Great trainers are never playing a role at the front of the room. They are their authentic selves.

I have trained trainers for years. Often I’ll have a conversation with new trainers off to the side, or during the classes, then the moment they step to the front of the room they become someone else.

This is something that I have worked very hard to eliminate in new trainers. 

It’s like they adopt the role of “Trainer John”, rather than simply being John Who Trains.

The risk of being “Trainer John” is that you are acting in a role and this is obvious to the participants. And, whilst I appreciate that it may be you being professional, all the participants will feel is the incongruence.

When I was once bidding for work with one of the major banks in Australia, I was advised that they were looking for a particular style of trainer. They wanted people who were ‘on a journey’ and they didn’t need to have any particular experience, but needed to have a ‘presence.’ 

Initially, I found this rather daunting. Winning this contract was an opportunity to do some great work and receive some initial high quality professional development.

So I was feeling a little nervous about my fit for the role and how I would perform in the interview and the demonstration.

In the end, I decided that I would simply be myself and deliver with my usual style. Either I was right for the job or not. I would rather win or lose the work being my authentic self than trying to be something I wasn’t.

Imagine being inauthentic and winning the work: How exhausting it would have been trying to keep up the pretense.

Imagine being inauthentic and not winning the work. I would have wondered forever if I would have won the work had I been my authentic self.

This story has a happy ending. I did win the work and it was indeed a lucrative contract – both in learning for me and in fees!

Three things to keep in mind:

1. Trust yourself.
2. Be yourself.
3. Love yourself.