The NLP Trainer Training Manual

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TableofContentsTitlePage

NLPTrainer

What’sthePoint?

WhatisLearning?

ModellingLearners

LearningTheories

TheLearningCycle

MakingPlans

YourNLPTrainingPlan

ActivityDesign

Presenting

TheArtofPerformance

OneStepAhead

HandlingProblems

SocietyofNLPCertificationCriteria

Assessment

TheEnd

TheBeginning

FurtherReading

TheAuthor

The

NLPTrainerTrainingManual

PeterFreeth

2017

TheNLPTrainerTrainingManualPeterFreethFirstEdition:April2017ISBN978-1-9082932-8-2

©PeterFreeth2000to2017PeterFreethhasassertedhis rightsunder theCopyright,DesignsandPatentsact1988tobeidentifiedastheauthorofthiswork.All rights reserved in all media. This book may not be copied, stored,transmitted or reproduced in any format or medium without specific priorpermissionfromthepublisher.Publishedby:CGWPublishingB1502POBox15113BirminghamB22NJUnitedKingdomwww.cgwpublishing.commail@cgwpublishing.comForinformationaboutNLPtrainingprograms,visit:www.nenlp.comwww.geniuslearning.co.uk

1NLPTrainer

Ifyou’rereadingthisnowthenyouaremostlikelyquitesomewayalongyourNLP learning journey,and Iamdelighted thatyouhavemade it this far. I’vebeenwaitingforyou.If you are not reading this now then something has gone horriblywrong. Isuggestswitchingyourselfoffandbackonagain.That’s actually a pretty good summary of the process of learning. Readsomething.Stop reading it.Switchoff andbackon.Repeat.Niceand simple.However,humansdoliketocomplicatethings.Learningisveryeasybecauseyouarealearningmachine.LikeNeointhefilmTheMatrix, you can assimilate new information into your brain remarkablyquicklyandefficiently,andthenyoucanforgetmostofthatjustasquicklyifit’snotrelevanttoyou.AsaNLPTrainer,youwilllearnhowtoshapeandguidethisnaturalprocess.LearningNLPisnotlikelearningmathsorhistory.Longdivisionpresentsnochallenge to the ego. The factors which led to the First WorldWar do notrequire the learner to push through any personal barriers. Of course, examanxietyplaysapart in the student’s success,but that’snotwhatwe’re talkingabout here. The very process of learning NLP changes the student, and thatchangecreatesfrictionandresistance.Ifyou,theTrainer,cannotmanagethat,your learners will only ever skim the surface. You will sign certificates,knowing inyourheart thatyouareunleashing ineffective, inexperiencedandsubstandard Practitioners and Master Practitioners onto the world. Thosestudents aren’t painting fences and driving buses, they are engaging withclientsof theirown throughcoaching,counselling,even therapy.Youhavearesponsibility to those clients because you are putting your name on thecertificateofthepeoplewhotheyareentrustingtheirlivesto.After all, if you were training bus drivers, you would consider passengersafety,wouldn’tyou?Wouldn’tyou?Being a NLP Trainer is more than a set of skills or a certificate, it is aresponsibility both to your students and to their friends, families, colleaguesandclients.Ifyou’renotreadytoacceptthatresponsibilitythenitisunlikelythatyouwillmeetthecertificationcriteriaforaNLPtrainer.Ifyouarereadythenlet’sgetstarted.People describe NLP in different ways; a study of excellence, a model ofhuman communication and behaviour or a toolkit for personal change are

onesyoumayhaveheard.SomeNLPtrainersevenpresentNLPasapanaceafor all ills; it cangiveyouconfidence,wealth, contentment,goodhealth andmore. Because of this, NLP has earned a reputation from some critics forbeingahypedup,pseudo-scientificcultthattriestopassitselfoffasabranchof psychology, or neuro-science, or psychiatry, depending onwhichwebsiteyou’relookingat.At theheartofNLPisasetof linguistic tools forunderstanding the intuitivemindsetandbehaviourofexcellenceinanyfield.AtthisTrainerlevelofNLPTraining,weactuallyhavetoachievetwothings.Firstly, we need to develop a set of skills which are broader than thoseexploredatthePractitionerandMasterPractitionerlevels.Secondly,wemustdevelopanunderstandingoftheprocessoflearningitself.Wemustnotjustbeteachersofknowledge,wemustbeguidesonthejourneyitself.Yousee,whenwetrainNLP,we’renotjustteachingfactsandfigureslikethewives of Henry the Eighth or how to do simultaneous equations. We areguiding our students through a process of personal change. This is veryprominentatPractitioner level,where theprimarypurposeof the training is,through learning the techniques of NLP, to give the student a first handexperienceofchange.At Master Practitioner level, we want out students to see the world in afundamentallydifferentway,toseethroughthefacadepresentedbypeopleandseethepatternsandprogramsbehindtheirlanguageandbehaviour.Todothis,the student must acknowledge their own facade, their own patterns andprograms.What,then,areweaimingforatTrainerlevel?Byfollowingthesamelogic,ifwearetoteachothershowtoteach,wemustfirstlearnhowtolearn.NLPTrainerTrainingthereforeworksattwolevels–superficially developing the skills to train NLP and its techniques, but at adeeperlevel,youmustovercomeyourownbarriersandprejudicestolearningsothatyoucanmoreclearlyseethoseofyourstudents.Toacceptlearninginallofitsformsrequiresyoutoacceptthatyouarenotyetcomplete,thatthereismore to learn thanyoualreadyknow.Learningchangesyourworldview,andyoualongwithit.I’mprivilegedthatyouarejoiningmeforthispartofyourjourney,andIhopethatyouenjoyexploringandlearningNLPasmuchasIdo.

2What’sthePoint?

Whatisthepoint,thepurposeofyourNLPtraining,orofanykindoftrainingforthatmatter?Youwenttoschool,Ipresume.Whatwasthatallabout?Didyoulearnanythinguseful?Diditprepareyoufortheworldofwork?Haveyoulearnedmorein,oroutofschool?Somepeoplesay,“I’malwayslearning”.Well,obviously.Ifyou’realive,thenyoursensesarerepresentinginformationfromtheoutsideworld.Yourbrainiscomparing that information, extracting differences and storing thosedifferences away for future reference.We call this process ‘learning’ so, aslong as you’re alive, you’re learning. It’s a defining characteristic ofintelligent life, here on Earth at least.Whether we’re talking about humans,dogs,dolphins,elephants,raccoons,apes,crowsoranyoftheanimalsthatarenowregardedashaving‘nearhuman intelligence’, learning is theverybasisofadaptation.There’snopointsurvivingalife-threateningincident,onlytogetcaughtoutinthesamewaythenextday.Ifthere’salionhidingbehindthattree,itmightbetheretomorrowtoo.Learning, as a description of our ongoing sensory experience, is thereforesomethingthatcantakeplaceinanyorallofoursensoryexperience.Wehaveatleast21senses,sothat’salotofdatatolearnfrom.Whoa! Aren’t there 5 senses, with submodalities? No. The concept ofsubmodalities is purely a NLP construction, there is no evidence for them.They are fabrications, figments of the imagination to explain the distortionsthatwemakeinordertochoosethemeaningofourmemories.The sensory pathways and receptors can be extremely tiny, so scientists arediscovering new ones regularly. Just in the past fewmonths, scientists havefinally found what gives certain animals a sense of direction - a proteinmolecule which orients along magnetic field lines. Even more recently,scientistshavediscoveredasixthsenseoftasteinhumans–starch.Wedon’tneedtoinventconceptstoexplainoursensoryexperienceswhenourownphysicalcapabilitiesaresoamazing.

Sight Colour – light in the frequency range 390 to 750 nm, agoodmatchforreflectedsunlight.UsuallyRed,GreenandBlue, some people don’t have a Green receptor, somepeoplehaveanadditionalYellow receptor.Theconecellsaretubessosmall that theyinterferewithlightatdifferentfrequenciesandcreatevibrations.

Sight Brightness,alsovitalinedgedetectionandthereforefocus,with a resolution of one arc minute, equivalent to a line0.3mmwideheldatarm’slength.

Sweet Getenergynow.

Starch Getenergytomorrow.

Umami Getenergythisweek.

Sour It’sgoneoff,don’teatit.

Bitter It’spoisonous,don’teatit.

Salt It’sseawater,don’tdrinkit.

Touch Multipointresolutionofbetween2mmand45mmanddepthof75nm.

Pressure Ican’ttakethispressure,oh!

Heat Upto45°Cwitharesolutionof0.02°C.

Cold Downto5°Cwitharesolutionof0.02°C.

Nociception Outsideof5to45°Cwefeelheatorcoldaspain.

Itch Detectscreepy-crawlies.

Sound The shape of your ear canal allows hairs to resonate atdifferentfrequenciesintherangeof20Hzto20kHzwhichare then ‘reassembled’ byyour brain.Thequietest soundsyou can hear are between -5dB and +5dB, and the cellsattachedtothosehairscandetectmovementsmallerthanthesizeofanatom.Yourearsuseanactivefeedbacksystemtoamplifysomesounds.

Smell Probably multiple senses too. Some people can’t smellskunks.About50moleculesarerequiredtodetectasmell.

Proprioception Feedbackfromyourmusclesthathelpsyoutolocateyourlimbsandweighthingsinyourhands.

Tension Inthelungs,bladder,stomachandintestine.Alsodetectthe

dilationofbloodvessels.

Equilibrioception Balance, using both fluid-filled tubes and hairs weightedwithcalciumcarbonitecrystals.

Chemoreceptors Detecthormonesandtoxinsintheblood.

Thirst Some people think they’re hungry when they’re actuallythirsty.

Hunger Feedme,Seymour.

Magnetoception Moleratshavetinyparticlesofironinreceptorcells.Birds,primatesanddogshaveCryptochromesintheirretinas.

Elestroreception SomeseaanimalshaveAmpullaeofLorenziniwhichdetectelectricalfields.

Thetraditional“fivesenses”modelthatNLP’s‘VAKOG+submodalities’modelisbasedoniscreditedtoAristotle,wholivedfrom384BCto322BC.Healsothoughtthatthefunctionofthebrainwastoprovidecoolingfortheblood.Learningcreateschange,anditisthejourneyoflearningwhichisimportant,notthefacts.Duringmytimeinthecorporateworld,Ioftenworkedformanagerswhohadnorespectforlearning,whoperceivednovalueintimespentintraining.Rather than attending a day’s training, they would want to read theaccompanying presentation slides. Worse, they would want a one pagesummaryofwhatwouldbecovered in the training, a listof facts,devoidofanycontext.Theywouldlookthroughthefacts,decidethattheyalreadyknew‘allthat’anddismissthetrainingasawasteoftime.Trainingwasnotmyjobatthattime,yetIstillknewthatthevalueoflearningisinthechangeinthelearner ’sperception,notinthefactsthattheycanrecall,andthatchangecannotcomefromreadingalistoffacts.Factsaretheoutputofthelearningprocess,nottheinput.Manyyearsago,Iworkedonaprojectforgiftedandtalentedchildrenwhere,overa2weekperiod,agroupofchildrenwoulddevise,design,write,buildandperformastageproductionwithsupportfromateamofadults.After the performance, the childrenwere given feedback forms to complete.One of the questions was, “What did you learn?” and a girl, who had been

particularly‘difficult’atthestartofthecoursewrote,“Ilearnedhowtoputonaplay”.WhenIaskedher,“Whatelsedidyoulearn?”shedidn’tunderstand.“Well,didyoulearnanythingthatwasnothingtodowithputtingonaplay?”Without hesitation, she said, “Ohyes! I learned to bemore tolerant of otherpeople.”Iasked,“Howdoyouknowthatyoulearnedthat?”Herreplywaswonderful.“BecauseIhaven’tbittenanyone.”What, then, is thepoint?Perhaps thatwehumansarealways learning,butwedon’t necessarily knowwhatwe’re learning untilwe have an opportunity tostepbackandreflectandcommentonwhatwe’relearning,andwecanonlydothatattheendoftheprocess.“Whathaveyoulearnedsofar?”isperhapsnotausefulquestion.Learning is somethingcomplete, something that canonlybewhole.Our studies of learning give us new insights which make learning moreeffective. We know that reciting the wives of King Henry VIII is utterlypointless.We know that learning the theory of swimmingwhilst sitting at aschooldeskwon’tsaveyourlife.Whatwedon’tknowisife-learningandbite-sizedlearningandv-learningandmobilelearningarejustasineffective.IfwecoulddownloadknowledgedirectlyintoourbrainslikeinTheMatrix,thenwewouldn’t need to go to school.Orwouldwe?Would the purpose of schoolthenchange?Likeitornot,ourtimeatschooltaughtusagreatdeal,butnotabout chemistry or history. Our school years set us up for many futureexperiences, and as wonderful and multisensory and multidisciplinary ourschoolsaretoday,westillmanagetoteachourkidsabunchofstuffthattheywillneverneed toknowuntil,oneday, they tooareyellingat theTVscreenduringtheirfavouritequizshow.In each generation, we do our best to pass on our knowledge to make lifeeasierandmorerewardingfor thenext.And theharderwework to improvethelearningprocess,themorewemissthesimplesttruthofall.Wecannotnotlearn.Yetlearningforthepurposeofpassingexamsisdifferenttolearningforthepurposeofsurvival.AsaNLPTraineryoumusttakeallofthisintoaccountifyouaretocreatetrulymemorableexperiencesforyourlearners.

3WhatisLearning?

BeforewegettoowrappedupinhowwonderfulNLPis,weshouldtakeastepbackandconsiderthebiggerquestion–whatis‘learning’?Whatdoesitmean,‘tolearn’?Whatislearning?Wecouldexplorethiswithafewquestions.Takesometimetocomeupwithyourownanswers,thendiscussthisinsmallgroups,thenpresentyourconclusionsfromyoursmallgroupstotheentiregroup.Whathaveyoulearnedduringyourlife?Whathaveyoulearnedsincethismorning?Whatareyouintendingtolearnfortherestoftoday?Youmaynoticethatovershortperiodsoftimeyoutendtorecallfactsorevents,whilstoverlongerperiodsoftimeyoutendtogivemoregeneralisedexamplesoflearning.Whyisthis?Canyoureallysetouttolearnsomething?Ordoyouneedamotive,areason,atriggerforlearning?Lookingbackoveryourlife,whatlessonshavebeenhardtolearn?Whatmadethoselessonshardtolearn?Wouldyoudescribeyourexperiencesatschoolas‘learning’?Why?Howdoyousometimesmakelearningdifficultforyourself?Howcanyouthereforemakelearningeasyforyourself?Andhowcanyouusethistomakelearningeasierforothers?Andwithallofthisinmind,whatislearning?

Let’s imagine that learning is the process of acquiring, assimilating,simplifying and generalising our experiences in life for the purpose ofincreasingouropportunitiesforsurvivingfutureevents.Ifthatistrue,thenwewouldtendtolearnthingsthatwouldconfersomekindofsurvivaladvantage.Ourmindshaveadaptedverywell to thismodernwayofliving,soconsiderallof thefacesyourecognise, thesongsyoucansing,the streets you couldnavigate to, thebooks and filmsyou couldquote fromandtherichsensoryexperiencesthatyoucandescribe.Nowimagine thatyouhadbeenborn intoaremote tribe in therainforest.Atmost, you will meet 100 people during your entire lifetime, you will staywithinafewmilesofwhereyouwerebornandyourexperiencesoflifewillbeentirely constrained by that environment. And yet, with that comparativelylimitedlifestyle,youwillbeequippedwithexactlythesamebrain,withexactlythesamelearningcapabilities.Whatwouldyouuseitfor?Simply,youwouldremembereveryleafsothatyoucouldknowinaninstantifananimalhadusedapaththroughtheforest.Youwouldremembereverystar,anduseitspositiontonavigateincompletedarkness.Youwouldknowevery

storyofeverymomentofthelivesofyourfriends,familyandancestors.Youwouldknoweverycallofeverybird,andyouwouldknoweveryflower,leafandberryanditspurpose.Youwouldknowasmuchasyouknownow.Justtakeamomenttoimaginethat.

4ModellingLearners

You have probably been on a motion simulator at a funfair. It might havefeaturedaroller-coasterride,orarunawaytrain,orajetfighterperformingaerobatics. The machine itself is just a combination of two things; a video,takingfromtheparticipant’seyeview,anda‘motionplatform’thatshakesyouaboutintimewiththemovie.Howeverenjoyabletheseridesmaybe,you’reveryunlikelytobelievethatyouactuallywereonarealroller-coaster.However,whatismostfascinatingaboutthese machines is that they can simulate so many different activities. Theoperator just puts in adifferentDVDanda spaceship is transformed into anairboat,skimmingoverFlorida’sEverglades.Thesimulationisgoodenoughformostpeopletosuspendrealityjustlongenoughtoenjoytheride.Professional flight simulators are something quite different. They take anactual cockpit from the aircraft in question and place it within the motionplatform. Incredibly complex and detailed graphics simulate any airport,completewith the right aircraft and vehicles on the ground,weather, terrainand feedback through theaircraft’scockpitdisplays.These simulatorsare soaccuratethatwhenapilotcrashesone,thestressisassevereasiftheaircraftwere real, and time in a simulator is equivalent to time in the air, as far aslicensingisconcerned.Afterhalfanhourinaflightsimulator,youwoulddefinitelybeforgivenforforgettingthatyouwerenevermorethanthirtyfeetfromtheground.Meteorologistsspendmuchoftheirtimegatheringdatafromweatherstations.On top of buildings, at airports and out on remote hillsides, monitoringstations collect data on wind speed and direction, rainfall, temperature andhumidity.Whyaretheysointerestedincollectingsuchuselessdata?Is it justsothattheycantellusthatit’sbeenthewettestJulysince1903?No.Thereason that theycollect thisdata isso that theycanconstantly refineand update their weather models. By comparing their simulations to actualconditions,theycanincreasetheirconfidenceintheirpredictions.ThescientistNikola Tesla was said to construct mental models that he ran alongside hisphysicalexperiments.Hewouldlockhisexperimentsinaroomandaftermanydaysorevenmonths,discoverthatthephysicalexperimentmatchedhismentalsimulationperfectly.This shouldn’t be surprising, though, because you can do exactly the samething.Youcanputsomebreadunderthegrillandgointoanotherroom.Thephonerings,youendupchatting,youforgetaboutthetoastandwhenyoustarttosmellsmoke,youinstantlyknowwhatyou’regoingtofindunderthegrill.

How surprisedwould you be if youdidn’t find two smouldering squares ofcharcoal?Andwhenyoureturntoafavouriterestaurantorholidaydestination,howdoyoufeelwhenit’snothowyourememberedit?Sometimes,youcriticiseyourself.Itmightbewhenyoufeelyouhavemadeanobviousmistake, or itmight bewhenyou knewyou should have listened toyourintuitionbutdidn’t.OneofthefirstthingsthatmostpeoplelearninNLPtrainingishowtolistentoandmodifytheirinternaldialogue.Youlearntohearthesoundofyourfatherormotherchastisingyouandmodifyittobeacartoncharacterornewsreader,withtheeffectthatyoudon’tfeelsobadaboutthemistakeyoumade.Thisdoesn’tworkin therealworld.Ifyouarecorneredinadarkalleybyaknife wielding thug, imagining himwith a clown’s nosemight alleviate thetensionbutitdoesn’tchangethefactthathe’safteryourmoney.We build simulations that mirror reality so that we can predict what willhappeninrealityandtakeactiontoachieveourgoalsandavoiddanger.Imaginethatsomeonethrowsasnowballatyou.Givenenoughtime,youcanintuitivelycompute thesnowball’s flightpathandmoveyourheadoutof theway, just in time.This isan incrediblycomplexthingtobeable todo,anditcannotbeachievedbyreacting,becausebythetimeyoureact,thesnowballisnolongerwhereitwaswhenyousawit.

Whenthesnowball isinposition1, thelightreflectedfromitarrivesatyoureyes almost instantly, but the signal from your retinas takes a much longerperiod of time to reach your brain, by which time the snowball, which ismoving at a fairly constant speed, is in position 2.Your brain takes time toprocess the visual information, compute the snowball’s path, determine inwhich direction tomove to avoid the snowball and begin signalling to yourmusclesthroughyourmotorcortex,bywhichtimethesnowballisinposition3.By the time your muscles begin to respond, the snowball is now in thisposition:

Afteryouhaverecovered,youwillprobablyfeelalittlesillythatyousawthesnowballbutcouldn’tgetoutofthewayfastenoughtoavoidit.Nomatterhowgoodyourreactionsare,youcanneverovercomethissignaldelay.When you think about the computation required to recognise a fastmovingobjectasanincomingicymissile,determineitspath,calculateavoidingactionandthentranslatethatactionintospecificmusclemovements,it’sawonderthatyougettoseethesnowballatall.Havingagoodreactiontimesimplymeansthatyoudon’thavetothinkaboutwhat todo foras long,but there isnothing thatyoucandoabout thatsignaldelay.Bythetimeyouareprocessingtheimageofthesnowball,ithasalreadymoved further along its flight path, and by the time your muscles begincontracting,ithasmovedfurtherstill.Ataveryearlyage,youlearnedtosimulatethelawsofmotion.NewtonwrotethemoutinplainEnglishforotherpeopletounderstand,andfromthoselaws

wecannowthrowsnowballswithsomedegreeofaccuracy,andwecanalsolaunchaspaceshipwiththreemenonboard,landitonthemoonandreturnittoEarthwithonlyafewminutesoffueltospare.Ifyouhave readTheNLPPractitionerManual,youmay recall that in2005,NASAlaunchedaprobecalledDeepImpact that, sevenmonths later,crashedinto the “Tempel 1” comet. The comet is essentially a lump of ice, 4milesacrossandtravellingatabout23,000mph.Theprobewasaboutthesizeofawashingmachine.NASA’s analogy is that the probe hitting the comet is like a pebble hitting atruck.Apebblethatyouthrewsevenmonthsago.Justimaginethatforamoment.Youlookthroughatelescopeandseeacomet,millionsofmilesaway.Youobserveiteverydayand,accountingforthetimeit takes the light reflected from the comet to reach your telescope, youcalculatethecomet’spath,usingequationsthatweredevelopedover300yearsago in 1687. TheWright brothers didn’t achieve sustained, heavier than airflightuntilmorethan200yearslaterin1903.Yetyoucancalculatethepathofthe comet with such confidence that you can take something the size of awashingmachine,placeitontopofaverylargefirework,lightthebluetouchpaperandlaunchitoutbeyondEarth’satmospherewhereitjustfloatsalongatitsownpace,obeyingNewton’sfirst lawofmotionuntil,sevenmonthslater,thepathsofthecometandtheprobeintersect.A certain genre of film associated with martial arts often shows the heroshootinganarrowandknockinganenemy’sarrowoutof theair. It’sutterlyimplausible, but no less impossible, technically, than a military anti-missilesystemthatcanhitsomethingthesizeofabaguettetravellingat2,600mph.

Theonlydifferencebetween the filmand reality is that computers aremuchbetteratcomputingflightpaths,quickly,thanmosthumansare.Remember,thepurposeofasimulationistobeabletopredictthefuture.Whenpeople act inappropriately, or they act in a certainwaybecauseof thereactionthattheyhopetoget,theyaretryingtocontrolfutureevents.IfIwanttoopenadoor,Icanpredicttheamountofforcewithwhichtopushorpullit.Itrytocontrolthefuturebehaviourofthedoorinordertoachieveanoutcome.AchildlearnstocontrolfutureeventsbyaskingformorepocketmoneywhenDaddy’s watching the football, or Mummy’s on the phone. But parents can“wiseup”totheseearlyattemptsatmanipulation,andthechildhastoreviseitssimulations.Wecannotevergetawayfromsimulationsbecausetheyliterallymakeuswhowe are. However, what we can seek to do is narrow the gap between oursimulationsandreality,justlikethemeteorologistsdo,andthisisthegoalofNLP.Creatingasimulationofaninanimateobject,movingwithintheconsistentandpredictable‘laws’ofphysicsisn’tthatdifficult.Weknowthisbecausewecanprogramcomputerstomakepredictionsbasedontheconstantsthatgovernthemotionofobjects,gravity,thebehaviourofgasesastheirtemperaturechangesandsoon.Buthumansarequitedifferent;theirbehaviourbasedonafarmorecomplex set of rules and constants.Humans seem to change over time, theyseemtomakedifferentchoicesinthesamesituationfromonedaytothenextandtheyadapttochangesintheexternalenvironment.Philosophers have, over many thousands of years, attempted to understandhuman behaviour, coming upwith various theories to define this experiencethat we call “reality”. Yet, intuitively, we have each mastered the ability topredict the complexities of “human nature”. You walk into a bar to meet afriend and correctly order a drink for them, even when it’s not what theynormally have. A parent preempts their child’s behaviour and prevents anembarrassingsituationatarestaurant.Youweighupadilemmaandthementoron your shoulder gives you exactly the advice that theywould offer if theyweresittinginfrontofyou.

I’msureyou’vehadthislatterexperience.Yourhandreachesforthechocolateandavoiceinthebackofyourheadremindsyouofthepromiseyoumadetoyourself.Whosevoiceisit?Webuildsimulationsofpeopleclosetousthataresolifelikethattheyoftenseemtotakeonalifeoftheirown,givingdirection,adviceandcriticismasifthepersonwasthereintheroomwithyou.Childrenneedtoacquiretheirparents’experiencesinordertostaysafe.Theyneedtolearnboundariesandinordertooperateindependentlyasresponsibleadults,theyneedtolivebythoseruleswithouttheyparentwatchingovertheireverymove.Butweofteninheritmorerulesfromourparentsthanwewouldlike,anditcanbedifficult forsomepeople toseparate theusefulrulesfromthosewhichhavebecomeoutdated.Oneoftheaspectsofmentalsimulationthatismostoftencitedintheself-helpworld ismental rehearsal.The idea is that by running through a scenario inyour mind, you can develop the same level of skill as if you were reallypractisingit.Takentoextremes,somecelebrityself-helpgurustalkaboutthe“law”ofattraction,whichmeansthatbyharbouringpositivethoughts,youcan‘manifest’wealthandhappinessintoyourlife.Sadly,suchclaimsdiscredittheunderlyingsciencewhichisregularlyusedbyathleteswhentheyrehearseforraces.Theycan’tcontrolwhattheiropponentswilldoontheday,buttheycanrehearsethetrackintheirmindsuntileverytwistandturnis‘secondnature’tothem.What is the realityofmental rehearsal?Does it simplybuildamemoryofatask,ordoesitaffectthebodytoo?WhenpeopleareaskedtoimagineataskwhileinaMRIscanner,theresultsshowthatmanybrainareasareengagedjustas they would be in the physical performance of that task. But surely, thisdoesn’t affect someone’smuscles. How could it? Yet research conducted byAlvaro Pascual-Leone indicates that practice not only reinforces a person’smemoryofatask,italsoenlargesthebrain’smotorareaforthemusclesthatcontrol that task. More output neurons means stronger muscles and bettermuscle control. Pascual-Leone used a technology called TMS (TranscranialMagenticStimulation)tomapbrainactivityingreatdetail.Inastudyofpeople

learning toplay thepiano,hecomparedpeoplepractisingata realkeyboardwithpeoplewhoweresimplyimaginingplaying.Afterfivedays,the‘mental’playersrequiredonlyatwohourlivepracticesessiontoacquirethesamelevelofskillasthepeoplewhohadpractisedonarealkeyboard.Inanotherstudy,DrsYueandColecomparedagroupofpeopleundertakingphysicalexercisewithagroupwhojustimaginedexercising.Attheendofthefourweekstudy, thepeoplewhohadphysicallyexercisedhadincreasedtheirmusclestrengthby30%.Surprisingly, thepeoplewhohadonly imagined thesameexerciseincreasedtheirmusclestrengthby22%.We mustn’t get carried away with such news; while mental rehearsal canstrengthen the brain’s connections to muscles, the muscles themselves don’tchange,andyoucertainlywon’t‘thinkyourselfthin’.However,whenlearningfine motor tasks such as are involved in sports or music, mental rehearsalclearlybenefitsthelearningprocess.In 2000, I worked as a teacher for a ‘gifted and talented’ project, runningweekendandholidaycoursesforyoungchildren.Ononecourse,anumberofthechildrensaidthattheywantedtobeabletouseacomputerkeyboardmorequickly,soItriedanexperiment.Theirstartinglevelofabilitywastotypewiththeindexfingeroftheirdominanthand,withafewsecondsdelaybetweenkeypresses while they searched around the keyboard for the key they wanted. Itheorisedthat,oncetheyhadfoundaletter,theydidn’tforgetwhereitwas.Thereasonthattheysearchedforeachletterwasthattheyonlythoughttheydidn’tknowwhich letterswere inwhich location,whenat someunconscious level,they intuitively knew. In fact, young children can easily acquire ‘proceduralknowledge’, enabling them to learn a task, but only when their brains havefurther developed can they articulate that knowledge. So intuitively knowingthelocationofaletteronakeyboardbutnotbeingabletotranslatethatintothesoundorwordwouldprobablymakesense.Igavethechildrenaseriesofverysimple,repetitivetaskstoperform.First,Ihadthemtypingrowsandrowsoflettersintheorderthat theyappearonthekeyboard;QWERTY...Afterafewminutes,thechildren’s’typinggotfasterandsettledintoacomfortablerhythm,soIchangedthetasktotypingthelettersinalphabetical order; ABCDE... Again, their typing was slow at first but soonaccelerated and settled into a rhythm. I then changed the task to ‘the quickbrownfox...’andthistime,astheypractisedtyping,Idistractedthembysayingthe alphabet backwards, counting and so on. What happened was quiteremarkable;themoreIdistractedthem,thefastertheycouldtype.

I then let them rest, and then had them imagine typing, and asked them toimagine themselves in different scenarios; at school, at home, with friends,typing letters, emails, and perhaps most importantly, receiving positivecomments, praise and supportive feedback. Finally, I had them physicallypractice again. All of the children, a group of about 15, showed a markedincrease in the speed and accuracy of their typing and, perhaps mostimportantly,theirconfidencethattheycouldtype.Clearly, the more accurate and challenging the mental simulations we canbuild,themorewecanachievetheultimategoalofallself-helpgurus;tofulfilourpotential.

4.1BrainyPeople

Youareaverybrainyperson. In fact,wecouldevengoso faras tosay thatyouareonebigbrain.Everypartofyourbodyhasevolvedtoservetheneedsof your brain. Your senses gather external information and your musclesenableyourbrain tomodify external events so that your sensory experiencealignswithyourdesires.Imagine,foramoment,adrink.Somethingthatyouwant,perhapsacupofteaorcoffee.Asyouimagineit,youknowexactlywhattodoinordertogetit.Byconjuringupthatmentalsimulation,yourentireneurologyandphysiologycanspringintoactiontoclosethegapbetweendesireandreality.Most NLP books and training programs contain some descriptions ofneurologyandbrainorganisation.Evennow,trainersarestilltalkingaboutthetriune brain or left/right brain function. Thesemodels are incredibly out ofdate,andfundamentallywrong.The problem with NLP trainers who talk about neurology is that they areregurgitatingknowledgethatisatleastfortyyearsold,andofcoursetheyarelargelyregurgitatingaratheronesidedaccountof thatknowledgewhichhasmoretodowithNLP’searlybrandimagethananyrealscience.Idon’twantyouthinkingthatyouonlygetupsetbecauseyouramygdalatakesover,orthatyourancientreptilianbrainiswhereallofyourbasedesireslive.ThismodelofbrainfunctionisclosertotheVictorianartofphrenologythanto any modern understanding of brain science, even though it is still beingtaughtonself-styledacceleratedlearningcourses.Bytheway,whydoesittakethree days to learn about accelerated learning? And why is there a bookentitled, “Speed reading inaweek”.Shouldn’t thatbe“Speed reading in five

minutes”?Eventwentyyearsago,atheoryof‘holographic’brainfunctionwasemerging,wherefunctionsarespreadacrossthebrainratherthanlocalisedinparticularareas. Even those localised areas are named, not after any understanding oftheirfunction,butafterthepersonwhofirstdissectedthemortheanimalthattheyremindsomeoneof.Yourhippocampusissonamedbecauseitlooksabitlike a seahorse. I suppose we should think our selves lucky that our neuralstructuresarenotshapedlikeanythingmoreembarrassing.Wecannot figureout how themindworksbydissecting it, however there isanotherapproachthatwecanlearnfrom,andthatistheapproachtakenbythepeoplewhoaretryingnottofigureouthowthebrainworksbuttoreproducewhatitdoes.ArtificialIntelligenceisonegoalofcomputerresearch,howeverthereseemsto be some disagreement over what intelligence is, even though we can befairlycertainwhatthe‘artificial’partrefersto.Orcanwe?Robotshavebeenbuilt that use cells from rat brains to make navigational decisions, andelectroniccomponentshavebeeninsertedintopeoples’bodies,andI’mnotjusttalkingabouttheassistantatthelocalelectricalretailerwhotoldmethattheycouldn’treplacethemobilephonethatIboughtlastweekbecauseit’salreadyobsolete.No,I’mtalkingaboutpeoplewhohavehadartificialretinasandeardrumswiredintotheirbrains.OneofthemostinterestingpeopleinthisfieldofresearchisSteveGrand,whosetouttobuildanartificialorang-utancalledLucy.HisgoalwastohaveLucypointatabanana.Now,thisinitselfisaverysimpletask.Wecaneasilyprogramacomputertorecognise the characteristic shape and colour of a banana, under controlledconditions, and we can easily have that computer control a robotic arm to‘point’ at that banana. You might have a digital camera that has ‘facerecognition’ so that the cameracan focuson thenearest face, even if it isn’tcentredintheframe.Butthatdoesnotmakeyourcameraintelligent,itmerelyemulatesonetinyaspectofyourabilities,andthatideaiscentraltothewaythatSteveGrandisapproachingtheproblem.HebuiltLucy‘fromthegroundup’,from first principles. Rather than building a robot to do something, such aspaintacarormowyourlawn,hebuiltLucytoemulatethewaythatourbrainsarewiredup,andindoingso,hefiguredoutsomeveryinterestingfunctionsthatrelatetooursimulationtheoryofmind.

Since Steve Grand isn’t terribly interested in NLP1, and since most

neuroscienceauthorsprobablyaren’t interested inSteve’sattempts tobuildamechanicalmonkeyinhisgarage,itfallstoustobridgethegapbetweenthesetwofascinatingandcomplementaryareasofresearch.Fora long time, therehasbeena theoryofbrainfunction that represents thebrain as a number of discrete functional areas.Visual processinghere, rightindex finger there, sense of self awareness down in that corner. Thismodelessentially developed from the study of one man, Phineas Gage, who we’lldiscusslateron.Inshort,hesufferedaseriousbraininjurybutsurvived,minussome aspects of his personality. This demonstrated that the bits of mentalfacilitythathelostwereresidentinthebitsofbrainthatwereblownoutofthetopofhisheadbyalargemetalrod,andfittedverynicelywiththeobservationthattherestofthehumanbodyisalsomadeupofclearlydelineatedfunctionalareascalledorgans.However, asmedical science has progressed, we no longer need to removepartsofthebraininordertodeducefunction,wecanwatchthebraininactionin real timebygivingpeople tasks andobservingwhichparts of their braindraw more oxygen from blood flow, indicating increased activity andthereforefunctionalsignificance.Ishouldpointout that the latestneurologicaloldwives’ tale that isdoingtherounds is that when you connect an EEG machine to a strawberry jelly, itshows the same signs of consciousness as are observed in the human brain.Therefore, to deduce brain function by observing brain operation ismisleading at best. By the way, I cannot find any evidence of this supposedresearch,anditseemslikelythatit’sanurbanmyth,liketheearlyexperimentsinto subliminalmessagingwhich are often the subject of discussiononNLPtraining courses. By the time you read this, it will probably be ‘commonknowledge’ that strawberry jelly is sentient, according to the neurologistswhosestatisticalanalysisofrandomelectricalactivityleavesthemclutchingatstrawsinaneffort toprovethat theycandetermineaperson’sthoughtsfromthe electrical activity in their brains.You canmock them now, butwhen thefruittriflesmoveinandtakeallourwomenandjobs,you’llbelaughingontheothersideofyourface.Using other brain imagingmethods, scientists have been able to see what aperson is seeing. Kind of. “Using functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging(fMRI)andcomputationalmodels,UCBerkeleyresearchershavesucceededindecoding and reconstructing people’s dynamic visual experiences – in thiscase,watchingHollywoodmovietrailers.”2

The technique didn’t really show people’s mental images, of course. Itreconstructed something based on brain activity that the researchers thoughtwasabitlikesomethingthey’dalreadyseen.You’veprobablydonesomethingsimilarduringyourPractitionertrainingwhereyoucalibratedwhichmemorya person was recalling by watching their facial expressions. During salestraining, I sometimes get people to recall good and bad customers and thennoticehowthisunconsciouslyaffectstheirbehaviour.Thepointis,ifyouhaveapointofreferencethenyes,youcanfigureoutwhatsomeoneisthinking.Butfromscratch,withanewsubject,toseewhatthey’rethinking?We’rewayoffthat.Itwouldbelikeanalien,lookingatthetracksonaCDandreconstructingthemusic.Afewmorestepsarerequiredtofigureoutthecode.Wenowknowthatthebrainismadeup,notoffunctionalorgans,butoflayers.Every sensory nerve ending in your body arrives, through your brain stem,intoaprimaryinputarea,andeverymotornerveleavesyourbrainthroughaprimaryoutputarea.

