UK South - course report
Coventry, 02 Jun 2010
Coventry 2010 was to be a very special course for me, as nearly 7 years to the day I was the one sitting in that front row, nervous, apprehensive and yet strangely excited about what lay ahead for the next four days. I will always remember Martin Coombs as my first Course Instructor and so a moment was to be made in history when I would return to Coventry as a Course Instructor to share all of my knowledge and experience with 14 nervous out of control Stammerer’s.We had appointed Sam Dowsing as the Course Organiser and this was to prove to be a very excellent choice as this is no straight forward role, more about Sam’s organisation skills later on in the report.
Wednesday 2nd June 2010 soon arrived and after months of preparation the scene was set for a very exciting challenge ahead.
Matt Wilton, Sam Dowsing and Conor Lowry were all in the Hotel Reception meeting and greeting the new students as they arrived for a really important four days and you certainly could ‘cut the fear in the air’ with a knife!
The time had come to start the course and everyone gathered in the Connaught Suite of the Britannia Hotel where as always, Matt Wilton introduced proceedings very confidently in his relaxing and reassuring manner.
Three graduates- Shaun Pope, Charlotte Brabbins and Gene Wilson gave their own stories which were undoubtedly very motivational and empowering for all that were listening.
It was then the turn of the new students to make that moment in history as Conor Lowry proceeded to ask the questions for the first day videos. Conor did a fantastic job and complimented the duty perfectly. As usual there were a variety of stammers from people who were very covert to some very overt stammers. A total of 14 very introverted, shy and uncomfortable new students all had their out of control stammer recorded for all of time.
Following an opening speech from me, we closed the evening reasonably early as the new students had one of the biggest days of their lives ahead of them on the Thursday of the course.
We started the Thursday with split sessions where Chris Cooksey and Marc Seymour took the Old Graduates and Refreshers for a Course Etiquette and motivational session and this was reported to be very useful for all involved. I discussed the Objectives and basic introduction of the course before moving on to the basic breathing technique so that the new students had a basic grounding for the main breathing session after the break at 1000hrs. All of the coaches involved in helping the new students throughout Thursday were incredibly patient and supportive, ensuring that new students very quickly gained control of the new breathing technique. After introducing ‘Hit & Hold’ and sounding some words using the technique as a tool, a few new students were invited to stand up and say their names which they achieved and this was a proud moment for us all. All old grads involved in drilling subsequent checklist points did so with great enthusiasm. Thursday flew by so quickly culminating in every new student, confidently and assertively, standing up and saying their names and addresses in wonderful control. This is always a very emotional moment as I am sure we can all recall, saying several sentences in complete control for the first time in many years.
Friday morning was set to be eventful and began with a ‘Creeping Death’ version of the Checklist which was very effective at keeping people on their toes. Everyone did very well with this challenge helping them to build a healthy appetite for breakfast. Once again all Grads and New Students were really disciplined with their time keeping which proved so important in the smooth running of the course.
Shaun Pope confidently informed us all about the Stairway to Eloquence soon after breakfast which then paved the way for Nick Harrison with the Rules and Directions. Both gentlemen did a fantastic job delivering these subjects with confidence, conciseness and character.
I had chosen not to mention deliberate dysfluency until Friday morning although I had already started to drip feed the theory from Thursday afternoon in preparation for the main session on Friday morning. Once I had run through the basic concept of Deliberate Dysfluency, we proceeded to explore and practise the animal alphabet to get the new students more focussed on how to use Hit & Hold with the mindset of advertising themselves as somebody working hard to overcome their affliction of stammering. As you would expect it did seem challenging at first for the new students to accept the concept of ‘Stammering on Purpose’, so this was to be encouraged throughout the course.
Matt Hancock was next on the floor running through ‘What to do with a challenging word’ and assertively commanded the floor to communicate this very important information. Steve West took everyone through ‘Overkill’ and ensured that we all clearly understood this process in all aspects of our recovery. Chris Cooksey kindly stood in for AIan Badmington, who was unable to attend at this time, and presented his thoughts on ‘Expanding Comfort Zones and the importance of Non- Avoidance’. ‘Honesty and the Four Fears’ were delivered by Gene Wilson who clearly communicated the positive message of what we must do to keep these four fears from becoming a reality. I had decided to have the first ‘Contacts’ session at lunch time and Sam Dowsing carefully sorted out the pairings so that the new students would be carefully introduced to using the technique in the real world.
