The McGuire Programme
Regional Director of The McGuire Programme
- Course Date: November 26, 2018
- Course Location: Eindhoven, The Netherlands
- Course Instructor: Denise Admiraal
- Number of New Students: 4
The course was our biggest course for 2018. We had 60 people in total over the duration of the 4 days including 4 new students (3 from Holland and 1 from Saudi Arabia).
We held our last course for 2018 in Eindhoven in The Netherlands. This course was the first course in over 6 years to be held in English and it didn’t disappoint. We had memebrs from McGuire International coming from far away places, such as Sweden, the UK, Ireland, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Saudi Arabia (via Spain) and Germany.
The course was our biggest course for 2018. We had 60 people in total over the duration of the 4 days including 4 new students (3 from Holland and 1 from Saudi Arabia).
One of the things that stood out during this course was the graduate’s realisation the programme exists beyond their borders. Having an international course in Central Europe showed the grads that you can enjoy courses in other regions. As a result of this many grads from Holland now want to push out of their comfort zones and attend courses in Sweden, the UK, Ireland and beyond.
During the course, we held a workshop on accepting and making compliments. We generally tend to be more resistant to compliments — even when we most need them. So, the idea behind this workshop was to set ourselves the goal to tolerate compliments when we receive them, even if they make us uncomfortable (and they sometimes do). The best way to avoid the reflexive reactions of batting away compliments is to prepare simple set responses and train yourself to use them automatically whenever you get good feedback e.g., “Thank you” or “How kind of you to say”. In time, the impulse to deny or rebuff compliments will fade — which will also be a nice indication your self-esteem is getting stronger. A great way to start building up your self-esteem!
Three of the new students were 18 or under, so we had their parents present at all times during the course. It’s really great for the parents to witness first-hand what we do and what to expect after the course ends, and to point out that this is not a search for fluency course, this is a way to get control of your speech and to speak and communicate with confidence. To see the difference and the changes in the new students is amazing. The new students are absolute beginners, but what a fantastic start they had under the instruction of their course instructors and coaches.
It’s always so inspiring to see people from many different nations and cultures successfully working together to help each other learn to speak more eloquently!
Congratulations to all who attended and who continue the rewarding and FUN process of learning to overcome stuttering! Special thanks to the graduates and coaches, who make these courses the special events that they are, and for continuing to support each other between courses. Look forward to seeing you in Nijmegen in February 2019!
If you stutter or know someone who stutters, please get in touch with the local representative or Regional Director.
Our next course in Holland will be held in Nijmegen in February 2019 (20.-23.02.2019) This will be our regular dutch course under the instruction of Warner van Kersen. Signup today by simply filling in the online application form.