Inthatregard,humansarenodifferent,neurologically,fromanyotheranimal;from earthworms to orang-utans. The key difference between ourselves andotheranimalsisnotthenumberofbraincellsthatwehave,northenumberofchromosomes inourDNA; it is thenumberofprocessingsteps thata signalgoesthroughinbetweenreceptionandaction.Eachof theseprocessingstepscould introduce an extra layer of finesse or detail into the overall decisionprocess.Whenashadowpassesoverafrog, itdivesforcover.Itdoesn’tdifferentiatebetweenakestrelandapigeon,asitsimplyreactstoapatternofchanginglightlevels.Thismeansthatafrogcanreactmuchfasterthanahumanbecausethereare fewer layersofprocessing inbetween‘shadow’and ‘jump’.Similarly, ifyouhaveevertriedtoswatafly,you’llknowthattheyexcelatmovingoutoftheway,justwhenyouthinkyouhavethemcornered.Thisisn’tbecausethefly‘thinks’ any faster than you do, it’s simply to do with those previously

mentionedsignaldelays.Anexternalobserverwillseethattheflyhasalreadymovedoutofthewaybeforeyourhandisanywherenearit,thankstoitsshortreceptiontoactiondelay,andyou’reunabletoadjustyouractionbecauseyoudon’tevenknowthattheflyhasmoved.Whenyouswataflywitharolledupnewspaper,it’ssmallerthanyourhandbutit’salsomovingalotfaster,andaslongasyouattacktheflyfromthesamedirectionas it isflyingtowards, theresultwillbebadnewsforthefly.Whilst frogsand fliescan react faster thanhumans, they lackourversatility,andmost importantly they lackourability tounderstandandpredictpossiblefuture events. If a predator approached you, you would have a number ofchoicesavailable;freeze,run,grabastick, trytodistract itorevennegotiatewithit if thepredatorinquestionisasalesassistantinafurniturestore.Thisversatility requires complex computational power, and that comes at theexpenseofrawspeed.Probablythemostrecognisablepartofthehumanbrainisthecortex,whichisessentiallya foldedsheetofnerve tissuewrappedaround thecentralpartsofthebrain. It’sas if thoseoriginalpartsgrewmoreandmore layers,so thoselayers became folded in order to pack them inside your skull, much like afoldedumbrellamanagestopackalargesurfaceareaintoanapparentlysmallvolume.AtthecentreofallofthisisastructurecalledtheSuperiorColliculus,throughwhichallincomingandoutgoingnerveconnectionsarerouted.Oneimportantobservation which reinforces the theories that I’m covering here is that themore complex the behavioural response, the further into the cortex are theconnectionsthatdrivethatbehaviour.Forexample,fundamentalbehaviourssuchasbreathingandregulatingaheartbeat are driven fromwithin the brain stem itself. Our version of the frog’s“Leg it!” response is called our ‘orienting response’, and it automaticallypointsyoureyesandearsinthedirectionofmovementorsound.Crucially,thecomputationalworkrequiredtoachievethisfeatnevergetsanyfurtherthantheSuperiorColliculus,sobythetimeyouareconsciouslyawareofwhatyouarelookingat,youreyeshavealreadybeenpointingatitforsometime.Asimilarresponseorientsyoureyesinthedirectionofnewsounds.Justimagineforamomentthecalculationsrequiredtoachievethat,andrememberthatallofthattakesplaceinthemostbasicareaofyourbrain.Yourbraintakestwoimagesorsoundswhicharriveatdifferentangles,trackschangingsignallevelsacrossa two dimensional surface (your retina), computes a three dimensional

location, translates that into a two dimensional muscle movement and thencontinues to track that changing signal over time as the object in questionmovesacrossyourvisualfield.The shape of your ears causes echoeswhich perform a task similar towhatmodern ‘Digital Signal Processors’ can do. Those echoes cause differentfrequencies to arrive at your inner ear at different times,with the result thatyoucandetectthethreedimensionaloriginofasound,eventhoughyouonlyhavetwoears.

In the image above, you can see the folded or ‘convoluted’ cortex,wrappedaroundthecentralareasof thebrain.Those layersareprettymuchthesame,regardless ofwhich part of the cortexwe look at, which is very interestingindeed, and certainly fits with what we know of the brain’s ‘plasticity’; itsability to reorganise itself in case of damage.Nerve tissue apparently neverregrows(althoughitdoes),butthebraincanmovefunctionsaroundinordertobypassareasthathavebeendamagedbyinjuryorperhapsastroke.A typically simplifiedmodel of perception that youmight learn about on aNLPcourselookslikethis:

Thismodel implies thatperceptionhappens inonlyonedirection,andactionalsohappensonly inonedirection. Ifwemapped this simplifiedmodelontothe structure of the brain, we might represent the chain of connections asfollows:

However,ourbrainsarenotwiredupthatway;thereareconnectionsrunningbackintheoppositedirectiontoo.Thecortexismadeupofanumberofdistinctlayers,distinctinthattheylookdifferentwhenstudiedunderamicroscope.Traditionally,therearesixlayers,andinsomeregionsofthebrain,thosesixlayersarefurtherdividedintosub-layers.

Connectionscanbetracedbetweenthelayers,and ifwe take a functional view of the brain rather than a structural one, itwould appear that there are in fact four functional layers. A structural viewwouldbetosaythatbecausesomethingisbuiltdifferently,itmustbedifferent.Afunctionalviewsaysthatbecausesomethingfunctionsdifferently,itmustbedifferent.A horse and a car are structurally different but functionally similar. Atelephone directory and a romantic novel are structurally similar butfunctionallydifferent.

Acrosssection,groupingthesixtraditionallayersintofourfunctionallayers,lookslikethisdiagram.Eachlayerofthebrainlookslikesomekindoftransportinterchange,notwithasimple‘in’and‘out’butwithconnectionsbothinandoutatboththe‘top’andthe‘bottom’.Butwhatpurposecouldtheseextraconnectionspossiblyserve?Theanswermightbefoundwithinthemysteriousregionofthemodelwhere‘thinking’happens,whateverthatmeans.Unlikefrogsandearthworms,wedonotreact totheoutsideworlddirectly,wereact toasimulationof it,andthatsimulationcontainswhatwecouldcallour‘desiredstate’.Whilstoureyesmayorient themselves automatically towards movement, our ‘higher functions’suchasbeingable to identifyamovingobject,determine if itposesa threatanddecidewhattodoaboutitaremostdefinitelyinfluencedbyfactorssuchaspastexperiencesandcurrentemotionalstate.Averysimplifieddescriptionofthetheoryisasfollows.Withinourbrains,nervecellsholdacopyofwhatishappeningintheoutsideworld, as sampled through our sensory organs. They work like an oldfashioned cathode ray tube television screen, holding a complete, apparentlymoving imagewhichatanygiven instant reallyonlycomprisesasingle tinydot of light, moving quickly across the screen in carefully organised andsynchronisedrows.

Othernerve cells hold a copyofwhatwewould like tobehappening in theoutsideworld,asdefinedbyourneedsanddesires.Morenervecellscomparethetwo‘maps’andtrytoreducethedifferencesbetweenthetwobymodifyingtheiroutputstomotorsystemssuchasmusclesandtheendocrinesystem.

At each layer of processing, the cells and connections in the cortex seek tominimise the difference between the incoming ‘present state’ signals and theinternally connected ‘desired state’ signals. Just like the thermostat on yourcentral heating, the system takes action to achieve a specific goal, andwhenthatgoalhasbeenachieved,theoutputofthesystemreduces.Thisisknownasa ‘servo system’,where the operator sets an output and the systemmodifiesitself to achieve thatoutput.A servo systemneeds its current state and targetstatetobereasonablyclosetoeachother–toofarapartandthesystemswingsout of control because the feedback gap is too great, like setting your airconditioningtargettemperatureandthenopeningallthewindows.3

Ourbrains,likemanyoftheautomatedsystemsthatyouuseinyourhomeoroffice,are‘servosystems’,theydirectbehaviourtowardsagoal.Imagineatoycarwhichhasaverysimplyarrangementofamotor,wheelsandsomekindofsensortodirectittowardsatarget.Thecar ’sguidancesystemdoesn’tneedtobeaccurate,itonlyneedstokeepfocusonthetarget.Thecar ’spathwilllooksomethinglikethis:

Thecaris‘offcourse’formostofitsjourney,yetitstillgetsthere.That’swhatyourbehaviourislikeasyoudirectyourselftowardsyourgoals.Sometimes,itwillfeellikeyou’removingbackwards,butthatdoesn’tmatter.Whatmattersisthatyouaremoving.It’s hard to imagine such complexities and subtleties of human behaviourworkinginsuchasimpleway,untilyoutakeintoaccountthefactthat,inyourbrain,thereisanerve‘map’foreverynerveending,everycellonyourretina,everytastebud,everymuscleandeveryhairfollicle,tonamebutafew.Thoseexternal connections are combined and integrated through these successivelayersofprocessing, until a complexbehaviour such as ‘drive to the shops’canbede-constructed intoa scriptofmusclemovements, sensory inputsandrational decisions that begins with hearing an advert on the radio for adeliciousnewchocolatebar.Ibelievethatnotonlyisthisthemostrealistic,practicalandaccuratemodelofbrainfunction,italsohappenstofitveryneatlywithothermodelsandtheories

whichareequallypractical,suchasGalleseandGoldman’sSimulationTheoryandevenEricBerne’sTransactionalAnalysis.SteveGrand’swork is fascinatingbecausehe isnotaneurologistandhehasnotarrivedathisdesignforLucybytryingtounderstandthemindbutinsteadbytrying toreplicate thebrain.Coincidentally, the testofamodel issimilar;canyoureproducetheresultsofthepersonwhosetalentyouhavemodelled?Another important aspect of these ‘backwards’ connections is their ability tomodifyinput.Asbabiesdeveloptheirneuralwiring,theybecomeaccustomedtocertaininputs,learningtoprioritisetheimportanceofdifferentstimuli.Weareextremelyeconomicalandefficientmachines,soneuralconnectionswhichare not used are erased. A chemical called Oxytocin allows synapticconnectionsto‘dissolve’andbereplacedwithnewones,anditisthechemicalof both learning and love. Neuroscientists have even theorised that theproduction ofOxytocin, which increaseswhenwe fall in love, allows us toforgiveandforget,oratleasttoforget,byliterallydissolvingoldmemoriesand patterns of behaviour. If youwant to change the habit of a lifetime, fallheadoverheelsinlovewithsomeonewhodiscouragesit.Oureyesandearsarereceptivetoacertainrangeofstimuli.Forexample,wecan see light in a frequency range which we perceive as running from redthroughtoviolet.Weseethecoloursofarainbow,notbecausetheyare‘there’butbecauseoureyesdetectfrequenciesoflightinacertainway.Weknowthatsome insects can see in what we would call the ‘ultraviolet’ range, and weknow that dogs can hear in what wewould call the ‘ultrasound’ range. Oursensoryorganshaveevolvedspecifically for thepurposeof livingonEarth,soit’snosurprisethatboththeretinalcellsofoureyesandthechlorophyllinplantsareoptimisedforworkinginsunlight.Whenwestarttobuildmorecomplexstructuresontopofthesebasicsensorysystems,somethinginterestinghappens.Languageisagoodexample,becauseit is so incredibly complex. Our ability to convert an experience into anabstractsetofsymbolsandthenconveythosesymbolstoanotherperson–orevenadog–insuchawaythattheoriginalexperience,orsomethinglikeit,isrecreated in the mind of the receiver is nothing short of miraculous. Ourabilitytohearlanguageislearned,andourabilitytolearnisinfluencedbytheproductionofOxytocin.Ifyouwanttolearnanewlanguage,gotoclasseswithsomeoneyoulove.While our natural production of Oxytocin declines past childhood, we canrestartitbychoosingtotryoutnewexperiences,keepingourbrainsactive,fit

andhealthy.One of the hardest things about learning a new language is hearing thedifferentsoundsorphonemesthatmakeupthatlanguage.WhilstEnglishandFrench,forexample,havemanydifferentwordsforthesamethings,thebasicsounds of the vowels and consonants are quite similar, and certainly similarenough that you could get through a holiday with a phrase book. But whataboutEnglish compared to Finnish or Japanese? Some of the phonemes arevery different, a stereotypical example being that native Japanese speakersstrugglewiththesoundoftheletter‘R’,pronouncingitasa‘L’.AsaJapanesebabygrows,ithearsonlyJapaneselanguageandsoitsremarkablyeconomicalbrain develops only the necessary connections. A native Japanese speakerdoesn’t only struggle with ‘R’ because they’re not used to saying it, theystrugglebecause theirbrainsareunable toprocess the soundof ‘R’, so theyneverdeveloptheconnectionsrequiredtosayit.Asababy,theyneverhearit,sotheyneverdeveloptheconnectionstomakesenseofandreplicateit.EveninEngland,westruggletopronounceplacenamesinScotlandandWales,simplybecausewe’renotusedtothewaythat‘LL’,‘DD’and‘GH’areused,andmanyof us struggle to understand the ‘broadest’ regional accents, simply becausewe’renotusedtohearingthem.Thepointhereisthatthesereverseconnectionsmodifysensoryinputinordertosimplifyprocessingandcognition.Ifyouwerebuildingacomputersystemtoanalyseimages,suchasacarnumberplaterecognitionsystem,youwouldwant to reduce the amount of computational power required as much aspossible,becausethatwilloptimisethesystem’sresponsetimeandaccuracy.Ifyoucoulduseacamerawhichonlyreceivedlightaroundtheyellowrangeofthe visible spectrum, it would emphasise the number plates on the back ofBritishcarsandreducetheamountofinformationforthecomputertoprocess.Thesensorycapabilityofoureyesandearsismodifiedbyourexperiencessothatwebecomemoreattunedtoseeingandhearingwhatweexpect.MichaelMerzenichisanothernameworthlookingup;hehasbeenworkinginthefieldof‘neuroplasticity’formanyyearsandhaspioneeredarevolutioninneurology;arevolutionwhichhasshakenthepreviouslyacceptedmodel thatbrainfunctionsarelocalisedintofunctionalareasthatcannotbechangedoncea person leaves their childhood. Merzenich’s work shows that the brainreorganises itself surprisingly quickly when recovering from damage oradaptingtonewexperiences.Someofhisexperiments,andthoseofothersinthe field,have involvedmapping the individual connectionsbetween sensory

receptorsandthecortex,showingthatthereisaonetoonemappingbetweenthevarioussensesandtheprocessingcentresofthebrain.Forexample,thereisatopographicalmapoftheskinwithinthebrain,meaningthatthemapisthesameoverallshapeastherealthing.Theareaofyourbrainwhereyourrightindex finger tip connects to is next to the area where your right thumb tipconnects to,however thatwon’tbe inprecisely the sameplaceas it is inmybrain.Youcan readmoreaboutMerzenich’s research inanyofhispublicationsorpapers, or in ‘The Brain that Changes Itself’ by Normal Doidge, a popularscience bookwhich collects a number of different fields of research to addweight to the argument that the brain never stops growing, changing andlearning.Personally,Ifinditmoresurprisingthatscientistseverbelievedthebraintobeimmutable.Afterall,youarelearningfromthesewordsasyoureadthemnow.Coulditreallybepossiblethatyourbrainisacquiringnewknowledgewithoutchanging in some way? Why should learning from a new experience besignificantlydifferent to learninganew languageor recovering theuseofalimbafternervedamage?Where, you may ask, does this research fit with cognitive or behaviouralpsychology?The‘desiremap’isanobviousanalogyforagoal,belief,value,outcomeorneed.Itdoesn’treallymatterwhichofthosewordsweuse,becausethe end result is the same - an intention to modify the world to meet ourexpectations.WhetherIwantaninterviewerforajobtobescary,orwhetherIjustknowdeepdownthattheywillbe,eventhoughIdon’twantthat,theresultisthesame;ascaryinterviewer.Whatthisgivesusistwoimportantthings:1. Awaytorevealandperhapsmodifythosehiddenbehaviouraldrivers2. A way to modify the ‘desire map’ that directs our behaviour and the

resultsthatweachieveWecouldsaythatthebrain’spurposeistodirectexternalbehavioursothatthedifferencebetweenpresentanddesiredstateisminimised,butthat thenraisesthequestionofwherethedesiredstatecomesfrom.Sometimes,regardlessofwhat long term plans we make, our short term behaviour seems to lead usroundinthesamecircles.Clearly,certainessentialbiologicalprocessescandrivethedesiremap;thirstorhunger,forexample.Butwheredoesadesiremapforapromotionorforrecognitionfromone’speerscomefrom?

Steve Grand proposed that our brains comprise layers upon layers of suchmapswhicheachhavetheirownshorttermgoalsandformpartofalarger,farmorecomplexpatternofbehaviour.Certainly,wecouldrelateaneedforfoodorsecuritytoajobpromotionthroughachainofconnectedbeliefs.Oneroleofcoachingorcounsellingistochallengethosebeliefssothatapersonmaymeettheirneedsmoreeffectively.Thegoalofanylivingorganismishomeostasis;anequilibriumthatkeepstheorganism healthy and alive. Life is a delicate balance, for example betweenstayinginthesafetyofthecave,riskingstarvationandheadingouttoforage,riskingbeingeatenbyapredator.Yourbodytemperature,bloodoxygenationand stomach acid level must all be maintained within carefully controlledranges,andeithertoomuchortoolittlecanbefatal.Whilehomeostasisisagoodthingatalevelofbasicbodilyfunctions,it’snotso useful for humans with career aspirations and other long term goals,because it tends to keep you exactlywhere you are.Many psychotherapeuticapproachesworkwith‘lifescripts’;behaviourslearnedduringourchildhoodthat areno longer appropriate forusyetwhich repeat as if onautopilot.Weknow thiswhenweact likeourparentsandpromise to stop,yetwehear thesamewordscomingoutofourmouthsasifsomeoneelseisinthedrivingseat.Weneedtobeabletobreaktheconnectionbetweenpastexperiencesandfutureexpectations,andhavingdonethat,weneedtocreateanewdesiredstatewhichisappropriateforthewaythatwewantourlivestobe.To summarise, the purpose and function of a brain is to minimise thedifferencebetweenanorganism’spresentanddesiredstates.NLPgiveusasetoftoolsforminimisingthedifferencesbetweenthatperceivedpresentstateand‘objective reality’, andalso formodifying thedesired state so that it reflectsourconscious,longtermplansratherthanourunconscious,learned,repetitivebehaviours.ModellingtheLearningProcessAsaNLPMasterPractitioner,youshouldbeabletomodelabehaviouralprocess.Therefore,youshouldbeabletomodelthewaythatsomeonelearns.First,startwithyourdefinitionoflearning,sothatyoucanfocusonthespecificbehavioursinvolved.Thinkabouthowyoucantestyourmodel–couldyouuseittoimprovethewaythatsomeonelearnssomething?

1Iaskedhim,hehadneverheardofit.Nicechapthough.2news.berkeley.edu/2011/09/22/brain-movies3 This has important implications for personal and organisational change which I explore in my bookChangeMagic,Itturnsoutwedon’thavetoforcepeoplethroughtheKubler-Rossgriefroller-coaster,afterall.

5LearningTheories

Ourknowledgeoflearningisbasedonourresearchintopsychology,andhowthemindlearnsisafundamentalaspectofhowthemindworks.Therearebroadlyfourviewsonthis,howevertheyarenotmutuallyexclusive.In fact, I think they’re all true, and that the overall learning process is acombination.Behaviourist–learningasbehaviourchangeorconditioningCognitivist–learningasunderstandingConstructivist–learningasconstructionofknowledgeSocial–learningassocialpracticeEachof these is agroupof theories andmodels, andyou should familiariseyourselfwiththemthroughfurtherreading.

5.0.1BehaviouristBehaviouristlearningfocuseson‘doing’.Behaviouristsproposethatlearningisachangeinbehaviourresultingfromanacquiredadaptationtoanexternalstimulus.Thisis‘blackbox’thinking,inthatwedon’tknowwhat’sinsidetheblackboxorhowitworks,wecanonlyknowits inputs and outputs. Therefore, its inputs and outputs are the only thingswhichexist.Pavlov trained his dogs in 1927, and Skinner trained pigeons and people in1953.Whatalloftheseexperiments,andmore,haveincommonisthatwhenyou present a living organism with a consistent stimulus, it will begin toexhibitapersistent,consistentresponse.Behaviourismproposes thatpeoplecanbeconditionedor‘trained’ tobehaveincertainwaysifclearobjectivesarespecified.Theydon’thavetothinkaboutwhatthey’redoing,theydon’tevenhavetounderstandwhatthey’redoing,theyjusthavetodoit,inresponsetoastimulus.Forexample,whenafaceappearsinfrontofyou,say,“Doyouwantanapplepiewiththat?”Behaviourism, at its most limited, assumes that people are like machines,passive, unemotional, and that the trainer has perfect knowledge. A purelybehaviourist approach allows no room for individuality, self expression orimprovisation. All too often, corporate trainers use a behaviourist approachand then managers complain that their staff don’t have any initiative. Yousimply can’t train people to performmechanistic actions and then complainwhentheydon’tthinkforthemselves.

Akeyaspectofbehaviourismasatrainingapproachisreinforcementthroughreward, so having trained someone to perform a simple task, and havingrewardedthemforthatbehaviour,it’snowevenhardertogetthemtousetheirinitiative, at which point we need a culture change program to reset thebehaviours. Alternatively, you could readmy book ChangeMagic and saveyourselfallthattrouble.Themainproblemwithapurelybehaviouristapproach is thatpeopleare,ofcourse,notmachines, anddoultimately reach thepointwhere theirneed forselfdeterminismover-ridestheirneedforobedience.LiketheCylonsorNS-5s1orReplicantsorSkynetorDarkStar ’snuclearbomb,theworkingclasseswillalwaysriseupandoverthrowtheirmasters.

5.0.2CognitivistCognitivistlearningfocuseson‘knowing’.Cognitivelearningistheprocessing,assimilationandadpatationofnewpiecesofinformation.In1971,JeanPiagetconductedfamousexperimentswhicharestill valuable in our understanding of the development of brain functionthroughchildhood.Assimilationisthesimpleintegrationofnewfacts,whereasaccommodationistheadaptationofmentalmapstoincorporatenewinformation.New species of dinosaurs are regularly discovered which add to ourunderstandingoflifeonEarthpriortoourmodernage.Everynowandthen,afossilisfoundwhichoverturnswhatwethoughtweknew.Forexample,manydinosaurshadearlyfeathers,andinFebruary2017thefossilisedremainsofapregnantdinosaurwasfound,showing thatnotalldinosaurs laideggs,somegavebirthtoliveyoung.Findingnewtypesofdinosaurthatfitourexistingmodelsofwhattheylookedlikeisanexampleofassimilation.Findingafeatheredorpregnantdinosaurisanexampleofadaptation.Cognitivelearningistheprocessoforganisingyourexperiencestointegratenew experiences so that you maintain a personal model of how the worldworks.Cognitivedissonanceisthenamethatpsychologistsgivetoaperson’sinabilitytointegrateanewexperienceintotheirworldmap,forexample,ifyoumetavisitor from another planet or if your teenage child cleaned up afterthemselves.It isofteneasiertoreject thenewinformationcompletelythanto

changethemapinordertoaccommodateit.Cognitive learning theories relate to thought processes such as perception,cognition,encoding,memory,andhowtheseareusedtoacquire,processandretain information. Of course, we now know that these are not distinctprocesses,sowhilstlearningcertainlyhasacognitivecomponent,itcannotbeexclusivelycognitive.Inacognitiveapproach,wehelpstudents tounderstandhowtheymakesenseof new knowledge andwe give themways to organise information such asTonyBuzan’s‘mindmapping’orBloom’staxonomyoflearning.Even in NLP Practitioner training, we give students a model of subjectivesensory experience upon which they will build their understanding that theworldisnotthewaytheythinkitis,andthatinfacttheworldisexactlythewaythey think it is. Such paradoxes serve as a framework for new experienceswhich could otherwise be unsettling and even frightening.For example, in aperceptualpositionsexercise,astudentcouldformaverydifferentperceptionof their parents than they have done up to that point, and realise that theyalways had the power to change that relationship. This uncomfortablerealisation can lead to denial or cognitive dissonance which causes them toreject thecontentof the trainingasa trickorquick fix.Bygivingstudentsatheoreticalframework,evenonewhichthe trainerarbitrarilyconstructed, theriskofsuchrejectionisminimised.You can see the biggest problemwith cognitive approaches – the trainer islargelyincontrolofthelearningcontentandthetheoreticalframeworkusedtominimise the chanceof rejection.Thepressure is therefore on the trainer tokeeptheirknowledgeuptodate,andasI’vealreadysaidaboutthemajorityofNLPtrainers,thatsimplydoesn’thappen.Yourneedforselfexpressionisnotbecauseyouarerightbraindominant.One of the other drawbacks with a purely cognitive approach is that thedemonstrationofknowledgeisthemeasureofsuccess,nottheapplicationofthat knowledge. I know how tomake cold calls, how to sell, how to gathercustomerneedsandsoon.Butworkinacallcentre?IdoubtthatIcoulddoit.Iknowhowtodoit,butIdon’twanttodoit.Iknowhowtobuildawallbutgiveme a pile of bricks and the outcomemight be different to what you had inmind.

5.0.3ConstructivistCognitivistlearningfocuseson‘creating’.

Thecognitivemodelproposesthatwelargelycreateourrealitybyintegratingnewideasandthenprojectingthoseideasontotheworld.Knowledgeisnotsomething‘outthere’waitingtobecollected,likepebblesonabeach,asIsaacNewtonmayormaynothavesaid.Instead,wearethecreatorsofourperceptions, thedirectorsofourownlifestories.Thisideagivesusawayofexplaininghowdifferentpeoplecanhaveverydifferentperceptionsofthesameevents.Inconstructivist theories suchas thoseput forwardbyGeorgeKelly (1955),thestudentisabsolutelycentraltothelearning,andtheroleofthetraineristocreate experienceswhich lead the learners to form their ownunderstandingsanddeveloptheirowninsightswhicharethenpartofeachindividual’smapoftheworld.Weassumethatlearnersaredriven,notbyrewardorthreats,butbytheirneedtofindmeaningandsignificance in theworld,andweassumethat they learnbestthroughactiveengagementinnewexperiences,problemsolving,analysis,planningandreflection.

5.0.4ExperientialLearningExperiential learningmethodsareoneexampleofconstructivist learning, theideabeing that people learn from reflectingon their ownexperiences ratherthanbybeingspoon-fedinformation.TheoristssuchasJohnDewey(1938),KurtLewin(1951),DavidKolb(1984),Boud et al (1993) and Russ Vince (2002) have all developed experientiallearningtheories,andwe’llbeexploringKolb’sinmuchmoredetaillateron.Experiential learning requires a focus on the individual to create their ownlearning throughactionand reflection.The trainerhas todesignexperiencesandprovidetimeforreflection,andifthelearnersarenotusedtothinkingforthemselves,thetrainermighthavetoprovidesomestructureforthatreflectiveprocess,perhapsthroughaseriesofquestions.Constructivist learning theoriesmight explainwhypeople differ in thewaystheyengagewith the same learningprocessandhow their learning from thesame experiences can vary greatly. Behaviourist and cognitivist theoriescannot explain such individual differences. Learning is dependent on muchmorethantheknowledgeofthetrainerorthecontentofthetrainingmaterials.Manycorporatetrainerssimplydon’thavetheluxuryoftimetoexploresuchindividualisation, and the pressure to create conformity forces them down abehaviourist or cognitive route.Other corporate trainers are, of course, just

notverygoodandlackthefacilitationskillsrequiredtomakethemostofanexperientialprocess.Sometimes, we don’t want people to create their own learning. If you’retraining flight crews tooperate safetyequipment,youdon’tnecessarilywantthem tocreate theirown ideas and routines.However, they still benefit fromcreatingtheirownsenseofpurposeandmeaning,eveninasimple,repetitivetask.

5.0.5SocialLearningSociallearningfocuseson‘sharing’.Ourthoughtprocessesandourcommunicationsystemsareintrinsicallylinked.We talk toourselvesandwesignalour internalexperiences toothers.Sociallearningtheoriesproposethatapersoncannotlearninisolation,theymustbepartofsomesocialnetworkinordertoreflectonandsharetheirexperiences.Peoplemakesenseofnewideasandareabletocreateasenseofmeaningonlythrough dialogue and interaction with others, an idea that is called socialconstructivism.The idea that social interaction is important in learningwas createdbyLevsVygotsky(1978),whoobservedthatchildrenwereabletoperformwellaboveexpectationsfor theirage ifgiven thechance to interactwithsomeoneolder.Heisknownfortheconcept‘zoneofproximaldevelopment’,theideathatwelearn best at the edge of familiarity – not too stretched and not toocomfortable, and that social interaction helps to create the right level ofchallenge more effectively than an individual can alone. It seems obviousreally–wecannotseeourownlimits,so it’sonly throughsocial interactionthatwecanseewhatothersarecapableofandthereforewhatispossible.Ifyouplay a sport, you’re unlikely to learnmuch by playing peoplewho are lessskilledthanyou.Togetbetter,youhavetogetbeaten.Alot.JeromeBruner(1996)andEtienneWenger(1998)bothresearchedtheimpactofsocialcultureonlearning,andifwedefineaculturesimplyasasystemofrulesthenweshouldn’tbesurprisedthatthoseruleswillaffectlearning.Social constructivism adds the idea that team working, collaboration andcompetitionarevaluableaspectsofthelearningenvironment.The role of the trainer changes from the provider of knowledge to thecustodianoftheenvironment.Equalityandmutualrespectarevitalwithinthelearning group, and oncewe put a group of people togetherwe start to seesignsofsocialbiaswhichthetrainerhastoworktoovercome.

Overall,though,ifyou’regoingtotrainpeopleingroupsthenyou’regoingtoseeevidenceofsociallearning,anddevelopingyourfacilitationskillsisvitalifyou’retomanagethiseffectively.

5.1HybridLearning

I said earlier that I don’t believe that these different styles and theories areisolatedfromeachother,andwecan’tthinkintermsofwhichoneisrightandwhichiswrong.Allaredescriptionsofwhatatheoristcanobserve,andfromourNLPpointofview,thatmeansthattheycanbemodelled.However,whatIbelieves colours those observations for anyone not versed in NLP is fear.Learningrepresentschange,andchangecanbescary,andbarrierstolearningwillshapethewaythatapersonlearns.For example,Honey andMumford tookKolb’s learning cycle and turned itintofourlearningstyles.Eventhoughthesecategories,knownas‘types’havelong been discredited for all psychometric or pseudo-psychometric tools,trainers still describe their learners as ‘activists’ or ‘reflectors’. Mind you,NLPtrainersstilldescribetheirstudentsas‘visual’or‘auditory’,whichisjustasbad.An activist is someone who jumps straight in and starts experimenting. Areflector is someone who stands back and observes others. From a NLPprocesspointofview,ifbothlearnerscanprovidesomecommentaryontheirexperiencethentheyarebothengagedintheprocessofexperiencing;onefirsthand,onesecondhand.WhatI’msuggestingisthatthesecondpersonisnotareflector, theyareanactivistwhoisafraid tohaveago–afraid incase theymakeamistake,orget itwrong,orget into trouble,orbreaksomething,orworstofall,makeafoolofthemselves.Doingsomethingnewmeansthatyourconfidencewill be lower thanusual.The last thingyouneed is tohearyourcolleagues laughing at your pathetic attempts to build a tower out ofmatchsticksoroperateafireextinguisher.So,ifyouhavelearnedduringyourearlylifethatmistakesareasourceofridiculethenit’seasiertoplaysafeandlet others go first. I can’t prove this hypothesis, I can only comment on thehundredsoflearnerswhoI’veworkedwith.Ialsothinkthatwecanlearnalotfromwatching children. At your local park or play centre, you can see thechildren with pushy parents who are reluctant to try something new. Theparentsprojecttheirownfearoffailureandtheirchildrenlearnthatit’sbadtogetsomethingwrong.Theyhavenoideawhy,theyjustknowthatit’sbad.Thisisitselfanexampleofbehaviourallearning,wherethechildlearnsaresponse

withouttherationaleforthatresponse–thecognitivepart.Thechildlearnstoreactacertainwaywithoutthechoiceofwhentoactthatway.Therearetimesthatwecanallbenefitfromstandingbackandlettingsomeotheridiotgofirst,butwhatwemust all have is that choice over our actions.Without cognitiveunderstandingandchoice,weareautomatons,programmed toperform taskswith no understanding ofwhy orwhen to perform those tasks.Our evolvedbrainsallowustoprocessastimulusand,insteadofautomaticallyreactingtoit, making a choice about how to respond. The greater the autonomy oflearning,thegreatertheautonomyofbehaviour.Welearnsimplerepetitiveactions,useful forhandshakesandopeningdoors.Welearnfacts,usefulwhenshoutingat theTVduringquizshows.Wecreateknowledge,usefulwhenwearegeneralisingourexperienceoflifeandmakingcareer choices.We learnwithothers, useful in adapting tonew relationshipsand in surviving corporate teambuilding events.We learn all of this, not indiscrete chunks but in one continuous process of experiencing, reflecting,generalising and projecting. Our lives are both the giver of our life’sknowledgeandtheproductofit.

1Iknow,VIKIwasbehinditallreally.

6TheLearningCycle

Likedayandnight,likethepassageoftheseasons,learningisacycle.In 1984, David Kolb and Ron Fry published Kolb’s Experiential LearningModel (ELM).Kolb’swork isgreatly respectedacrossmany learning fields,fromschoolstoprofessionaleducation.TheELMpresentsafourpartlearningcycle.

6.0.1ConcreteExperience-FeelThis stage is one of real, physical, direct, first hand, visceral sensoryexperience.Anexperiencemightcompriseanycombinationofsights,sounds,feelings, tastesor smells and in fact, youmayknow that all experiences andthereforeallmemoriescompriseallof theseelements,even thoughsomeofthemmaybelessprominentthanothers.Aconcreteexperienceisexternaltousandthereforealwaysinthepresent.

6.0.2ReflectiveObservation-WatchOncewe’vehadaconcreteexperience,wereflectonit.Wecastourmindback,bothconsciouslyandunconsciously,andrelive theexperienceso thatwecanmake generalisations and draw conclusions. Research has shown that thestructurewithinthebrainknownasthehippocampuscreatesakindof‘actionreplay’ofemotionallychargedevents,etchingthemforeverinourlongtermmemories.Reflectiveobservationisinternaltousandthereforealwaysinthepast,andtheobservationisn’tnecessarilyvisual,itfeaturesallofthesensoryinformationwhichwasoriginallypresent.

6.0.3AbstractConcept-ThinkHavingrelived theexperience,we take thosegeneralisationsandconclusionsanduse themtocreateanabstractconcept,asetof rulesorprincipleswhichgovern the experience and others like it. When abstract conceptualisationinvolvesmentalrehearsal,itisinternalandappearstobeinthefuture,wheninfactitisareplayofthepastasthefuturedoesn’tyetexist.

6.0.4ActiveExperiment-DoWetaketheabstractconceptandtestitbyapplyingittonewsituations.Achildtestsa rangeofhouseholdobjects to findout if they floataswellashis lostballoon.Afathergivesallofthehouseplantsacloseshaveinorderto‘tryout’the new hedge trimmer that he received for his birthday. Activeexperimentation leads full circle to a new concrete experience which eitheraffirms or contradicts the abstract concept.Active experimentation is alwaysexternalandinthepresent.

LearningCycleExamplesWhatexamplescanyouthinkofthatdemonstratethelearningcycle?Canyouthinkofanycounter-examples?Trylearningsomethingbydeliberatelymissingstagesofthecycle.

Wecouldperhapssaythatthesequenceofeventsis:1. Dosomething2. Getfeedback3. Reviewfeedback4. Makeaplan

Youmaynot be consciously awareof this process, yet if you think about it,youcannoticehoweveryexperienceyouhaveresultsfromsomeaction,andeveryconsciousactionresultsfromsomekindofmentalrehearsal.Whenyoutakeaction,theveryfirstthingthathappensisthatyouseeandheartheresultof your actions. Put this all together and you live a cycle of reception andprojection,wherepasteventsareprojectedontofutureexpectations.

6.1Honey&MumfordLearningStyles

Onto Kolb’s four learning stages, Peter Honey and Alan Mumford latermapped the four roles shown in the diagram below; Activist, Pragmatist,TheoristandReflector.

6.1.1ActivistActivistsneedtodosomethingandtheylearnbyexperimenting.Theyneedtoexperiencesomethingforthemselvesandworkouthowtheyfeelaboutit,sotheymakedecisionsbasedontheirinstinctsmorethanonlogic.Activistsseekhandsonexperience.Activistssay,“CanIhaveago?”

6.1.2PragmatistPragmatists like todowhatworks.They like toknowwhatworks in therealworld.Pragmatistsliketofindpracticalapplicationsforideas.Pragmatistssay,“Doesitwork?”

6.1.3TheoristTheorists liketoobservewhat’sgoingonandthenformatheoryoropinionabout it. Theorists like evidence, logical explanations, abstractmodels, factsandfigures.Theydon’tlikesubjectivity.Theoristssay,“Howdoesitwork?”

6.1.4ReflectorReflectors like to observe and reflect and turn things around from differentpointsofview.Theyliketousetheirimaginationtosolveproblemsratherthandivinginliketheactivists.Theyliketotaketimetoponderanddon’trushintodecisionsuntiltheythinkthattheyhavecoveredalltheangles.Reflectorssay,“Letmethinkaboutit.”

Thehuge,hugeproblemwithlearningstylesisthattheyarenottrue.Infact,alltype indicators are problematic, because someone decided that there are acertain number of fixed types of people, and you then have to shoe-horneveryoneintothosefixedtypes.Peoplearefarsimpler,andfarmorecomplexatthesametime.A person isn’t one kind of learner, they are all four, in the sequence that isconstrained by the laws of physics.You cannot get feedback from an actionuntilyouhaveperformedthataction.Asfarasphysicistsarecurrentlyaware,time only flows in one direction – a concept recently strengthened by thediscovery that some atoms are not spherical but are pear shaped, giving theuniverseaunidirectionalimbalance.Peoplearenot fixed in these roles, theyarepreferences.Weallneed time toreflect,we all need to take part,we all need to create rules andwe all needpersonalexperiencetoconfirmthoserules.Acompletelearningexperiencemustalwaysinvolvethefullcyclebecausethatreflectshowour lifeexperiencesare formed.Lifehappens,weponderon it,we wonder what it all means and then figure out what to do about it. We

probablydon’thaveagreatdealofcontroloverlifeasalearningexperiencewhichhappenswhetherwelikeitornot,butKolb’sworkgivesusalanguageandaframeworkforunderstandingwhathappenswhenapersonintentionallysetsouttolearnsomethingnew.This probably calls to mind the idea of ‘conscious incompetence’. When Iknow that Idon’tknowsomething, I setout to learn it. Iknow that Iwant torecordmyfavouriteTVshow,butIcan’tforthelifeofmerememberhowtoprogramthevideorecorder.1

However, when learning is not motivated by the individual, the idea of‘unconsciousincompetence’ismorerelevant.Ihavenoideathattherearesuchthings as superconductors, or cytoblasts, or actuaries, and that’s generallybecause I had no interest in them. Should I become interested, just becausesomeoneelsethinksthatit’simportantformetoknowaboutsuchthings?Thereisnodoubtthat,duringtrainingcourses,Ihaveobservedlearnerswholiketogetstuckinandhaveago,learnerswhoprefertostandbackandwatch,learnerswholiketoquestionthetheoryandlearnerswholiketochallengetheutility of what they are learning. However, I put it to you that these are notdemonstrations of learning styles, they are demonstrations of how easilypeoplewilldistractfromtheirownfearoffailure,orfearoflookingstupid.

Activist “I’llhaveagoandseewhathappens”

Pragmatist “ProvetomethatIwon’tlookstupidbytellingmethatthisworksforotherpeople”

Theorist “ProvetomethatIwon’tlookstupidbytellingmethetheoryastowhythisworks”

Reflector “Ifeelstupid.I’lljustwatch”

A learner has no capacity to understand the theory or case studies behind atopic that they’re learning because, by definition, they don’t know about thetopic. Therefore, their questions are a challenge to the trainer and theywilljudgetheresponsebasednotonthefactualcontentofthetrainer ’sreplybutonthetrainer ’scongruenceduringtheirreply.Andsincecongruenceissimplyaharmony of verbal and non verbal communication channels, if the trainerwholeheartedlybelievesthenonsensethey’respouting,itwillbegoodenoughforthePragmatistsandTheorists.

ThePragmatistsandTheoristsopenlychallenge the trainerandare thereforeprobablyExtroverts,whereastheActivistandReflectorjustdotheirownthingandareprobablyIntroverts.ExtroversionandIntroversionarenothingtodowithhowlivelysomeoneis,it’s about their reference point for sensory comparisons. Extroverts checkexternally, introverts check internally. Neither is better, we need both, or atleastsocietyhasbeenshapedbybothandconsequentlyneedsboth.Studiesofbrainplasticityshowthatarealistictimetomasteranewbehaviouris about six months, with daily practice, reflection and integration. It’sinterestingthatthemostcurrentworkinneuroscienceseemstoconfirmwhatteachershave said forgenerations; that studentsneed regularpracticeoveraprolongedperiodoftimewithproperrestinordertotrulymasteranewskill.Agoodnight’ssleepreallyispartofthelearningprocess.

