to plan the route.
I would add that you also need to know why it is important to do the journey, and if you have kids you will know that having a robust reason to do something is vital to get them to do anything for you.
Why Why So So, is a way of determining the end goal, and the reason for the goal. The start point will require some testing.
If you ask a client for their goal, you have to remember the factors that will influence their answer to you,
1 - Their level of trust in you
2 - Their desire or need to impress you
3 - Their level of knowledge and their ability to articulate the goal
4 - How much they have thought about their own goals
5 - The environment you ask them for the goal
6 - The level of defensiveness that they naturally have to opening-up
7 - Their willingness to accept why they want to achieve what they want to achieve
The above is not a comprehensive list, but it is a start point, and a way of demonstrating to you, that the first answer they give you quite often is not the goal at all.
Tackling all of the above issues will require a trainer to work on environment, experience, timing, and rapport at least, and those are the skills we teach in our courses. The Why Why So So is part of this system though, and although the following description seems like a one session solution, actually it is not, and you may why why so so for the whole time a client is with you.
The Why Why process is simple -
1 - Get in the boat (a topic we cover in our courses)
2 - Asking why the goal is important to the client
3 - Agreeing you can help them with that goal and then asking why again but about the new information
Steps 2 and 3 are repeated until the client runs out of whys, the more whys, the better the understanding both of you will get of the end goal, and the more important the goal will be to the client. If the client is positive in nature this is the most important step, if they are negative then the So So becomes vital.
So So is the place we look to find the importance of the goal from a negative perspective, so focussing on the consequences of missing the goal. It is an important step because often the consequences do not line up to missing the goal, and for the more negative focussed client, this might mean you have to go in and change the goal!
The So So process is simple -
1 - Ask the client what things would be like if they missed out on their goal
2 - Agree with their answer and ask for more depth in what that would mean to them
3 - Continue steps 1 and 2, until they run out of information to give
4 - Draw together a summary of what you have learned from both the Why Why and the So So, and make the final statement one that is bold and if necessary makes assumptions
5 - Allow the client to correct you, and then progress on to testing and goal setting
In the So So you may find that the consequence from missing the goal is so important that you need to look at the goal and see if achieving it will actually result in the client avoiding the outcome they are so worried about.
It is the why why so so system that has helped so many FASTER trainers get the reputation of mind reader, or soothsayer, or both!
The common saying when programme writing, is that you need to know where you are starting and the place you want to end up, in order to plan the route.
I would add that you also need to know why it is important to do the journey, and if you have kids you will know that having a robust reason to do something is vital to get them to do anything for you.
Why Why So So, is a way of determining the end goal, and the reason for the goal. The start point will require some testing.
If you ask a client for their goal, you have to remember the factors that will influence their answer to you,
1 - Their level of trust in you
2 - Their desire or need to impress you
3 - Their level of knowledge and their ability to articulate the goal
4 - How much they have thought about their own goals
5 - The environment you ask them for the goal
6 - The level of defensiveness that they naturally have to opening-up
7 - Their willingness to accept why they want to achieve what they want to achieve
The above is not a comprehensive list, but it is a start point, and a way of demonstrating to you, that the first answer they give you quite often is not the goal at all.
Tackling all of the above issues will require a trainer to work on environment, experience, timing, and rapport at least, and those are the skills we teach in our courses. The Why Why So So is part of this system though, and although the following description seems like a one session solution, actually it is not, and you may why why so so for the whole time a client is with you.
The Why Why process is simple -
1 - Get in the boat (a topic we cover in our courses)
2 - Asking why the goal is important to the client
3 - Agreeing you can help them with that goal and then asking why again but about the new information
Steps 2 and 3 are repeated until the client runs out of whys, the more whys, the better the understanding both of you will get of the end goal, and the more important the goal will be to the client. If the client is positive in nature this is the most important step, if they are negative then the So So becomes vital.
So So is the place we look to find the importance of the goal from a negative perspective, so focussing on the consequences of missing the goal. It is an important step because often the consequences do not line up to missing the goal, and for the more negative focussed client, this might mean you have to go in and change the goal!
The So So process is simple -
1 - Ask the client what things would be like if they missed out on their goal
2 - Agree with their answer and ask for more depth in what that would mean to them
3 - Continue steps 1 and 2, until they run out of information to give
4 - Draw together a summary of what you have learned from both the Why Why and the So So, and make the final statement one that is bold and if necessary makes assumptions
5 - Allow the client to correct you, and then progress on to testing and goal setting
In the So So you may find that the consequence from missing the goal is so important that you need to look at the goal and see if achieving it will actually result in the client avoiding the outcome they are so worried about.
It is the why why so so system that has helped so many FASTER trainers get the reputation of mind reader, or soothsayer, or both!
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