A driving instructor has found a way to tackle nerves for first time drivers – by using his skills as a hypnotist!
Javez Khan, gets inside the minds of his students using positive language which he claims helps learners pass first time.
The 49-year-old went to a neuro-linguistic program in 2009 to help him understand the psychology of how learners were affected by nerves and lack of confidence.
His company, Hypnodriving has proven successful, his pass rates sees nine out of 10 drivers passing straight away and one after two tries between May 2018 – January 2019,
Mr Khan said hypnotherapy focuses on changing the mindset of drivers and helping them to think positively which increases their confidence behind the wheel.
The trained hypnotherapist said: “It’s more about coaching and being proactive, because most of our pupils suffer from being extremely nervous, they just need to learn how to relax.
“You have to get their head into the right space but you’ve got to see where each person is at and what they require as individuals, even if they need you to scream and shout at them.
“When people are nervous and not thinking properly it affects their performance I wanted to learn more about this and why it happens which led me onto year long neuro-linguistic program.
“You have to be thinking properly when you’re on the road so it’s a case of needing to redo how learning is taught, tapping into the brain and mind, not just revising the rules of the road.
“During the lesson, we park up to the side and we speak through what they’re most nervous about, what they are scared of and what they want from the lesson.
“Once I know that, we can speak about how we can overcome these fears, this is called hypno language, its vague language which confuses the brain but it helps find ways to not be scared.
“An example of this is when someone says I’m scared of roundabout and I ask ‘what is not scared about roundabouts’ – it can be that vague, it confuses the brain but it works.”
Mr Khan from Manningham, West Yorks., who has been a driving instructor since 2000 became interested in why only three out of 10 people nationally were passing their test first time.
He decided to enrol into a year long course in 2009 to study the psychology behind the way thoughts are affected by the nerves.
Mr Khan learnt that changing the mindset of the driver could be the answer behind boosting pass rate figures.
Speaking about how he got into the role, Mr Khan said: “I wanted to apply my interest to the field of driving because I was interested in finding how to improve this.
“I looked into some driving test figures and found the national average for first time passes was only about 28 per cent.
“I studied situations like exams, interviews and students giving presentations to observe what makes people nervous and how that shows.
“I set up Hypno Driving in 2010 to try and provide a service which tackles those issues, my results started to go up from then on.
“My first time pass rate is now around eight out of ten.”
One of his pupils, 32-year-old Alan Sambrook from Shipley, West Yorks., sailed through his first ever test this week without a single minor or major fault.
Mr Sambrook who was full of praise for Mr Khan, said: “I think my test result speaks volumes for his teaching.
“He helped out with my driving technique, like delaying my gear changes for a smooth transition and working on my speed on the approach to junctions but he also spends a lot of time speaking to you and preparing you.
“I think nervousness is a natural state and it’s about how you approach that. Javez just helps put that in perspective and he did that from day one.
“I only had 12 hours of lessons before my test, for two hours a week on Saturdays. It cost me £25 an hour.”