6.2OtherLearningStyles

Therearemanyother‘learningstyles’models,suchasNLP’ssensorymodelorGardner ’s‘MultipleIntelligences’.Noneofthesemodelsaretrueorfalse,they’rejustawayoforganisinghowwethinkaboutlearningsothatwehavealanguagetotalkabouthowwecandoitbetter.Whileeveryoneisanindividual,withtheirownlearningstyle,preferenceandprocess,everyoneisalsosubjecttothelawsofphysics,andyecannae

changethelawsofphysics,Jim2

Themoreconformitythatyouhaveinyourdelivery,thelesslikelyitisthatalllearners will be able to fully engage. However, fully engaging all learnersaccordingtotheirindividualstylescanbeverytimeconsumingforthetrainer,sotherehastobea‘happymedium’.ManytrainerstalkaboutaNLPviewoflearningstyles,assigningthelabelsofVisual, Auditory and Kinaesthetic to learners. I’ve heard people say, “I’m avisuallearnersoIneedtoseeadiagram”.Duh.We’reallvisuallearners.Andwhat’s a kinaesthetic learner? They have to rub themselves up against thepowerpoint slides? Oh, they learn by doing. And how do they know whatthey’redoing?Ah,theyseeandhearit.Andwehavetheproblemthatwhatwecall‘kinaesthetic’isanamalgamofquiteafewothersenses,ofwhichthereatleast21intotal,maybemore,not5.This‘NLPlearningstyles’modelcamefrommetaprogramswhich,frankly,Idon’t believe in.As far aswe know, there is no constructwithin the human

brain ormind to create these arbitrary distinctions.At best, there is one, theintraversion/extraversionswitchwhichisthrownwithindaysofbirth,basedonourparents’levelofresponsivenesstoourneeds.Ibelievethatalloftheotherprojectionsthatwecallmetaprogramscanbeextrapolatedfromthatreferencebiasindifferentcontexts,andeventhatisastretch,andthewholethingmightbeanillusionbasedonlyonwhereyouarefocusingatanygivenmoment.

AccordingtoTheGuardian3,“LearningstylesareoftenreferredtoasVAK–studentsarecategorisedasvisual,auditoryorkinaestheticlearners.Thismythstatesthatstudentswilllearnmoreiftheyaretaughtinawaythatmatchestheirpreferred style. Despite an absence of any evidence to support this claim,researchcarriedout in2012founditwasbelievedby93%ofteachersintheUK.”Notsurprisingly,usingmultiplesensesandactivitiesisfarmoreeffectivethantryingtoappealtoanyindividual,fictitiouslearningstyle.Theironyisthatateacher, trying to appeal to a classroom of different learning styles actuallyresponds by trying to cover all styles at the same time,which is probably agood idea.Learning styles as individual categoriesdon’t exist, however it istrue thatwe acquire information inmultipleways, so if a teacher can coverthosemultipleways,theystandabetterchanceofincreasinglearningretentionthaniftheystandatthefrontoftheroomreadingfromabook.

Here’sanextractfromtheconclusionofsomerecentresearch4 onthesubject,carriedoutatCambridgeUniversityintheUK.“An interestinganalogy isprovidedbyClark,whowasdiscussing language,but whose analogy also works for the entire cognitive system. Clark’sargument is that we can conceptualise the brain as a ‘loose-knit, distributedrepresentational economy’ (Clark, 20065). Some elements in the economymight conflict with other elements in the economy, but this is inevitable, asthereisno‘homunculus’orsinglecentraloverseerwhodetermineslearning.Rather, there aremany interacting parts of the overall reasoningmachinerythatthebrainismaintainingatthesametime.Theactivityofallofthesepartsiswhatthechildbringstotheclassroom,anddifferentpartsaremoreorlessaffected by different cognitive or emotional experiences. The child brings a‘vast parallel coalition of more-or-less influential forces whose unfoldingmakes each of us the thinking beings that we are’ (ibid.). To borrow fromanotherinsightfulcommentatoronthepotentialofcognitiveneuroscienceforcognitive development (Diamond, 20076), the truly ambitious goal foreducation is to cross and integrate the disciplinary boundaries of biology,

culture, cognition, emotion, perception and action. Biological, sensory andneurological influenceson learningmust becomeequal partnerswith social,emotionalandculturalinfluencesifwearetohaveatrulyeffectivedisciplineofeducation.”Insummary,thinkaboutlearningasanongoingcyclicprocess,drivenonlybytheconstantstreamofdatacominginthroughyoursenses.Therearenostylesor fixed preferences, only snapshots in time. We can receive all of theinformation thatour senseshaveevolved to receive, someof it isuseful forsupporting future decisions,most of it is useless or irrelevant, andwemusthave amethod for filtering, sorting and archiving that information for lateraccess.Thatmethodisthelearningcycle.Plan your training design and delivery to exploit that cycle, because it’shappeninganyway,whetheryoulikeitornot.

6.3ReflectiveLearning

There is a very simple principle underpinningKolb’s observations; that youcannot learn todo somethingbeforeyouhavedone it.Nomatterhowmanytimesyou read the instructionmanual,until youperform theact, youcannotcompletethefeedbackloopsnecessarytofinetuneyourbehaviour.InTheNLPMasterPractitionerManual,Ishowyouhowthephysicalstructureof the brainmirrors the process of learning a new task.As a servo controlsystem,thebrain,bodyandsensorysystemsformpartofafeedbackloop.Thebraincreatesaction inpursuitofagoal, thebodyimplements thatactionandthesensesrelatefeedbackconcerningthataction.Thecomplexprocessthatwecall‘learning’hasnothingtodowithreadingtextbooksorsittinginclasses.It’shappeningconstantlyasthebrainreinforcesthefeedback loops which achieve results. The servo system will strengthen thebehaviourswhichachievetheirgoals.Peoplestayinabusiverelationshipsandtake manipulative routes to achieve their goals because, simply, theirbehaviours‘work’.Is therea‘better ’way?Yesandno.Yesbecausetherearealternatives,nobecausethecurrent‘way’isexactlythewaythatitismeanttobe.Youcouldputpaprikaintolasagne,butitmightnotbelasagneanymore.Woulditbebetterorworse?Whoknows.Tryitandseeifyoulikeit.Wecanonlybeconsciouslyawareofwhatwehavelearnedbycomparingourexperiences over time, looking back. When that comparison creates apreference, we call that ‘learning’. Through this wonderful process, I

discovered a long time ago that a tuna and egg curry is not a recipe to berepeated.Butpaprikainlasagne?Hmm.Imighttryit.Takingactionandsensingtheresultsofthatactionconnecttheservosystemtotheoutsideworld.Reflectingon theexperienceandplanning thenextactionaremore inwardlyfocusedstagesofthecycle.Therefore,alearner ’sfocusofattentionmustflipbetweenthe‘inside’andthe‘outside’ as their brain generates action, gathers feedback, compares thatfeedbacktotheoriginalintentionandcontinuestorefinethataction.Our brains simply aren’t built to learn by listening to long transmissions ofwordsorbyreadingacademictextbooks.Everyoneisanactivelearner.Now,considerhowthisappliestoyourtrainingdesign.As a trainer, you will have an intention, an outcome. You will take actionthroughyourtrainingdelivery,Finally,youwillgatherfeedbacktodetermineyour success in achievingyouroutcomes.Andat every stageof the trainingprocess,youwillhaveloopswithinloopsofoutcome,actionandfeedbackatboththeconsciousandunconsciouslevels,asinloopswhichyourstudentswillbeawareof,andloopswhichtheywon’tbeawareof.

6.4TheOngoingLearningCycle

Weknowthat,whateveryoudo,your learnerswill learnbymoving throughthelearningcycle.Weknowthattheywillcopyyou,andifthat’sallthattheydo,they’llonlylearnbehaviourswithouttheinformationtoknowwhentousethosebehaviours. If,aswellasslavishlycopyingyou, they learn the theoriesandreasonsbehindthosebehaviours,they’llhavealittlemoreflexibilityandbeabletoimproviseinordertoincreasetheeffectivenessoftheirbehaviours.Iftheyarethenabletotryoutvariationsoftheirownandfigureouttheirownrules, theories and reasons, their improvisations will become even moreeffective.Therefore, I thinkwe can all agree that there is somemerit in the idea of alearningcycle,andifweputthatlearningintoasocialcontextthenindividualswillstart tosharetheir improvisationswitheachother,andtheknowledgeoftheindividualswillthengrowtothelevelofthegroup.Allgoodsofar!How,then,doweincorporatethisintoourtrainingdesign?

Let’sstartanimaginaryNLPPractitionertraininginthewaythatmanytrainersdo,bytalkingabout thesubjectivenatureofexperience.Weneedtogiveourlearnersanexperience,andthatexperienceshouldhavethemplayinganactivepart,notjustsittingtherewhileyouprattleonabouthowamazingtheworldis.Let’s devise a simple activity to give our learners some insight into thesubjective nature of their senses by getting them to look at some opticalillusions.IfwefollowKolb’slearningcycle,theywouldlookattheillusions,thenthinkabouthowthoseillusionswork,thentestthoseillusionswithsomekind of experiment. It may not be practical for them to design their ownillusions,asthisisahugebranchofperceptualpsychologyinitself.Maybewecould do something more practical, such as… what? What do we get ourlearnerstodo?To answer that, we must go back to the reason that we showed them theillusionsinthefirstplace.Wewanttogiveourlearnersapersonalexperienceof the subjectivity of their perceptions, which is really not possible becausethey are using their subjective perceptions to look at their subjectiveperceptions!ImaginetryingtocleanadirtymarkoffyourTVscreenwithoutrealising it’sactuallypartof themovieyou’rewatching.Sobyusingopticalillusionstocreateasenseofconfusion,wedemonstratethatthelearner ’seyesare not creating a reliable, objective sense of external reality,which in turnallowsus to introduce theconceptof subjective reality thatNLP isbasedon.Afterall, ifourexperiencesarewhat theyareandwecan’tchange that, thenlearningNLPisawasteoftime.Some of the common optical illusions you’ll see are based on theway thatyourbrain’svisualcortexinfersqualitiessuchassizeanddistancefromotherinformation such as contrast. I would suggest that, unless you have somepsychology researchers inyourgroup, you’ll struggle to comeupwithnewillusions,solet’ssticktoonewhichiseasytoreplicateandtest–theblindspot.You’ll find this one in the start of The NLP Practitioner Manual, and yourlearnerscancreatetheirownvariationstotestthetheory.

ConcreteExperience Lookatopticalillusions

ReflectiveObservation Thinkabouthowtheywork

AbstractConcept Formatheorye.g.blindspot

ActiveExperiment Createotherblindspottests

What’snext?Let’sbuildonthisknowledgeofsubjectiverealitybygivingourlearners a language to talk about their experiences, also known assubmodalities.

ConcreteExperience Noticehowourexperienceofeventsdiffers

ReflectiveObservation

Noticeanyconsistenciesbetweenthoseexperiences

AbstractConcept Theoriseaboutexperienceswhichmightfitthesamepattern

ActiveExperiment Findotherexperienceswhichfitthepattern

Our innate desire to test our theories gives rise to the phenomenon ofconfirmation bias, in which we only look for evidence that confirms ourbeliefs.Getyourlearnerstoalsolookforcounterexamples,totrytodisprovetheirtheories.Forexample,inthecontextofsubmodalities,ifyourlearnersbelievethey’vefound a pattern of sad memories being visually dark, get them to look forcounter-examplesbyfindinghappymemorieswhicharealsodark.Iftheyfindany,cantheyexplainthediscrepancywithintheiroriginaltheory?Sofar,sogood.WehavethefirsttwostepsofaNLPPractitionertraining,andtwo practical exercises for your learners. After studying submodalities, youmightmoveontoatechniquewhichexploitssubmodalities,suchasanchoringorswish.Andherewehaveaproblem.Let’ssaythatthisisyourcoursedesignsofar:

Subjectivity Submodalities Anchoring Swish

Withineachstep,youhavealearningcycle,whichissuper.Butwhatyouhavealso inadvertently created is a series of isolated chunks of content with noconnection between them, other than you saying, “And now we’ll move onto...”As a corporate trainer delivering training on time management or basiccommunication skills, this is to be expected. As a NLP trainer, you have toworkabitharder.Partly, this isbecauseyour trainingprogramsarenotoneday events, they spanmultipledays andperhaps evenmultiplemodulesovermanyweeksormonths.Onceyourlearnershavegonehomeforthenight,they

willforgetalotofwhattheyhaveexperienced.Thenextmorning,ifyoustartwith your next chunk of content, you’ll find that your learnerswill strugglemorethanifyouhadonlycovereditafewminutespreviously.In NLP, and in most training in fact, information is not contained in neat,isolatedsegments,itisallwoventogethertoformacompleteentity.However,becauseofthelinearnatureoftime,wecan’ttrainthewholethingatonce,sowehavenorealisticchoicebuttotraininlogicalchunks.

6.4.1ForgettingRatherthanrewritethetheory,I’llquotefromgoodoldWikipedia.“In1885,HermannEbbinghausextrapolatedthehypothesisoftheexponentialnatureofforgetting.Thefollowingformulacanroughlydescribeit:

R=e(t/s)

whereR ismemory retention, S is the relative strength ofmemory, and t istime.

HermannEbbinghausranalimited,incompletestudyonhimselfandpublishedhishypothesisin1885asÜberdasGedächtnis(latertranslatedintoEnglishasMemory:AContributiontoExperimentalPsychology).Ebbinghausstudiedthememorisationofnonsensesyllables,suchas"WID"and"ZOF"byrepeatedly

testinghimselfaftervarioustimeperiodsandrecordingtheresults.Heplottedtheseresultsonagraphcreatingwhatisnowknownasthe"forgettingcurve".From his discovery regarding the "forgetting curve", Ebbinghaus came upwiththeeffectsof"overlearning".Essentially,ifyoupracticedsomethingmorethan what is usually necessary to memorize it, you would have effectivelyachieved overlearning. Overlearning ensures that information is moreimpervious to being lost or forgotten, and the forgetting curve for thisoverlearnedmaterialisshallower.Ebbinghaushypothesizedthatthespeedofforgettingdependsonanumberoffactorssuchasthedifficultyofthelearnedmaterial(e.g.howmeaningfulitis),itsrepresentationandphysiologicalfactorssuchasstressandsleep.Hefurtherhypothesizedthatthebasalforgettingratedifferslittlebetweenindividuals.Heconcludedthatthedifferenceinperformance(e.g.atschool)canbeexplainedbymnemonicrepresentationskills.Hewentontohypothesizethatbasictraininginmnemonictechniquescanhelpovercome those differences in part. He asserted that the best methods forincreasingthestrengthofmemoryare:Bettermemoryrepresentation(e.g.withmnemonictechniques)Repetitionbasedonactiverecall(esp.spacedrepetition)Hispremisewasthateachrepetitioninlearningincreasestheoptimumintervalbefore the next repetition is needed (for near-perfect retention, initialrepetitionsmayneedtobemadewithindays,butlatertheycanbemadeafteryears). Later research suggested that, other than the two factors Ebbinghausproposed,higheroriginallearningwouldalsoproduceslowerforgetting.Spendingtimeeachdaytorememberinformation,suchasthatforexams,willgreatlydecreasetheeffectsoftheforgettingcurve.Reviewingmaterialinthefirst24hoursafterlearninginformationistheoptimumtimetore-readnotesandreducetheamountofknowledgeforgotten.”More recently, neuroscientists researched the spaced learning effect7 byexaminingreflexesinseaslugs,crayfishandcats,andalsobystimulatingtheneurons in thin slices of rat brain. They discovered that repeated stimuli, atprecisely timed intervals, are one of the most reliable ways to commitinformationtolongtermmemory.So,tosummarise,yourrecallofwhatyouhavelearneddecaysexponentiallyovertime,andyoucanincreaseyourretentionthroughbetterpresentationoflearning materials and repetition of active learning experiences. In other

words,makeiteasyforyourselfandpractice.Remember,though,thatpracticedoes not make perfect. Practice makes permanent. You have to practice therightthings.If you have allowed your students time for breaks and sleep then they willforgetwhatyou’vetoldthem,butifyoumakethemlistentoyoufor60hoursstraight, they’ll fall asleep anyway.You just can’twin.Unless youhappen tolikeserialisedTVdramas.OneofmyfavouriteTVshowsusedtobegineachweekwith“PreviouslyonBattlestar Galactica”. Then, during the opening credits, it would show briefglimpses of what was about to happen. At the end of the show, more briefglimpseswouldappeartoteaseviewerswithnextweek’sevents.Theformatoftheshowitselfwouldopenupanumberofstory‘threads’andthen tie these off towards the end of the show. Overall, the design wassomethinglikethis:

Previously… Comingup... Hereitis What’snext

Asanavidviewer, Ineverneeded tobe remindedofwhathadhappened lastweek because that was the reason I was watching this week. However, TVexecutivesdonotrelyonviewersbeingavidfans,theyrelyonviewersbeingoverwhelmed with other viewing choices, so they use their knowledge ofpsychologytomakelifeeasierforus.Anyviewercould‘tunein’atanypointintheseriesandmakesenseofwhatwasgoingon.Howcouldyouusethisideainyourtrainingdesign?

Ifyou’reagoodtrainerwithtypicallyvariedlearnersthennoteverythingwillmakesensetoeveryoneinthesameway.Sometimes,yourlearnerswill‘getit’because of what you say, sometimes because of what they experience,sometimes because ofwhat other learners say, sometimes after they’ve beenawayandthoughtaboutit,andsometimesthey’lljustnevergetit.“Plantospaceoutlearningsothatcontentisrevisitedinsomeengagingway,especiallywithsomesleepinbetweenstudysessions,andseektohavepeoplereturntothematerialonceontheorderofdays,onceontheorderofweeks,andonceontheorderofmonths,ifpossible.”

6.4.2MixItUp

Accordingtoresearchers8,wecanonlypayattentionforaround20minutesata time before the neurons that take in new information become ‘tired’. Thatdoesn’tmeanthatyouhavetotakeabreakevery20minutes,itjustmeansthatyoucanswitchtoadifferentformat,forexamplefromtalkingtoquestioningorfromadiscussiontoanactivity,orusingvideostobreakupyourtrainingcontent.SomeNLP trainersargue that they’re ‘teachingat theunconscious level’andthat‘themindisalearningmachine’,neitherofwhichisanexcuseforalazytrainer,sittingonastoolatthefrontoftheroom,tellingtediousstoriesabouthowgreatheorsheis.Wearetrainers,notentertainers.Peoplearespendingtheir hard earnedmoneywith us so that theywill acquire tangible, valuableskills.Wearenotrunningpersonalenhancementseminarswhereourstudentsfeel great after the event but never actuallymake any changes in their lives.Thereare‘trainers’whousethatbusinessmodelofcourse,butifyou’reoneofthemthenyou’veprobablyalreadyworkedoutthatthisbookisn’tforyoubecause realNLPTrainerTraining is just toomuch hardwork.However, ifyouvaluehardworkandyouwanttodeliversomethingtoyourstudentswhichwillreallymakeadifferenceintheirlivesthenyou’reintherightplace.Decadesof thorough,peer-reviewed, scientific research intopsychologyandneuroscience have given us great insights into what makes learning mosteffective.Here’sasummary,includingsometipsforyou.6.4.2.1StateMakesureyourlearnersarecomfortableandthattheyhavehadenoughsleepandenoughtoeatanddrink.Thinkintermsofphysical,emotionalandmentalstate.Most NLP trainers will think of anchoring here, I encourage you to forgetanchoringbecauseanchoringisnotatechniqueforaccessingresourcestates,anchoringisameansofcontrollingthedeliveryofatechniquebymanagingthe client’s responses. Put anchoring out of your mind for your trainingdelivery.Focusongettingtheenvironmentright,withtheruleofthumbthatifyou’re comfortable thenyour learnerswill be comfortable.A roomwith nonatural light is unlikely to leave you feeling refreshed after a Six StepReframe.6.4.2.2RelevanceWelearnwhatweneedtolearn,whenweneedtolearnit.Focusonthereasonsthat your students came to your training, and give them time to apply what

they’relearningtotheirownlivesandinterests.Theinformationthatyoushareandthequestionsthatyougetyourlearnerstoanswer prior to the start of your training will get them to focus on therelevancetothem,andwillinfluencetheirstatetoo.Mostofthetime,yourlearnerswillhaveself-selected,sotheychosetocomeonthecourseandtheyknowhowit’srelevanttothem.Incorporatetrainingit’smoreoften the case that people are told to goon a training course,whethertheythinkit’srelevantornot.6.4.2.3PresentationUse a variety of presentation methods and resources to convey the sameinformation in different ways. See chapter 10 for some ideas about this,rememberingthattherearenolearningstylesandthatallofyourlearnershavethecapacitytotakeininformationthroughmultiplechannels.6.4.2.4ActivityHave as many learning activities as possible; practice sessions, activities,games,experiments,groupexercises.If learners don’t have an active role to play in the process, they cannotcompletealearningcycleandwilldisengage.You’ll recall the researchwhichsuggestsa limitofabout20minutesononelearningmethod, so thinkof it thisway:The learningcyclehasa20minutebuffer on the stages where the learner isn’t actively using their knowledge.Active experiment enables your learners to test the new information so thattheycanindividualiseitandstoreitforlongtermaccess.6.4.2.5PlayPlayinlearningdoesn’tmeanusingtoysandgamesandfrivolousjunk,aswasthecaseinthe‘BrainFriendlyLearning’fad.Itmeansactiveexperimentationwithoutfearofjudgementorfailure.Ifeelthattherearetwomainwaysthatyouwillcreateasenseofplayinyourtraining; firstly, bybeingplayful yourself and secondly, by framingpracticeactivitiesashavingnoexpectedoutcome,withexperimentationandlearningastheonlysuccesscriteria.I’veseensomelong-establishedNLPtrainersgetveryupsetwhenatechniquedidn’twork. That’s a really great example to set for the learners, don’t youthink?As you’ll see later in the book, I advocate an approachwhereby youfocusondemonstratingthetechniques,notoncoachingor therapywithyour

volunteer.Whetherthetechniquegetsanimpressiveresultornotisirrelevant,what you’re focusing on is showingyour learners how to use it themselves.Thelessimpressiveyourapparentoutcome,themorerealisticyourlearners’expectationswillbe.Asenseofplayencouragesactiveexperimentationwhichisavitalpartofthelearningcycle.6.4.2.6VariationChangeyour trainingmethodevery20minutesorso.Thiscansimplymeanthatyoustoptalkingandaskafewquestionsforyourlearnerstothinkabout,orgivethemafewminutesforagroupdiscussion,orshowavideo.6.4.2.7GappingTakeadvantageofbreaksandmodularcourseformatstorepeatlearning.Alsoconsidergivingyourlearners‘homework’,evenifit’sjustsomethingtonoticeonthewayhome,oraquestiontothinkaboutforthenextmorning.Thisbridgestogetherthesectionsofyourtrainingandencouragesyourlearnerstothinkaboutapplications.If you’re running a modular course with weeks or even months betweenmodules then homework is very important. You might email reminders, oradditional questions to your learners to keep them focused on the fact thatthey’restilllearning,eventhoughthey’renotinyourclassroom.Youmight also take advantage of the role that dreaming plays in long termmemory.Dreamingisawayforourbrainstoreorganiserecentexperiences,soyoumayfindthatyourlearnershaveinterestingdreamsduringthetrainingwhichyoucandiscuss.Attheveryleast,youcancommentthatanyinterestingdreamswillbeconnected.6.4.2.8RepetitionRepeat content in different ways, using presentation, Q&A, discussion,activitiesetc.togetlearnerstorepeatlearningfromdifferentangles.Alsolinksubjectstogether,forexampleintechniqueswhereanchoringplaysasignificant part such asPerceptualPositions, remindyour learners that it’s agoodopportunitytopracticetheiranchoringskills.Youthengetrepetitionofimportantinformationandskillswithouthavingtoovertlyrepeatyourself.6.4.2.9ApplicationIncrease relevance and encourage improvisationbygetting learners to apply

whatthey’relearningtopracticalsituations.Youmightdothisthroughgroupdiscussionsandcasestudies,bygettingyourlearners to put together presentations and most importantly by encouragingthemtotryouttheirnewskillsonfriendsandcolleaguesandthenreportbackonwhattheyexperienced.Remember:State,Relevance,Presentation,Activity,Play,Variation,Gapping,Repetition,Application.6.4.2.10

1Youngerreadersmaynotknowwhatavideorecorderis.Googleit.2 According to Star Trek’s Chief Engineer, Montgomery ‘Scotty’ Scott, who has probably the leastimaginativenicknameinhistory.

3 www.theguardian.com/teacher-network/2016/feb/24/four-neuromyths-still-prevalent-in-schools-debunked

4www.cne.psychol.cam.ac.uk/pdfs/publication-pdfs/Goswami_JOPE_42_3-4_381-399_2008.pdf5Clark,A.(2006)Language,Embodiment,andtheCognitiveNiche,TrendsinCognitiveSciences,10.8,pp.370–374.

6Diamond,A.(2007)InterrelatedandInterdependent,DevelopmentalScience,10.1,pp.152–158.7www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3782739/(2013)8www.td.org/Publications/Magazines/TD/TD-Archive/2014/01/Keep-An-Eye-on-the-Time(2014)

7MakingPlans

Have you ever been to the shops to get one thing, ended up buying lots ofthingsthatyoulikedthelookofandthencameoutwithouttheonethingthatyouwentinfor?Afriendofmineaskedmetohelphimwithslidesforatrainingworkshop.Itrimmedhispowerpointfiledownfrom90slidestoabout30–stilltoomany,but that’s thebestIcoulddo.Hethenaddedbackin theoneshecouldn’t livewithoutandendedupwitharound80.At the endof the day, he calledme, excited to tellmehowwell the dayhadgone.“GuesshowmanyslidesIgotthrough?”heasked,breathlesswithexhilaration.“One”,Isaid.“Ermmm.Yes,one.Howdidyouknow?”heasked,alittledeflated.“BecauseIknowyou.”Whydidyougethomewitheverythingbut theone thingyouwent shoppingfor?Becauseyoudidn’thaveashoppinglist.Andyouprobablyalsohadtoomuchtimeonyourhands.Whydidmy friendget throughonlyone slideout of80?Becausehedidn’thavealearningplan.Andthere’snopointmakingaplanifyou’renotgoingtosticktoit.I’llbehonest,whenIfirststartedtrainingNLP,Iwasmoreexcitedaboutitthanmylearnerswere.Iexperimentedandtrieddifferentideas,differenttechniques.Mytrainingcoursesweredifferenteachtime.Sowhat?Differentstudents.I’mdeveloping, I’m learning, I’m improvingwhat I do, and each set of studentsgetsthenewimprovedversion.That’swhatItoldmyself,anyway.Inreality,Iwasplaying,experimenting,doingwhatkeptmeinterestedratherthanwhatmystudentshadpaidfor.Theirfeedbackwasthattheyenjoyeditimmensely,butasIdidmoreandmorecorporate trainingwith largegroups,Ibegantorealisethattheyweren’ttheretowatchmeplay,theyweretheretogetwhattheycamefor.Theyhadashoppinglist,Ididn’t.Today,mytrainingisfairlyconsistent,allowingforthespecificdetailsofeachstudent’s experience. You could come along to day six of any of myPractitionercoursesandhavethesameexperience.Doesthatmakemytrainingdullandpredictable?Oh,it’sneverdull!Butpredictable,yes,whichisaveryimportantthing,becauseit’swhatyourstudentsarepayingfor.IntheBritishTVcomedysketchshow‘TheFastShow’,ahusbandrepeatedly

returnsfromshoppingwithanythingbutwhathiswifesenthimoutfor.“Hello,dear!How’sitgoing?Oh,IthinkI’montopofit.Now,didyougettheeggs,thebutterandthepotatoes?Evenbetter than that! Igot somebiscuits shaped like radios, amapofCairoandanicepick!”Now,thisdoesn’tmeanthatyoushouldhaveascriptandsayexactlythesamewordseachtime.Evenifyougotoseealiveshowatatheatre, therewillbesubtle differences from one performance to the next, because the actors arehuman, and they are interactingwith each other to create a unique, dynamicexperience.Inyourtraining,theplayers,theactorswillbedifferenteachtime,andyou’llcreateanexperiencewhichisuniqueyetwhichfollowsthesamestructureeachtime.20yearsago, I toldmyself thatconstant reinventionallowedme to improve.It’s not true. Reinvention followed by rigorous testing, measurement andcomparisonsiswhatallowsyoutoimprove.Ifyoudon’tdeliverconsistently,youhavenobenchmarkwithwhichtocompareyourself.Whatcriteriaareyouusingtomeasureyourperformanceanyway?MyfriendwhoImentionedearlierlikestoentertainhisstudents.Hecallshistraining‘entertrainment’.Ifthat’swhattheypaidfor,that’sgreat.Butwhat’shiscriteriaformeasuringhisownperformance?Moretothepoint,what’syours?Havingatrainingplanmeansthatyouwillstayontrackthroughyourtraining,whichinturnmeanssomethingveryimportant–everyactivity,andtheoveralltrainingprogram,willrunontime.I’msureyou’veseentrainersorpresenterswhorunoutoftimeandeitherrushtofiteverythinginorskipoverwhattheycan’tcover.Itlooksunprofessional,andit’sveryunsatisfyingfortheaudience.Withaplan,youknowexactlywhatyouwanttocoverinyourtrainingandyouknowexactlyhowlongeachsectionshouldtake.Myadviceistopracticeyourtraining and time yourself against your expectations. As a rule of thumb, Iusually allow about double the amount of time that I think I need, in otherwordsifIhavetofillanhour,I’llprepareforhalfanhour,40minutesatmost.The reason for this is very simple. While your learners are engaged inactivities,youcanwatchthemandalsokeepaneyeonthetime.Aslongasthe

time you’ve allowed is realistic, you can always end the activity on time.However,onceyou start talking, thehandsonyourwatchwill start spinningfasterandfaster.Evenifyouwriteyourselfascript,Iguaranteethatitwilltakelongeronceyou’reperforming‘forreal’.The first presentation that I ever delivered at a conference was to 200customersandIwantedtomakesurethatIgotit‘right’.Iwrotemyselfascriptthatwasexactly20minuteslongasrequired,andinfactwhenIdeliveredthepresentation,thetimingwasperfect.However,Icouldn’treadtomytimescaleandalsoengagewiththeaudience,andI’msurethattheresultwasnotthemostinterestingpresentationthattheyhadeverseen.Assumingthatyouwanttohavesome engagement and even fun with your audience, you have to allowadditional time.Your scriptmight not explain something aswell as you hadhoped, and youmight have to saymore, based on the blank expressions ofyourlearners.Youmightgetquestionsthatyouhadn’tanticipated.Youmightrememberanamusingstoryandgetsidetracked.Whenyouhaveplannedyour training session to take the full timeavailable,youwillrunoutoftimeandoneoftwothingswillhappen;eitheryouwillrushtomakeuptime,inwhichcaseyouaren’tdoingwhatyouplanned,oryouwillrunover time, inwhichcaseyouhave tocut time somewhereelse, inwhichcaseyouaren’tdoingwhatyouplanned.Eitherway,yourplangoesoutofthewindow,andsinceIpresumeyoumadeyourplanforaverygoodreason,youarenotgoingtoachieveyouroutcomes.WhenIfirststartedrunningPractitionertrainingIusedtoco-trainwithanothertrainer.Wealwaysgotdrawnintodiscussionsaboutapplicationsorethics,andonthelastdayofthetrainingwe’drunoutoftime,ironicallyforthetimelinetechniques.Thesedays,myPractitionerandMasterPractitionertrainingrunsperfectlytotime,everyday.Partlyit’sbecauseInowknowhowlongeachtechniquewilltake to demonstrate and practice, but mainly it’s because I control theconversationsthattakeplacebetweenactivities.I can’t stress enoughhow important your timekeeping is.Think about it thisway–yourstudentshaveabsolutelynoideawhetherwhatyou’retellingthemis technically correct or not, because it’s new to them. They have no ideawhetherthetechniqueswillworkinthe‘realworld’,theyonlyhaveyourwordforthat.Theprimaryevidenceuponwhichtheywillbasetheirtrustinyouiswhetheryou seem toknowwhatyou’redoing. Ifyour timekeeping isoutofplace,youdon’tknowwhatyou’redoing.Ifyourtimingisspoton,youmust

knowwhatyou’redoingbecauseyou’reincontrol.Theyhavenoideawhetheryou could have shown them another swish pattern, or told them anotherfascinatingstoryaboutacoachingsession.Alltheyknowisthatyousayyou’llcoverX,YandZandfinishat4:00,andthat’swhatyoudo.When I run the assessment days, particularly for Practitioner, Iwalk aroundandkeepaneyeon thingsbut I’mnot really listening to thediscussions, I’mmoreinterestedinwhethertheclientslookhappy.It’seasytosaywhatIwouldhavedoneinsteadofthePractitioner,whattechniqueIwouldhavechosen,whatquestion I would have asked, but I’m not in their position, and because I’mwalking from group to group, I’m not hearing every conversation in itsentirety.Therefore,theonlycriteriaforsuccessthatIreallypayattentiontoiswhetherthesessionsfinishontime.Iftheydo,thenthePractitionermusthave:

KeptaneyeontheclockMadeaplanAdaptedtheirplantothetimeavailableEndedthesession

Itseemstoosimplistic,doesn’tit?Yetifwelookatthelastinasequenceeventsandthat’sOK,theneverythingthatcamebeforemusthavebeenOKtoo.Now,ifyou’regivingyourlearnersfeedbackthenyoucan’tdothisbecausebythetime the session ends, it’s too late to help them. Therefore, I don’t givefeedback because that would undermine the authority of the coach. I mightmake somenotes fordiscussionat the endof theday,but I donot interveneduring the assessment sessions.Well, if I saw a client in real distress and aPractitionerdoingsomethingtocausethatthenIprobablywouldintervenebycallingthePractitioneraway.I’veneverhadtodothat,andit’s importantfortheconfidenceof thePractitioners that theyare free todowhat they think isright in their coaching session. Importantly, any feedbackdoesnot take timeawayfromthecoachingsession,soI tell themthat theyhave30minutesandthat’swhattheyget.Your planmeans that your learners get what they paid for, and you get thesatisfactionofgivingthemwhatyoupromisedyouwouldgivethem.SuccessCriteriaWhatisthesuccesscriteriaforyourtraining?Whatisthemeasurethatyouareusingtodetermineyourperformance?

Howdoyouusethismeasuretocontinuouslyimproveyourperformance?

7.1Logistics

Asatrainer,you’reresponsiblefortheorganisationofthetrainingevent.Youmight be lucky to have assistants or administrators, but at the moment youstandupinfrontofyourstudents,youbecomeresponsibleforeverythingthathappens. Therefore, you need to plan, not just for the learning but foreverythingthatcanmakeorbreakyourstudents’experience.I delivered a two day mentoring workshop for a corporate client in Indiarecently. The room that the hotel gave us was far smaller than the onepromised and, half way through the first day,maintenance engineers startedbanging and clattering in the ventilation systemwhichopened into the roomthrough a large grille above my head. I was worried that Tom Cruise wasabouttofallthroughit.Shortly afterwards, the room began to fill up with toxic fumes. The hotelblamed decorators, but there didn’t seem to be any decorating going on.Tome,itsmeltexactlylikethestreetoutside,soIfiguredthatsomeonehadsettheventilation system to draw in outside air, and within an hour the roomwascompletelyunusable.Wewerechokingandoureyeswerestinging.Howcanyourlearnersbeexpectedtoconcentrateundersuchconditions?Ipausedthetrainingforanearlylunchandaskedthehotelmanagermoveus,whichhedid,andeverythingwasbacktonormal,oratleastasnormalasitcanbeinIndia.

LogisticsandYourLearningExperienceWhatarethemostimportantthingstoconsiderforthetypeofexperiencethatyouwanttocreate?Venue

Trainingroom

Materials

Foodanddrink

Joininginstructions

Support

7.1.1VenueIfthevenueisinanoisylocation,ordifficulttogetto,oroccupiedbyotherconflictinggroups,your learnersaren’tgoing toget theexperience thatyouwantforthem.Avenuemightbecheaptohire,butifit’sfullofteenagers,orhostsamotherandbabygroup,orbusinesspeople,orhasthegeneralpubliccoming andgoing, your learners aren’t going to feel comfortable.You alsoneed toconsiderwhatother space isavailable forbreakoutgroups,andhowtheweathermightaffecttheuseofthefacilities.

7.1.2TrainingroomIf the room is toodark, or too small, or toohot, or too cold, your studentswon’tbepayingattentiontoyou.

7.1.3MaterialsAreyouprovidinglearningmaterials?Printednotes?Books?Notepads?I’veseentrainersgiveouthorriblyphotocopied,staplednotesandschoolexercise

books.Whatimpressiondoesthatgivetotheirlearners?If you find a good local printer, you might find that the cost of producingprofessional-lookingnotesismuchlessthanyoumightthink.Another option, if you’re running NLP Practitioner andMaster Practitionertraining,isthatyoucanusethebooksthatI’veproducedforthatpurpose.Youcanorderthemfrommeat50%ofthecoverprice,whichmayalsobemorecosteffectivethanprintingyourownnotes.

7.1.4FoodanddrinkWhatareyouproviding foryour learners?Whatdo theyneed?Whatwouldmakethemcomfortable?Waterisobvious.Hotdrinks?Biscuits?Homemadebiscuitsorcheapbiscuitsfromthesupermarket?Whatimpressiondothesegiveyourlearners?

7.1.5JoininginstructionsThink about what you want to share with your participants ahead of yourtraining.Obviouslyyou’ll share the logistics, location, running timesand soon.Howaboutlettingthemknowwhattobringwiththem,orwhatworktodoinadvance?Rememberthatjoininginstructionsarealsoanidealwaytogetyourlearnersintotherightframeofmindbeforetheyarrive.Withwhatyou’velearnedaboutNLPsofar,youcaneasilythinkofhowyoucanachievethat.

7.1.6SupportAre you proving post-training support to your learners? Is it a modularcourse,and ifso,whatsupportdo theygetbetweenmodules?Will theyhaveassignmentstocomplete?

7.2LearningPlan

Manypeoplecall themselves trainerswhen they’re reallynot; they’resubjectmatterexpertsatbest.Theyarehappytostandupinfrontofagroupandsharethebenefitoftheirexperience,butthat’snottraining.Remember,thepurposeof training is to give people the knowledge and ability to do somethingspecific. Impressing your learners with war stories might give themknowledge,butcertainlynottheabilitytoreplicatewhatyou’reaskingthemto

do.Thatisn’tatrainingcourse,it’sapresentation.Good trainers always have a training plan which forms the skeleton of alearningevent.Atrainingplanwillhelpyouto:

DeliverconsistentlyStayonscheduleCovereverythingthatyouintendto

Consistency is important because you need to make sure that all of yourlearners have the same experience and leave with the same knowledge andabilities,regardlessofwhichsessiontheyattend.Ifyoudon’tachievethatthenyou’retreatingyourlearnersinequally,givingthemapoorserviceand,mostimportantlyofall,anyevaluationbecomesmeaninglessbecausethegoalpostsmovewitheachlearningevent.Atrainingplanneedstobeaverysimpledocumentsothatyoucaneasilykeeptrackofwhereyouareandwhereyou’regoinginthetrainingsession.Howyouwriteyourtrainingplanisreallyuptoyou,althoughit’sagoodideatoincludeatleastthefollowinginformationwithinaspreadsheetortable:Notes Anyparticularpointstocover,

quotestoshare,handoutsetc.Covertlyleadsintothecustomerwelcome.