When everyone returned from contacts we started the Friday afternoon session with the ‘Voice Projection’ Session which was hosted by Steve Sheesby and his two team leaders- Karl Payne and Sheena ‘Easton’ Crompton. It was empowering to see the new students and everyone involved really letting go and having fun during this session. Next on the floor was Steve Lehner with the ‘Laws’ and he was very innovative in the way that he introduced the session. Steve related and drilled this important information very well and was at obvious ease presenting to nearly 80 people. We then moved on to look at some key ‘Auxiliary Checklist’ subjects and once again Matt Hancock used various props to visually communicate the importance of ‘Practise and Warm-up’. Jeremy Morgan Evans discussed the importance of ‘Mantras’ and I did seem to conveniently miss the opportunity of attempting the long mantra in one breath, must cancel on the next course! Charlotte Brabbins looked at the subject of ‘Monitoring’ our progression along ‘Freedoms Road’ and seemed to really enjoy relating her experiences to all involved.
After the break we then had the reporting back and it is always inspiring to hear how relieved the new students are when they realise that the technique works very well in the real world and that the general public are incredibly supportive and interested in our forward development. All of the new students appeared to be quietly excited about the challenges that were ahead of them. I reassured all new students that we will never put them in any situations or challenges before making sure they were fully prepared and I was really confident that with the invaluable help of the coaches, the new students would be ready for the pending challenges.
With a change to the scheduled program Shaun Pope and Sheena Crompton facilitated a split session with the graduates to help them look at ‘Moving forward in their recovery’. I heard some very positive feedback from this session and I was certainly very grateful to them both for stepping up to the mark at the last minute. Steve Sheesby helped the new students with a very well prepared Telephone session. Chris Cooksey and Marc Seymour assisted Steve with a couple of humorous role plays, to ensure that this important session went really well and the new students took another first step towards freedom. The new students were clearly delighted about using the telephone in control for the first time in their lives.
Saturday morning started for the new students with Chris Cooksey, Marc Seymour and I looking at the key cycles followed by a Q&A session that certainly helped to put many people’s mind at rest regarding various issues and forthcoming challenges. The other graduates were looked after by Daniel Bell who successfully facilitated a Graduate Surgery where everyone had an opportunity to share and discuss any concerns they had regarding their personal speech development. After breakfast Angie Allbones took her team of intrepid Harrison coaches for their first significant motivational briefing before the big event. Graduates and new students were informed of various revision sessions covering subjects that had been previously related earlier in the course. And then the time had come...
Angie Allbones spear- headed an incredibly successful ‘Harrison Workshop’ using the format where each workshop runs at the same time, carefully staged so that the room gradually increased in energy and enthusiasm. Angie’s leadership and dedication along with a dream team of Harrison Coaches ensured that the New Students completely stepped outside of their comfort zones, confidently realising that you really can ‘Let go and have fun with your speech’. The workshop was impeccably organised and delivered throughout and was certainly a testament to Angie’s natural flare for leadership. We are all looking forward to Angie’s first course instruction in Swindon 2011.
Everyone was amused and entertained by Ashley Guerin’s acting skills in preparation for the Contacts session and then we all joined forces for a ‘Circle of Reflection’ to finally prepare the new students for the challenge of contacts and public speaking. New students all realised that they needed to take that ‘Something inside so strong’, the burning desire to be in control of their speech for the first time in many years, and successfully conquer the next challenge.
Public speaking was held at the water fountain near Marks and Spencer’s and 13 new students all confidently got on the Soap Box and realised a dream of a lifetime, speaking to the City of Coventry in awe- inspiring control of their speech. This is an incredible time on the course for all involved as we all discover that new students hard work, dedication and commitment has enabled them to conquer this challenge. There were certainly a few tears throughout this inspirational moment...
The new students all got back to the hotel in time to run their own checklist session carefully facilitated by Angie Allbones and they were undoubtedly on a different level of confidence, clearly beaming from the earlier events. Everyone reconvened at 1900hrs to receive the reporting back and every new student over exceeded their personal expectations of how many contacts they would achieve. It was very obvious that the person in front of me reporting back was so different, compared to when the course started on Wednesday evening and this brilliant for them and everyone involved.
