Stretch Session Conversations [for Stretch Practitioners]

We love our members! We want to get to know them even better over time and help them feel great!... help them feel at home and comfortable in our studio, like we are family and that we are their home away from home.

For Stretch Practitioners, there is a lot of emphasis on building rapport for retention, and yet there is a fine line between too much casual conversation, and making sure they feel like they are seeing progress in their body and are getting the full value from their stretch sessions and the reason to continue with us.

So what kind of conversations are ideal on the stretch table?

Think back to your certification days. Remember in the beginning when you had to say the Latin name for every body area and indicate where on the body they should feel the stretch?And you had to get that 3/5/7 every single time?

As we see our regulars multiple times a week it makes sense to get a little bit more casual as they get to know our stretching process, but we always want to let them know that we are the authority on what is happening in their body and that is our primary focus.

What are some ways that we can ensure they feel the value of the stretch they paid for through our conversation? Here are some guidelines;

• Keep the conversation 80/20. 80% of the conversation should be about the stretch.

  • How is the intensity?

  • Bringing their attention to progress as the body releases tension

  • Encouraging them to breathe into their stretch and allowing them time to

  • Using phrases that let them know we are paying attention to what is happening for them physically and respecting their body's pace, like "go ahead and let your face relax now"

  • Make sure that they are remembering the science of why we use 3/5/7 and that seven is "a good deep stretch but no discomfort"

  • Asking what activities can they now do with more comfort and ease than when they first started with us, bringing their awareness to what is changing in their daily life. Pay attention and note what they share. Ask for a testimonial or short video share at the end of their session if they are comfortable with it!

  • Continuing to set new milestones and goals so they have a reason to continue their wellness journey with us

  • Always being excited about their range of motion updates and helping them understand the value that they’re getting. For example, if they have improved 10% over the first 45 days in each area, let’s make sure they understand that that is a great improvement! We can even add it together for greater impact. A 10% improvement in each of the four different areas (right and left hips and hamstrings) equals a 40% increase in range of motion! Wow! That's worth bragging about on social media... and tagging us!

Keeping 80% of the conversation centered on their actual body and stretch also makes it feel natural to ask them repeatedly for 3/5/7, which is something that we should be using on every member on every stretch. This protects our members and also protects our staff and studio from liability because communication is clear. It is also required by corporate that we use the Stretch Zone method. It is something that sets us apart from competitors and we want to really highlight what makes us special and different.

• 20% of the stretch table conversation can be personal

  • Asking about their family

  • Learn about their hobbies or travel plans

  • Stay away from sensitive topics like politics, religion, maybe even sports teams... Keep talk centered on topics that will not bring uneasiness to staff members or other members in studio that may not share the same viewpoints.

  • During their stretch (including demo stretches) always feel free to pause the personal conversation and bring awareness back to the body. Ask "... just one moment, is that a three, five or seven?" and then going back-and-forth within that personal conversation from intensity to personal things.

  •  It may even be ideal to have no talking at all outside of the 3/5/7, a quiet session, so that full relaxation can happen.

  • We never want a member to feel like the stretch is suffering because of the conversation happening. This leads to dissatisfaction with our product, and often we don't learn about their preferences until they are already out the door and have submitted a request for cancellation...

It's about them. Keep your personal sharing to a minimum.

During that 20% of the rapport conversation, practitioners can be tempted to engage much the way a friendly conversation would go, but we want to maintain our authority and always make sure our member or guest feels like the session is on track. Everyone is their own most interesting person, so during the 20% of personal conversation, the topic should always be the member or guest and what they are doing, and less so about the practitioner. 

If a practitioner talks about themselves, it should be kept short, with the intention just to relate to the member, to agree with or validate the members opinion (where appropriate). Then quickly returning the focus back to the Member. It is their time on the table. They have paid for our full attention whether it is in the stretch or in the conversation.

Another way to understand this is to imagine if they were at a massage instead. If someone goes out for massage therapy, the personal details about the massage therapist are pretty irrelevant and much less important than than the time spent on the table yielding relaxing results. That is a time for therapeutic bodywork and not necessary building friendships. It is not important what the massage therapist does for fun or what their pet’s name is. Clients want to know that they are well qualified to bring the relief people came to them for. We can apply that same principle, though in a different environment. The takeaway here: the stretch session should be what the client wants it to be.

Practitioner safety

As we look out for the safety of our employees, it is safest for client interactions to remain within the studio. If a Practitioner begins to overshare about their personal life, activities and schedule in an effort to be friendly, it can potentially place them in awkward or undesireable circumstances. We do not want Stretch Zone members showing up in the personal world of our employees! So keeping sharing minimized can protect the privacy of our employees as well. If you ever find yourself in an uncomfortable situation due to a member or guest, please alert management right away and click here for more on our employee safety policy.

Let’s celebrate our members progress! And let the value of each session mark the path for members to continue with us for years to come!