Method DeliveryMethode.g.video,discussion,lecture,demo,game...

Namegame Discussion-yourexperiencesasacustomer

Outcome TheoutcomeofthetrainingStep Learneachothers’names

Getintoacustomermindset

Duration ThedurationofthetrainingStepinminutes.

15 15

Time Youcanquicklyglanceattheclocktocheckyou’reontime.

09:30 09:45

Remember,whenyoucreateyourplananddeliveryourtraining...

Don’taimforperfection

Aimforconsistency

You cannot improve anything if you don’t establish a consistent baseline. Ifyou’reperfectingarecipe,youcan’tsucceedbychangingalloftheingredientsat the same time. If you do, it is by luck and you’re unlikely to be able toreproduceit.Youcannotsetouttoimproveanything,youcanonlychangeyouractions.Ifyou intend to improve something, you are trying to control the end result,which is impossible when other people are concerned. Therefore, you cannever improve your training, you can only ever change your actions andmeasuretheresultsofthosenewactions.Improvementisanoutcome,anendresult.Itcannotbeanintention,becauseuntilyoumakeachange,youhavenoideawhatwillleadtoanimprovement.Ifyouthinkthatyoudoknow,thenyouareguessingbasedonpastexperiences.Consistencyinyourtrainingdeliveryisabsolutelythefirstandmostimportantstepinimprovingtheresultsofyourtraining.Onceyouhaveconsistency,youcan change small elements and measure the effect, and when you keep ondoingthat,theresultwillbetheimprovementthatyou’relookingfor.TrainingPlanCreateaplanforthefirsthourofyourPractitionerandMasterPractitionertraining.Onthenexttwodoublepagesyou’llfindtablesthatyoucanusetowriteoutthestartofyourtraining,whichisofcoursethemostimportanttime,apartfromtheend.Andallthebitsinbetween.Beforeyouplanoutyourtimetableforthatfirsthour,givesomethoughttowhatyouwanttoachieveatthestartofyourtraining;youropeningstatements,questions,storiesandsoon.Howdoyouwanttointroduceyourtraining?Howdoyouwanttoinfluenceyouraudience’sstateandexpectations?Considerthesepointsbeforestartingyourdetailedplan.Practitioner:

MasterPractitioner:

Time Duration Outcome

Method Notes(Practitioner)

Time Duration Outcome

Method Notes(MasterPractitioner)

8YourNLPTrainingPlan

AsaNLPTrainer,ithelpsifyouactuallyknowthetechniquesofNLP.Laterinthisbook,I’veincludedtheSNLPcertificationcriteriaforPractitioner,MasterPractitioner and Trainer so that you can see the standards that you will beassessingyourstudentsagainst.You’llsee that thecriteriafora trainerreallyboildownto twothings;beingone stepaheadofyour students andknowingNLP insideout at the levelsofPractitionerandMasterPractitioner.Theeasiestwaytobeonestepaheadofyourstudentsistohaveawelldesignedlearningplan,andbythatImeanaplanwhichfollowssomekindofflowandwhich allowsyou to cover the syllabuswithout having to rush.Agoodplanwill keep you on track and on time, and that will keep the whole learningprocessundercontrol.Earlier,whenIwastalkingabouttheartofperformance,Isaidthat,whenyouask your students for someone to helpwith a demo, it helps if you start byaskingtherightquestion.Iwantyoutoworkoutwhatthatisforyourself.SelectingYourSubjectWorkthroughthePractitionersyllabusandcreateadescriptionforeachtechniquewhichwillselectthepersonwhowillbethebestdemonstrationsubjectforyou.Forexample,“I’dlikesomeonetohelpmewithademowhohasaninstantreactiontosomethingorsomeonethattheywouldrathernothave,andassoonasyou’vehadthatreaction,youkickyourselfandpromiseyourselfyouwon’tdoitagain,yetyoudo,everytime.”I’vesetasidethenextfewpagesforyoutodothis.SubmodalitiesDescriptiontoattracttherightdemonstrationsubject:Youroutcomeforthispartofyourtraining:Whatotherpartsofyourtrainingdoesthisconnectwith?

Howwillyoumakethoseconnections?AnchoringDescriptiontoattracttherightdemonstrationsubject:Youroutcomeforthispartofyourtraining:Whatotherpartsofyourtrainingdoesthisconnectwith?Howwillyoumakethoseconnections?WellFormedOutcomesDescriptiontoattracttherightdemonstrationsubject:Youroutcomeforthispartofyourtraining:Whatotherpartsofyourtrainingdoesthisconnectwith?

Howwillyoumakethoseconnections?RapportDescriptiontoattracttherightdemonstrationsubject:Youroutcomeforthispartofyourtraining:Whatotherpartsofyourtrainingdoesthisconnectwith?Howwillyoumakethoseconnections?Pacing&LeadingDescriptiontoattracttherightdemonstrationsubject:Youroutcomeforthispartofyourtraining:Whatotherpartsofyourtrainingdoesthisconnectwith?

Howwillyoumakethoseconnections?SwishDescriptiontoattracttherightdemonstrationsubject:Youroutcomeforthispartofyourtraining:Whatotherpartsofyourtrainingdoesthisconnectwith?Howwillyoumakethoseconnections?SquashDescriptiontoattracttherightdemonstrationsubject:Youroutcomeforthispartofyourtraining:Whatotherpartsofyourtrainingdoesthisconnectwith?Howwillyoumakethoseconnections?

PerceptualPositionsDescriptiontoattracttherightdemonstrationsubject:Youroutcomeforthispartofyourtraining:Whatotherpartsofyourtrainingdoesthisconnectwith?Howwillyoumakethoseconnections?MetaMirrorDescriptiontoattracttherightdemonstrationsubject:Youroutcomeforthispartofyourtraining:Whatotherpartsofyourtrainingdoesthisconnectwith?Howwillyoumakethoseconnections?MiltonModel

Descriptiontoattracttherightdemonstrationsubject:Youroutcomeforthispartofyourtraining:Whatotherpartsofyourtrainingdoesthisconnectwith?Howwillyoumakethoseconnections?MetaModelDescriptiontoattracttherightdemonstrationsubject:Youroutcomeforthispartofyourtraining:Whatotherpartsofyourtrainingdoesthisconnectwith?Howwillyoumakethoseconnections?EyeAccessingCuesDescriptiontoattracttherightdemonstrationsubject:

Youroutcomeforthispartofyourtraining:Whatotherpartsofyourtrainingdoesthisconnectwith?Howwillyoumakethoseconnections?StrategiesDescriptiontoattracttherightdemonstrationsubject:Youroutcomeforthispartofyourtraining:Whatotherpartsofyourtrainingdoesthisconnectwith?Howwillyoumakethoseconnections?CollapsedAnchorsDescriptiontoattracttherightdemonstrationsubject:

Youroutcomeforthispartofyourtraining:Whatotherpartsofyourtrainingdoesthisconnectwith?Howwillyoumakethoseconnections?TranceInductionDescriptiontoattracttherightdemonstrationsubject:Youroutcomeforthispartofyourtraining:Whatotherpartsofyourtrainingdoesthisconnectwith?Howwillyoumakethoseconnections?FastPhobiaCureDescriptiontoattracttherightdemonstrationsubject:

Youroutcomeforthispartofyourtraining:Whatotherpartsofyourtrainingdoesthisconnectwith?Howwillyoumakethoseconnections?SixStepReframeDescriptiontoattracttherightdemonstrationsubject:Youroutcomeforthispartofyourtraining:Whatotherpartsofyourtrainingdoesthisconnectwith?Howwillyoumakethoseconnections?TimelineDescriptiontoattracttherightdemonstrationsubject:

Youroutcomeforthispartofyourtraining:Whatotherpartsofyourtrainingdoesthisconnectwith?Howwillyoumakethoseconnections?

9ActivityDesign

I’mguessingthatyourtrainingdesignwon’tbebasedsolelyonyoustandinginfrontofyourstudents,lecturingtothem.Thisstyleoftrainingis,atthesametime, both the most effective way to control what happens and the leasteffectivewaytocreatelearning.If you’re an inexperienced trainer then you will have a tendency to lecturebecauseyouwillhaveatendencytofocusonwhatyouwanttosay.Asyougainmoreexperience,your attentionwill shift to theexperience thatyou are creating, and you will realise that listening is not much of anexperience, and you will think more and more about what you want yourlearnerstodosothattheyhaveexperiencesthattheycanreflectonandlearnfrom.Great!So...whatexperiences?You’llhaveseenmanydifferenttrainingexercises fromyour timeat schoolupuntilnow.You’llhave seensome thatjust didn’t engage you and some that did.What works to engage you is, ofcourse,subjective,howeverthat’sthebestplacetostartbecauseifyou’renotdoingsomethingthatinterestsandengagesyouthenyou’vegotnochanceofengagingyourstudents.InTheNLPMasterPractitionerManual,there’sachapterontheinstallationofmodels and a reference to isomorphism. If you want to train someone toperform a task, such as baking a cake, and you show them exactly how toperformthattaskthenthatiswhattheywillbeabletodo.However,theywon’tbeabletodoanythingelse.Theywon’tbeabletomakesconesorbread,forexample, because that’s not what you’ve taught them. If your focus is onmaking as muchmoney as possible from your students then you’ll want totraintheminverynarrowskillareassothattheyhavetokeepcomingbacktoyou.Ontheotherhand,ifyouwanttoinstilgenerativelearningwhichenablesyour students to adapt their skills into new environments then you can teachthem the underlying principles which they can then adapt into differentsituationsorapplications.

9.0.1IsomorphicExercisesAn isomorphic exercise is onewhere a seemingly unrelated activity bears astructural resemblance to the model, thereby encouraging the learner togeneralise their experiencewhich embeds itmore effectively andmakes thelearning accessible in a wider range of situations. When you deliver anisomorphicexercisecorrectly,you’llhearyourlearnerssay,“Ah!Thisisjustlike...”Forexample,let’ssaythatyouwanttoinstallamodelofcomplainthandling.

Oneofthekeystepsinthemodelisthetakingofnotes,becauseitservesasa‘flow control’mechanismwhilst also signalling to the complainant that youtaketheircomplaintveryseriously.Let’s say that you want your learners to practice writing notes verbatim,becauseincomplainthandling, it’sveryimportant tobefactuallycorrectandnotchangethecomplainant’swords.Makeanaudio recordingof anangrycomplainant, speaking tooquickly forthelearnerstowritedowntheirwords.Put therecordingonacomputeroratape so that the learners can control the conversationwith the pause, rewindandplaybuttons.Focustheirattentionontheovertpurposeoftheexercisebyhavingthemcheckeachother ’s transcriptsandawardingpointsorprizes forthemostaccurate.When you set the exercise up, position it only as a note taking activity, butwhen you latermove onto a face to face interaction exercise, point out thattakingnotes,andtheinterpersonalskillsrequiredtodoso,aretheequivalentofthepause,rewindandplaybuttons.Bypractisingfirstontherecording,youtakeawaythestigmaattachedtointerruptingthecomplainantandnotwantingtoappearrudeorinflamethesituation,andbythenreintroducingtheconceptlateron,thelearnershavealreadypractisedthemechanism.Thelearnerswilllearntotakenotesmoreeffectively,becausetherewasnointerpersonalbarrierofhaving to interrupt anotherperson, as therewouldbe in apairsorgroupexercise.Thelearnersarecompletelyfreetohonetheirnotetakingskills,andwe’lladdintheinterpersonalskillslateron.This achieves the following outcomes which are each characteristics of thehighperformer ’sapproach:

Separate the flow control mechanism from the emotional stigma ofinterruptingthecomplainantTakenotestorecordthecomplainant’swordsverbatimTakenotestosignalthecomplainant’simportanceTake notes to control the conversation, stick to the facts and preventemotionfromtakingover

Now,youmightwonderwhatmakesanisomorphicexercisesospecial.Afterall,separatingoutthenotetakingfromtheinterpersonalskillsislogical,isn’tit?Firstly,howmanytrainersdoyouhonestlythinkwouldseparatethetwo?Isn’t

itmore likely thatmost trainerswouldhave the learnerspracticenote takingwitheachother,becausethat’sjusteasier?Secondly, there are lots of ways that you could have your learners practicenotetaking.Whatisspecialisthatyouhavechosenapracticeexercisewhichuses a number ofmetaphors for the approach that youwant them to take inhandling a complainant. The metaphor works both ways; controlling therecording is ‘like’ controlling the complainant, and treating the complainantfactually and objectively is ‘like’ pressing play, pause and rewind withoutworrying about how the tape recorder feels about it. When you install thecomplete model effectively, you don’t have to install any incantations forreassuringthecustomer,suchas“Yourcomplaintisimportanttous”,becausethecomplainthandlerdemonstratesthatthecomplaintisimportant.Theydon’tneedtosignaltothecomplainantthattheycare,becausetheirwholeattitudetothe interaction is one of concern and care. If you teach a disengaged,disinterestedcarsalespersontosay,“So,canyouseeyourself...”thentheharmcaused by the incongruence far outweighs any statistical benefit of theincantation.Adisinterestedandsarcasticcomplainthandlerwilldamageyourbusinessfarmorethantheissuethatthecomplainantiscontactingyouabout.Remember,ofcourse,thatahighperformingcomplainthandlerdoesnotusetheirnotesasabarrier,becausethatwillfrustratethecomplainantfurther.Thehighperformerusestheirnotesasanenabler.Howdotheyachievethissubtlebut vital difference? Because it’s important that you understand that the tinydifferencebetweenthetwomeansthedifferencebetweeninstallinganeffectivemodelandcreatingacargocultwithitsritualsandincantations.Thedifferenceis that the high performer doesn’t shut the complainant out while they takenotes; they keep looking at them or talking to them. Their focus is on thecomplainant,notthenotebook.Goodcomplainthandlershaveanattitudewhichclearlysignals:

We’renotperfectbutwewanttogetbetterI’mgrateful thatcustomersmake theeffort togivemefeedback rathergoingtoourcompetitorsWewon’tgetitrighteverytimeMyjobistolisten,nottojudgeWithoutcustomers,wewouldn’thaveabusinessIwill concentrateon the facts, hear all sidesof the issue andput rightwhatwe’vedonewrong

SomeproblemsareoutsideofourcontrolThecustomer is always right,but thatdoesn’tmean theyautomaticallygettheirownwayOneunhappycustomerimpactsourbusinessmorethanahundredhappycustomers

Youcanthereforedesigntrainingexerciseswhicharenotasimpledry-runoftheactualactivityortaskbutareametaphorforthattask.Much corporate training takes place in a classroomwithout real customers,andusesthe‘roleplay’asasubstituteforacustomerinteraction.Thisisworsethanuseless.Notonlydoestheroleplaynotreproduceagenuineinteraction,iteven teaches an idealised set of responses which will not reflect a real-lifeinteraction.Ina role-play, thepersonplaying thecustomer isgivenabriefing to follow,forexample that theyare the ITmanagerofABCSoftwareand theyhaveanongoing problem with the software crashing. The first problem is that thetrainerwhowritestherole-playisnotreallyanITmanager,sotheywritethebriefing in a way which no real IT manager would relate to. Secondly, thelearner playing the ITmanager isn’t an ITmanager, and the briefingmeanseven less to them. During the actual role-play, the learner has no depth ofexperience to draw upon and draws upon cliched phrases. Meanwhile, thelearner who is practising the interaction does have a depth of experiencebecausethey’repractisingtheexecutionofanaspectoftheirday-to-daywork,suchascustomerserviceorsales.Theyknowthatthe‘ITmanager ’isfakingitandtheentirerole-playisacontrivedfacsimileofarealinteraction.Whatdothelearnerslearnfromallofthis?Withan isomorphicexercise, allof the learnersareequal, allhave the sameunderstanding of the exercise and the same foundation of prior knowledge.Your skill as a trainer is then in connecting the real-life requirements of thelearners’jobswiththemetaphorswithintheexercise.Here are two examples of exercises that I often use in management andleadershiptrainingbecausetheycanberelatedtomanydifferentaspectsofamanager ’s job, leading into a number of discussions which reflect on theactivityfrommanydifferentperspectives.

9.1GivingFeedback

You’llbeworkingingroupsofthreeforthisexercise.

Manager:Placethetargetforyourthrowertoaimfor.Don’tletthemseewhereyouplaceit,andmakeitchallengingbutachievable.Donotmovethetargetonceyou’veplacedit.Giveyourthrowerfeedbackontheirperformancewiththeobjectiveofgettingthemtohitthetarget.Thrower:Standwithyourbacktothetarget.Throwthepaperballoveryourshoulder,aimingforthetarget.Don’tlookatthetarget!Waitforfeedbackandthenhaveanothergo.Observer:Makesureneitherthemanagernorthrowerbreaktherules.Noteanythingthatyoufindinterestingaboutthebehaviourofeitherthemanagerorthrower.

9.2ConstructionTimeInthisexercise,you’llbecompetinginteamsof4 or5peopleforaprize.Amaximumof30minutesisallowedforthetask.Outsideoftheroomisamodelwhichyoumustreproduceusingthepartssupplied.Onlyonememberofateamcanbeoutoftheroomatanytime.Nowritingmaterials,mobilephones,cameras,modelpartsetc.areallowedoutsideoftheroom.

Youmaynottouchthemodelthatisoutsideoftheroomandyoumaynotinterferewiththeotherteam’smodel.Youmaylookatthemodelasmuchasyoulike.

Yourteam’sscorewillbecalculatedasthetimeittookyourteamtofinishyourmodel,plusa2minutepenaltyforeverypiecenotinthecorrectplace.Thewinningteamwillhavethelowesttotaltime.Yourteam’stimewillbemeasuredatthepointatwhichyoudeclareyourmodelcomplete.

9.3ActivityReviewLookbackovertheprevioustwoexercisesandreviewwhathappened.Howdotherulesoftheexerciseinfluencebehaviour?Whatlearningprocessescouldbeobservedintheexercises?Lookingattheexercisesobjectively,whatwouldbethequickestwayforsomeonetoachievethestated

outcomeofthetask?Howcanyoubuildtheseexercisesintoalearningcycle?Howcanyouencourageyourlearnerstostepbackandbecomeawareofwhattheyhavelearnedatamoreabstractlevel?Whatarethemostvaluablequestionstoaskyourlearnerstogetthemtoarriveattheinsightsyouwantthemtohave?

9.4TipsfortheExercises

9.4.1GivingFeedbackWhenyoufirstdemonstratetheactivity,openwitha‘contrastframe’,showingtheaudiencethedifferencebetweendifferent typesoffeedback.Forexample,ask the thrower to have a go and, assuming theymiss the target, say, “Youmissed”.Youmightevenadd,“Youidiot”tofurtherreinforcethestereotypeofabadmanager.Inthe15yearsthatI’vebeenusingthisexercise,I’verarelyseenanyoneworkouttheeasywaytodoitbythemselves.WhatI’veobservedisthatthethrowersachieve the goal through luck rather than iterative improvement based onfeedback.Whatalmostno-onefiguresoutexplicitlyisalanguageandasetofparametersforthetask.Forexample,thesimpleparameterofwhatconstitutessuccess is something that usuallyonlygetsdiscussed after a thrower tries tobendwhattheybelievetobetherules.Whenthethrowerandthemanagerhavedifferentdefinitionsforsuccess,youcanimaginetheconfusionthatensues.Often, the learners in a group will reach a point of frustration where theybelievethat,whatevertheydo,theycan’thitthetarget,andtheybegintogiveup. Once one subgroup does this, their change of focus will affect othersubgroupsandthathastobestoppedotherwiseyouroveralllearningoutcomewillbeaffected.

9.4.2ConstructionTimeWhen you judge the models you need to be able to move them next to the‘reference’model,soIuseaflatbasethathas3or4interconnecting‘’towers’stackedontopofit.SometimesI’llhidepiecesalmostoutofsightwithinthetowers.Ifateamdoesn’tgetthefoundationrighttheneveryhigherpiecewillbeoutofplacetoo.You can make the time 20 minutes, you can allocate points instead of timepenalties, it’s up to you. Obviously you need to be on the ball with thestopwatch becausewhen the team leader declares theirmodel finished, there

mightonlybesecondsseparatingteams.Infact,ifateamisreallybeingsmart,they’lldeclaretheirmodelcompleteassoonastheyhearthefirstteamdoso,becauseatthatpointtheycannolongerwinontimeandtheymightwinonpenalties.Andifateamisbeingreally,reallysmart,they’llwinbydeclaringthemselvesfinished as soon as you tell them to start. However, in years of using thisexercise,no-onehaseverdonethis.It’sfarmorelikelythatteamswillbecomeobsessedwithperfectingthemodelandforgetthatthey’relongpastanychanceofwinning.

I prefer to use children’sbuildingblocksforthisbecauseit’seasiertojudgethemodelwithoutadebateoverwhetherapieceisintherightplaceornot,howeveratapush,Iwasabletoreproducetheexercisewithfoldedpiecesofpaperandstickynotes.DesignanActivityChooseabasicskillthatyouwouldwantsomeonetodevelop,suchasgivingfeedback,listening,delegatingatasketc.Breakthattaskdownintoitscomponentparts.Chooseoneofthosepartsandfindotherexamplesofthatspecificabilityorbehaviour.Forexample,iftheskillislistening,oneofthepartsmightbetakingtimetosetasidedistractions.Whatwouldbeanotherexampleofthat?Howaboutclearingatablebeforeeatingdinner?Orclearingadeskbeforeworkingonsomethingimportant?Designanactivitythatrelatestothemetaphor.Designaseriesofquestionstosettheopeningframefortheactivity.Designaseriesofquestionstoreflectonthelearners’experiencesoftheactivity.Linktheactivitybackintothelargercontextthatyouaretraining.

10Presenting

You have your learning plan and you know your subject. Now you need tostandanddeliver.Publicspeaking isoneof themost importantskills inbusiness today. In fact,Dale Carnegie’s excellent book ‘How to win friends and influence people’grewfromhispublicspeakinglectures.Almost everyone in a business has, at some point, the need to present – jobinformation,projectupdates,atanintervieworevenatafriend’swedding.Thedifferencebetweendoingthiseasilyanddoingitwithdifficulty is immediateandobvious.Presentingand trainingareverydifferent,howeverbothrequire thatyouarecomfortable talking to an audience. A presentation is more likely to be atransmissiontotheaudience,atrainingsessionismorelikelytobeinteractive.WhenIaskpeoplewhatthepurposeoftheirpresentationis,theyoftenanswer,“To inform the audience”.Well, you expect them to do somethingwith thatinformation,and that information isnew to them.Doesn’t thatdescription fit‘training’too?Inbothcases, thepresenterwantstheaudiencetodosomethingasaresultofthepresentation.Ifwestarttolookatthedetailedbehavioursandoutcomes,wefindthatthere’sreallynotmuchdifferencebetweenapresentationandatrainingsessionfromthepresenter ’spointofview.How does it look from the learner ’s point of view?Well, do you go to apresentation to learn something? Probably, yes. Why would you choose toattendapresentationonasubjectthatyoualreadyfamiliarwith?Maybeyougotoapresentationtogetveryspecificinformation,perhapsaboutanewproduct,oraprojectthatyouneedtoknowabout.Youmightevenbepartofadecision-makinggroupandyou’reattendingapresentationtofindoutwhatyouneedtoknowaboutthedecision.Whywould you attend a training session? To learn a set of skills, or somefactualknowledgesuchasthelatestupdatestohealthyandsafetylaw?You probably expect to learn something at a presentation, and you probablyexpectatrainingsessiontobeengaging.Again,there’ssomuchcrossoverthatit’sreallyhardtoclearlydistinguishonefromanother.Maybeanold-fashionedviewofpresenting isoneof thepresenter talkingattheaudiencewithnointeraction.Mostofmyschoollessonswerelikethat,and

Iwassupposedtorememberitall.Soagain, thelevelof interactivitydoesn’tgiveusaclue.Solet’sassumethatpresentingandtrainingarethesamething,atleastasfarasthepresenter ’soutcomesandbehavioursareconcerned.It’s interesting thatoneof themostcommonproblemspresentedbybusinesscoaching clients is a fear of public speaking. It seems that the ability tocommunicatewithagroupissimultaneouslythemostadmiredandmostfearedskillinbusiness.Ifwebreakpresentingdownintoitsbasicbehaviouralelements,weneedtwoskills; the ability to speak, and the ability to stand up. If you can do both ofthoseatthesametime,you’realreadymakingagoodstart.Ofcourse,youcanstandupand talkat thesame time–youdo iteveryday.Thedifferencemustbeindoingitinfrontofanaudienceandthegoodnewsisthat this affectsyourperception,notyourbehaviour, andperception ismucheasierforyoutochange.Whatcanpeoplewhoarealreadyconfidentandaccomplishedspeakers learnfromthis?Thefirstthingisgroupinfluence.Whenyoupresent,youareusingahighlyspecialisedformofcommunication thatallowsyou tocommunicatethe same information to a number of people so that they then take specificaction as a result. If you are using presentations to informor update peoplethen send them an email instead. A presentation is a very powerful groupinfluencetool,souseitwisely.As with everything, the key to success is planning. How do you plan apresentation?Doyoustartwithwhatyouwanttosay,orwithwhatyouwanttheaudiencetodo?Doyoustartbydesigningslidesorbydesigningresults?Inthischapter,we’reworkingbothonyourgroupinfluenceskillsandonyourability to presentwith impact.Group influence skills include your ability tocommunicateusingmultiple layersof information todifferentpeopleand togetthosepeopletoactinunison.Storytelling is probably the most powerful group communication andinfluence tool thatyoucanmaster.Thegoodnews is thatyouarealreadyanaccomplishedandexperiencedstoryteller, even ifyoudidn’t thinkyoucoulddescribeyourselfthatway.Whenyoutellafriendorpartneraboutyourdayatwork,orwhenyouaretellingajoke,youareusingyournaturalstorytellingskillstoinfluencethestateofanotherperson.Byrefiningandpractisingthoseessentialskills,youwillbeabletoengageanaudienceandinfluencetheirstatesothattheyactinthewayyouwantthemto.

Whatever the situation, you arepresentingbecauseyouwant to, andbecausethereissomethingthatyouwanttoachieve.Otherwise,whyareyoudevotingyourtimeandefforttoit?Ifyou’renotclearonyourownoutcome,whathopehaveyougotofachievinganything?Firstlyyouhavenoideawhattheaudiencewants,andsecondlytheywilleachwantsomethingdifferent.Tryingtogivetheaudiencewhattheywantasyouronlyoutcomeisarecipefor…well,whatdoyouthink?What value does the presenter bring over the slides or notes? If thepresentationis justaboutfactsandfigures,sendtheaudienceanemail.Don’twaste their time sitting through a presentation if you’re not going to addanything to it. They are there because they want to see you present theinformation,interact,askquestions.Ifalltheywantedwasthedata,theywouldlookituponawebsite.So,let’sgetonwiththeshow.

10.1ModellingExcellentPresenters

A good place to start developing a skill is to find someone who has it andmodelit.Publicspeakingissuchacommonplaceactivitythatitiseasytofindpeoplewhodoitwellandpeoplewhodoitbadly.JustturnontheTVorradioto find people giving speeches or press conferences, and noticewhatworkswellintermsofmanagingtheaudience’sstatetowardsaparticularoutcome.Becausewehave seen somanypublic speakers, starting fromwhenwe firstwenttoschool,youalreadyhaveall theinformationyouneedtobethemostoutstandingpresenterrighttherebetweenyourears.Inyourheadisamodelofexcellencethatwecandrawuponforyoutodevelopyourskills.Youalreadyknowwhatinspiresyou–thechancesarethatitwillinspireotherpeopletoo,becauseitwillalreadybenaturallycongruentwithyourownstyle.Think back to someonewho you think of as being an exceptional presenter,trainer,teacherorperformer.Whatdotheydo?TheanswersthatItypicallygettothisquestioninclude:

Personable–cantalktopeopleMakesyoufeelcomfortableNotformalGoodeyecontact

RelaxedmannerHadaclearpathway,asiftheyhadplannedajourneyfortheaudienceTalksaboutthingsIcouldrelatetoSetsnoboundariesonwhatIcouldorcouldnotdoOftenthesimplest(juststandsupandchats)Getseveryoneinvolved–interactiveEnthusiasm–interestedinwhatthey’retalkingaboutConfidentNotfollowingthetextbookUseshumourKnewalotaboutthesubjectTellsstories

And,sincewe’retalkingaboutNLP,Ihavetoask,“Howdoyouknowtheyareconfident,orrelaxed,orthattheyknowalot?”When we start to dig a little deeper, we find the specific behaviours thatconstitute‘goodpresenting’:

SmileandmakeeyecontactwiththewholeaudienceAccessmanydifferentstatestoreinforcethemessageHaveaclearoutcomeTellstories(that’showyouknowtheyareknowledgeable)ChoosetoanswerordeflectquestionsFinishontimeorearly(tellsyouthey’reincontrol)

This information isnot rocket science.Foryears,presentationskillscourseshavebeentryingtogetpeopletoemulatethesebehaviours.Unfortunately,theytrytodothisbygettingcoursedelegatestoconsciouslycopythosebehaviours,givingthemtoomuchtothinkaboutandmakingthemevenmorenervousthanwhentheystarted!The approach we’re taking here is to develop the states and beliefs thatunderpin thosebehaviours, soyoudon’thave to thinkabout them– they justcomenaturally.This also raises an idea that is absolutely critical to your performance as a

presenteror trainer.Whenyou thinkabout someoneyouhave seenwho is agreatpresenter,thatpersonisnotinthesameroomasyou–theyareinyourhead.Infact,themodelthatyouhaveinyourheadisnotacompletemodelofthatperson,itisonlyamodeloftheirperformance‘onstage’.Therefore,nomatter how good or bad a presenter you think you are, you already have amodelofexceptionalperformanceinyourmind.Allweneedtodoisunlockthatandtransferitintoyourbehaviour.

10.2Anxiety

AfearofpublicspeakingisthesinglemostcommonproblemIampresentedwithincoaching.WhatIhavefoundovertheyearsisthatthestructureseemsto fall into two broad categories. Some people start having an internalconversation with themselves whilst presenting and this creates conflict anddistraction.Somepeopleimaginethattheaudienceisjudgingthembadly.In thefirstcase, I find it’shelpful togivepeoplestrategies for rememberingtheir presentations easily without interrupting their flow. For example, ifsomeonewritestheirpresentationoutasascript,theyhavetostoptheirflowinorder to read the script. Instead, Iwould get them to draw their presentationpromptsusingpictures.Inthesecondcase,whenIaskwhathappenswhentheystandupinfrontoftheaudiencetheyoftensay,“Iimaginetheaudienceislookingatme”,towhichIreply,“well,that’sbecausetheyare!”.What is often happening is that the presenter is seeing themselves from theaudience’s point of view and noticing all of their faults. The PerceptualPositionstechniqueisidealinthissituation.PerceptualPositionsForPresenters

Imagineyourselfgivingapresentation.In1stposition,youarestandingatthefrontoftheaudience,seeingthem,hearingthem,hearingyourself,noticingwhatyoufeel.

Movetoa2ndperceptualposition,sittingintheaudiencelookingupatyourself.Asyousitintheaudience,lookaroundyouandthenlookatyourselfatthefrontoftheroom.Noticewhatyouseeandhear,andnoticehowyoufeel.

Movetoa3rdperceptualpositionasaneutralobserver,atthebackoftheroomorperhapslookinginthroughadoororwindow.Noticethewaythat‘you’intheaudienceinteractswithandrespondsto‘you’atthefrontoftheroom.

Movebackthrough2ndpositionandfinallyinto1stposition,takingwithyouanythingyouhavenoticedorlearned.

Takinginwhatyounoticedinthe3rdand2ndpositions,whatseemsdifferentasyoudeliveryour

presentationnow?

At this stage, most people will observe that the audience had far moreimportantthingstothinkaboutthanthepresentersminorhabitsandmistakes.Andfromthe3rdposition,itallseemedquitedistantandunimportant.Backin1stposition,mostpeoplewillfeelmoreofabalanceintheirrelationshipwiththeaudience.Yes, theaudience is lookingat them,but they’renotmakingasharshajudgementasthepresenterismakingofthemselves.

10.3GettingReady

If you ever worry or are nervous about a presentation, here are some verysimpletoolsyoucanusetochangethat.Thefirst,andmostimportantthingtorememberisthatthemajorityofpeopleinadvertently make all kinds of everyday activities difficult, and these samepeoplecouldmakethosesameactivitiesincrediblyeasywithjustonesimple,smalladjustment.Mostpeopleplanforthestartofthings,nottheendPublic speaking, coldcalling,going to thedentist and flyingcanbedifficultforsomepeople.Howmany timeshaveyoufeltnervousaboutdoinganyofthese?Howmany timeshaveyoufeltnervousat theend?Whatmanypeopleexperienceisworryleadinguptotheevent,nervousnessatthestartandreliefat the end. Which of those three states would you like to feel, all the waythrough?Doyouwanttoworryaboutitorlookforwardtoit?Let’slookattheprocessofworry:

Imagineafutureevent

> Imagineitturningoutbadly

> Actasifit’shappeningnow

Theprocessesofworryandexcitementarethesame,withjustatinychangeincontent:

Imagineafutureevent

> Imagineitturningoutreallywell

> Actasifit’shappeningnow

So,here’sthesimplewaythatyoucanovercomedoubt,worry,anxiety,nervesorfear:Planfortheend!So,whenyouimaginethepresentation,imagineitfromthepointwhereyou’re

saying thank you, the audience is nodding approvingly and you feel goodabouthavingdoneyourbest.Ifyou’rehavingtroubleaccessingaresourcefulstate,here’sasimplemethodyoucanuse.AnchoringaPresentationStateFirstly,thinkofthespecificstateyouwanttoaccess.“Confident”istoovague,itisn’tastateanyway,andoverconfidencecanbeasharmfulasnervousness.Rememberaspecifictimewhenyouwereinyourchosenstate.Rememberwhatyousaw,howbrightthememoryis,howsharp,hownear,howbigandhowcolourful.Next,rememberwhatyouheard,howloud,fromwhere,howclear.Finally,rememberwhatyoufelt,where,howwarmorcold,howheavyorlight,whatmovement,whatsensation.Makethepicturebiggerandbrighter,thesoundslouderandthefeelingsmoreintenseasyoudoublethefeeling,anddoubleitagain.Sayawordtoyourselfthatrepresentsthisfeelingandkeeponrepeatingitasyouconcentrateonthefeeling.Asyousaythewordtoyourselfandconcentrateonyourfeelings,addacolourthatseemsrelevant.Seeitwashingoveryouandrunningthroughyou,intensifyingyourstateasitflows.OwningtheSpaceStepintothepresentationspaceatthefrontoftheroomandallowtheaudiencetohandcontroloftheroomovertoyou.Justtakeamomenttonoticehowitfeelsandwhatthoughtsareinyourmind.Noticehowtheaudiencereallylooks,ratherthanonlyseeingwhatyouhadexpectedtosee.Staythereforslightlylongerthanfeelscomfortable.Whenyougetbacktoyourchair,makeanoteofhowyoufeltandwhatyounoticed.

10.4SettingtheScene

What do audiences want to know? What meanings should all presentationsconveyregardlessoftopicorcontent?

I’mtellingthetruthYoucantrustmeThisisimportanttoyouThisisrelevanttoyouIreallybelieveinthisYou’regoingtolovethis!

Itmightbeusefultothinkaboutthehighlevelmessagethatrunsthroughyoupresentations,andtoconsiderthatfirstwhenyouareplanningapresentation.Ifyougetthatinplace,everythingelseyoudohasastrongfoundationtobuildon.

10.5YourContext

Takeamomenttosetyourownpersonalcontextforpresentingwithimpact–is it to clients, colleagues or someone else? Are you selling, persuading,informingorsomethingelse?Youmightthinkthatyourjobisto‘train’youraudienceorto‘teach’them,thatisnotthecase.Thatisthemeansbywhichyouaredoingyourjob.Yourjobisactuallytorunatrainingbusiness,ortobeemployedasatrainer,orwhateveryouareactuallypaidfor.Remember,inanyjob,youarepaidforyourtime,sowhateveryouractivitiesareduringyourworkinghours,that’syourjob.Thinkaboutthehigherpurposethatyouarefulfillingbytrainingpeople.Whatareyoucontributingtoabusinessorcommunity?It’s also worth thinking about what the audience expect from you. Do theyexpectanexpert,orjustadifferentperspective?Dotheyexpectaheroorafallguy?

10.6PlanningOutcomes

Ifyoudon’twantyouraudiencetodoanythingasaresultofyourpresentationthen you are wasting your time and theirs. An email could replace yourpresentation if all youwant to do is transmit information.You could simplysendyourlearnersabookoryourtraininghandoutstoread.Whymakethemsitthoughhoursofyouprattlingonifyou’reonlyreadingoutwhatthenotessayanyway?Whatvalueareyouadding?

1Whatdoyouwantfromthistraining?

2Howwillyouknowwhenyouhaveit?

3Whatwillhavingitdoforyou?

4Whatwillhavingitdoforyourclientsandcolleagues?

5Whatdoyouneedinordertogetit?

6Whatcantherestofusdotodaytohelpyougetthis?

7Whatstopsyoufromachievingthisnow?

8Whatcanyouimagineyourselfdoingdifferently?

Evenadecisionoranopinionisanactionbecauseitrequirestheaudiencetoprocess informationand thendosomething.Forminganopinion isanactiveprocess,justasmuchasbuyingaproduct.

WhatdoIwant?Howwillthepeopleinthisroomhelpmetogetit?WhatdoIneedthemtodoforme?Whatstatedotheyneedtobeintoachievethat?

WhenyoucreateaWellFormedOutcomeforyourpresentation,you’llknowit has to be under your control. If you want the audience to understand oragree, that’snotunderyourcontrol,sofirstyouhavetoknowwhat it isyouwant.YourOutcomeasaTrainerFormyourownoutcomebeforeyouthinkaboutyouraudience.

Positive

Underyourcontrol

Real–whatyoucansee,hear,feel

Ecological

Manypeopletellmethattheypresentinorderto‘inform’or‘educate’.That’snotunderyourcontrol!If we work outwards in layers of control, the first thing that is under yourcontrolisyourownstate.Whenyou’reinrapportwiththeaudience,yourstatewillinfluencetheirstateandtheirstatewillmakeiteasierforthemtoachievetheoutcomeyouwantforthem.Asidefromalltheinfluencingtricksyoucouldlearn,thesimplestwaytogetpeopletodowhatyouwantistotellthemwhatyouwant.It’simportanttogetintothehabitoftellingpeopleclearlywhatyouwantandwhatyouneedfromthem.AskForWhatYouWant“WhatIwantis”

“WhatIneedfromyouis”“Howdoyoufeelaboutthat?”

