I wanted to share with you two powerful techniques that we do here at all of my schools to instantly establish value and clearly demonstrate the benefits of the martial arts. At the same time, you never get a second chance for a first impression. So one of the most important things you have to do is, of course, properly greet all your new trials. I’m coming to your school for the first time. And, of course, very simple. You introduce yourself to the parent and to the child.
This is how I do it:
Hey, guys, thanks for coming today! I’m Grand Master Park. I am the principal and owner of the Academy, and maybe your name is Jones. Great to meet you!
Now, let’s say Charles. Hey, what’s your name, buddy? Joey. Joey! It’s so great to meet you. So, Joey, tell me. What’s your favorite color? Blue? So are mine. Joey? How old are you? Seven? Lucky seven! And Joey? What school do you go to? Okay, what grade are you in?
If you notice a child’s name being used three times, That is a very powerful technique. So you don’t forget the name. Okay, So when you meet somebody, if you repeat the name three times, right, as they say their name, you won’t forget it. So Joey, the first thing I’m going to teach you is to look at my eyes when Grandmaster is talking to you. Right here, okay? It’s very important that you do that. Can you say focus? Focus? Excellent.
Look into my eyes, especially when I’m teaching, and you might be able to move. You’re looking at my what? And point to the eye. And make the child say, “I’m sorry, look at my one. eye. Excellent. And you don’t want it? I want you to do this. Not just here in taekwondo, but at home. When mommy talks to you, do you look at her? That’s right! eyes. And when Daddy tells you to look at his one, you should. Such a delicate eye! How about in school? When you teach that, you look at her. What is this? like? Give me five? Excellent. Can you do this from now on? And 9 out of 10 times, a child’s going to say yes. And then to say, “Hey, can you say yes, sir?” And the cue? Make one more attempt? a little louder? Yes, sir. Excellent. When you do that, Joey, you’re showing me a very important word, which is the first tenant of our school called courtesy, which means respect. Can you say respect? Respect, okay. Respect is treating everyone how you want to be treated. One of the most important people you have to treat with respect is your mom and dad. As a question, do you love your mom and dad? Yes, sir. That’s right. Do you want to make them happy? Yes, sir. You want to make them special and serve them? Well, one of the ways to do that is to show respect.
For example, showing a good mom and saying, “Mr. Jones, when you call Joey at home, you call his name? What does he think? What does he say? Does he say it? Yeah, mom? Does he say, “What mom? Does he say, “Huh? Wait a minute, or do you have to call his name? Twice? three times? Which one of these is it? A little of all the above? Joey, respect is something you show. So from now on, when mom calls your name, I want you to say Yes, Mommy, can you do that for me? Yes. Give me Hi, Yes, sir. Please give me a high five. Good job. You know what I want you to show me? Mrs. Jones? Will you call Joey’s name out loud for me? Shall we? Most likely, the kid’s going to say what he’s used to saying. Yeah, or what? And that’s the time to look at a parent and say, you know, one of the things that we do here at parks is take the current habits of your child and replace them with stronger habits. And I need your help doing that. So whatever he learns here, you can also, you know, reinforce it at home. Okay, so one more time, Joey. Well, mom calls you Joey said Yes, Mommy!, Joey. Yes, Mommy! Excellent. Give me five. All right, let’s go learn some cool moves. So, take a couple of minutes and do that.
Establish instant credibility, value, and rapport; more importantly, it clearly communicates the school’s philosophy and the benefits of martial arts. Okay, so use this. I mean, this is something I have done for decades. It is so, so powerful. It is so powerful. All right. And how do you do your trials? I mean, there are so many different ways to skin a cat, right? Some people do semi-private trials or private trials. Some people, you know, throw them in class. I mean, I’ve done them all. We’ve done them all. And currently, you know, we put them in class. That’s why that technique is so important for our instructors to know, you know, to do because it establishes, you know, the foundation. And then when they go to class, parents have more of an open mind because that first impression was so, so powerful.
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