Self-Improvement Seminars: Are They Worth the Cost?

Published November 13, 1986. I received an interesting phone call not long ago. It was from a man in our community who said he and his wife had recently been invited to attend a 3-day self-improvement seminar costing a few hundred dollars. He asked me what I knew about the program.

I told him it was one of a half dozen programs being offered in the area which range from a few hours of instruction for $50 or less to very extensive training costing several thousand dollars.

He wanted to know the merits of the particular seminar in which be and his wife were interested. I told him that, since I had never attended the seminar, I couldn’t respond. The fee seemed reasonable for the amount of time they would be involved. But the cost-per-value ratio seems relative. Some people feel they are ripped off at a $20 registration fee. Still another woman recently told me she and her husband had paid more than $5,000 for a self-improvement program and felt it was worth every dime. Many such seminars now offer a money-back guarantee, which greatly reduces the financial risk involved.

The man on the phone indicated this seminar claimed to promote better marriage and family relationships. Obviously, I was interested in such claims. If they decided to attend, I asked him to call me back after the seminar weekend and tell me if the seminar met their expectations. He agreed.

A few weeks later, the same man called back. They had attended the seminar. He said it was indeed helpful, and they gained many valuable insights for themselves, each other, and other people with whom they interact. He went on for several minutes with glowing reports of their experience.

At that point, I asked if either he or his wife had any misgivings about the seminar?

There was a long pause and he said, “Yes, there were some.” His first and major criticism was the intense recruiting at the end of the seminar for advanced training. While the “beginning” course they had just attended cost just a few hundred dollars, additional training would cost considerably more. In fact, a few thousand more, depending on how much they wanted to attain.

As for the marriage improvement, he felt he and his wife had indeed benefited. But he also noticed many husbands and wives who attended the seminar alone. Some were obviously frustrated and discontented with their marriages at the time. The man on the phone seemed to think that such intense weekend training, often focusing on individual growth and attainment, could be detrimental to troubled spouses attending the seminar without their marriage partners.

His final criticism was the overselling of the supposed benefits of the program. While he and his wife both felt the seminar had overall been worthwhile, they questioned whether they would, could, or should become instant experts in human relationships. Would they immediately be better spouses, better parents, or better employers or employees because of a weekend of training? Within 72 hours, they were also supposed to get closer to God and/or be better church members. He somewhat resented the religious tie-in often coming from members of his denomination.

Before he hung up, we discussed the possibility that zealous proponents of this and other similar seminars can and often do oversell what otherwise might be worthwhile programs. And since they are often paid recruiting or “finder’s fees” for others they sign up, their testimonials could be tainted.