Thefinalquestion,a‘tagquestion’justpushestheoutcomehomeasittendstoelicitanagreeableresponseinthemajorityofhelpful,reasonablepeople.Theimportantthingisthatitelicitsaresponse–becauseyoudowantaresponsiveaudience,don’tyou?Ifyouaskforsomethingthatpeoplecan’tgiveyou,theywilltellyou–eitherbysaying“no”orbysaying“erm…OK”whilstlookingliketheymean‘no’.I’ve noticed that many people convert the last question into, “What do youthinkaboutthat?”or“IsthatOK?”Wedon’tcareaboutwhattheaudiencethink.Wewanttoknowhowtheyfeel,becausewewant them to be aware of how they feel.We are also not askingtheirpermission.Sotheoriginalwordingofthequestionisimportant.Many people are afraid to ask for what they want. That’s OK, because ifeveryoneaskedforwhattheywant, therewouldbetoomuchnoise.It’sgoodthat many people are brought up by their parents to believe that acceptingsecond best, accepting what they’re given is somehow a good thing. Thismeans that it’s very easy to get what you want, just by asking for it. It’spreciselybecauseotherpeopleareafraidtodoitthatitworkssonicely.Andyou’renotafraidtogetwhatyouwant,areyou?Ofcourse,thereisanotherexplanation.Imagineforamomentthattheworldisfull of peoplewho are reasonably happy,well intentioned, kind and helpful.Theywanttohelpyou,aslongaswhatyou’reaskingfordoesn’tspecificallydisadvantage them. Theywant to help you, but they don’t know how. So bytelling themwhat youwant, you are helping them to help you,whichmakesthemhappy.Afterall,youfeelhappywhenyou’vehelpedsomeone,don’tyou?“WhatIwantisforyoutothinkabouthowthisisimportantforyourbusiness,sowhatIneedyoutodoispayattentionandaskanyquestionsthathelpyoutounderstandhowwecanworktogether,howdoyoufeelaboutthat?Years ago, I worked with a client who had problems with internalcommunication. They had a board meeting every two months where theywould cover all of their project updates and make all of their importantdecisions.Themeetingessentiallycomprisedtwodaysofpresentations.Whatwashappeningwasthis:someonewouldpresentaprojectupdateandat

theendcertainpeoplewouldstartaskingawkwardquestions,sayingtheyhadforgotten something, questioning their approach, saying they should dosomething different, generally picking the project apart and making thepresenterfeelliketheywereunderattack.Thepresenterwouldexclaim“butallofthiswasintheagenda,didn’tyoureadit?”Ofcourse,no-oneeverdidreadtheagenda.Theyweretoobusy.Someone else would present some information for a decision – somethingsimple like buying mobile phones. They would go through tariffs, figures,suppliersandsoon,andattheendofthepresentationastheboardtomakeadecision.Morequestions. “Haveyou talked to that supplier?”, “Whyareyoudoing it that way?”, “Why don’t you talk to this supplier?”, “Why are youlookingatthosephones?”,“What’sthecostofcallinganothermobileonthatone?”.Thepresenterwouldexclaim“butallof thiswas in theagenda,didn’tyoureadit?”Ofcourse,no-oneeverdidreadtheagenda.Theyweretoobusy.Andmeeting aftermeeting, decisions didn’t getmade, projects didn’tmoveforwardsandeveryone learned to feelasenseofdreadwhen itwas timeforthenextmeeting.The solution was very simple, and I bet you can guess what it was. Thepresentersweren’t telling the audiencehow to listen, theyweren’t telling theaudiencewhat theyneeded todo.So eachperson in the audience settled intotheirdefaultrole–tofallasleep,ortochallenge,ortoshowthatthepresenterhadn’treallythoughtitthrough,orwhateveritwas.Itdidn’thelpthatthepresentationswereall jumbledtogether,sotheaudiencewouldneverreallyunderstandwhatthepointofthenextonewouldbe.It’snowondertheywereconfusedandjustretreatedtotheircomfortzones.What I had them do instead was begin each presentation with a framingstatement,suchas:“Hereisanupdateonmyproject,Idon’tneedanyadviceorfeedbackat thisstage,it’sforyourinformationonly”“I’mgoingtopresentinformationaboutthemobilephonepurchasingproject,andattheendIwantyoutotellmewhichsupplieryouthinkweshoulduse”Saying,“Hereisanupdateonmyproject,Idon’tneedanyadviceorfeedbackat this stage, it’s for your information only” tells people exactly what isexpectedof them.Conversely,presentingahugevolumeof factsand figuresandonlythenaskingpeopletomakeadecisionissimplyaskingfortrouble.Ifyou tell people up frontwhat you expect, theywill pay attention in the right

placesandbeabletomakeadecisionwhenyouneedthemto,insteadofsayingthey need more time to think or asking difficult questions just to divertattentionawayfromthefactthattheyweren’tlistening.Of course, you could do even better than this. You could make sure yourpresentationisevenmorefocusedandimpactful.Usingtheexamplesabove:“I’mheretogiveyouanupdateonmyproject.Whatdoyouneedtoknowinordertofeelcomfortableupdatingyourownteamsonourprogress?”“I’maskingyoutomakeadecisiononwhichmobilephonesupplierweuse.Whatinformationdoyouneedfrommetomakethatdecision?”

10.7WhenDoesthePresentationStart?

Whendoyouthinkastageplayormusicalbegins?Whentheactorsfirstspeaktheirlines?Inthemusicthatisplayingbeforetheshowstarts?Uponenteringthetheatre,even?Theansweristhatitstartsthemomentyoubuyyourticket.Whendoesanightoutwithfriendsstart?Asyouwalkintothebar?Asyou’regettingready?Asyou’regettingreadytoleavework?When does your holiday start?When you step off the plane? Or when youbookit?Whyisthis?Becauseassoonasyoustarttothinkaboutsomethinglikeanightout,oraholiday,orapresentation,youarebuildingasimulationofitinyourmind.Assoonasyoumakethedecision,yourmindbeginspreparingyouforit.Thatpreparationmightincludewonderingwhowillbethere,thinkingaboutwhat might happen, feeling excited, thinking about what you want to learn,thinkingabouthowtogetthere.We survive by predicting the future. Our ability to catch balls and trainsrequires the future tobemuch thesameas thepast, sowecreategeneralisedrulesthatapplyovertime.Theproblemisthatwepredictthefuturebasedonpastevents,andasthepeoplewhomanageyourinvestmentssay,thatisaveryriskyapproach.It’s a completelynatural,humanprocess, andbybeingawareof it, yougaingreatercontrol.Youwill be communicatingwith your audience longbefore you standup tospeaktothem,soit’sveryimportantthatyoustartshapingtheirexpectationstosupportyouroutcome.

Ifyouask,manypeoplewillsaythatthepresentationstartswhentheystanduptospeak.Thisisunhelpfulfortworeasons:

Itputsevenmorefocusontheactofstandingup,whichisthebitmostpeopleavoidIt loses a huge opportunity to influence the audience and set theirexpectations

Invitationsetup Roomsetup Presentation Q&A Close

What communication do you havewith the audience before the presentationthatyoucanusetoreinforceyourpresentation?Doyou send out an agenda?A joining pack?An email?Each of these is anopportunity toprepare theaudience foryourpresentation so thatyouhaveamuchgreaterchanceofachievingwhatyouwantfromit.If you tell the audience what to expect, they will adjust their ability to payattentionaccordingly.If you don’t they will pay attention to whatever fits their preconceivedexpectations,whichmeansyouwillgetrandomresultsatbest.Set theaudience’sexpectationsas soonasyoubegincommunicatingwiththem.Asyou stand up, you step into an imaginary space at the front of the room,createdbytheaudience.Theexistenceofanaudiencepresupposestheexistenceofapresenter–andsoyouaresteppingintoarolethatiswaitingforyoutoclaimit.Asyoustepintothatspace,youtakecontroloftheroom,andyoudonotunderanycircumstancesgivecontrolbacktotheaudienceuntilyouarereadyto.When you’re delivering training, you have a perfect opportunity to begininfluencing your learners through the joining instructions that you’ll sendthem.

10.8PlanningStates

What will be the state of your audience? Open minded? Impatient?Confrontational?Complacent?Nervous?Afraid?Curious?Manypresentersjustlaunchinandstarttalkingattheaudienceinsteadoffirst

tuningthemselvesintotheaudience’sstate.Beginbythinkingabouttheaudience’sstartingstate.Then,thinkingaboutthedesired outcome for the presentation, choose a useful end state for theaudience.Finally,planaroute.PlanaStateJourney

1Startstate:

2:

3:

4:

5Endstate:

It is very important tobe realistic about the audience’s start state.Youmightwantthemtobecurious,butiftherealityisthattheyaretiredandboredthenyoucantakethatintoaccount.Remember;theirstartstateisneithergoodnorbad,it’sjustthewaythatitis,andithasnothingtodowithyou.Theirstartstatewilldependnotjustonwhathashappenedtothempriortothepresentation,butalsoon theirexpectationsof thepresentation itselfbasedontheirpreviousexperiences.This isavery importantpoint too,and illustratestheimportanceofknowingwhenthepresentationstarts.Youwillprobablyrecognisethisasanextensionoftheconceptofpacingandleading,andyou’llrememberthatthefirststageofpacingistogainrapport.Ifthe audience is feeling critical, there’s no point pretending they are curious.Firstyouneedtopacetheircriticalstateinordertoleadthemoutofit.Howdoyoudo that?Comeon!Doyouwantmetocomeanddo thepresentationforyou?

Presenters who don’t have the advantage of this approach often start byplanning what they want to say rather than how they want the audience torespond. This is why their presentations seemmore like transmissions thaninteractions.Whatabouttechnicalpresentations?Surelytheyservetoinformorinstructtheaudience?Again,whatdoyouwant them todowith that information?Agreewithit?Makeadecision?Understandit?Useit?Misuseit?The outcome for the audience is always your starting point for designing apresentation.Onceyouknowthis,therestiseasy.

10.9WhattheAudienceWants

What do audiences want to know? What meanings should all presentationsconveyregardlessoftopicorcontent?Are there some silent, hidden questions that the audience need answeringbefore they can begin to listen? You know there are. They’re the samequestionsthatyouwereaskingaswestartedthisworkshop.Asyoubeginyourpresentation,thepeopleintheaudiencehavethesequestionsrattling around in their minds. They are probably not consciously aware ofthem,yettheystillneedtobeanswered.

Theyarequestionslike:Dowehaveanythingincommon?DoIlikeyou?DoItrustyou?DoIbelieveyou?Doyoubelieveyou?Doyouknowwhatyou’retalkingabout?Isthisrelevanttome?DoIrespectyou?

Theremaybeotherquestionstoo,dependingonthesituation.Howdoyouknowthatyoulikesomeone?Isitbecausetheysay“Youcanlikeme”orisitsomethingelse?Itmightbeusefultothinkaboutthehighlevelmessagethatrunsthroughyoupresentations,andtoconsiderthatfirstwhenyouareplanningapresentation.Ifyougetthatinplace,everythingelseyoudohasastrongfoundationtobuildon.Bygiving theaudience theopportunity to find theanswers to thesequestionsfirst of all, you will ensure their full attention later on. It really is worthinvestingtimeinthis,becausethatinvestmentwillpayoffgreatlylateron,asyouwillsoondiscover.

10.10Environment

Bearinmindthattheenvironmentyou’representinginwillgreatlyinfluencethe audience andyour outcomes, particularly if youplan the environment inconjunctionwiththeaudience’sexpectations.Youcanthinknotonlyaboutthevenueandroombutalsobrandingandsignswhichaddtotheexpectationsoftheaudience.Youcanalsothinkaboutthingslikerefreshments,usingalecternandsoon.Ifyoustandbehindalectern,youwillloserapportwiththeaudiencebecausetheycan’tseeyou.Ifyouhavewateravailable,youcanuseittogiveyourselftimetothinkaboutquestions.Theenvironmentcansupportorhinderyouinachievingyouroutcome,soit’s

worthtakingsometimetothinkaboutit.

10.11StructuringthePresentation

There are a number of formats that you can use to establish communicationwith the audience. Here are a few ideas for you to practice. Remember thatsuccess,inNLPterms,doesn’tmeanthinkingaboutwhatwillworkandrulingoutwhat you thinkwon’t – itmeans that you do everything and noticewhatreallyworks!

10.11.1FramingBytellingpeoplewhatyouwantthemtodo,youarehelpingthemtofiltertheinformation so that they pay attention to what is important for them. If youdon’ttellpeoplewhattodountil theend,theywillbecompletelyunpreparedforitandwillnotdowhatyouask.Thisprocessiscalledlabellingorframing,andit’softenusednaturallybyanyonewhoisaskilledcommunicator.

I’mgoingtopresentaprojectupdateafterwhichI’dlikeyoutogivemefeedback.I’mgoingtopresentaproposaltoyouafterwhichI’dlikeyoutomakeadecision.I’m going to show you a demonstration after which I’d like you topracticeacoachingtechnique

10.11.2OutcomeFocusThere’sanold sayingusedbyoldpresentation skills trainers: tell themwhatyou’regoing to tell them, tell them, then tell themwhatyou’ve told them. Inotherwords, theaudiencehavea limitedattention span soyouhave todrumyour message into them. Here’s an updated version, for a more modernaudience:

TellthemwhatyouwantthemtodoPresenttheinformationtheyneedinordertodoitTellthemwhatyouwantthemtodo

10.11.3Association(ShiftingReferentialIndex)Begintalkingaboutthewidercontext,peopleingeneral,thenmovetoamorerelevantsectionofthepopulation,thentothepeopleintheroom,thento‘you’and finally to ‘I’. Throughout the sequence, the referential index shifts as

follows:Everyone(everything)>them>us>you>I

10.11.4Timeframe(GeneralBacktrackPacing)Beginatsomepoint in timebefore thepresentmoment, listingall thesharedexperiences up until the present moment to elicit and agreement state, thencontinueforwardintimetogaincommitmenttoacourseofaction.

10.11.5Frame/Story/QuestionFrame thecommunication todirect theaudience’sattention, tella short storyandthenaskaquestiontoshifttheaudience’sstateandrefocustheirattention.

10.11.6PacingCurrentExperienceThefirstthingyouneedtoachieveinyourpresentationistogettheaudience’sattention.Youcanaskquestions, tell themaboutyourself,usean icebreaker,tellajoke,ordoanythingelsethatfitsthecontext.One very useful way to achieve this is to build your audience towards an‘agreement state’ inwhich they aremore likely to agreewith you, consideryourideasfavourablyandmakethedecisionsyouwantthemtomake.So,rightnow,you’rereadingthesewordsandyoumightthinkaboutyournextpresentation.Perhapsyou’vepresentedinthepast,orexperiencedotherpeoplepresenting to you. In either case, youmay be the kind of personwho reallywants to achieve the best you can and refine the skills you’re alreadydeveloping. It’s good that you’re taking such an active interest in yourselfbecauseyouknowtheresultsthatitwillbringyou.Was there anything in that last paragraph that you could disagreewith?Wasthereanythingtoagreewith?Inthefirstsectionwetalkedaboutpacingtheaudience’sstate.Thisisthesameprocess,andthistimeyou’repacingtheirexperience.Asyoubeginwithverygeneral facts that are true for the audience, you will see them nodding inagreement.Asyourpresentationbecomesmorespecific,or less factual, theywillbemorelikelytoagreewithyouthantodisagree.Forexample,tosaythatyou’rereadingaboutpresentationskillsistrue.Tosaythatyou’rereadingthebestwaytodevelopyourpresentationskillsisabelief.Yourbeliefs-productbenefits, opinions or proposals - are more likely to be accepted if youraudienceisinanagreementstate.Whenpractisinghypnosis,weuseasimplescriptthatrotatestheclientbetween

theirexternalexperienceandtheirinternalfocus:CyclingFocusTellyourpartnerthreethingsthatyouknowtheycansee/hear/feelTellyourpartneronethingthatmaybetrue-asuggestionAskyourpartnerwhattheyareawareofRepeat4 or5timesLeadingLearningTelltheaudiencethreethingsthataretruenoworaresharedexperienceTelltheaudienceonethingthatmaybetrue-asuggestionAsktheaudiencefortheiragreement

Andyoumightstillbewonderingwhatthishastodowithpresenting,sohereareacoupleofexamples,startingwithsomething that Ihearatalmosteverysalesconference.

It’sbeenatoughyearCompetitionhasbeenintenseWe’veworkedhardYourtargetsaredoublingnextyearLeadershipiskeytobusinesssuccessEffectiveleadersinspiretheirstaffLeaderscanbebothbornandbredPeterFreethdevelopsyourleadershippotential

It’salwaysusefultohaveyouraudienceinanagreeablestatebeforeyoustarttransmittinginformationatthem.Thissimpletechniqueisaverypowerfulwaytoleadtheaudienceintoanagreeablestatebytellingthemthingsthataretrue–eitherintheirexperienceorinthepresentmoment,forexample:

YouhavealltravelledtobeheretodayWearealltogetherYoucanhearmeYoucantakeamomenttobecomfortableWehavesomepresentationsbeforelunchSomeofyoumightbecuriousSomeofyoumayalreadyknow

IknowthatyoumaybewonderingYoumightbewondering,“whatdoIdowiththis?”

Andofcourse,whentheaudienceisinanagreeablestate,theyaremorelikelytoagreewithyou.

10.11.7ChunkSizeYou can start at a high level of detail and work down throughout yourpresentation,giving theaudience theopportunity to ‘tune in’whenyoureachtheirpreferredlevelofdetail.Tell theaudience thepurposeofyourpresentation,whatyouwant toachieveandwhattheyneedtodotohelpyou.Startwith background, big picture, landscape, ‘true’ information. Talk aboutthewider context to your presentation, bothwhat’s good andwhat’smissingfromit.Move onto the detail of your presentation, what you are presenting, whatproblemsitsolves,whatitachieves,howthathelpstheaudience,whatitdoesforthem.Summarise thekeypoints, information,benefits,outcomes.Tell theaudiencewhatyouwanttoachieveandwhattheyneedtodotohelpyou.

10.12Timing

It’smoreimportanttosticktotimethantosayeverythingyouwanttosay.Theaudiencewillbeleftwithafarbetterimpressioniftheyfeelthepresentationiscompletethanifthereisanysenseofsomethingbeingleftout.As a rule of thumb,whenyouplanyour presentation content, create enoughcontenttofillaboutthreequartersofyourallocatedtime.Therestofthattimewillmostcertainlybetakenupbylatestarts,questions,conversationsandallthe other unexpected things that happen whenever you work with children,animalsorNLPstudents.Itisveryeasytofillintimeduringapresentation,andbyfinishingearlyyougive the impression of being very much in control - something that theaudiencewillnoticeandappreciate.Ifyouhaveanyactivitiesorinteractivesessionsplannedforyourpresentation,buildinevenmorecontingency,sothatyoucreatecontentforonlyhalfoftheallocatedtime.

Manypeopletaketheapproachthattheyhavealottosayaboutthemselvesandtheircompanies,andit’sveryhardtopackallthatintoashorttime.Certainly,ifyoubelievethatthefunctionofapresentationisforyoutotelltheaudiencesomething,orgivetheminformation,thenyouwillcertainlyfinditdifficulttopackineverythingyouhavetosay.Let’s takeadifferent approach -one that takes a lotofpressureoffyouandmakes the whole experience far more enjoyable. Simply ask yourself thisquestion:WhatonequestioncanIaskthatwillgettheaudiencetodowhatIwantthemtodo?Afterthat,theonlyremainingquestioniswhattodotopadouttheremainingtime!Ifyoursetupandinvitationshavedonetheirjob,theaudiencealreadyknowswhytheyarethereandwhattheyneedtodowhattheyaretherefor.Ifsomeoneasks you tomake a decision, you already knowwhat information you need.You don’t have to sit through a comprehensive presentation of informationwhich is very useful, it’s just not useful for you. If the audience needs onlysomeveryspecificinformationinordertotakeaction,whywastetime?Herearesomeexamples:

What one thing would mean the most to you, to gain from thispresentation?Whatinformationwillbemostusefultoyourightnow?Whatcanwedointhisnexthourthatwillmakethiswholepresentationworthwhile?

Startingfromthepointofcrammingineverythingthereis tosayisdifficult.Startingfromthepointofwhatyouraudienceneedstohearinordertotakethenextstepiseasy.So, here is a useful idea for you. Always start your presentations with aquestion:Whatwouldyoumostliketohearaboutthatwillbemosthelpfulorusefulforyourightnow?By concentrating on the answer to that question, timing will never be aproblemforyou.

10.13LanguagePatterns

Youcan tryout somedifferent formsof language to findout the effect theyhaveontheaudience.Herearesomeexamples.

10.13.1PresuppositionsAll language contains unspoken elementswhichmust be accepted as true inorder for the language to make grammatical sense. You can use thisconstructively,forexample:“Whenyoubuyaservicelikemine,whatdoyounormallyexpect?”Thequestionisaboutcustomerexpectation,butitmakesnogrammaticalsenseifthelistenerdoesnotbuy‘aservicelikemine’.Howabout,“Byfullyengaginginthislearningprocess,whatdoyouhopetoachieve?”

10.13.2ReframesReframingcanbeusedtochangethemeaningofinformation,forexample,ifthe price of a product is high you can reframe that information tomean thepriceisanindicationofexclusivity.You can respond to even the most pointed objection or question with,“Excellent! What a great question”, because it’s important to recognise thevalueofthepersonevenif theirquestionmaybeinappropriate,whichyou’llrecogniseasoneofthePresuppositionsofNLP.Incoaching,youcanusereframestochangethemeaningofproblems.Iwasrecently asking a client to use their creativity to comeupwith options for aproblem.Oneoptionwas,“MovetoaplanetorbitingMars”andmyreplywas,“Excellent!Yourcreativesideisworkingreallywell!”Whatever your audience does or says is good because it shows they areengaged. If they fall asleep, that’s good too as they’ll be easier to influence.Youcan’tlose!

10.13.3EmbeddedCommandsThese are instructions that sit within a language structure that is not itself acommand.Often, analoguemarking isused todrawunconsciousattention tothe command. The simplest embedded commands are questions, which alsotaketheformofpresuppositions:Canyouletmeknowwhenyou’rereadytopayattentionandbegin?Whatwouldyouliketoknowthatwillreallyhelpyoutoopenupandengage

inthisprocess?Andtheycanalsobemorecomplex:I know that sometimes it seems difficult tomake a decision, yet when yourealiseyou’reinthebestplaceyoujusthavetogoforitandtrustyourselftodotherightthingforyou.Theembeddedcommands aremarkedoutusing agestureorvocal stressorevenapause,inexactlythesamewaythatyouwouldnaturallystressimportantpoints in any conversation. However, with embedded commands, you’re notnecessarilyplacingtheemphasisinthe‘usual’places,andyouthereforeneedtopracticethistechnique.

10.13.4MiltonModelLanguageMiltonModel language is a framework within which the listener can inserttheirownmeaning.Itisverypowerfulinsituationswhereyouhavetoaddresstheneedsofinterestsofmanydifferentpeople,forexample:“Youmayhaveheardaboutthisbeforeoritmaybenewtoyou,ineithercaseyoumightalreadybethinkingabouthowtousethisinformationandtolearnevenmorebeforeyoumaketherightdecisionforyou.”MiltonModel is not ameans of commanding your students to do your evilbidding.Itisameansofcommunicatingpersonallyandspecificallywitheverymember of even the most diverse audience. Sometimes, people from manydifferentbackgroundscanattendthesametrainingcourse,andwhiletheyeachhave their own particular interests and needs, there is of course one thingwhichdrewthemalltogether,here,rightnow,andwhenyouspeaktothatneed,youopenupawholenewchannelofcommunicatingwitheachandeveryoneofthem.

10.14CriticalFilters

Weeachhaveacriticalfilterwhichevaluatesincominginformationtojudgeitagainstourownbeliefsandperceptionoftheworld.

The filter is useful because it protects us fromother people’s beliefs.Unfortunately, it also prevents us fromaccepting newinformationtoo.

This means that if you present by talking facts at your audience, it doesn’tmatterhowtrueorwellresearchedyouthinkthosefactsare,somepeople intheaudiencewillfindthemcontentious,simplyasaresultofthewayyouhavepresentedthem.Fortunately,we canbypass this filter quite easily.Firstly, youcanmake surethat the people you’re presenting to are in as receptive a state as possiblebeforeyoubeginpresenting.How?Comeon–youcanremember!

Usingeveryopportunitytocommunicatewiththeaudienceprior tothepresentationFramingthepresentationsotheaudienceknowwhattodoAnsweringtheaudience’sunspokenquestions

Secondly,youcanusethetwoformsofcommunicationwhichwillbypassthecriticalfilter.

10.14.1 QuestionsWhydoquestionsbypassthecriticalfilter?Howdoquestionsbypassthecriticalfilter?Questionsdon’tconveyanyinformationorinstructions,dothey?Astructureof languagewhichyouhearasaquestionputsyou intoacertainframeofmind,readytosearchforananswer.Overtime,therightbalanceofquestionswillguideyouraudienceintoareceptive,openmindedstate.Wehearquestionswhen:1. Thespeaker ’svoicepitchandeyebrowsrisetowardstheendofasentence,

nottobeconfusedwithastereotypicalAustralianaccentwhichisdifferent2. Asentencestartswithawordsuchaswhy,when,where,how,what,which,

who,if,is,could,would,might,may,can3. A statement endswith a tag question, such as couldn’t it?, don’t they?, do

we?,canit?Afterall, it’s rarelywise topositionyourselfasa theabsoluteexpertwho isgoingtogivetheaudiencealltheanswers.It’sgenerallyusefultothinkofyourrole as being to help the audience to explore the questions, and for them toformulate their answers.As you’ll see later, people rarely ask a question inordertogetastraightanswer.And inanycase,ananswer is rarelyassimpleas it seems.Weaskquestionsbecausetheanswersmeansomething,notbecausethey’replainfacts.Thereisnosuchthingasaplainfact.Considerthesefacts:

30mph2%2metres

Howdoyoufeelaboutthem?Good?Bad?Indifferent?.You see, in themselves they don’t mean anything, but in context they cangeneratestrongemotions.Howabout:

Someonedrivingat30mphina20mphareapastaschoolat8:30amBeingstuckbehindsomeonedrivingat30mphina60mphzonewhenyouhavetocatchatrain

So questions not only bypass the audience’s critical filters – they have thepowertoelicitverystrongemotionalresponses.

10.14.2NarrativeCommunicationListentoaconversationandyouwillhearacombinationof:

Beliefstatements–whichmightsoundlikefactsQuestions–formanydifferentreasonsNarrative–whichaddscharactersandsequence

Thisisaveryimportantpoint.Humanbeingscommunicatewitheachotherina narrative. We don’t communicate using factual statements, such facts arelinkedbyanarrative,whichincludescharacters–whodidwhattowhom–andasequenceintime,sothatwecanrecreatethesituationmentally.Thesimplestsentencewillcontainasubject,averbandanobject,andthatisastoryinitself.Asapersonistalking,anyonelisteningistranslatingthewordsbackintotheoriginalsensoryexperience.Ofcourse, theycan’t translate it intoexactly theoriginal,sotheyaresubstitutingtheirownexperiencesandreferencesinordertomakesenseofit.Firstly,thismeansthatthemorenarrativeyouuse,theeasieryouaretolistento.Secondly, it means that the richer your narrative, the more vivid are thepicturesyoucreateinyouraudience’smind.Andthirdly,whenIaskpeopleonworkshopswhatqualitiestheyassociatewithexcellentpresenters,onewhichalwayscomesoutisthatthepresenterknewa

lotabouttheirsubject.AndwhenIaskhowtheyknewthatthepresenterknewalot–theytoldstories.So storytelling is vital, it’s natural, you already do it and to be an excellentpresenteryoucandomoreofit,purposefully.Rightnow,youcommunicateinmanywaysthatalreadyfitthisform,including:

AnecdotesCasestudiesReportsAnydescriptionofanevent

10.15FramingYourCommunication

Effectivecommunicatorsuseatechniquecalled‘framing’,inwhichtheydirectyourattentionbeforetheytellyoutheimportantbit,soyoudon’tmissit.Forexample,

I’mgoingtopresentsomeinformationafterwhichI’dlikeyoutogivemeyouropinion.I’mgoingtopresentaprojectupdateafterwhichI’dlikeyoutogivemefeedback.I’mgoingtopresentaproposaltoyouafterwhichI’dlikeyoutomakeadecision.

Bytellingpeoplewhatyouwantthemtodo,youarehelpingthemtofiltertheinformation so that they pay attention to what is important for them. If youdon’ttellpeoplewhattodountil theend,theywillbecompletelyunpreparedforitandwillnotdowhatyouask.

10.16Question-Story-Question

Insteadofstartingyourpresentationwithagrandopeningstatement,whynotstartwithasimplequestion?Imagineyou’reataconference.Youmeetwithsomeonewhoyouwoulddearlylove toworkwith.You say, “What one thing couldwe show you today thatwouldmakethewholeconferenceworthwhile?”Whatevertheysay,that’swhatyou talk about.The entirepresentation, centred around theone idea thatwillmakethebiggestdifferencetothem.

Asksomeoneaquestionand,evenforamoment, theyarehooked.Theyareinstantly put into a receptive frame ofmind.After that, it’s up to you to puttheirattentiontogooduse.Your story contains all of the facts and emotional content that provides acontextforthequestion.Askingyouropeningquestionagainnowcauses theaudience to formulateanewanswerwhichissetinthecontextofyourstory.ThetwoQuestionsarehookedtogetherbyaStory:

Theideaisverysimple.Beginbyposingthequestion.Afterleavingittohangin the air for a fewmoments, move straight into your presentation. Do notobviouslyreferbacktoyouropeningquestion.Attheendofyourpresentation,repeatthequestion.Thecontentofyourpresentationhasprovidedtheanswer,andtheaudienceknowswhattodo.

Question Subject

“Whatwouldyougivetobeabletocorrectonemistakeinyourlife?”

Aprojecttosupportdisadvantagedteenagers

“Howwouldyoufeelifyoucouldsaveonemorelifetoday?”

Fundingforasafetyprogram

“Howwouldyoufeel,knowingthatyouhadchangedtheworldtoday?”

Investmentinsomethingthatwillsaveenergyorlives

Here’sanexamplescript.“Whatwouldyougivetobeabletocorrectonemistakeinyourlife?

I run a project for teenagers who have been in trouble with thepolice.Typically,theystruggledatschool,droppedoutandgotintothewrongcompany.Throughpeerpressure,whichIknowwe’veallfelt in onewayor another, they endupmaking amistake that theyregret for the rest of their lives. Through our project, that I’mseekingyoursupportwith,wehelp these teenagers toput right thatmistake and to make sure it doesn’t take away their chance of anormallife,thekindoflifethatit’seasyforpeoplelikeustotakeforgranted.I’maskingforyoursponsorship,yourtime,yourbrandorjustyourfunding.Whichyougiveisuptoyou,allareinvaluabletousandtotheteenagerswhoaregoingtobenefitsomuchfromyourhelp.Afterall,whatwouldyougive tobeable tocorrectonemistake inyourlife?”

Thequestion takesonadifferentmeaningas a resultofwhatyou say in themainbodyofthepresentation,becausethesecondquestionisnowsetinanewcontext.Question-Story-QuestionPracticethisstructure–writeashortnoteagainsteachparttoremindyourself:

Settingaframe–withaquestionTellingastoryAskingaquestion

This is totally different to explaining what the story is about, because thatdestroysthepowerofthestory,andyoumustnevereverexplainastoryafteryou have told it.When you communicate in this narrativeway, you create avividexperience in themindof the listenerwho thendeterminesasubjectivemeaningfromit.Ifyoutheexplainthestory,yourmeaningwillbedifferenttotheirs, and the disagreement breaks rapport and distances the audience fromyou, undoing the goodwork you have done by telling the story in the firstplace.Forexample, the‘right’way todo this:“Haveyounoticedhowsitesafety isback in the news lately? Recently, when we were interviewing constructionworkers,Iwassurprisedtofindthat...”Andthe‘wrong’way:“NowI’mgoingtotellyouastoryabouthowimportantsitesafetyis toconstructionworkers.Inarecentsurvey,58%ofrespondentsindicated…andwhatthatmeansis...”

10.17NestedLoops

Hypnotic change stories can come in the form of a nested loop, where asuggestionisembeddedwithinanotherstory.Aformatusingtwonestedstorieslookslikethis:Startstory1 Startstory2 Suggestion Endstory2 Endstory1

Nestedloopscanbecomplextosetupandrequirerehearsal,yetcanbeverypowerfulwhenusedwell.Of course, the entire learning process is a series of nested loops, buildingevery learning experience upon what came before and connecting to whatcomesbeyond.Without these connections, your training contentwill tend to fit intodiscrete‘boxes’andyourlearnerswilltendtoloseasenseofconnectionbetweenthoseareasofcontent.Forexample,intrainingNLP,ifyouteacheverytechniqueasaseparateskillwithout connecting those techniques together, your students will have aselection of techniques to choose from but may struggle to improvise andcombinetechniques,andmaynotseethosetechniqueswithinthebiggerframeofaclientinteraction.Kolb’slearningcycleis,obviously,aneverendingloopratherthanaseriesofdiscrete, unconnected cycles. You don’t have a learning cycle today, thenanother one tomorrow. Your life is an ongoing cycle of experiencing,integratingandactinguponyoursenseofreality.

Givingastoryanice,neatconclusionwhereallofthelooseendstietogethermightseemlikeagoodidea,howeverthereisariskthatforyourlearners,thestorywillendat thatpoint,andwhatyou’reactuallyaiming todo, Ihope, iscontinue that storyof learningand selfdevelopmentbeyond the trainingandintotheirlives.Howyouachievethatcanbeveryquickandveryeasy–simplylinkingbacktowhatcamebeforeandsuggestingwhatmaycomenext.When you’re designing a training program, your content areas can linktogether in this sameway. If you consider NLP Practitioner training, you’llfindthata techniquesuchasanchoringispartofeveryothertechnique,soifyou treat anchoring as a distinct subject, you’re greatly minimising thelearningopportunity.When I seeNLPPractitionerswho simply cannot anchor effectively, I knowthat they’vebeen trainedanchoringasastandalone techniqueforaccessingastate.Thisisatrivialuseofanchoring, it isfarmorevaluableasameansofcontrollingtheclient’sresponsesduringtheperformanceofothertechniques.For example, in the Fast Phobia Cure, if you can’t anchor the progressivedissociations, you find that your clients keep flipping into the associatedmemoryandwill beunable to change the submodalitiesof thatmemoryandconsequentlywillfailtoexperienceachangeintheirsubjectiveexperienceofthe‘problem’.Instead,whenyoulinkanchoringthroughalloftheothertechniques,yougiveyour studentsmultipleopportunities topractice, theydevelopahigh levelofskill through thatpractice and theybecomemuchmoreconfidentwithalloftheothertechniques.

10.18Reframing

Reframing is an excellent way to handle questions and objections. Forexample, thepriceof aproductor service is in itselfmeaningless– it is theaudience’s perception of it being cheap, expensive or good value that is

important.Reframingallowsyoutochangethatsubjectivemeaninginordertocreatetherightoutcomeforyourpresentation.

10.19PresentationAids

10.19.1EnvironmentHowcanyouusethephysicalenvironmenttohelpyouachieveyouroutcome?Youmightthinkaboutthelocationofchairs,tables,refreshment,signs,posters–anythingthatwillsupportyouandhelpyoutoachieveyouroutcome.InDerrenBrown’s‘MindControl’TVseries,hegetssomecreativedesignerstocomeupwithanideaforabrand.Ofcourse,thebranding,imagesandlogoswereverysimilartowhathehadalreadydrawnandsealedinanenvelope,buthow? He had carefully planned their journey from their office to his, withposters, stickers, logosonchildren’s sweatshirts, items in shopwindowsandparcelscarriedbycourierstoinfluencetheirthoughts.Howcouldyoudothesameinyourpresentation?

10.19.2VisualAidsYou’veprobablyseenapresentationwherethepresenterreadoutthewordsonthescreenverbatim,andyouprobablythought,“Icouldreadthatmyself…”Themorewordsyouputonthescreen,thelesstheaudiencewillpayattentiontoyou.Whenyouputwordsonaslide,thefirst thingtheaudiencewilldoisreadthewords.Whilethey’redoingthat,they’renotlisteningtoyou.If you want to include a presentation script or detailed notes, put them intonotes pages, not the main slides. Think of slides as signposts rather thanguidebooksandyou’llbeontherighttrack.Whatotherpresentationaidscanyouusetoenhancetheoverallexperience?

10.19.3ComputerProjectedSlidesEasy and quick to create, easy to share a common layout or style, easy tochange when you find out new information five minutes before yourpresentation!

10.19.4WhiteboardsGoodforkeepingtrackofmeetingsorinformal‘chalkandtalk’sessions,notsogoodforpresentationsasyouhavetoturnyourbacktotheaudiencetousethem,andyoucan’tprepareyourpresentationbeforehand.

10.19.5FlipchartsGood for presentations as you can write them beforehand, use differentcolours,drawpicturesetc,andyoucanfacetheaudiencewhileusingit.Notaseasytochangeorupdateaswhiteboards.

10.19.6MusicVery effective for managing your audience’s state. Don’t underestimate itspower.

10.19.7Anything!You can use anything to highlight or add some extra dimension to yourpresentation.Theobviousexampleisproductsamplesormodels,butyoucanuseanythingyouwanttogiveyourpresentationsomeextraimpact.Overall, the more ways you can communicate with the audience, the morememorableyourpresentationwillbe.

10.20TuningintotheAudience

10.20.1SensoryLanguageYou can use language which engages different senses to create a richerexperienceforyourlearners.

Visual

SeePictureLookWatchPerspective

VisionOutlookBrightClearFocus

SharpBackgroundShineReflectEyecatching

Auditory

ListenHearSoundNoiseLoud

QuietAmplifyTellResonateHum

WhistleWhineRoarSilentTone

Kinaesthetic

+FeelTouchGrabHoldContact

PushEmbraceWarmColdSinking

DownAcheGutreactionQueasyShaky

Pleaserememberthough,thereisabsolutelynoevidencefor‘learningstyles’

oreven‘sensorypreferences’,theysimplydonotexist.Don’tfallintothetrapoflabellingyourlearners,insteadthinkaboutcommunicatingwithalloftheirsenses.

10.20.2MotivationSomepeople aremotivated towardsoutcomes,others away fromdrawbacks.Towards people will be motivated by benefits and will tend to rush intodecisions without weighing up the consequences. Away from people will bemotivatedbysavingsoravoidanceandwilltendholdbackbecauseofpotentialproblems.

10.20.3ReferenceSomepeoplemakedecisionsbasedoninternalinformation,othersonexternalinformation. Internal people use their own experience and tend to think thisapplies to everyone. External people rely on other people or sources ofinformation.

10.20.4ChoiceSome people need options, others need processes. Options people needalternatives and will create their own if they feel restricted. They often dothings in a seemingly random order. Process people need step by stepproceduresandneedtodothingsintherightorder.Everyone has a preference, and this can be influenced by context and state.Whilstyoucanquicklyprofilethepeopleinyouraudience,thesafestapproachistomakesureyoucoverallpreferences.Makeadecisionbecauseitachievesxandavoidsy.Youalreadyknowthatyouneed to do this because everyone is doing it. By doing this the right way,you’regivingyourselfmorechoice.