The two split sessions on Saturday evening were potentially controversial as there was no real fun session for the graduates. Chris Cooksey delivered an interactive workshop helping the graduates to realise how the hexagon can be used effectively to take our personal speech development to the next level. Once again the positive feedback from the session proved that interactive workshops really work when they are carefully prepared and delivered. Sharon Beckham closed Saturday night with a very inspiring ‘Confidence building’ workshop that I know was really uplifting and encouraging. Alan Badmington and I were with the new students looking at the benefits of positive thinking along with reliving the monumental achievements from earlier in the day and this proved to be a very successful session with the new students going to bed revisiting what they had achieved.
Sunday morning soon arrived and Wednesday evening seemed a distant memory. Throughout the course Terry Cardwell and Martin Coombs had been running Staff Training alongside and 12 graduates had been working incredibly hard towards their final exams that were held later today. So for 12 graduates their big day had certainly arrived regarding the staff training qualifications. Thirteen news students attended a ‘Going Home’ Session to begin the preparation for them venturing out into the real world away from the safe course environment. Matt Wilton and I answered many questions and were able to reassure the new students regarding what they needed to do when they take their new found freedom home.
Geoffrey Liddington spoke about the importance of the ‘Hexagon’, this is always a challenging task so early on a Sunday morning, prior to Steve Moses and a host of other people who addressed the subject of Self Actualisation. Steve had also organised a very effective role playing exercise with Tracey Goldlaing, Angie Allbones and Chris Cooksey to illustrate the importance of being self actualised. Katie O’ Shea delivered a very meaningful and eloquent speech about how self actualisation has specifically influenced her ongoing speech development and everyone could relate very easily to Katie’s natural presentation ability. I first saw Steve’s session in Swindon earlier this year and I knew that he was the man for the job and he certainly delivered the goods! Sharon Beckham discussed the ‘Four Traits of Winning’ before handing the floor to Charlotte Crutcher. Charlotte delivered an interactive ‘Relapse Mechanisms’ session and confidently communicated the importance of always being very aware of the specific issues that can occur and potentially be detrimental to our recovery. Alan Wyatt got everyone back into lines for the ‘Assertive Rights of Recovery’ and ensured that these points were reinforced by drilling each assertive right. I closed off the last formal session with a run through the second half of the ‘Stairway to Eloquence’ before we had our own alcohol free Cocktail party giving the new students an opportunity to discuss where they had been and what they had been doing for the last four days.
After a short lunch break we were ahead of schedule and the time had come for the presentations and farewell speeches. I was delighted to receive my third Ice Berg and the emotions nearly got the better of me, a few fast and full costal breaths got me back in the zone to say a few words...Martin Coombs and Terry Cardwell were able to escape from the Staff Training for a short period to receive their awards and recognition. Each new student then came up in turn to deliver their farewell speeches and this was a truly memorable event on the course. A few new students enjoyed the speaking opportunity so much that they presented ‘War and peace’ about four times over which was very entertaining.
So that was it, the end of a very successful course...
And now for the thank you’s...
Thanks to Carolyn, my lovely missus, for putting up with me during the preparation stage of the course, a real rock as always. Thank you to Matt for giving the opportunity to instruct this course and for being an inspiration to everyone on the program. A big appreciative thank you to Sam Dowsing, the course organiser who ensured that everything ran perfectly behind the scenes, remaining calm at all times and generally doing a fantastic job, a good mate and a valuable asset to the McGuire Programme. Thank you to Terry and Martin for their support and consideration throughout the course ensuring that the staff training complimented the course and proceeded seamlessly alongside the general running of events. I really appreciated Alan Badmington’s input on the course, thank you for coming some distance for only a short period of time to enhance the content of the course. Chris Cooksey and Marc Seymour helped out on numerous occasions delivering various sessions, always sharing their vast knowledge and experience to develop other graduates. A massive inclusive thank you to people on staff training for their input along with the invaluable assistance throughout the course of all coaches and other old graduates that just make it happen successfully.
I hope I have not forgotten anyone, as everyone else helped me to make it happen and without a fantastic team the course would not have been a big success.
Thanks finally to Dave McGuire and everyone involved in the early days for an incredible life changing programme.
New graduates of the program never settle for second best, be relentless in your ongoing speech development, always be the best you can be and remember that ‘Something inside so strong’, you have got what it takes to excel at the this amazing technique so move forwards and embrace your new exciting future.
Russell Eden.