1. Watch the trainer work, live, before paying
A free webinar or open session tells you more than any course page. Can they demonstrate the methodology on real material, or only present about it? IONI's own webinar exists partly for this reason — judge every provider, including us, on demonstration rather than claims.
2. Class size and practice ratio
Ask: how many participants, and how many hours are observed practice with feedback? A 12-person cohort with 60% practice time trains capability; an 80-person hotel batch trains familiarity. Same price band, different product.
3. Assessment with a failure possibility
What must you demonstrate, to whom, and does anyone fail? If completion equals attendance, the certificate attests presence. Some of the best training in the market is portfolio-based rather than certificate-based — weigh both.
4. Honesty about the field
- Does the provider acknowledge NLP's evidence problems, or claim science it doesn't have?
- Do they distinguish coaching scope from clinical treatment?
- Are their marketing numbers checkable ("8,000 trained") or decorative?
- Honest providers are usually better trainers — the correlation is strong.
5. Practice design
Spaced weekly practice beats massed weekends for skill acquisition. If the format is a 6-day intensive, ask what happens in weeks 2 through 30 — practice community, supervision, or silence.
6–8. Scope, community, total cost
Scope: does the training match your goal — curiosity, career change, or deepening existing professional skill? Community: what exists after graduation (practice groups, alumni access)? Total cost: add travel, stay, retakes, and the hidden cost of a cheap course that trains nothing — the most expensive line item in this market.