10.21PersonalTuning

10.21.1CongruenceCongruence between your words, movements and words could be the mostimportantaspectofpresentingwith impact.Similarly, incongruencecanbeausefultechniqueworthpractising.

10.21.2VoiceYou can have a much greater degree of control over your voice than you

mighthaveimagined–notjustthevolumebutalsothelocationinyourbodywhereyourvoiceresonates.Youcanpracticemovingyourvoicearoundyourbodyandlisteningtothedifferenceitmakes.Whenyouarewellbalancedandbreathingproperly,yourvoicewillbeatitsmostresonantandcompelling.

10.21.3BalanceIt’simportanttobewellbalanced,withyourcentreofgravitywellcentred.Notonly does this mean you can move fluidly, it gives an impression of greatpresence.

10.21.4StagePresenceWhatisstagepresence?Presentinglikeyoumeanit,owningthespace,voice,posture,gesturesareallpartofit.You know how to model strategies, so find someone who you respect as apresenterandlearnwhattheydo.Stagepresence is simplya state,andyoualreadyknowmanyways toaccessusefulstates.It’susefultosetupanchorsforusefulstatessothatyoucanaccessthemeasilyduringyourpresentation.Herearesomeideasforanchorsyoucanuse:

Abigredmental‘Onbutton’(anoffbuttontoo!)AwordAphysicalmovementApieceofmusicAnitemofclothing

Havingsaidthat,Ipersonallydonotadvocatetheuseofanchorsasresources.States likeconfidencearenot theresultof‘gettinginto’astate, Ibelievethattheyarenaturalstates,andallyouhavetodoisstopthethingsthatpreventortakeawaythatnaturalconfidence.Whatarethethingsthataffectyourconfidence,andhowcanyoupreventthem?ThekindsofphysicalanchorsthatI’vegivenexamplesofcanstillbeusefulinreminding you of certain things, such as timing, your overall feeling ofcontrolorjusttorelaxandenjoyyourself.

10.21.5PostureDifferent postureswill conveymeaning to the audience. It’s worth spending

sometimepayingattentiontoyourposturewhenyoupresentandtodevelopacomfortably relaxed, open posture when that is helpful to you in yourpresentation.

10.21.6RhythmRhythmisoneofthekeyfactorsinahypnotictranceinductionandisthereforeapowerfulaspectofanycommunication.

10.22AnchoringtheAudience

IfyoureadbooksonNLP-basedpresentationskills,youwilllearnthatinthefirst fewminutesofyourpresentation,youcan set out anchors thatyouwilluselateron.Youmightwanttosetanchorsfor:

AgreementDisagreementReliablecompanies/YouUnreliablecompanies/Yourcompetitors

Whatelse?Youcanalsosetanchorswithcolours,sounds,music,gesturesetc.You can also practice setting these anchors with the sequence of states youworkedoutearlier.Spatial anchoring is, inmyopinion, anexampleofwhereNLP trainershavejumpedonagoodideaandindoingsohavereduceditseffectiveness.Ifyouhaveseenatrainerwhoadvocates‘spatialanchoring’thenyou’llpossiblyhaveseen a rather deliberate and stilted wandering about on stage, where thespeaker ’spositionissupposedtotriggercertainstatesintheaudience.Asthepresentation reaches its climax, they’re running backwards and forwardsthroughthedifferent‘anchors’.Personally,Ifindthisexceptionallyirritating,whichpreventsitfromworking.I’llgoastepfurther–donotusespatialanchoring,becausethereisnosuchthing as spatial anchoring. It is a ludicrous waste of valuable time that youcouldbeusingforsomethingmorevaluable,suchaspayingattentiontoyouraudienceinsteadofplanningforwhereyou’regoingtostandnext.Atbest,allyou’reinfluencingisyourownstate.

Idon’tknow,maybeitworksbeautifullyandI’mjustcynical.Maybemostofthe people in the audience are thinking, “Why won’t he stand still?”. Whoknows.Personally, spatial anchoring is not something that I ever consider for mytraining.It’ssimplytoomuchhardwork,toounreliable,andifyoureallywanttoanchorstates,therearemuchneaterwaystodoit.If you’ve trained with me then you will know that anchoring is simplyunreliable for an audience because you need to control the timing of theaudience’sresponses.Evenselfhelpguruswhosupposedlycontrolthestateofthousands of people in a football stadium are not really using anchoring,they’regettingresponsesfromafewpeopleandthenusingthephenomenonofsocialpressuretopulleveryoneelsein.Anchoring relies on precise timing of the anchor with an existing anchorwhichleadstoaresponse.Whybotherinstallinganewanchor?Whynotjustreplaytheexistinganchor?Theeasiestwaytodothisisthroughlanguage,soifyourgroupissmallenough,gettoknowthewordsthattheyassociatewithcertainstates.We’veknownthattimingwasthekeyforalmost100years,firstas‘Hebbiantheory’andmorerecentlyas‘SpikeTimingDependentPlasticity’,in which the neurons in your brain spontaneously connect with each otherbasedonproximityandtiming.YoucanfindoutmoreaboutthisinTheNLPMasterPractitionerManual.Thepoint is thatanchoring is something thatyoudowithonepersonso thatyoucanmanage their responsesduringa techniqueorcoachingsession. It isnotsomethingthatyoudowithagroupofpeopletomanagehowtheyfeel.Asatrainer,youshouldberespondingtohowtheydofeel,nottryingtocontrolthemsothattheyfeelhowyouwantthemtofeel.Personally,Idon’tanchorstatesformylearners.IjustpresentthebesttrainingthatIcanandtrustthemtomanagetheirownstates.Itakebreaks,Iencouragethemtohave lots todrinkandIdon’t run longdays. Inmyexperience, theseareallfarmoreimportant,andcontrollable,thandancingaroundonthestage,believingthatyou’rehavinganyimpactontheaudience’sstate.Sometimes,anindividuallearnerwilldragdownthemoodinthewholeroom.Theymightbehavingabreakdown,theymightbepushingaparticularagenda,whoknows.Well,thepointisthatifyou’veunderstoodandappliedeverythingyou’velearnedsofar,you’llknow,andsowillyourother learners.Thebestthingyoucandoistotakeabreak,becauseifthelearnerhastheirownhiddenagenda, no amount of reasoning or clever languagewill get you out of the

holethatyoudigforyourselfbyengagingwiththem.ThefamousphysicistRichardFeynmanusedthephrase‘CargoCultScience’.In one of his lectures, he said that SouthSea islanderswatched aircraft landduring thewar,bringingfoodandsupplies.After thewar, theplanesstoppedcoming. The islanders wanted the planes to return, so they reproduced theconditionsforthattohappen.Theybuiltrunwaysandlitfiresalongthem.Theybuilt bamboo control towers and someone would sit in there with coconutshells on his head like earphones. They waited, and the planes didn’t comeback.Thisiswhathappenswhenpeoplewhodon’ttakethetroubletounderstandtheunderlyingprinciplesofNLPtrytoemulatetheobservablesurfacefeaturesofthe techniques.They can’t get the same results, so they say thatNLPdoesn’twork.It’slikesayingthatairportsdon’twork,becausewhenyoubuildone,theplanesdon’tcome.Whenyouunderstandhowthisallworks,andyouunderstandthattimingandconsistency are vital for anchoring, and you understandwhat a swish is andhowitworks,youcaneasilyunderstandhowtoelicitstatesintheaudienceandhowtomovethemfromonestatetoanother.You don’t need any fancy tricks, you don’t need spatial anchoring, you justneed to focus on setting and maintaining clear rules, delivering the besttraining thatyoucan, andactuallypayingattention towhatyour learnersaredoing.Youalsoneedtobearinmindtheapproachthatamoviedirectortakes.Thinkaboutafilmthatyou’veseenrecently–it’snotall‘action’or‘emotion’,isit?The director leads you on a journey, which we will explore later on. Thedirectorcan’tcontrolwhogoestothecinemaandwholikesthefilm,butiftherightpeopleareengaged,theywillprobablyfeelasimilarrangeandsequenceofemotions.That’safarmoreusefulthingtoaimfor.

10.23GettingAttention

Goodpresentersareverygoodatgettingandkeepingtheaudience’sattention.Aside from anchoring,what other techniques can you use?One of themostimportantisthepatterninterrupt.There’sasimpletechniqueyoucanuseatthestartofyourpresentationtoresetexpectations,whichisveryusefulifyouarepresentingafteryourcompetitors,orifyouwanttoresettheaudience’sexpectationsaboutyoursubjectmatter.

For this, you can use a flipchart, whiteboard or even a PC projector is youpreparecarefullybeforehand.ThetechniqueisaversionoftheSwishpatternwhichissomethingcoveredontheNLPPractitionercourse.Begin by pacing the audience’s expectations, honestly, on the flipchart,concentratingon those thatarenotusefuland thatyouwould like tochange.When you have created rapport, tear off the sheet leaving the blank sheetunderneath,screwthesheetintoaballandthrowitintothecorneroftheroom.Nowbeginwritingwhatyouwanttheaudience’sexpectationstobe.Actually,there’sastepbeforethat:teartheedgesoftheflipchartsheetalongitsperforationbyabout2inchesor5cmsothatittearssmoothlywhenyoupullit.

Ifyou’reusingawhiteboard,makesureyoucanwipeawayquicklyandeasily.If you’re using a PC, make sure your first slide has the audience’s realexpectationsandmaketheslideaftereitherblankorwiththeexpectationsyouwant.The swish with the flipchart incorporates a pattern interrupt and thereforereliesverymuchonyourability to lead theaudience inorder tocontrol thetiming.

10.24PacingandLeading

Using the state planning approach we covered earlier on, you can lead theaudience througha smooth transitionof states.The first step is topace theircurrentstateandtothenhaveacleardirectionthatyouwanttogoin.Inordertopaceandleadeffectively,youmusthaveaclearoutcome.

10.25DirectionandMisdirection

Directing the audience’s attention can be as simple as saying, “pay attention,because this is very important” soyoudirect them to remember theparts ofyourpresentationthatyouwantthemto.Misdirectionisharderandneedsmorepractice,becauseyouarefocussingonwhat youwant the audience to not focus on. Incongruence can be a difficultthingtomasterbutonceyouhave,youwillfindmanywaystouseiteffectivelyinyourpresentationsandothercommunications.An easy way to misdirect the audience is to use a visual aid. Traditionalthinkingonpresentations is that it isnotagood idea tohavea lotof textonslidesbecause the audiencewill stopand read the slidebefore theycarryonlistening toyou.Ofcourse,while theyarenot listening,yourwordsarestillgoing in through their ears.Youmight be able to think of some interestingapplicationsforthisidea.

10.26QuestionsandObjections

Questions andobjections are awonderful sourceof feedback for you - theytellyouthatpeoplearepayingattention!Questionsdemandadirectanswer.Objectionsoftenprovokeargument.Whilsttheymaybephraseddifferently,asthepresenteritisnotimmediatelyobviouswhichiswhich.

Unfortunately,peopleaskquestionsforlotsofdifferentreasons,onlysomeofwhich require a direct answer, so it’s not always useful for you to answerquestions.Herearesomepossiblereasonsforaskingaquestion:

TodemonstrateknowledgeTodemonstratesuperiorityoverthepresenterTodisguiseanobjectionTogetaresponsefromthepresenterTogetaresponsefromanotheraudiencememberTodemonstrateattentivenessTowastetimeTosetupforanattackTohidethefactthattheyweren’tlisteningTogaincontrolofthepresentationTolearnsomethingToclarifyapointtheydon’tunderstand

Ifyouwanttolearnmoreaboutthemotivationbehindquestions,listentothepolitical interviews conducted on BBC Radio 4’s Today program, everyweekdaymorning.You can listen on theBBCwebsite if you are outside theUK,orI’msureothercountrieshavesimilarcurrentaffairsprogramswhereill-temperedinterviewerstrytogetstraightanswersoutofpoliticians.The interviewers are masters at asking direct, attacking questions, whichpractised interviewees are adept at deflecting, whilst sneaking indirectquestions past the interviewee’s defences. In relation to NLP, they are verygoodatcreatingdoublebinds,whereeitheranyanswerornoansweratallwillrevealthetruth.For example, in this recent (paraphrased) exchange, the journalistwanted toknowifaConservativepoliticianhadbeenpartof theplot tooverthrowIainDuncanSmith.Journalist:Isitimportantforagovernmenttobeaccountable?Politician:Absolutely,yesJournalist:Sowillyoubeaccountablefordemandinghisresignation?Politician:That’saprivatematter

The journalist’s question was a blatant set-up, and the politician’s answer isessentially, “yes I did”. This wasn’t a particularly elegant set-up, but it stilltrapped an unwary interview subject. I’ve seen many presenters trapped inexactlythesameway.The solution to this is very simple. You have to repeat the question back,exactly as youheard it.This gives thequestioner anopportunity to rephrasetheirquestion,anditgivesyoutimetothink.Fromapurelyprofessionalpointofview,italsomeansthateveryonehasheardthequestionwhichyou’renowanswering.Anyonesittingbehindthequestionerisunlikelytohavehearditthefirsttime.Whenyou’resureyouunderstandthequestion,youcanthenfigureouthowyouwanttoanswerit,presumingthatyoudoactuallywanttoanswerit.

10.27Err...

Whatdoyou thinkmightbeaword thatmostpresenterswill saymostoftenwhile they’representing,especiallywhen they’reansweringaquestion?Wellit’snotawordassuch,butwe’llpretendthatitis.Thewordis,“Err....”Let’smakeERRamnemonic.It’sabitofasqueezebutwe’lldoourbest.Someoneasksyouaquestion.Yousay,“Err...”

RememberthatERRmeansthatyou:Echobacktheirquestion,thenRephraseittoshowyouunderstand,thenRespondifappropriate.Whyisthisimportant?Whynotjustanswerthequestion?Firstly,itisgenuinelyusefultomakesureyou’reansweringthequestionyouthinkyou’reanswering,soyoucancheckthisbyEchoingitback.WhenyouEcho back the question, the questioner can decide if that’s what they reallymeanttoaskyou.Also,asImentionedbefore,thismakessurethateveryoneintheaudiencehearsthequestionthatyou’reabouttorespondto.WhenyouEchothequestion,usethequestioner ’swordsexactly.You’llknowthat pacing their question also builds rapport, reducing the potential formisunderstanding or animosity. Although, personally, I just think it’srespectful.Idon’tbotherwithrapport-building,Ithinkit’sunnecessary.Secondly,when youRephrase the question, you give the questioner anotherchancetocheckthatwhatyouunderstandiswhattheymeant.Italsogivesyouachancetocheckthatthequestioner ’smotivesaregenuine.Forexample,someonemightask,“Isthisanalysisreliable?”Ofcourse,you’regoingtosayyes.Whywouldanyoneexpectyoutosay,“Actually,no,it’snotvery reliable but Iwas in a hurry to putmy report together”.What are they

really saying?Maybe they don’t understand the data and they’re hoping thatyouwillgivethemsomemoreclues.So you might Rephrase the question with, “Are you asking for statisticalreliabilitydata,orwouldyoufindcasestudiesmoreuseful?”In Rephrasing the question, you have appealed to their need either forreassuranceorforrawdatafromwhichtodrawtheirownconclusions.Iftheirintentionwastotripyouup,theyarenowinadilemma.Theycaneitherpickoneofthetwolegitimateoptions,ortheycanadmitthatwhattheyreallymeantwassomethingelse,whichisunlikely.Finally,youcanRespond,butonlyifyouwantto.Youmaychoosetodeferthequestionuntillater,ifitbreakstheflowofyourpresentation,oryoumayaskthequestioner toask itagainwhenyouget to theQ&Asection.DuringyourQ&A section itself, you generally would Reply unless the question led to agroupdiscussionandyoufeltitwasn’tnecessarytojoinin.Thiswouldusuallybethecasewhenthequestioner ’scolleaguesdoabetterjobofansweringthanyoucouldhavedoneyourself!Therearemanyways toRespond toaquestion, andanswering ityourself isonly one option. You could just as easily reflect the question back to thequestioner, or invite other learners to answer. As a trainer, you can useanythingthathappensasalearningopportunity.It’s inevitableduringNLPPractitioner training that studentswillask forhelpwithapersonalissue.Maybetheywanthelptogiveupsmokingormakesomeother personal changes.My answer is always, “Yes, ifwe can do itwith thegroupso thateveryonecan learnfromtheexperience.” If theysayno,and itisn’t a genuinely personal issue, the chances are that just want my personalattention.

10.28WhentoTakeQuestions?

Taking questions is an important consideration for both presenters andtrainers.Asapresenter,youhaveanobviousblockoftimewhichyoumayormay not prefer to have interrupted. As a trainer, you might be givingdemonstrations or explaining something that youwant to complete, and youwanttocontrolwhetheryourlearnerscanaskquestionsorwaituntiltheendofthatsegment.Having previously said that I don’t use spatial anchoring, I’ve realised thatthere is one thing that I dowhich is similar, but Iwouldn’t call it anchoring

exactly. I typically have four positions in a training room which I use tocontroltheinteractivityintheroom.Theyare:

StandingatthefrontStandingtothesideSittingatthefrontSittingattheback

Youcanprobablyworkoutwhatthesepositionssignaltotheaudience,andit’sreally quite obvious. It’s more to do with ownership of the space thananchoring, though my learners generally get used to seeing me in thesepositionsandrespondingaccordingly.If you really can’t be bothered to work it out, and assuming that you havealready put yourself in an imaginary audience and watched me movingbetween those fourpositions, andyou still can’t figure itout,hereare someclues.

Standingatthefront I’minchargeandI’mtalking

Standingtotheside I’mincharge,youcantalk

Sittingatthefront Openforum

Sittingattheback Someoneelseisincharge

Note that this is not spatial anchoring, because I don’t believe in spatialanchoring.Orisit?Maybe what I’m doing is replaying existing anchors that call to mindexperiencesfromschoolandwork?WhenImovetotheside,Iliterally‘getoutoftheway’,andwhenI’mstanding,I’minan impliedpositionofauthorityover theaudience.WhenIsitdown,Iputmyselfontheaudience’slevel,whichencouragesinteractivity.AssoonasIstandupagain,theireyesarebackonmeandI’msettingthepaceagain.Ifoneofthestudentsispresenting,perhapsaspartofanexercise,Isitatthebacksothattheyhavethepresentationspacecompletelyattheircommand.Ifindthistobeaverysimpleandeffective‘flowcontrol’mechanism.Whetheryou’regoing to takequestions throughout thepresentationorat the

end,youneedtodothesethings:Allowtimeinyourschedule–asaruleofthumb,planyourpresentationtolastaboutthree-quartersofyourallocatedtime.Handle questions using the ERR format, otherwise you will getsidetrackedPreferablyhavesomeoneelsemanagetheQ&AMakeanoteof thequestionsso thatyoucan incorporateyouranswersintoyourpresentation

Whetheryoutakequestionsinthemiddleorattheend,youhandletheminthesameway,otherwiseyouhandcontrolofthepresentationbacktotheaudience,andthatisaverybadthing.Whatmost presenters do is announce that their presentation has endedwhentheyhaverunoutofthingstotalkabout,theninvitequestions.

Invitationsetup Roomsetup Presentation Close Q&A

Wrong!Whatweactuallyneedtodoisthis:

Invitationsetup Roomsetup Presentation Q&A Close

Doyouseethedifference?YouhandcontroloftheroombacktotheaudienceonlywhenyouhavefinishedYoudictatethepaceofthequestionsYoudecidewhentherearenomorequestionsYoudecidewhenthepresentationendsYouhavethegoldenopportunitytoincorporatethequestionsintoyoursummary

If you close the presentation and then invite questions, you are telling theaudiencethatyoufailedtocovereverythingtheyneeded.Theirperceptionwillbe that they gotwhat they needed by asking you questions. The presentationfizzlesoutwhentherearenomorequestions.If you invite questions and then close the presentation, you are telling theaudience that you are flexible and authoritative, and that you are adapting to

theirneeds.Theirperceptionwillbe that thepresentationwas interactiveandthat itgave themeverything theyneeded.Thepresentationendscleanlywhenyoucloseit.Compare it to a film. Does a film end, or does it just fizzle out when thecharactershavenothinglefttosay?When you have a number of people presenting and you have a panel Q&Asessionattheend,theapproachisalittledifferent.In this situation, one person will have the role of managing the questions.Here’swhattheydo:1. Invitequestionsfromtheaudience2. Selectsomeonetoaskaquestion3. Repeatthequestionsothatthewholeaudiencecanhearit,andclarifiesit

ifnecessary4. Askswhichspeakerwillrespond,orselectsoneifthechoiceisclear5. Checksthattheanswerissatisfactory6. MovestothenextquestionorclosestheQ&A

Youcanseehowsteps3and4arepartlydesignedtogivethespeakertimetothink of a good answer! When you’re presenting by yourself, pausing andclarifying(ERR)givesyouvaluabletimetothink.

10.29Feedback

Howdoyouknowyouareontherighttrack?Whatsignsdoyoupayattentionto that let you know if your presentation is having the right effect on theaudience,orifthereisanythingyouneedtochange?Couldyousuggestafeedbackmechanismto theaudienceat thestartofyourpresentation?Couldyouevenbuildinanunconsciousfeedbackmechanism?How can you manage the audience’s state in order to control feedback orinteractivity?OnethingI’veseenpeopledoattheendofapresentationisaskforfeedback.Thinkback to outcomes andyou’ll realise that this is very dangerous. If theaudiencedidn’tknowyouweregoingtoaskforfeedbackthenwhattheygiveyouwillberandomandreactiveatbest.Thisisonereasonwhythefeedbackformstheygiveoutattheendoftrainingcoursesaresouseless.Theaudience

arepayingattentionforthepurposeoflearningsomething,notforthepurposeofevaluatingthetraining.Completelydifferent!Ifyouaregoingtoaskforfeedback,makesureyousaysoatthestartsothatthe audience know to pay attention and you consequently get the kind offeedbackthatisusefultoyou.

10.30Closing

It’s very important that you give yourself time to close the presentationproperly.Herearesomepointstobearinmind:1. Remindtheaudienceofthepurposeofyourpresentation2. Remindtheaudienceofthekeypoints3. Remindtheaudienceofthequestionsthatyouanswered4. Asktheaudiencetodowhatyouwantthemtodo5. Telltheaudiencewhattheyneedtodorightnow6. Makesuretheaudienceknowshowtogetintouchwithyou7. Andalwaysremembertosaythankyou!

It’sagoodideatofuturepaceattheendofyourpresentation,andsummarisingthepresentationitselfistheidealfoundationbecauseyoucreateamomentumbystartinginthepastandthenmovingforwardsintime.By summarising what you have already covered in your presentation, theaudience will shift into an agreement state that makes it easier for them toagreewithyoursuggestionsforfutureplansornextsteps.Forexample,“Soyou’veheardall aboutpresenting,and I’ve toldyouaboutsomeoftheapplicationsofNLPinpresenting,andasyouhavereadthroughthis, youmay have thought of some questions, and as this chapter begins todraw to a close you might think of more ways to put this into practice,tomorrow,nextweek,nextmonthandasyouuse these techniqueswitheverypresentation you deliver, you can find yourself becoming more and moreeffectiveandelegantwitheachnewexperience”.

10.31YourIdentityasaPresenter

Thelogicallevelsmodelisaniceintegrationtoolwhichhelpsyoutoincreasealignmentbetweenyour identity (howyouseeyourself),yourbehaviourand

yourenvironment.An exercise like this gets the person to create a new identity whichencompassesandembracestheirnewabilitiesandprovidesthefoundationforcreatingnewbehaviourinnewsituations.Byintegratingskillsinthisway,thepersonwill automatically become amore flexible,more effective presenter,eveninsituationsyouhavenevercoveredduringthetrainingcourse.LogicalLevelsSetout5spacesonthefloortorepresent5logicallevels.Youcanmarkthemwithpiecesofpaperifyoulike.StepontoEnvironment.Whatistheenvironmentforyouasapresenter?Thelocation,theaudience,otherfactors.StepontoBehaviour.Whatdoyouseeyourselfdoingasagreatpresenter?StepontoCapabilities.Whatskillshaveyoudeveloped?StepontoBeliefs.Whatisnowtrueforyouasapresenter?Whatdoyoubelieveaboutyourself?Whatdoyoubelieveaboutyouraudiences?StepontoIdentity.Whatkindofpresenterhaveyoubecome?Walkbackthougheachlevel,takingwithyouwhatyouhavelearnedaboutyourselfateachlevel.

10.32Timeline

Wherealogicallevelsexerciseintegratesthroughaperson’smentalhierarchy,atimelinecreatesanexperienceandconnectsnewskillswhichwillcontinuetodevelopandgrowovertime,integratingthroughpast,presentandfuture.TimelineImaginelookingintothefutureandseeinganumberofpresentationsthatlieaheadofyou,becomingmoreambitiousandimportantastimegoeson.Takeastepintothatfuture,steppingintothenextpresentationyou’llbedoing.Beawareofthesenseofsatisfactionatpresentingwithimpact,andseesomeofthenewbehavioursyouexhibit.Takeanotherstepintothenextpresentationandseehowyouhavedevelopedagain,noticinghowthatfeels.Continuetostepforwardthroughfuturepresentations,beingawareofhowyougrowanddevelopwitheachone.Whenyouhavearrivedatapointinthefuturethatyouarecomfortablewith,stopandaskyourself,“whatkindofpresenterhaveIbecome?”Now,turnandlookbackandseehowmuchyouhavedevelopedsinceyoubegan.Walkbacktothepresentmoment,takingwithyouthenewexperiencesandresources.Whenyouarrivebackatthepresent,turnandfacethefutureoncemore.Imaginethefuturelookingbiggerandbrighternowandbeingmuchcloserthanyouhadimagined.Takeamomenttoenjoythefuturethatawaitsyou.

Atimelineisespeciallyimportantforpeoplewhowerenervousofpresenting.Acommonconcernis,“Ifeelgoodnow,butIknowthatassoonasIgobacktowork and have to present for real, I’ll be nervous again”. By now, you’llrecognisethisasaworryprogram,wherethepersonimaginessomethingwillhappen in the futureand thenmakes ithappen through their responses in the

present.

10.33BringingYourIdeasToLife

I think that theability topresent isprobably themost importantprofessionalskillthatyoucanmaster.Regardlessofhowgoodyourideasare,ifyoucannotcommunicatethemtoalargenumberofpeopleinaninspiringandcompellingway,theywillneverreachtheirfullpotential.Every year, the number of new patents registered increases and yet this stillrepresentsthetipoftheiceberg.Asmanyas99%ofnewideasjustgatherdustandneverbecome reality.Peoplewill infer the importanceofyour idea,notfromthecontentbutfromthewayyoucommunicateit.Ifindthatsuccessfulexecutivesveryquicklylearnasurvivalmechanismwhichprotectsthemfromtheoverwhelmingdemandsontheirtime–theysaynotoeverything. They do not have the knowledge or experience necessary toevaluateeveryideaonitsownmerits,sotheylearntojudgetheimportanceofanideafromthepersistenceandpassionofthepersonpresentingtheidea.Whether you are creating global businesses or inspiring children, the art ofpublic speaking will always be key to the way we relate to each other as aspecies. After putting into practice the ideas in this chapter, youwill have amuchbetterchanceofmakingyourideas,beliefsanddesiresareality.

11TheArtofPerformance

Ifyoueversatatyourdeskinschool,listeningtoateacherdroningonandon,listing facts for you to copy down in your book then you know that thetransmissionofknowledgealonedoesnotconstitutetraining.AtPractitionerlevel,thesyllabusdefineswhatyou’lltrainbutnothowyou’lltrain it.AtMaster Practitioner, the syllabus ismore about developing skills,and inmyMaster Practitioner training, I focus on the use of those skills inmodellingwhichis,afterall,theoriginofNLP.Ifyoudon’tthinkabouthowyouwilldeliverthatknowledgeandthoseskillsthenyouareverylikelytodeliveryourtrainingintheimageofhowyouweretrained.FormanytrainerswhotrainedwithBandler,thatmeanssittingonastoolatthefrontoftheroom,tellingstoriesforhourafterhourandpretendingthatyourstudentsare‘learningunconsciously’.Well,theymightbeunconsciousbutthatdoesn’t mean they’re learning. NLP is a practical art, it involves techniqueswhich were originally created by Bandler and Grinder, and allegedly a fewotherpeople.Howcanyoulearntodosomethingbylisteningtosomeonetellamazing stories about times when they did it? If I tell you about the time IswamtheEnglishChannel,willyoulearnhowtoswim?Ididn’tevendothat,bytheway.HoweverI’msurealltheamazingstoriesfromNLPtrainersaren’tmadeupatall.Orembellishedinanyway.Some people are shocked, even offended by my disrespect for the trainingmethodsemployedbynotableNLPtrainers,butIdrawyourattentiontothe40years of peer-reviewed academic research on the subjects of neuroscience,psychologyandlearningthathastakenplacesinceNLPwascreated.ForNLPtobeaprogressiveandseriously-regardeddiscipline,wemustbepreparedtoquestionandchallengeacceptedtruths.Ifwecan’t,won’tordon’tdothatthenNLPdoesindeedbecomeacult,andIdon’tthinkanyofusliketheideaofthat.So my disrespect is actually a thirst for innovation and excellence, and toachieve that, we must be prepared to forget everything that we know. Thecreators and contributors to NLP have all done a marvellous job, yetremember their ownwords, that “the positiveworth of an individual is heldconstant, while the value of the internal and/or external behaviour isquestioned”.Inotherwords,Ihavegreatrespectforthemandtheirwork,andtotaldisrespectforabodyofknowledgewhichisnotpeer-reviewed,testedandupdated. However, the contributors to the body of knowledge are not theproblem,becausetheyareallworkinghardtofurtherourunderstandingofthehuman condition. The problem is that their knowledge and their latest

developments get lost inside the system, and the people who are trainingPractitioners today are often repeating what they’ve been taught instead ofthinkingforthemselves.If we’re going to model an expert, we have to take their background andenvironment intoaccount.Allegedly,Bandler startedchain smokingwhenhemodelledErickson,becauseEricksonsmokedandsothatmightbeimportant.Wedon’tknowwhyEricksonsmoked.SobecauseBandlersitsonastoolandtells stories, are yougoing to do the same?Andbecause I likemaking sillyjokes,areyougoingtodothesame?You’vegottoworkoutwhat’srightforyou.Yourtrainermayhavesatonastoolbecausehecouldn’tmanageanythingmorephysicallydemanding.Whoknows?However cleverly you structure your stories with hypnotic commands andnested loops tocreate rich imaginaryexperiences for the listener, the simplefactisthattheyarenothavingaprimarysensoryexperienceandthereforethisstyle of training falls squarely in the category of ‘cognitive learning’, andwe’vealreadyseenthelimitationsofthatstyle.Maybe you think that by telling stories, you are instilling the beliefs andattitudesnecessary forNLP towork. Ifwesay thatour studentsonlyneed toperformthetechniquesandtrustthetechniquestowork,thenweareworkingin the category of ‘behavioural learning’, so certainly some change in thedecision making processes behind those behaviours is valuable. However, Iwouldarguethatthemostefficientwaytochangethosedecisionprocessesisthrough contrasting first hand experiences. “Here’s a technique where youdon’tobservetheclient,andhere’sonewhereyoudo.What’sthedifference?”,forexample.Our sensory receptors detect difference, therefore difference becomesinformation,informationbecomesknowledge,knowledgebecomesbehaviour.Ifwetakeashortcutandjustjumpstraighttotheknowledgethentheonlyrawdatathatyou’regivingyourstudentis“becauseIsaidso”,andI’msureyou’vehad experience of that, maybe as a teenager or when working for anoppressiveboss.Ifthestudentdoesn’tknowwhythey’redoingacertainthingthenyouhaveachievedbehaviourallearning,atbest.Maybe stories provide a context for learning? Perhaps they conveyexperienceswhichthestudentshavenotyethadsothatthestudentscandevelopgreaterconfidence?Eveninthatcase,confidenceisnotsomethingthatyoucangive another person, you can only show that you have confidence in them.Therefore,lettingthempracticetechniquesoneachotherisyourprimaryway

ofshowingconfidencethatthey’renotgoingtobreakeachother.Overall, what we’re looking for is a way for you to add value to the rawexperience of the learner, so that there is a tangible benefit for them inattendingyourtraininginsteadofreadingabookorsimplyfiguringitoutforthemselves.I’msureyou’vesatthroughapresentationortrainingsessionwherethetrainersimply stood and read out the words that you could see projected onto thescreen.Youprobablywonderedwhatvalue theywereadding.Perhaps ifyouaskedanyquestions,theysaid,“I’lltakethatawayandgetananswerforyou”.Youprobablyfeltthatthetrainingsessionwasawasteofyourtime.What value did the trainer add to the notes and slides?What was added byhaving a human present the material rather than just emailing the notes foreveryonetoreadintheirowntime?Informationneedsatransmitterandareceiverinordertogetitfromoneplaceto another. Is that all there is to it? Clearly not, otherwise every trainer andpresenter would be the same, only the information would change. That isdefinitelynotthecase.Informationinitselfisnotuseful,itisonlyusefulincontext,andthatcontextcreatesmeaning.“Whatdidyouthinkofmypresentation?”“Three”“Threewhat?Threeoutoften?Threeoutoffive?”“Threeapples”“Eh?”Oneoftheearliestthingsthatyourbrain,specificallyyourvisualcortex,does,is to figure out the difference betweenwhat you’re interested in, andwhat’sbehindit.Youlearntodistinguishbetween‘object’and‘field’.Thiscreatesaunique relationship between the twowhich defines howwe interact with theobject.Yourabilitytomakethisdistinctionisquiteremarkable,asIwillnowdemonstrate.Hereisapatternofdots:

IfItakesomeofthosedotsandmovethem,justatinyamount,youmightseeapattern:

Thisdemonstrationshowshowyourbrain isable todetectpatterns,andalsoirregularitiesinthosepatterns,andhowthoseirregularitiescreatemeaning.Asatrainer,youtransmitinformationtoyourlearners.Thewayinwhichyourtransmission differs from mine or any other trainer ’s defines yourperformance,andyourperformanceshapestheaudience’sexperience.AsaNLPTrainer,youneedtoknowthesyllabusandtechniquesofNLP,insideout.Youmustbeabletodemonstratethetechniquesandgeta‘result’firsttime,every time. You must not get sidetracked by your demonstration subject’sissue,becauseyouarenotdeliveringacoachingsession,youaredeliveringatrainingdemonstration.You must also have a solid training plan so that you consistently deliverexactlywhatyouplannedforeachdayoftraining.Ifeverytechniquerunsoverby 20minutes, you’ll have lost a day by the end of your course and you’lleitherrushtocraminthelastfewtechniques,orworse,you’llskiptechniquesaltogethersothatyourstudentsarenolongergettingthetrainingthattheypaidfor.Onceyouhave those twoelements, youhave toworkonyourperformance,becausethatishowyouwilldefineyourselfasatrainer,andthatiswhyyourstudentswillrecommendyoutotheirfriends.Considerthatthesameapplieswhenyou’recoaching.UsingMetaModel,youwillknowtheclient’sissuebeforetheythinkthey’vetoldyou.Atwhatpointdoyourevealthatknowledge?Doyou‘cuttothechase’inthefirst twominutesandeffectyourcustomintervention?Ifyoudid,howmightyourclientfeel?

Thinkofanactorwhoyouadmire.Whatisitthatsetsherorhimapart?Couldit partly be in their natural, believable delivery? The irony is that the actorknowsthelinesaheadoftime,yettheirreactionsareasiftheconversationisunfoldingbeforeyoureyes.It’sasiftheyforgetthattheyknowwhat’scoming,eventhoughtheydo.TheTV‘mentalist’DerrenBrowngaveabeautifuldemonstrationofthisinthecardtrick‘ExtremeMentalEffort’onhisDevil’sPicturebookvideo.Thetrickistechnicallysimple.Infact,it’ssosimplethatyouwouldbeamazedathowhedoes it, andonmy training courses, no-onehas ever guessed it, becausehisperformanceissoconvincing.Inthefollowingdiscussionwithhiscolleague,Derren reveals that he knew the chosen card from the beginning but has toforgetthatheknowsitinorderforhisperformancetobegenuine.Whenyou’reperformingademonstration,youhavetodothesame.Let’ssayyoudemonstrate a swish.The clientwill bedifferent, and their issuewill bedifferenteachtime,yetwhenyouknowtheswishandyou’reconfidentinyourdelivery, the swish will actually be the same each time. Of course, yourstudentswon’tknowthat,becausethey’llonlyseethedemonstrationonce.How could the swish be the same each timewhen each client is unique andspecial? Yes, they’re very special. And yet, they are the same. Stimulus,response,undesiredoutcome.Thenamesandplaceswillchange, theprocesswill always be the same – because you are demonstrating a swish, andthereforeyouwillbeaskingforsomeonetohelpyouwhohasanissuewhichexactlyfitsthetechniqueyouwanttodemonstrate.When I run Practitioner or Master Practitioner training, I know that mydemonstrations will look good. For a start, if you can’t master a techniqueyourself,howcanyouconfidentlydemonstrateit?Ontopofthat, ifyoumakeyourdemoconvolutedandcomplicated,howareyourstudentsgoingtofeelabouttryingoutthetechniqueforthemselves?Therefore,makingyourdemonstrationslookgoodisnotaboutyoushowingwhatanawesome traineryouare, it’saboutgivingyourstudentsconfidence.Whentheyseeyourdemonstrationsworkfirsttime,everytime,theywillthink,“That looks easy, I can do that!” and will enter the practice sessions moreconfidently.They may then find that the technique does or does not turn out how theyexpected,soyouhavetorememberwhatisimportant:1. Theyhadago

2. TheynoticedwhathappenedWhen you performyour demonstration, just stick to the technique.Don’t beclever,don’tshowoff,don’timprovise.Doperformthetechniqueasifyou’reaPractitioneryourself,dofocusonthebasictechnique,dosticktothescript.If you think you’re performing a coaching sessionwith your demo subject,you’llwanderoffthetechniqueinordertogeta‘result’withthesubject.Yourstudentswillbetotallyconfusedaboutwhatyou’reaskingthemtodoandthenyou’llhave toexplainwhatyoudidandwhat theydon’tneed toworryaboutbecause that was just for the demo subject, not part of the technique. Theirheadswillbespinning,theywon’thaveaclearideainmindforwhattheyneedtopractice, their techniqueswon’tworkeffectively, theywon’tbeable tousethetechniquesasaresultandthey’llbeleftwithanunsatisfyingimpressionofNLPandofyou.Doyouwantthat?Ofcoursenot.Sopayattention.You’renotrunning a coaching session, you’re giving a technique demo. Stick to thedemo.Oh,butwhatifthedemodoesn’twork?Won’tthatmakeyoulookbad?Comeon,thinkstraight.Youmustknowbynowthatyouhavetobeclearaboutwhat youmean by ‘work’. Does the technique get a desirable result for thedemo subject? Irrelevant! Who cares? They’re there to learn, not to gettherapy.Forgetthem.Youcouldbeusingashopdummyforallitmatters.Theonlyadvantagetousingalivesubjectisthattheirresponsesshowthestudentswhattoexpect.‘Work’meansthatyourstudentsknowwhattodo.Soademothat‘works’isademothatclearlyshowsyourstudentshowtoperformthetechnique.Butwhatif their ‘client’ doesn’t respond in the way you expect? Irrelevant. Let thetechniquedo its job. Ifyour studentsdon’tget the result theyexpect, that’s aproblemwiththeirexpectations.Theyshouldbepayingattentiontotheirclient,notlookingfortheresponsesthattheyexpect.Anyquestionswillbeaddressedinthefeedbacksessionafterthepractice.EachNLP technique is very simple.Very, very simple. Each one has a veryclearscriptforwhatyouneedtodo,sothefirstthingyouhavetodoislearnthe techniques.Foryou tohavegotten this far inyour training,youmustbeveryconfidentwiththetechniquesalreadybutyouneverknow,youmighthavehad a poor trainer before now. I’ve met Practitioners who didn’t know theswish,andI’vemetaTrainerwhohadneverheardof thepresuppositionsofNLP.Howthehell?Nevermind.Whenyouknowthetechniquesthenyoucanperformthemwithouthavingtolookatyournotes.Thatwillinspireconfidenceinyourstudents.Ifyouknow

whatyou’redoingthenitmustbeeasytolearn.Next, you have to think about where you’ll perform your demo. Can yourstudentsactuallyseeyou?Howyoustandtomakethetechniqueeasyforyouisnotnecessarilygoingtomakeiteasyforyourstudents.Lookat these twoexamples,whichdoyouthinkwillmakeiteasierforyourstudentstofollowwhatyou’redoing?

