“I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”
― Maya Angelou
Why do people come to your class?
There are likely several answers to this question. Maybe they love your energy, or your physicality on stage. Perhaps it’s your clear coaching, or your aspirational movement. Maybe they love your classes because you’re funny, or you push them harder than someone else, or because you once remembered their name and they simply love you for that.
Underneath all these reasons lies the same answer: it’s because of the way you make them feel.
We become group training Instructors for all sorts of reasons: because someone else encouraged us; we fell in love with the workout and wanted to share our passion for it; we enjoy being on stage; we wanted a free gym membership (!). But until you actually get up on that stage, you don’t understand the magic of how what we do makes a difference in the lives of others.
In today’s world, it’s more important than ever to focus on how you can make sure every single person who comes to your class feels seen, feels encouraged, and feels like they matter.
I remember watching an education video at the start of one of my release DVDs (remember them?) about 16 years ago when I was a baby Instructor, living in Birmingham, UK. On this video, Phillip Mills talked about the importance of motivation. He said something along the lines of (I’m paraphrasing): “If people want a workout, they can run around the block. They come to you for motivation.”
In 2024, if people want a workout, they can: use an app, do a Virtual workout, find something on YouTube, copy what someone is doing on Instagram or TikTok, or even use AI to write them a program that is specifically tailored to their goals. There are myriad fitness offerings that can theoretically give people the same results as coming to one of our classes. So how do we make the difference?
By making people feel special.
No matter how great the latest release is on LES MILLS+, that 2D version of Khiran is never going to remember their birthday or congratulate them for finally getting pushups on their toes. That Influencer with 2.4M followers might have washboard abs, but it’s unlikely they’re going to play their favorite track in the Wednesday 6pm BODYCOMBAT class just because they requested it. And that ChatGPT program won’t give them an encouraging smile when they feel like giving up, or show them the little tweak they can make to get more out of a barbell squat.
Wondering how the pros do it? Here are 5 tips:
Reagan Kang (Malaysia)
The best advice I was given is that it's not about what you say, but how you make people feel. To me, teaching is an act of love. I love seeing people succeed when they implement feedback, or they have an ah-ha moment when they spend time learning from you. That feeling is priceless — knowing that you're able to add value to someone else's life.
I focus a lot on connection. I focus on making people feel like they’re the only person in the room. I learn names and I try to talk to everyone in the room, to make them feel connected so that the next hour is just you, me, the music and the workout. I want them to forget everything else that’s going on in their lives so we can just focus on what we're doing. Then when they leave the class, they feel a lot better about themselves.
Khiran Huston (NZ)
I encourage you to think about the program from a participant's perspective. Sometimes we can be in teacher mode constantly and forget what it's like to be a beginner or a regular participant. Different people are going through different stages in their fitness journey and they've been with the program for different lengths of time. Sometimes we can be so fixated on “I have to learn the choreography and then I have to hit these coaching layers” that we forget about actually teaching fitness. And not only that – we're providing people with a fitness experience. At the end of the day, it's the experience will get them coming back not only to that program, but to you as an Instructor.
Anthony Oxford (UK)
My purpose in every class I teach is to make people feel better walking out the door than they did when they came in. I understand that you never know what someone’s going through. You can’t presume that just because someone walks in with a smile, they’re actually happy. I know that I walk in with a smile when I’m not feeling good. Most of the time, I’m trying to make myself feel better by helping others to feel better, so I’m bouncing that energy back and forth between us so that we all leave feeling good. I suppose my strength is that I’m comfortable with my emotions and vulnerabilities and knowing that my strengths are also my weaknesses.
Otto Prodan (NZ)
When I went to my first ever Les Mills class — BODYATTACK™ — the Instructor made me feel seen, made me feel like I was okay. That I belonged. I didn't feel like I belonged in the school. I didn't feel like I belonged at home. I wasn't feeling good in my body. And I was being told that what I was doing was wrong. But in the gym, in that class, it didn't matter and the Instructor didn't care. I was being encouraged to be myself, to be as flamboyant as I liked, to wave my hands in the air and enjoy myself. I felt like I could express myself in a way I couldn’t in other parts of my life.
When I teach my classes, I want people to have that same feeling that the BODYATTACK Instructor gave me. It doesn't matter who you are. It doesn't matter your fitness level. It doesn't matter what's going on at home. You can come here and have a good time and feel good in your body. No judgement.
Amy Lu (NZ)
My two group training idols are Glen [Ostergaard] and Gandalf [Archer Mills].
In the initial part of my journey it was Glen, mostly because I wasn't always very confident, especially speaking in front of people. In a group setting, I used to just blend into the background and quietly observe. You know, Glen's not very flamboyant at all. He’s a quiet person. But even in his quiet, he’s still confident and he can control the room. And that’s something I really wanted to learn – how to make my quiet become louder. He also has an insane work ethic and sense of self-belief, which I really wanted to emulate.
And then I love Gandalf! You know, he teaches a great class, creates experiences, is a great dancer, is captivating, super funny, creative, original, all of those things. But what I really, really, really admire about him is how original and free he is in himself. He's so out of the box! He's authentic and just does what he loves. I find that super inspiring. And because he's so unapologetically himself, he gives people in his class permission to do the same. When I think about the ultimate connector, that's Gandalf. That's how I hope I can make people feel in my classes.
House Chaalane (Singapore)
I love teaching because it makes me feel useful to the members who are coming to achieve a goal, no matter what it is. It can be just having fun, forgetting about their problems, burning a certain number of calories, or fighting their issues out through kicking and punching. I feel good knowing I help them achieve this goal. Being useful to members is rewarding and fulfilling.
A few years ago, one member, now a dear friend of mine, used to come to my classes because he was jobless and struggling in life. The classes "were his oxygen". I even made him jump on stage on the day of his birthday. That was EVERYTHING for him — feeling good, loved, accepted, and acknowledged. I had absolutely no clue on his situation, I just loved seeing him in class having the time of his life! He told me about his work/life situation a few years later and how much these classes literally saved him from completely "losing it". THIS is my "why". Satisfaction of a job well done and knowing we are able to change lives, even on a small scale. Every single step is progress.