As you are performing your demo, give a running commentary on whatyou’redoingand,most importantly,howyouknowwhen todo it.While thetechniquesareveryexplicit,theydon’ttellyouwhentooffertheoutcomeorhow to know when the client is sufficiently dissociated, for example. Yourcommentary needs to describe what you’re looking for, what you’re seeingandwhatdecisionsyou’remakingasaresultofthat.Duringthesubsequentfeedbacksession,questionyourstudentsandhelpthemtoreflectontheirexperiencessothattheycanfigureoutthereasonsforwhathappened. If they feel that they encounteredproblems,help them to comeupwithideasforwhattododifferently.Ifyouthinkit’snecessary,getthemtotrythetechniqueagainusingsomeoftheirideas.

AsIsaid,gettingaresultfortheclientisirrelevantbecausethepersonyou’reworkingwithisn’taclient,they’reademosubject.Ifyouwereseeingarealclientforarealcoachingsession,wouldyoustartbysaying,“I’mgoingtodoaswish,nowthinkofsomethingyouhaveastrongreactiontothatyou’dliketochange”.Theclientmightreply,“Erm,actuallyIwas looking for help with my diet. I don’t really have a strong reaction tosalad,Ijustprefercake.”Ofcoursenot.You’dstartbyaskingthemwhattheywant.However,ifyoudothatduringyour training,you’ll bedrawn into therapyand the coursewon’tfollowaconsistentstructure.Soweneedtocovertherequiredtechniquesinalogicalorderandatthesametimegiveourstudentsanexperienceofchange.Howcanweachievethis?Theanswer,asalways,isverysimple.Youdon’tjustaskforanyoldvolunteertohelpyouwithademo,youaskforsomeonewhohasaspecificissueinmindwhichfitsthetechniqueyouwanttodemonstrate.Then,guesswhat?Thedemoproduces an impressive result for your subject and the other students areamazed. More importantly, your other students see that the technique iseffective,which gives them confidence to have a go.When they see that thetechnique ‘works’,because their focus ison theapplicationof the technique,theyknowthattheycantrustthetechniquetodowhatyousayitwilldo.IwasoncerunningaworkshopataNLPpracticegroupandIsaidsomethingabout choosing people who are responsive for demonstrations. Someoneasked,“Howdoyouknowwhowillberesponsive?”Theanswer is,ofcourse, thatyouaskaquestionandseewhoanswers it.Tomakelifeeasier,ithelpsifyoucanasktherightquestion.Whenyoustart talkingaboutaparticular technique,you’ll createa frameofreferencewithinwhichyour studentswillplace themselves. Ifyou talkaboutphobias, or undesirable reactions, or dilemmas, or a person at work whoreallyirritatesyou,thestudentswillmakesenseofthis(converttorawsensorydata) through their ownexperiences.As soon asyou tell your first story, ordescribethetechnique,oraskifyourstudentscansharetheirexperiences,theyare‘tunedin’tothetechnique.Whenyouchooseyourdemonstrationsubject,you have then stacked the odds in your favour. You know that any of themwouldbeagoodsubject!ContrastthiswithsomethingthatIhaveseenmanytimesintraining:Trainer:“CanIhavesomeonetohelpmewithademo?”

Studentslookateachothernervously.Eventuallyastudentjoinsthetrainer.Trainer:“Great!Canyouthinkofaphobiathatyouhave?”Student:“Erm…notreally”The trainer thendigsaround fora fewminutesuntil theymanage to identifysomething that they can use in the Fast Phobia Cure, and the results arepredictablyuninspiring…Trainer:“So,howdoyoufeelnowaboutyourphobia?”Student:“Erm…OKIguess”Therecouldn’tbeaworsewaytodemonstrateapowerfultechnique.Itremindsmeofastagehypnosistrainingcoursewhereweputonapublicperformanceattheend.Oneofthestudents,whowasacarsalesmanduringtheday(ifthatmakesanydifference)openedhisactbyaskingfor“avictim”tojoinhimonthestage.(Cuetumbleweed)Howyousetupanddescribethetechniquewillmakeyourstudentswanttojoinyou for a demo.Theywill see other students having a powerful experience,and they’ll want to share in that. The other students will see something thatinspiresthemtohaveagoforthemselves.So,you’veselectedyourdemonstrationsubject.Theydon’tknowthatthey’vebeen selected, they think they volunteered. Once they’re at the front of theroomwithyou,whatdoyoudowiththem?IfyousearchYouTubefortheNENLPchannelyou’llseeavideoofmeatthe2015NLPConference,entitled“EverythingyouknowaboutNLPiswrong”.Init,you’llseeacoupleoftechniquedemonstrationswhichshowyouhowIdoit.However, that is not howyou should do it.You need towork out your ownstyle,andthathastobebasedonyourpersonality.WhatI’mtryingtotellyouisthat,whetheryouthinkaboutitornot,youareaperformer, and your training is a performance. If you don’t think about itseriouslyandconstructively,thatperformancewillbebasedon:

YourpastexperiencesoflearningYourfearsYourhabits

Yetifyoudogivesomethoughttoyourownperformance,itwillbebasedon:

YourbestideasYourpersonalgoalsYourhopesforyourstudents

Sothat’sreallyit–you’reaperformerwhetheryoulikeitornot,soyoumightas well be the best performer that you can be, which means not trying toemulate someone else’s performance. Theworld already has enough tributeacts, it doesn’t need another one, especially when your own personality,experiencesandpassionsare farmore interestingandvaluable thananythingyoucouldlearnfromanyoneelse.Yourownexperiences are, of course,wonderful anduplifting and inspiring,and also painful, desolate and frightening. The actor Jack Lemmon said, “Ifyoureallydowanttobeanactorwhocansatisfyhimselfandhisaudience,youneedtobevulnerable.”Butwhatifyoudon’tbelievethatyouhavewhatittakestobeagreattrainer,agreat performer?What if you feel that you have no charisma, no gravitas?Maybeyoudo,maybeyoudon’t,isitimportant?Ifyoufeelthatyoudon’thavethatspecial‘something’,that’sprobablybecausethepersonwhoinspiredyouwasdifferentthanyouare,andyoudon’tknowhowtobethem.Everyexpert’sadviceis‘justbeyourself’,butwhatifbeingyourselfjustisn’tverygood?TheactorMichaelCainesaid,“I’maskilledprofessionalactor.WhetherornotI’veanytalentisbesidethepoint.”Itreallydoesn’tmatterifyouthinkyou’reanygoodornot,what’simportantisthatyoupractice,youlearnfromthatpracticeandyouconnectwithpeople.Whilst on the subject ofwhat actors said, here’s a quote fromMerylStreep;“I’mcuriousaboutotherpeople.That’stheessenceofmyacting.I’minterestedinwhatitwouldbeliketobeyou.”Beingagreattrainer,agreatperformer,ismucheasierwhenyoustoptryingtoperformandinstead,simplyconnectwithyouraudience.Letthemseeyou.SomanytrainersofNLP,andself-helpingeneral,portrayachiselled,white-teethed,big-haired imageofperfection,and that’s justnotcredible.Maybe ifyou’rewith10,000peopleinastadiumthenyouwantapolishedperformance,but when you’re in a smaller, more intimate environment, is that what youwant?Ata localpracticegroup in theearly2000s, anup-and-comingNLP trainer,now a big name in theUK, came to present aworkshop.He strutted in, his

designer shoes clatteringon theharsh tilesof theprimary school classroomfloor. With strong, deliberate movements, he took off his jacket, folded itinsideoutandlaiditonastoolatthefrontoftheroomsothattheArmanilabelcouldbeseenbyall.Hereacheduptosweepbackhishair,hidinghisbaldspotand revealing the sparklingArmanibeltbuckle.Whoknows,or cares, if theaudiencewere impressed by this performance?You can decide for yourselfwhatitsaysabouthim,andalsowhatitsaysaboutme.Thepointisthatnoneofthiswasaccidental,butwhetheritwassuitedtoasmalllocalpracticegroupina school classroom is adifferentmatter. It iswhohe is, and for thatwecanapplaudhisconsistency.Finally,thefilmactressandfounderofanactingschoolStellaAdlernotedthat,“ThewordtheatrecomesfromtheGreeks.Itmeanstheseeingplace.Itistheplacepeoplecometoseethetruthaboutlifeandthesocialsituation.”Iputittoyouthatthisisthereasonwhypeoplewillattendyourtraining.Theywant to see the truth, in themselvesandothers, and theywant that truth tobegoodandbeautiful.Theywanttobelievethattheworldisabetterplacethanitseems,thatthereishopeforthemselvesandforothers,thatpeoplesometimesdo the wrong things for the right reasons, because not everyone can haveeverything theywant.Theywant to learnhow tomake senseof a life that isenlightening yet disheartening, inspiring yet frustrating, thrilling and yetdemoralising,alifeofcontradictions.Inallofthis,youarenotjustatrainer,infactyouarenotjustaperformer.Youarearolemodel.Notforperfection,butfortheongoingprocessofperfecting,oflearningfromyourmistakes,ofovercomingyourfailures,ofrisingabovewhatlifethrowsatyouand,aboveall,showingthateverythingispossible.

11.0.1AwesomeDemonstrationsHere’smychecklistforgivingawesomedemonstrations.1. Knowthetechniques,insideout2. Define the technique inawaywhichwillselect thepersonwhowillbe

thebestdemosubject3. Askforademosubjectwhohasthespecificissuethatfitsthetechnique

you’redemonstrating4. You’renotcoaching,sosticktothedemo,nomatterwhathappens5. Standorsitsothatyouraudiencecanseewhatyou’redoing6. Describethekeypointsbefore,duringandafteryourdemoina‘running

commentary’7. Giveatimelimitforthepracticesession8. Whenthetimeisup,calleveryonebacktogetherandaskthemwhatthey

found,noticed,discoveredorexperienced9. Reframejudgementssuchas“itworked”or“itdidn’twork”with,“What

happened?”

12OneStepAhead

I’m sure you’ve seen NLP trainers talking about sensory acuity, payingattention in great detail to every twitch of the client’s eyebrow. This isridiculous. Focusing on sensory acuity creates awhole lot ofwork for you,whichisallcompletelyunnecessary.By the time you reach the level of NLPMaster Practitioner, youmust havestopped responding to your clients, you must have stopped chasing themaround and trying to keep upwith their every action and reaction. Isn’t thatwhatyoulearnedinyourMasterPractitionertraining?AsaMasterPractitioner,youareonestepaheadofyourclients,andasaNLPTrainer,youwillbeonestepaheadofyourlearners?How?Likethat. Ialreadyknewthatyournextquestionwouldbe“How?”Youthinkthatyouhadafreechoice,butyoudidn’t.Youthinkthatyouwereincontrol,butcontrolisanillusion.Youdon’tneedtofollowyourclientsorstudents,youneedtoleadthem.MostNLPTrainers teach anchoring as awayof accessing a ‘resource state’such as confidenceor relaxation.Firstly, confidence is not a state. Secondly,thisissuchatrivialapplicationofanchoring,andit’sawasteoftimebecause,inordertoapplyananchorsuchasatouchonthearm,youfirsthavetoelicitanexistinganchor.Whenyouaskyourstudenttorememberatimewhentheyfeltacertainway,youareelicitinganchors.Thereisreallynoneedtoattachotheranchorstothese,becauseyourstudentorclienthasalreadygivenyouthemostversatileanchorsthatyou’llneed–words.Let’sconsidertheexampleofaNLPPractitionertechniquewheretimingisthemostcriticalaspect–theswish.Yousimplycannotperformaneffectiveswishif you are responding to the client, because of the signal delay in both yourbrainandtheclient’sbrain.

Thedelays shown in thediagramare the absolutebest case signaldelay andreaction times. In practice, your client will take around half a second to

respondtoyourinstruction,andyou’lltakeaboutthesametimetorespondtotheirreaction.Yoursensoryacuityisirrelevant,it’sthesignaldelaythatcausesyourincompetence,anditaffectsallofus.The onlyway that you can correctly time the swish is to startmoving yourhandbeforeyouaskyourclienttopicturethe‘problem’trigger.

Theswishusesapatterninterrupttodisruptanexistinganchor,butifweonlyinterrupt the client, the original program will complete after a moment ofconfusion.Therefore,weneedtointroduceanewstate,whichistriggeredbyanew anchor, in order to fully distract the client from the ‘problem’ andintroducechange.Ifwebreaktheswishdown,whatweseeisasecondanchorwhichtriggersastate,partwaythroughafirstanchor triggeringastate.Thefirststatecannotfullyformbecausetheclient’sattentionisgrabbedbytheswish,andthesecondstatetakesover.Anchoringisthereforeawayofcontrollingtheclient’sresponsessothatyoucancontrolthereprogrammingofthoseresponses.Ifyoudon’tuseanchorstocontrol theclient,youwillalwaysbebehind them, trying frantically tocatchup, and always being half a second too late. Fromyour point of view, yourtimingwillbespoton,becauseyourbraineditsoutthedelaysothatyouthinkyourreactionsareinstantaneous.However,anobserverwillseethedelay.Youcanprove thisby throwingsomething toa studentwithoutanywarning.Thestudent thinksthat theyreact instantly,however theotherstudentswillbeabletoobservethedelay.Ifyouthenpracticethrowingandcatching,theotherstudentswillseethedelayreduceasthefirststudentgetsusedtocatchingandlearnstoanticipatethethrow.Anticipationthroughrehearsalisthewaythatwe

compensateforasignaldelay.WhenIwasyoungerandbettersuitedtorunningaround,Iplayedbadminton,andonethingthatIwasverygoodatwasserving.Intennis,afastservercangettheballmovingat100mph,whichismuchtoofastforthereceivingplayertofollow.Theonlywaytoreturnsuchafastserveisbyguessingatwheretheballmightbe.Badmintonservesarenotasviolentastheycanbeintennis,andtheshuttlecock isdesigned to flyslowly,giving itplentyof time in thearea,duringwhichthereceivingplayercanmoveagooddistanceacrossthecourse.Theobjective,thereforeistogetyouropponentoffbalancesothatheorshecannotmovetomeettheshuttlecock.Iwouldlookinonecornerofmyopponent’sareaandwait toseehisweightshift.As soon as I saw that, I’d serve to the opposite corner.Nomatter howgood my opponent’s reflexes, it was extremely difficult for him to quicklyswitchdirectionandgetacrossthecourtintimetoreturntheserve.

Ifanopponent‘gotwise’towhatIwasdoing,I’dchangethecorners,servingtomyopponent’sfarbackhand,oftentheveryhardestplacetoreach.Inshort,don’t serve towhereyouropponent is, serve towhere they’renot. If they’reagile,servetowheretheythinkthey’renotgoingtobe.Agoodplayermightwait in thecentreandnotanticipate,but this isnohelpwhen the serve is very short, because there often isn’t time to seewhere theshuttlecockisgoingandreachitbeforeithitsthefloor.If you’re a football fan, I’m sure you have spentmany hours berating yourfavouriteteam’sinabilitytoeitherscoreorsavepenalties,whereaplayerhasaclearkickattheopponent’sgoal.

Teamsspend timespecificallypractisingpenalties. Just like in thebadmintonexample,aplayerwilllookintoonecornerofthegoalandstarthisrunuptokicktheball.Asheseesthegoalkeeper ’sweightshiftinthewrongdirection,heswitcheshisownbalanceandaimsfortheoppositecornerofthegoal.The goal kicker is trying to get one step ahead of the goalkeeper, sogoalkeepers who are good at saving penalties don’t wait for the kick, theycarefully observe the opposing players and learn their patterns. A goodgoalkeeper isalreadymovingbefore thekickerhas reached theball.Fromaspectator ’spointofview, it looksas if thegoalkeeperhadveryfastreflexes,butthiscannotbethecase.Sometimesthekicker‘getswise’andchangestheirpatternbut,moreoftenthannot,theyhavetheirfavouritepenaltytargetareasinthegoal.Communicatinganintentionwhichisdifferenttoyouractualintentioninorderto throw an opponent off balance is verymuch like the skill of ‘multi-levelcommunication’ which is part of the SNLP certification criteria for MasterPractitionerandTrainer,inthatyouhavetogetusedtobalancingtwodifferentintentionsandactingonthematthesametime.Onceagain,it’ssomucheasierjust to keep one step ahead, staying in control of the process that you’refollowing.As a NLP Trainer, you will come across various learning barriers andstrategies.Remembering that every behaviour has a positive intention, every

barrier to learning is preceded by an intention to do something useful. Forexample,astudentwhodoesn’twriteanythingdownprovesthattheyaresmart,a‘goodlearner ’,but theythenstruggletorememberthestepsofanexerciseandgetfrustratedbecausetheydon’tlikefeelingstupid.Feelingstupidwasthebarriertolearning,butitwastheendresultofastrategythatthestudentcreatedinordertoprovethattheyarenotstupid.Therefore,inordertobeonestepaheadofyourlearners,youcan’trespondtotheirlearningbarriersoncethey’vehitthem.Youhavetoanticipatewhatthosebarriersare likely tobe,and luckily, they tellyou themoment theyenter theroom, or beforehand, if you’ve thought carefully about your joininginstructions.Here’sanexamplefromapre-coursequestionnairethatIsendoutpriortomycourses:“Whatdoyouimaginegainingfromthecourse?”“AhigherunderstandingofNLP,people, situations, drivers,motivations andthe‘oppositeforces’.”IfyouapplyMetaModeltothatstatement,youwillseethatitisheavilyloadedwith presuppositions about status and conflict. That one sentence containseverything that you need to know about this student’s approach to learning,theirpreconceptionsandthebarriersthattheywillcreate.In order to imagine what someone will gain from the course, they have toimagine the process they’ll go through in order to gain it, complete withwhateverobstacles theyhaveput in theirownway. Idon’thave to figureoutwhatmystudents’learningbarriersare,Ialreadyknowbeforetheyarriveforthefirstdayoftraining.By getting to knowyour learners before the training starts, youwill be onestepahead.However,you’llstillhavetobeonyourtoes,becauseyourlearnersarefacingtheirdemonswhilelearningaboutNLP,andthatcancreateallkindsofinterestingbehaviours.Now,I realise thatyoumayhavespentmanyhoursdevelopingyoursensoryacuity, and that many other NLP trainers have told you that this is veryimportantinordertorespondtoyourclients,andthatIamnowtellingyouthatsensory acuity is irrelevant, becauseyou’renot responding toyour clients –yousimplycan’tthinkthatfast.Irealisethatthismaycomeasasurprisetoyou,andthatyoumayatfirstreject

theideabecauseitseemsveryimportanttopayattentiontoyourclients,untilyourealisethefollowingkeypoints:1. The laws of physics dictate that you are physically incapable of

respondingfastenoughtoeffectchange2. Youdon’twanttobewhereyourclientshavebeen,youwanttobewhere

theywanttobeWhenyou lookat it from thispointofview, it seemsobvious thatyoucan’trespond quickly enough to anchor or swish, and if you can’t perform thosetwofundamentalbuildingblocks thennoneof theother techniqueswillworkeffectively.Theonlychanceyou’vegotistoknowinadvancewhereyourclientwantstobe,andbetherewaitingforthem,readytoofferthemahandup.

13HandlingProblems

As a trainer, and especially as aNLPTrainer, youwill encounter problems.Your trainingwill not run smoothly to plan.Your studentswill not have theexactexperiencethatyouwouldlikethemtohave.And,particularlywiththiskind of subject, you will have students reacting in a way which may bedisruptivetothegroup.ThekindsofbehaviourswhichI’veseeninclude:Distracting behaviours, including excessive joking around, changing thesubject, telling long stories, using techniques other thanwhat they are beingasked to practise, dominating breaks in order to delay other students fromreturningtothetraining.Attention seeking, including the open discussion of detailed and personalissuesandfrequentrequestsforhelp.Hiding, rangingfromsittingat theback todisappearingcompletelyfor longperiodsoftime,perhapstotake‘important’phonecalls.I’ve had two female colleagues who, on the Practitioner assessment day,disappearedfortheentiremorningbecauseoneofthemhadareallysensitiveissue and needed a longer coaching session. This removed them fromobservationanddeniedthemandotherstudentsafairassessment.I’vehadastudentwhoinsistedonsingle-handedlycookingacomplexeveningmealwhich used up ingredients that had been bought for other students andobligatedotherstudentstobegratefulforallthetroublegoneto.I’vehadastudentwhoobjectedtobeingleftoutofaprivateconversationwithanother student and then pretended to hurt her back in order to get otherstudentstogatherroundherandsootheher.Herbackproblemcameandwentdependingonwhethersherememberedtokeepupthepretence.I’vehadastudentwhoignoredtheinstructionaboutwheretogoforpracticeexercisesandtookherfellowstudenttoherbedroominordertoavoidbeingobserved and to gain an advantage by making the other student feeluncomfortable.Fundamentally,what these all represent is a student’s reaction to fear. In thecourseofpractisingNLPtechniques,yourstudentswillhavetoworkonrealissues,andthoserealissuescanbringthoseunderlyingfearsverymuchtothesurface.Weallavoidshowingourfearsbecausewedon’twanttobeexploitedbyothers,howeverourfearsareasplainasthenosesonourfaces,revealedbytheverybehavioursthatweengageintohidethem.

Aboveallelse,remember:Yourjobistotakecareofallofyourstudents,notanyonestudentYour students are not there for free therapy, so any such work mustbenefitgrouplearningYouareaNLPTrainer,setanexampleaccordinglyDon’t stand for any nonsense, reflect these behaviours back as anexample of the client’s desire to hide their fears, which is completelynormalandalsotemporary

Thesimplestwaytodealwiththeseproblemsistopreventtheminthewaythatyouopenyour training, and theway inwhichyouenforce rules throughout.Myexamplesabovemightsoundawful,andactuallytheyare,butthey’refromalmost20yearsoftrainingNLPandcomparedtoothercoursesI’veattendedIthink that I’m doingOK.Also, on recent courses, students have specificallycommented on how amazed they were that the group were so disciplined,especiallyover timekeepingatbreaks. I’ll sharewithyouhowIachieve that,and then ask you to come up with your ownmethod to create the workingenvironmentthat’srightforyou.What surprises many people is that in all of my training, both NLP andcorporate, I don’t ask people to turn their phones off. Youwould think thiswouldleadtomoredisruption,butitactuallyleadstoless.ThekeyprincipleisthatIamresponsiblefordeliveringthebesttrainingpossible,thestudentsareresponsibleforbeingthere,payingattentionandaskingquestionsiftheydon’tunderstand.Ifthey’renotthere,ortheywanttoreadmessagesontheirphone,that’sfinebyme.I’m sure you’ve been in a meeting or training course and you phone hasbuzzedinyourpocket.Youknowit’samessage.Isitareplythatyou’vebeenwaitingforallday?Whenisthenextbreakdue?Whatcanyoudo?Couldyoupretend togo to the toilet?Couldyou sneakaquick look?Sorry,whatwereyousaying?Whileyourstudentsareworryingabouttheirmessages,they’renotlisteningtoyou.Theyarepresentinbodybutnotinspirit.Therefore,Ifeelit’sbesttoletthemmake theircallsandread theirmessages,andbeeither inoroutof theroom,ratherthantryingtodobothatthesametime.Here’s what I say. “I know that you are all busy and that you have manydemandsonyourtime.Ialsoknowthatyouarehererightnowbecauseatthismoment,thisisthemostimportantplaceforyoutobe.WhenwetakeabreakI

will tell you the time that Iwill restart. If you’re not back at that time Iwillpresume that you have something more important that you need to do. I’mhappywiththat,becauseIwanttomakesurethatwhenyou’reoutoftheroomit’sbecauseyouhavetodosomethingthatismoreimportantforyou,whichisfinebyme,andwhenyou’reintheroomyoucanbe100%focussedonwhatwe’reworkingonhere.IwillrestartatthetimeIsay,whetheryou’rehereornot.BylunchtimeonthefirstdayofmymostrecentMasterPractitionertraining,the entire group were back on time from breaks, and one of the studentscommented later in the week that he had never seen such a well behavedtraininggroup!Ofcourse,forthistowork,youhavetobedisciplined.Youhavetobebackontimeandsettherightexample.Thesimplestwaytodothis,whichmightsoundabitantisocial,istoavoidyourstudentsatbreaktimes!Theywilloftenwanttoengageyouindeepandmeaningfulconversations,andit’seasytolosetrackoftime.Also,rememberthatbreaktimesandlunchtimeareyourbreaksaswellas theirs.Take time to gather your thoughts and plan your next session, andalwaysbeintheroomwaitingforthemtoreturn.At the time you’ve said you’ll start, start. Some of the groupmight still besettlingdownandfinishingconversations. It’saquestionofpriorities,andatthe beginning I have said that “when you’re in the room you can be 100%focussed”,soifyou’reintheroom,payattention,andifyouaren’treadytodothatthenbeoutsideoftheroom.Thechoice is alwayswithmystudents,because I can’t controlwhat theyaredoingandwhatotherdistractionsaregoingonintheirlives.IcanonlydeliverthebesttrainingthatIcan,ontime,towhoeverchoosestobeintheroom.It can’t be that simple, can it?Well, taking a clear line on timekeeping andengagement will prevent themajority of problems from occurring, becauseyour studentswill quickly learn that youmeanwhat you say.What you thenmayneedtodo,inextremecases,iscorrectanybehaviourswhichyoufeelaredisruptivetoyourgroup.Here’smysuggestionforhowyoumightdothat.Don’twaitfortherightmomenttotalktosomeone,becausesomeonewhoisbeingdeliberatelydisruptivewill never allow themselves tobeon their ownwhereyoumightcorner them,so theywillalwaysbe in themiddleof reallyimportantconversations.Ifyoudon’tassertyourleadership,youmightaswell

packupandgohome,becausethedisruptivestudentisnowleadingthegroup.Assoonasyouobservesomethingthatyouwanttoputright,directlyaskthestudent to join your for a private conversation. I find, “Have you got aminute?” is sufficient, and on rare occasions, “Let’s have a quick chat. Yes,now.” Then, once you have them alone, tell them clearly, concisely anddirectly:1. Thisishowyouarebehaving2. Thisishowthatisunacceptable3. Ifyoucontinue,thisiswhatwillhappen

You’re not inviting a conversation, you’re not asking their permission. It’syourcourse,yourgroup,yourrules.Therefore,youmustnotconcludewithasubmissivestatementsuchas,“IsthatOK?”becauseit’snotuptothem,it’suptoyou.Most importantly, if they do continue, and some people will definitely pushtheirluckiftheyseeyoubeingsoftonotherpointssuchastimekeeping,youneed to actually do the thing that you said you would do. Therefore, beextremelycautiousaboutmakingthreatswhichyouwillnotfollowthrough.Ifyouthreatentoremovethemfromthecoursethenyoufailtodothat,theyhavewonandyoumightaswellpackupandgohome.Ifthissoundslikeapowerstruggle then that’s exactlywhat it is, drivenby thepowerof their fears andinsecurities.Whattheywantissecurityandsafety,andthewaythattheywillgetthatisbyrespectingyourauthority.Forthemtowincontrolofthegroupisapoorsecondfor them,because theywon’tknowwhat todowith itonce theyhaveit.Theywouldmuchratheryoubeincharge.There’sone final thing that I tell thewholegroup to create a foundation fordealingwithsuchissues.“Someofyouaregoingtohaveoddreactionstothetechniqueswe’reworkingon because your old fears will surface and you’ll behave in ways that youdidn’t expect. You have to remember, that’s not you, that’s your fear andinsecurity.Weallhavethem,andtheonlythingthatIcanpromiseyouisthatyouwillneverhaveabetteropportunitythanthisweektoaddressthoseissues.Youwillneverbe surroundedbysuchahighly skilledgroupofpeoplewhocare about you, who are here to help and support you, in this environmentwherewehaveallthetimeweneedforyoutogetallthethingsthataremostimportant to you in your life. Remember, you will never have a betteropportunitythanyouhavethisweektoachievethat.”

You will absolutely need to be clear with any disruptive students that theirbehaviour is not acceptable, and you can then end the conversation with aninsight into why they are behaving in that way, and an offer of help. Myexperienceisthatno-oneisjustdisruptiveforthesakeofit,theyaretryingtoachieve something for themselveswhich they don’t know how to achieve inanyotherway,andtheyoftenfeelbackedintoacorner,sotheyactfromfearratherthanrationalthought.Hang on, did I just say that theywant to achieve something for themselves?Wellofcourse!Thereisapositiveintentionmotivatingeverybehaviour...andacontextinwhicheverybehaviourhasvalue.As I often say to corporatemanagers – their employees can turnup late forwork,theycanspendalldayonFacebook,theycangohomeearly.That’stheirchoiceandit’sabsolutelyfine.Theyjustneedtodothatsomewhereelse.

14SocietyofNLPCertificationCriteria

14.1SocietyofNLP

The following criteria for NLPPractitioner andNLPMaster Practitioner certification are determined by theSociety ofNLP, the original NLP licensing bodywhichwas first formed in1979, the year inwhichBandler andGrinder ’s firstNLP book, “Frogs intoPrinces”waspublished.Whenyouattendacertifiedtrainingprogram,youwillneedtosignalicenseagreement which ensures that you understand the rights and obligations ofcertification. You can request a copy of the agreement by emailing me [email protected].

14.2NLPPractitioner

14.2.1RepresentationalSystemsDetectsignsandsequencesofrepresentationalsystemsDetectsubmodalitiesinallrepresentationalsystemsChangesequencesofrepresentationalsystemsAccessinformationinallrepresentationalsystemsCommunicateinallrepresentationalsystemsTranslatebetweenrepresentationalsystemsDetectsimultaneousandsequentialincongruities

14.2.2RapportBuildingEstablishrapportinallrepresentationalsystems

14.2.3PaceandLeadPaceandleadnon-verballyandverballyPaceandleadthroughmirroring,directmatchingandindirectmatchinginallrepresentationalsystems

14.2.4AnchoringElicitandinstallanchorsinallrepresentationalsystemsStacking,amplify,collapseandchainanchorsDisassociationtechniquesincludingthePhobiaCureandfuture-pacing

14.2.5LanguagePatternsDetect and use the patterns of the Meta Model and Milton Model asinformation-gatheringandinformation-organizingtools.

14.2.6OutcomeOrientationSetwell-formedoutcomes

14.2.7ReframingUsebasicreframingtechniquesSixStepReframing

14.2.8Sub-ModalitiesSwishTimeline

14.2.9StrategiesBasicstrategyelicitationskills

14.2.10TranceBasictranceinductionandutilisationproceduresTranceinductionusingtheMetaModelandMiltonModellanguagepatterns

14.3NLPMasterPractitioner

Multi-leveltaskingandpurposefulmulti-levelcommunication,including:Detectconsciousandunconsciouscommunication.Distinguishbetweencontentandstructure.UnderstandandintegratethepresuppositionsofNLP.Understandremedialandgenerativechange.CustomisingNLPPractitionertechniquestomeettheneedsofaclient.Creating states of consciousness and physiology that lead to flexibility andcreativityinthinkingandaction.Makingconsciousshiftsinperspective,stateandbehaviourtomaintainoverallcontrolofthecoachingprocess.

14.3.1MetaProgramsElicitMetaProgramsandbuildthemintoyourcoachingapproach.

14.3.2FramingoutcomesUnderstandthedifferencebetweenanoutcomeandadirection.Haveasystemicapproachtopredictingtheimplicationsofchangeovertime.Generalisechangethroughtime.

14.3.3AdvancedLanguageSkillsDetectSleightofMouthPatterns.Reframing at different logical levels using the various Sleight of MouthPatterns.Sortincongruitiesandintegratethemconversationally.Implement the patterns of NLP techniques conversationally, e.g. throughpresuppositionsinquestions.

14.3.4ValuesandCriteriaElicit values for the purpose of motivation, setting outcomes, negotiationprocedures,conflictresolution,etc.

14.3.5AdvancedStrategiesSkillsElicit,design,modifyandinstallstrategies.Usemotivation,convincer,decision,andfollowthroughstrategiesinsideothertechniques.

14.3.6TranceRecognise, induce, and utilise naturally occurring trance phenomena, alsoknownasconversationalhypnosis.Developingagreaterawarenessandutilisationofasystemicapproach.

14.4NLPTrainer

14.4.1CertificationRequirementsCertificationasaNLPPractitioner.CertificationasaNLPMasterPractitioner.CertificationasaNLPTrainerAssociate.HypnosisTraining,emphasizingEricksonianHypnosis.Assistant on a complete NLP Practitioner Program and a complete MasterPractitionerProgram.Aminimumof100hoursofteaching/trainingexperience,whichmustincludeteachingNLP.A solid understanding ofNLPOperational Presuppositions,RepresentationalSystems, Rapport, Anchoring, basicMiltonModel Patterns and fundamentalinductionandutilizationprocesses,MetaModelPatterns,OutcomeFrameandWell-formedness Conditions, basic Strategy modeling processes, Reframing(Content,Contextand6-StepReframing,Sub-Modalities(includingtheVisualSquash and the Swish Pattern), as well as other basic NLP Techniques(includingChangingPastPersonalHistory,PhobiaCure).WrittenTest.DVD of the first hour of a presentation or training with a new group,accompanied by a written planning outline of the presentation, including awrittendescriptionofthefirsttwoexercises,includinganyhandouts.Certification fee of U.S. $300, upon the completion of all NLP Trainerrequirements.(In2016)

14.4.2CompetenciesEngageinmulti-leveltasking,e.g.,purposefulmulti-levelcommunication.Detect the differences between conscious and unconscious mindcommunication.

Makethedistinctionbetweencontentandtheformofthecontent.IntegratetheNLPoperationalpresuppositionsintotheirthinking(attitude)andbehavior.Knowthedifferencebetweenremedialandgenerativechange.Combine the various elements of the techniques to design customizedinterventions.Build and utilize states of consciousness and physiology leading to greaterflexibility,variability,creativityandmobilityinthinkingandinaction.Make conscious shifts in perspective, state and behavior (e.g., re-sequencehabitual representational system sequences to interrupt states perceived as“unresourceful”) to keep open opportunities for discovery, creativity andlearningforyourselfandothers.Utilize linguisticskillsdefinedbypurpose,e.g.,useof language inways thatdemonstrate“conversationalinterventions.”Developagreaterawarenessandapplicationofasystemicapproach.INPUTACUITYSKILLSconsistof theability todetect, that is, tousesenseswith agility and flexibility, increasing the range of what you are able toperceiveinallsensorysystems.Theverb"todetect"isoperationallydefinedastheabilitytoidentifyandmakesensory-baseddiscriminations.Detect representational systems and sequences of representational systemsthrough the set of physiological phenomena collectively referred to as"representationalsystemaccessingcues."Makediscriminations inallmajor inputchannels:Visual,Auditory tonalanddigital,Kinestheticandtheirsub-modalitydistinctions.Detect and make the distinction between simultaneous and sequentialincongruities; make the distinction between unfamiliarity and discomfort,agreementandunderstanding.Detect the differences in the form of conscious and unconscious mindcommunication.LanguagePatterns:Detect thelinguisticdistinctionsknowncollectivelyastheMetaModel,MiltonModel,which includes presuppositions, ambiguities andtemporal distinctions; the ability to detect the linguistic markers thatpresupposeMetaProgramreferencestructures;theabilitytodetecttheclassoflanguageknownasSleightofMouthPatterns.

INTERNAL REPRESENTATION SKILLS consist of the ability to use yourinternalprocesseswithagilityandflexibility.Internalrequisitevarietyisoperationallydefinedastheabilitytodothefollowing:Representinformationinallsensorysystems.Accessinformationfromandineachrepresentationalsystem.Storeinformationinallsystems.Overlapwithfacilityandeasefromeachrepresentationalsystemintoanother.Makesub-modalitydistinctionsinallprimaryrepresentationalsystemsandre-sequence characteristic representational system sequences to build a solidfoundationofresourceandchoice.Access states and physiology that promote flexibility and variability inthinkingandbehaviorwhichareindependentofthethreeobstaclestolearningand teaching, according to NLP Co-Developer, John Grinder: (1) internaldialogueattoohighavolume;(2)tunnelvision(i.e.,onlyseeingwhatisinthecenter of your visual field and failing to notice and recognize the relationalaspectsintheenvironment;(3)unnecessarytensioninthebody.Theover-allpurposeofdeveloping,expandingandenhancingtheseabilitiesisto create greater flexibility, creativity andmobility in thinking; the ability tomakeconsciousshifts inperspective, internalstateandbehavior thatopenupnew channels of discovery, learning and change for yourself and yourparticipants.OUTPUTSKILLS:UtilizationSkillsincludemodelingskills,rapport-buildingskills,anchoringskills,languageskillsandmulti-levelcommunication,designandpresentationskillsthatutilizeconsciousandunconsciousmindlearningstrategies,meta-linguisticawareness(theabilitytothinkaboutlanguageandcommentonlanguage).Outputflexibilityisoperationallydefinedastheabilitytodothefollowing:Varybehaviorinalloutputcommunicationchannels.Establishrapportatbothconsciousandunconsciouslevels,demonstratingtheabilitytousemirroring,directmatchingandindirectmatching(i.e.,cross-overmirroring).; pace and lead in each and all representational systems, verballyandnon-verbally,including:wholeandpartbodypostures,breathingpatterns,intonationpatterns,sensory-systempredicateusagesequencesofeyeaccessing

cues,andsub-modalityaccessingcuesandgesturesUtilize thepatternsof theMetaModel,Well-FormedOutcomeFrame,MiltonModeland“SleightofMouth”patterns (PatternsofReformulation) togatherand organize information in ways that expand the range of possibility andchoiceinthinkingandinaction.Adjustone’s languageandbehavior topace thestructureofanotherperson’sexperience in relation of Meta Programs; also appropriately adjust (i.e.,balance)theconfigurationofMetaPrograms.Sort incongruities, polarities and “double-bind,” either-or thinking patternsandreintegratetheminwaysthatexpandtherangeofwhat’spossible.Elicit and anchor states (resources) in each and all representational systems,i.e.,kinesthetically,auditorilyandvisually;directionalizeandcontextualize statesusing thebasicanchoring formats: setting and utilizing spatial anchors, stacking anchors,amplifying anchors, collapsing or synchronizing anchors, and chaining (orsequencing)responsesDemonstratestrategyelicitation,designandinstallation,includingcriteria;theabilitytodetectandutilizethefollowingkeystrategies: internalperformancestrategies,motivationalstrategies,decisionstrategies,andlearningstrategies.Structure and implement “testing” procedures in consideration of ecologicalimplicationsofchangethroughtimeto“preserve”theintegrityofthesystemasawhole.Identify the structure and function of each technique; appropriatecontextualization and generalization of change techniques; re-anchoringformats, reframing techniques and basic negotiation models, sub-modalitytechnology,thresholdpatterns,SwishPatterns;andFuture-Pacingtechniques.

14.5TrainerCompetenciesExplained

The list of required competencies for certification as aNLPTrainer is quitedetailed,soI’llrevisitthelistandgiveyousomefurthersuggestionsforhowyoucandeveloptherequiredskills.You’ll notice that many of these competencies are duplicated from thePractitioner and Master Practitioner certification requirements, and I’vepointed out where this is the case. If you are already a competent MasterPractitioner,youreallydon’thavemuchtoworryabout.

Engageinmulti-leveltasking,e.g.,purposefulmulti-levelcommunication.

ThisisaMasterPractitionercompetency.Talktotheclientatthesametimeasfiguringoutwheretogonext.Detectthedifferencesbetweenconsciousandunconsciousmindcommunication.

ThisisaMasterPractitionercompetency.Typically,verbalversusnon-verbalcommunication.Makethedistinctionbetweencontentandtheformofthecontent.

ThisisaMasterPractitionercompetency.Contentiswhathappened,structureorformishowithappened.IntegratetheNLPoperationalpresuppositionsintotheirthinking(attitude)andbehavior.

ThisisaPractitionercompetency.Readthepresuppositionsandmakesureyouformyourownunderstandingofthem.Knowthedifferencebetweenremedialandgenerativechange.

Another Practitioner competency. Creating choices rather than fixingproblems.Combinethevariouselementsofthetechniquestodesigncustomizedinterventions.

This is a Practitioner competency and you should have moved beyond thisalready at Master Practitioner level. By the time you’re training as a NLPTrainer,youshouldbewaypasttechniques.Buildandutilizestatesofconsciousnessandphysiologyleadingtogreaterflexibility...

ThisisaMasterPractitionercompetency.Getyourclienttothinkanddothingswhichgetthemtomove.Make conscious shifts in perspective, state and behavior ... to keep open opportunities for discovery,creativityandlearning...

Out-thinkyourclientstogetaroundtheobstaclesthattheycreate.Utilizelinguisticskillsdefinedbypurpose...

UseNLPtechniquesconversationally,aMasterPractitionercompetency.Developagreaterawarenessandapplicationofasystemicapproach.

Asystemic approach takes into account the systemor environment that yourclientisoperatingwithin.INPUTACUITYSKILLS...

Pay attention to your clients. Personally, I don’t advocate developing your‘sensoryacuity’tonoticeeverytwitchofaneyebrow,it’sawasteofyourtimeandresources.Instead,youneedtobeaheadofyourclients,nottryingtokeepupwiththem.

Detectrepresentationalsystemsandsequences...

This is another Practitioner level competency – tracking a client’s strategiesfromtheirlanguageandbehaviour.Makediscriminations inallmajor inputchannels:Visual,Auditory tonalanddigital,Kinestheticand theirsub-modalitydistinctions.

Submodalities–anotherPractitionercompetency.Detectandmakethedistinctionbetweensimultaneousandsequentialincongruities...

AnotherPractitioner competency,with a focusonmind reading the student’slearningstate.Detectthedifferencesintheformofconsciousandunconsciousmindcommunication.

Thisisaninterestingcompetency,becausemanyexpertsarguethatthereisnosuchdistinction,thatthereisnoconsciousorunconsciousmind,onlyamindandafocusofawarenesswithinthat.Howwecanthereforetellthedifferencebetweenconsciousandunconsciouscommunicationcouldperhapsbedefinedasbeingabletotellthedifferencebetweenwhattheyclientsaysandwhattheymean,orwhattheycommunicatewithoutknowing.Inanycase,thisisaMasterPractitionercompetency.LanguagePatterns...MetaModel,MiltonModel…MetaProgram...SleightofMouthPatterns.

AsetofMasterPractitionercompetencies,andSleightofMouthwhichIhavediscussedwiththeowneroftheSNLPasbeingirrelevantbecauseitisasuper-set of Meta Model, and she agreed with me. Therefore, if you have aPractitioner levelunderstandingofMeta andMiltonModels then that’sgoodenough.INTERNALREPRESENTATIONSKILLS...

TheseareallPractitionercompetencies.Representinformationinallsensorysystems.

Payattentiontonotjustwhatyouseeandhear.Accessinformationfromandineachrepresentationalsystem.

Payattentiontonotjustwhatyouseeandhear.Storeinformationinallsystems.

Payattentiontonotjustwhatyouseeandhear.Overlapwithfacilityandeasefromeachrepresentationalsystemintoanother.

Overlapping is when you use metaphors from a different representationalsystem, for example if the client says “bright”, youwould use “loud” as anauditory metaphor so that you could avoid directly referring to the visual

elements.Makesub-modalitydistinctions...

Usestrategiestosupportthelearningprocess.Access states and physiology that promote flexibility and variability in thinking and behaviorwhich areindependentofthethreeobstaclestolearningandteaching,accordingtoNLPCo-Developer,JohnGrinder...

Beflexibletogetroundthreebarrierstolearning:thestudent’sownself-talk,the student’s focus being to narrow and the student being tense. Of course,theremaybemanymorebarrierstolearning.Theover-allpurpose...istocreategreaterflexibility,creativityandmobilityinthinking...

Keeponestepaheadofyourstudents.OUTPUTSKILLS...

Behaveinawaythatmakesuseofalloftheskillsyou’vedevelopedthroughlearningNLP.You’renotonlyaTrainer,you’realsostillaMasterPractitionerandaPractitioner.Theskillsetsareeachdifferentandcomplementary.Outputflexibilityisoperationallydefinedastheabilitytodothefollowing:Varybehaviorinalloutputcommunicationchannels.

Beflexible inbothyourwordsandactions. Ifyou’reonestepaheadofyourstudents,youactuallydon’tneedtobeflexibleanyway!Establishrapportatbothconsciousandunconsciouslevels...

This is a Practitioner level competency. Actually, a whole bunch ofcompetenciesbasedonpayingattention toyourclientandutilisingwhat theygiveyou.Utilize the patterns of theMetaModel,Well-Formed Outcome Frame,MiltonModel and “Sleight ofMouth”patterns...

UseyourMasterPractitionerskillstonegotiatearoundanylearningbarriers.Adjustone’slanguageandbehaviortopacethestructureofanotherperson’sexperienceinrelationofMetaPrograms...

UseyourMasterPractitionerskillstonegotiatearoundanylearningbarriers.Sort incongruities, polarities and “double-bind,” either-or thinking patterns and reintegrate them inwaysthatexpandtherangeofwhat’spossible.

UseyourMasterPractitionerskillstonegotiatearoundanylearningbarriers.Elicitandanchorstates(resources)ineachandallrepresentationalsystems...

Anchoring is fundamentally a learning technique, so if you know how toanchorreliably,you’llbeabletouseanchorstosupportthelearningprocess.Demonstratestrategyelicitation,designandinstallation...

If you knowwhat makes your students ‘tick’, you can be more effective insupportingtheirlearning.ThisisaMasterPractitionercompetency.Structureandimplement“testing”procedures...

This is essentially the Master Practitioner criteria of “Have a systemicapproachtopredictingtheimplicationsofchangeovertime.”Identifythestructureandfunctionofeachtechnique...

KnowyourPractitioner andMasterPractitioner techniques inside-out. If youdon’t,howcanyouteachthem?

14.6SimplifiedTrainerCompetencies

Ifweremovethecompetencieswhichyouhavealreadydemonstratedinorderto achieve your Practitioner andMaster Practitioner certification (assumingthatyourtrainerwascompetent!)thenwehavethefollowingnewcriteriaforTrainercertification.Makeconsciousshiftsinperspective,stateandbehavior...

Out-thinkyourstudentstogetaroundtheirobstacles.Overlapwithfacilityandeasefromeachrepresentationalsystem

UsemetaphorsfromdifferentrepresentationalsystemsMakesub-modalitydistinctions…re-sequence...

Usestrategiestosupportthelearningprocess.Accessstatesandphysiologythatpromoteflexibilityandvariabilityinthinkingandbehavior...

Beflexibletogetroundthreebarrierstolearning.Varybehaviorinalloutputcommunicationchannels.

Beflexibleinbothyourwordsandactions.Elicitandanchorstates...

Anchoring is a Practitioner competency, however there’s a bitmore to it atTrainerlevel.Identifythestructureandfunctionofeachtechnique...

KnowyourPractitioner andMasterPractitioner techniques inside-out. If youdon’t,howcanyouteachthem?

15Assessment

As a NLP Trainer, you have a duty to uphold the certification criteria andstandards of the Society of NLP, or whatever your chosen licensingorganisationis.Evenifyou’renotcertifyingyourstudents,youstillhaveadutytogivethemwhattheypaidfor,andtoensurethat,youmusthavesomeformofassessment.Perhapsover90%oftheNLPtrainersI’veeverseenhaveconductednoformofassessmentatall,sothecertificatecannotbeacertificateofachievement,itcanonlybeacertificateofattendance.Ifyou’vepaidalotofmoneytotraininsomethinglikeNLP,don’tyouwanttoberecognisedformorethanjustbeingintheroom?I’veaskedothertrainersaboutthisovertheyears,andtheytellmethattheyareobserving and evaluating their students on anongoingbasis.No they’renot.Ask them how many students have ever not received a certificate. Failingstudents can be uncomfortable, but if you don’t apply your success criteriaconsistently,thenyourcertificationandyourtrainingmeannothing.Youmightaswelljustsellcertificates.I attended a NLP Business Practitioner course back in 2002, run by anextremelywellknown trainer.At theendof thecourse,ourcertificatesweregiven out and the trainer had the whole group of 200 people place thecertificates on their heads and repeat a frankly demeaning and insultingstatementaboutpromisingtouseourNLPskillswisely.Thatoneactnegatedtheentirecertificationprocess.In this chapter Iwill therefore explain a bit about assessment and also sharewith you how I assess students on NLP Practitioner andMaster Practitionercourses.

15.1PractitionerAssessment

Here’showIintroducethePractitionerassessmentday.For each sessionyou’ll be toldwhoyou areworkingwith and thepairs aredrawnupona randomrotationso thateveryonehasanequalshareofbeingpractitionerandclient,andeveryoneworkswithsomeonedifferenteachtime.Inordertogiveyouasmuchpracticetimeaspossible,thetimingofthislastdayisveryimportant.Thesessionstarttimeswillbedisplayedintheroomandatthestartofeachsessionyou’llbetoldwhentobebackintheroom.It’seasytogetwrappedupinthesesessionsandwanttocarryonalldaywith

oneperson.Ifyoudon’tsticktothetimesgiven,youaredenyingyourselfthequality practice that you need in order to fully integrate the skills you’velearnedthroughoutthecourse,andofcourseyouarealsomissingoutontheopportunity to receive feedback that may be vital in achieving Practitionercertification.It’sverycommonthatatthestartoftheday,delegateshaveanarmfuloftoolsandtechniquesthattheyknowhowtouse,buttheydon’tknowhowtochoose.Thisisoneofthekeyoutcomesoftheday.Asyouworkthroughthesessions,youwillprobablyfindyourselftalkingmuchlessandlisteningmuchmore.Rememberingthat theclientwill tellyoueverythingyouneedtoknowinthefirst few sentences, you’ll soon find that listening to the client and getting asense of the structure of the problem or situation will give you all theinformationyouneedtochooseyourapproach.

15.1.1ClientAsa client, youhave theopportunity toworkon some issues that are reallyimportanttoyou.Youmayhaveafearthatyouwanttotackleoraproblemtosolve.ManypeoplewhocometothePractitionercoursearerunningtheirownbusinesses-orthinkingaboutit-andthisisanidealopportunitytodosomeseriousplanningwiththehelpofatalentedgroupofcoaches.Youcanspendsometimeplanningtheissuesoropportunitiesyouaregoingtoexploreduringthesessionssothatyoucangetthemostvaluefromthetime.You will learn as much about the process as the client as you will as thePractitioner,sobothrolesareequallyimportant.

15.1.2PractitionerAtfirst,manypeoplefindtheyaresobusythinkingaboutwhichtechniquetouse that they miss what the client tells them. After a while, they find thatspendingatleasthalfthetimejustlisteningandexploringtheissueistimewellspent.AsaPractitioner,perhapsyourmostimportantjobistomaintainanoutcomeorientedstate.Youcanuseallofyourrapportskillstoleadyourclientandinmanycases,allthePractitionerhastodoissitthereandlookconfidentwhiletheclientfindstheirownsolution!NLP’stechniquesareeachbuiltaroundaparticularstructure,sobyexploringthe structure of the problem, you’ll be able to choose the most appropriatetechnique.

Hereareafewexamplestechniquesthatyoucanuseandsituationswheretheymightberelevant.

Anchoring Tocaptureusefulstatesorintegratestates,andtocontrolandtestresponses

Fast phobiacure

Forasituationwheretheclient’sundesiredresponseistoostrongforthem

Futurepace Creatingthepossibilityforchange

Metamodel Alwaysvitalwhenexploringandmappingouttheissuebeingpresented

Miltonmodel Togentlyguidetheclienttowardstheirdesiredoutcome

Modelling Modeltheproblemandelicititsstrategy

Outcomes Tofindoutwhattheclientwants!

Patterninterrupt

Tointerruptanundesirablestate

Rapport Tonon-verballyguidetheclienttowardsthedesiredoutcome

Rapport Toguidethecommunicationprocess

Six stepreframe

Forrepetitivepatternsofbehaviour

Storytelling Tochangestateorshapeanoutcome

Submodalities Exploringperceptualdistortions

Swish Forhabitualbehavioursandreactions

Timeline Toexploreafuturedecisionorsetgoals

Trance Tohelptheclientexploreinarelaxedway,freefromdistractions

It’s worth remembering that the technique will be less effective if youconcentrateonlyon the technique. It’s best to think about howyou’ll use thewhole time to deliver the techniquemore elegantly.Here’s a simple processyoucanuseifyouneedto:

State Choose a resourceful state Outcomes Set a direction Rapport Get intorapportQuestionsLearnabouttheproblemInterventionThetechnique!FuturepaceCreateafuturewheretheproblemissolvedTestChecktomakesuretheinterventionworkedTheremay be timeswhen you get stuck and don’t knowwhere to go next -that’s fine. It often happens as a result of the Practitioner thinking toomuchaboutthetechnique.Herearesomeideasforwhatyoucansayoraskwhenyougetstuck.

That’srightWhatwouldbeagoodoutcomeforyouinthis?Wheredoyoubelieveyouarerightnowonthis?Whatwouldyouliketodonext?

Finally, and perhaps most importantly, the practice sessions are not a test.ThereisnorightorwrongcourseofactionandwhatIamlookingforisthatyouareabletohelptheclientmoveinthegeneraldirectiontheywanttogo.Idon’t really care if a technique appears to work or not - they don’t alwaysworkforme!WhatI’mmostinterestedinseeingisyouactingintheinterestsofyourclient,maintainingyourstateandmakingthemostoftheopportunitytodevelopyourskills.

15.2MasterPractitionerAssessment

ForMasterPractitioner,whatIwanttoassessisthestudents’abilitytomodelatalent.Iwanttoseethattheycanidentifythebehaviourofatalent,MetaModelthe structure of that behaviour, abstract that structure into a model and theninstallthatmodelbyteachingittootherstudents.Finally,Iwanttoseethemtestthemodelbygettingtheirinstallationsubjectstoreplicatethebehaviour.Allofthattakesplaceinhalfaday.Other trainers send studentsaway toconduct amodellingproject, andhere’stheproblemwiththat–thestudentswillpreselectpeoplewhotheythinkhavethe talent they’re looking for.This contradicts oneof the presuppositions ofNLP,thattheclienthasalltheresourcestheyneedtoeffectachange.Whatevertalentyou’reinterestedin,everyonehasit.Not everyone can play a musical instrument, but that’s not a talent, that’s alearned behaviour. Being presented with three modelling subjects who youhave not selected yourself forces students to look for that talent within that

person,andencouragesthemtochoosetalentswhicharedefinablebehaviours.TherotaworksinthesamewayasforPractitioner,soeachstudentwillmodelthree subjects and thenhave time to create theirmodel and their installation.Whentheirdesigntimeisup,thestudentstakeitinturnstodemonstratetheirinstallationandanswerquestionsabouttheiroverallapproachandfindings.Youwillneedtomakesurethatyourstudentsarechoosingrealisticbehaviourstomodel, soask them to thinkofamodelling topicadayor twobefore theassessment andmake time to review their choices. If they choose somethinglike‘leadership’or‘influence’thensimplyask,“Isthatabehaviour?”If the topic is toobroad, therewillbe toomanybehaviouralsteps, toomanyvariables and theywill not create ameaningfulmodel in the time available.Themorespecifictheyare,themorevaluetheywillgetfromtheexercise.Studentsonmymost recentMasterPractitionerprogramchosesubjectssuchas,“Howtolikeafoodthatyoudon’tcurrentlylike”,“Howtostarthagglingtogetabetterprice”and“Howtochooseingredientsforamealfromwhatisalreadyinthekitchen”.Interesting,eh?At the time that they choose the behaviour theywant tomodel, theywill notknowwhotheywillbeworkingwith,becauseyouwillnothavesharedtherotaatthatpoint.Therefore,theirchoicemustbebasedonsomethingthattheyareinterested in, rather that something that they think that someone is good at.Whenwe’remodelling,wedon’tknowwhatwe’relookingforatfirstandwehavetofigurethatoutthroughcarefulcross-referencing.When Imodel high performers in business, I ask for three high performersand threeaverageso that Icancross-referenceanddiscard theaspectsof themodel which are not relevant to high performance. With three randomsubjects,yourstudentsareverylikelytofindarangeofabilitieswithwhichtocross-reference.

15.3Rota

Ihighlyrecommendthatyoudonotallowyourstudents tochoosetheirownpartnersfortheassessmentsessions,becausetheywillchoosethepeopletheywant toworkwith,whichdoesn’t reflect ‘real life’, and theywill endupnothavingafairbalanceofsessionsasPractitionerandClient.Here’stherotawhichIuse.Whilethiswillcaterforupto8students,youcansplitalargergroupandusethesamerotaforeachsub-group.Youwouldneed

either4or8sessionstofullyrotatethegroups,soIhavefoundovertheyearsthatthisformatisthemostpractical,becauseinrealityIdon’tthinkyouneedmorethan6sessions.Thisalsoneatlyfitsintoamorning,includingabriefingand a goodbreak, and everyone canbreathe a sighof relief and enjoy theirlunch.ThisworksforbothPractitionerandMasterPractitioner.

15.4TrainerAssessment

Themost obvious activity for aNLPTrainer assessment is to run a trainingsession,howeverthisraisessomeproblems,themostobviousofwhichistheduration.Gettingastudenttodelivera20minutedemosessionisnotthesameasdeliveringevenahalfdayoftraining.Stayingontime,managingstudents,delivering demonstrations, managing practice sessions, none of this is aproblemfora20minutesession.The jobof a trainer isnot to standat the frontof the roomand talk. It is tomanage a complete and well-structured learning experience, and you’reunlikelytoseeevidenceofthatina20minutedemo.YourSNLPTrainerTrainingcertification requiresyou to send inavideoofthe first hourofyourPractitioner training, alongwith adescriptionofyourcoursedesign.Thatgivesmeasenseofthewayyou’veapproachedthedesignprocess and allowsme to see how your exercises connect togetherwithin alarger structure. Of course, it also allows me to see that you’re actuallycovering the required certification criteria for your Practitioner andMasterPractitionertraining.

15.5AssessmentCriteria

ThemostobviousthingthatIcantellyouaboutassessmentisthatyouhavetoactually be observing your students in order to know if they havemet yourcriteriaornot. Ifyouwerepayinga lotofmoneytoattenda trainingcourselikethis,wouldn’tyouwanttoknowthat,a)youhadearnedthecertificateand,b) the assessment actuallymeant something because you could give specificfeedbackontheirperformance?Ifyouhavemultiplepairsofstudentsconductingtheirassessmentsessionsatthesametime,youobviouslycan’tobservethemalltogether.Therefore,you

also need to plan your own time so that you see everyone at least open andcloseasession.Inaddition to theSNLPcriteria,youwillalsoneed todecidewhatyourownadditionalcriteriaare.Forexample,doyouwanttoseeevidenceofthesessionhavingaclearlydefinedstartandend?Ifyou’regivinga‘fiveminutewarning’thenyourstudentshavenoexcusenottowraptheirsessionsupneatly,eveniftheyhaven’tfinishedatechniqueastheyintended.Whatwillbemoreimportanttoyou,performingatechnique‘bythebook’ormaintainingaproductiverelationshipwiththeclient?TheSNLPcriteria are theminimumbaseline for assessment, soyouneed tosharethesewithyourstudentspriortothestartofthecourse,sothattheyknowwhat to focus on. Above that, your own additional criteria define theexperienceyouwanttocreateinyourtraining.

15.6PassorFail?

Once you haveworked out your standards for assessment, you then have tofacetheissueofwhattodowhenastudentdoesnotmeetyourcriteria.Let’sbestraight,IhavenevermetanotherNLPTrainerwhofailsstudents.Inmyview,thisdevaluesthecertification,becauseallthatastudenthastodotopassisturnuptothetraining.15yearsago,IattendedaBusinessPractitionerrun by someone who used to co-train with Bandler. After the afternoon teabreakonthefinalday,all200studentswentbackintothetrainingroomtofindourcertificateswaitingforus.The trainerhadusput themonourheadsandrecite something about promising not to be ‘assholes’ (hewasAmerican). Itwasafarce,aludicrousinsulttothevalueofthecertificate.Ifyoudon’thaveto earn something, if there is no standard forpassor fail, howcanyou feelproudofwhatyou’veachieved?Doyoufeelproudfortuningupandsittinginachairfor8days?This iswhy it’s so important foryou tosetyourstandards, rightnow.Whenyou’re looking into the doleful eyes of a studentwho expects to hear goodnews,it’stoolatetofigureoutwhatyourstandardsare.Ifyouknownow,youcanoffermeaningfulfeedbackthroughoutthetrainingprocess.Trainerswho don’t fail students tellme that they continuouslymonitor theirstudents’progressandgivedevelopmentalfeedback.I’veseenafewtrainersinaction,andI’veseennoevidenceofthis.

Developmentfeedbackiscritical,specificandnegative.Alotoftrainersdon’tlike tobecritical,specificornegative,so they like togivepositivefeedbackaboutwhattheirstudentsaredoingwell.That’snice,butitdoesn’thelpanyonetoimprove.KnowingwhatIdidrightisonlyhalfthestory.ImustalsoknowwhatIdidwrong.OnlywhenIhavebothsetsofinformationcanIselfcorrect.

15.6.1HELPfulFeedbackTo make life easier for you when giving feedback, I’ve devised a littleframeworkandmnemonictoHELPyou.Weallpresentanimagetotheworld,animageofperfection,ofhowwewanttobeseenand judgedbyothers.Evensomeonewhosays,“Idon’tcarewhatotherpeoplethinkofme”ispresentinganimage.Webelievethattheimagethatwepresentisallthatpeoplesee,our‘light’side,and thatwe areverygoodat hidingour faults,mistakes, badhabits and evilthoughtsfromothers,our‘dark’side.Inourdarkside,wehideourfearsandinsecurities.Wehidethemistakeswemakeandtheaspectsofourselvesthatwethinkofasbadornegative,butweonlyjudgeourselvesthiswaybecausewehavelearnedto.Inreality,behaviourisneithergoodnorbad,itisonlyeffectiveatgettingtheresult,ornot.Without mistakes and failures, we have no source of feedback to correctourselves.Ifyou’retryingtonavigateinthecar,whathappenswhenyoutakeawrongturn?Doyoustopimmediatelyandrefusetodriveanyfurther?Doyoublamesomeoneelse forgivingyou thewrongdirections?Doyoublame theroadsigns?Ordoyousimplyturnaroundandcorrectyourmistake?Feedbackisneutral,it’sjustinformation.Weattachjudgementandmeaningtothe feedback, so we learn to seek out ‘good’ feedback and avoid ‘bad’feedback.Welearnthatfeedbackisajudgementonourvalueasaperson.Of course, this is ridiculous.When you were a child, you didn’t know anybetter, but you’re not a child any more. Whether you see feedback as acriticism,orpraise,oraweakness,orastrength,whatyouareactuallydoingisdistorting the feedback.Youare changing the feedback so that it confirmswhat you already know. If you believe that you are weak, you will hearfeedback as a weakness. If you believe that you are strong, you will hearfeedbackasastrength.Itisneither,andtheonlydangerisinthejudgement,thedistortion.Ourbrains,likemanyoftheautomatedsystemsthatyourelyoneveryday,are

‘servosystems’,theydirectbehaviourtowardsagoal.Imagineatoycarwhichhasaverysimplyarrangementofamotor,wheelsandsomekindofsensortodirect it towards a target. The car ’s guidance system doesn’t need to beaccurate, it only needs to keep focus on the target. The car ’s pathwill looksomethinglikethis:

Thecaris‘offcourse’formostofitsjourney,yetitstillgetsthere.That’swhatyourbehaviourislikeasyoudirectyourselftowardsyourgoals.Sometimes,itwillfeellikeyou’removingbackwards,butthatdoesn’tmatter.Whatmattersisthatyouaremoving.Of course,we don’t simply head towards our goals, becausewe have otherforcesthatactuponus.Mostofuscan’theadofftoatropicalislandwheneverwewant,wehavejobstodoandbillstopay,sowefindawaytobalanceourlives.Ifwedon’tweighupthedifferentaspectsofeverygoal,weignoresomeof the factors that could lead to failure,with the result thatwe don’t end upwherewewantedtobe.Thepastandthefutureareillusions,tricksthatweplayonourselvestoexplainwherewearerightnowandtogiveusasenseofcontroloverourlives.Thepastand futureare lies.Wechange thepast tosuitourselves,andwepretendthat the futurewill definitely happen, just becausewe think itwill. The onlytruthisinthepresentmoment,andwhatyoucandorightnow.Feedbackispartofanyservosystem,asystemthatselfcorrects toachieveaspecific goal. Here’s a simplemethod to help you avoid the judgement thatleads to the emotional resistance that will prevent you from giving the bestchanceforyourstudentstosucceed.

H WhatHappened Sayorshowwhathappenedwithoutjudgingitasgoodorbad

E WhatyouExpected

Stateorshowthepointofreference,theintendedresult

L Don’tLeaveit Givethefeedbackasquicklyasyoucan

P MakeitPersonal

Onlywhatyousaw,heardorfelt.Secondhandfeedbackissubjective

Forexample,“Isawthatyoustartedyourswishwiththedesiredoutcomeandreplaced itwith the ‘problem’, the swishworksbypacing the ‘problem’ andleadingintothenewoutcome.”Givefeedbackonwhatyouobservedirectly,notwhatyouhearsecondhand,notwhatyou‘feel’,notwhat‘seemstoyou’.Bypresentinghardevidence,youallowyourstudenttoself-correct.It’salsoimportanttogivefeedbackassoonasyouobservethebehaviourthatyouwanttoinfluence.Themostimportantpointaboutthismethodisthatyouaren’ttellingthestudentwhattodo–you’remerelypointingoutthedifferencebetweenwhattheydidandwhatyouexpectedthemtodo.Note that you can equally use the exact same framework for giving positivefeedback.“Isawthatyouspentmostofyourtimelocatingthetriggerfortheresponse,that’sexactlyright,anditwillmaketheswishmuchmoreeffective.”Remember thatwhateveryour studentsdo isneithergoodnorbad, it simplygetsthemclosertoyouroutcomeornot.Theycandotheswishanywaytheylike,butthemoretheydeviatefromwhatyou’vedemonstrated,thelesslikelytheyaretoachievea‘result’.Youcanencouragethemtotestandexperiment–that’sagreatsourceoffeedbacktoo.HELP!Giveyour‘students’anexercisetopracticeandgivethemfeedbackusingtheHELPformula.

16TheEnd

Howareyougoingtoconcludeyourtraining?We talked about how you open your training, and how this creates yourlearners’ expectations and their frame of reference for what comes next.Should the end of your training be any different? After all, the end of onechapterismerelythebeginningofthenext.Youcouldclosewithsomekindofceremony,suchashandingoutcertificates,butthisisdivisiveifnotallofyourlearnershavemetthecertificationcriteria.Therefore,untilyouhaveassessedthem,youmightwanttogiveyourselftheoptionofeitherhavingacertificationceremonyornot.Theywon’tknowwhatyouhadplannedanyway!Certainly you’llwant to close any open loops and get your learners to stepbackandreflectonthewholeexperience.Metaphoricalactivitiesworkwellforthis, such as shared creative exercises where the learners collaborate toproduceavisualmetaphorfortheirjourney.It’s a very easyway to closeoff the course, it’s relaxing, fun, engaging andeveryonegetstoshowcasetheirownpersonalexperienceandcreativity.Youcoulduseonebigpieceofpaperwhicheveryonecontributes to,oryoucouldstartwithindividualpieceswhichtheyeachdrawandwriteon,andthenhavetofitthemalltogetherintoagiantpuzzlebeforefinallycommentingasagrouponthepatternsandtheconnectionsthattheycansee.Make sure that you allow plenty of time for drawing, and also for eachindividualtosharetheirthoughtsontheirmetaphorandtheirexperienceswiththegroup.Here’sanexampleofsome individualsmallpiecesofpaperarrangedon thefloorofatrainingroom.Youcanseeapileofcolouredpensinthemiddleofthecircle, so that the learnersare forced tostay togetherandshare thepens,eventhoughtheyareworkingonindividualmetaphors.

Andhere’sanexampleofanindividualmetaphoronapieceoflargepaper.

Finally,here’sanexampleofwhatagroupcontributionmightlooklike.

If you just ask your learners to talk about what they have learned, you riskgettingonlyshallowreflectionsalongthelinesof“Ilearnedhowtoputonaplay”.What you really need is for your learners to step back and reflect ontheirlearningfromahigher,moreabstractlevel.Onewaytodothisistoexplicitlyaskthemtodoit!Forexample,thinkofsomethingthatyourememberfromyourtraining,thenthinkaboutwhatthatmeanstoyou,thenthinkaboutwhatthatdoesforyou,andsoon.Eachquestionbuildsontheonebeforeandthesequenceleadsyourlearnerstoshifttheirawarenessandbringinmoreaspectsoftheirexperienceinordertoformulateananswer.Let’stryanexample.AbstractingLearningThinkofsomethingthatyourememberfromthisbook,orfromyourNLPTrainerTrainingexperience.Takeaminuteortwotocarefullyconsidereachquestion.Whenyourecallthat,whatdoyounoticeaboutit?Andasyounoticewhatyourecall,whatdoesthatmeantoyou?Andasyouconsiderwhatthatmeanstoyou,howisthatimportantforyou?Andasyoudiscoverhowthatisimportantforyou,howisthatvaluableforyou?

Andasyourealisehowthatisvaluableforyou,whatdoesallofthismeanthatyouhavetrulylearned?Andasyoufindwhatyouhavetrulylearned,whatcanthismeanforyouinthefuture,movingforwards?Andasyoucanseewhatthismeansforyouinthefuture,movingforwards,wheredoesthisnewlearningleadyou?Andasyouexplorewherethisnewlearningleadsyou,whatdoesallofthisdoforyou,andfortheworkthatyoudo?Andfinally,thinkingcarefullyaboutallofthis,whereareyounowinyourlearningjourney,asyourealisethesenewabilitiesthatyoucanenjoy?

Let’s thinkback towhatwehave learnedabout learning.Firstly, the learningcycle.Toensuretheefficientintegrationofnewknowledgeandbehaviours,wemust follow a sequence of Concrete Experience, Reflective Observation,Abstract Concept and Active Experimentation. How can you build this intoyourclosingactivitiestosupportthelearningprocess?Secondly,considerthedifferenttypesoflearningtheoriesthatweexplored:

BehaviouralCognitiveConstructivistSocial

Wemustensurethatourclosingactivities,andtheintegrationofthelearningprocess, gives our learners something to do, some knowledge to acquire,somethingtocreateandhasanelementofgroupinteraction.Whatwouldhappenifwesimplygaveourlearnerstheseingredientsandaskedthem to design their own closing activity?Would knowledge of the designprocesschangetheresult?DesignYourFinalSceneCreateyourownclosingactivity.Incorporateatleastonecycleof:ConcreteExperience,ReflectiveObservation,AbstractConceptandActiveExperimentation.Incorporatethefollowinglearningmodels:Behavioural(Dosomethingwithoutunderstandingwhy),Cognitive(Understandwhy),Constructivist(Createsomething)andSocial(Interactwithinagroup).Onceyou’vedesignedyouractivity,testitwithagroup.

Finally,considerwhatyouwanttosaytoyourlearnersastheyheadhome.ThankyouYou’vebeenawonderfulaudienceComeagain

RemembertoexitthroughthegiftshopClosingWordsWhataretheclosingwordsthatyouwanttosharewithyourlearners?Aninspiringquoteorstory?Perhapssomeinstructions?Notesomeideashere.

17TheBeginning

Duringyour journey throughNLP training,what haveyoudiscovered aboutNLP,andinthatexploration,discoveredaboutyourself?YoumayrememberthewordsofoneofNLP’sco-creators,RichardBandler:“NLP is an attitude and a methodology which leaves behind a trail oftechniques”.Youhavenowspent some timeexploring those techniques, andat thispoint,someofthemmayseemunimpressive,othersmiraculous,andthisisaninsightintothesubjectivenatureofourselves.Ifwecouldguaranteethataparticulartechnique would work before you had evenmet the person you’re workingwith,lifewouldbewithoutitsrichdiversityandexcitingchallenges.Allofthefootprintswouldlookthesame,andwouldallleadtothesameplace.AsyouhaveexploredNLP,youhaveaddedyourownfootprintstothisjourneythatweshare.AsyoudevelopyourideasandintegratetheprinciplesofNLPwiththeskillsandexperiencethatyoualreadyhaveevenfurther,youwillserveasaguidetoothershoping tomake that journey that isourbirthright; the journeyof selfdiscovery,insightandknowledge.SomepeoplefindNLPthroughadesiretohelpothers,andsomepeoplehavesomething that theywant for themselves.Whether you choose to focus yourattention on others or yourself, you are part of this evolving system whichencompassesusall.Whenonepartofasystemchanges,thewholemustchangewithit.Balanceisalwaysrestored.Therefore,bydevelopingyourownskills,achievingwhatyouwantfromlifeandlivinginpursuitofyourtruepotential,youhaveanimpactwhichreachesfather thanyoumaycurrently realise.You touch the livesofothers in everymoment, through the expectations that you create, the experiences you shareand the memories you leave behind. And in this you leave something ofyourselfwitheveryonewhoyouworkwith.Just as you carry around role models of people who have made a realdifference in your life – friends, leaders, entertainers, teachers – so youbecomearolemodelinotherpeople’slives,andtheywillforevercarrytheirimpressionofyouwiththem.Soasyoureflectonthispartofthejourney,thesestepsthatwehavetakensideby side, you can look back and see how our footprints have mingled andmerged, sharing your experiences, your fears and your dreams in order toenrichthislearningandgrowingprocess.

Iwanttotakethisopportunitytothankyouforchoosingtospendthispartofyour journeywithmeand towishyou safe travels ahead asyoucontinue tofollowyourpathandtobeopentothenewhorizonsandnewpossibilitiesthatawaityou.

18FurtherReading

18.1Books

TricksoftheMind DerrenBrownSecretsoftheAmazingKreskin KreskinHowtoWinFriends&InfluencePeople DaleCarnegie59Seconds RichardWisemanQuirkology RichardWisemanTheNLPPractitionerManual PeterFreethTheNLPMasterPractitionerManual PeterFreethChangeMagic PeterFreethLearningChanges PeterFreethCoachingExcellence PeterFreeth

NLP–SkillsforLearning1 PeterFreeth

TheBrainthatChangesItself NormalDoidgeGrowingUpWithLucy SteveGrand

18.2Websites

Myupcomingtrainingdatesandotherinformation:www.nenlp.comMycorporateconsultingwebsite:www.geniuslearning.co.ukMyoccasionalblogaboutmodellingexcellence:www.genius-at-work.co.ukOntheBrain,apopularneuroscienceblog:merzenich.positscience.comScientistsusebrainimagingtorevealmoviesinourmind:news.berkeley.edu/2011/09/22/brain-moviesPrinciplesofLearning,ImplicationsforTeaching:

www.cne.psychol.cam.ac.uk/pdfs/publication-pdfs/Goswami_JOPE_42_3-4_381-399_2008.pdfMaking long-term memories in minutes: a spaced learning pattern frommemoryresearchineducation:www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3782739Keep an Eye on the Time, Neuroscience-based research makes the case forchunked,spacedlearning:www.td.org/Publications/Magazines/TD/TD-Archive/2014/01/Keep-An-Eye-on-the-Time

1ThisisafreedownloadfromBookboon.Justsearch‘bookboonpeterfreethnlp’andyou’llfindit.

19TheAuthor

I firstencounteredNLPin1993whileworking in theTelecoms industryandI’vebeenstudying,developingandteachingiteversince.I’mnowoneofonly6SNLPlicensedMasterTrainersintheworld,havingcertifiedwithChristinaHalltothehighestlevelpossible.As the author of such well received books as “NLP in Business”, “ChangeMagic” and “Genius atWork”, I have an unparalleled breadth and depth ofexperience in applying NLP in business to create measurable performanceimprovements, such as a 700% increase in profitability for a globalengineeringcompany.I’vetaughtNLPallovertheworld,andhavebeena“guesttrainer”withsomeof the UK’s best known NLP training companies. Today, my focus is onexecutivecoachingandbusinessperformanceconsulting,usingauniquetalentmodellingapproachwhichenablesmetoreplicatehighperformancewithinanorganisationalculture.I’manexpertin‘modelling’highperformers;figuringoutthehiddensecretsof your highest performers and turning that insight into leadership,management and salesdevelopmentprograms that areperfectly alignedwithyourcultureandbusinessstrategy.Myinnovativeapproachhasledto:

700% increase in profitability for a leading global engineeringcompany25%reductioningraduatedevelopmenttimeandcostforaHighStreetretailer200%increaseinsalesconversionratesforacontactcentreoperator

Ontopofthat,Ihave15yearsL&Dexperienceacrossallmarketsectorsandorganisational levels; leadership and management development, coaching,NLP, sales, business strategy, and another 20 years corporate experience intechnologyandsales.Ifyouwouldliketoknowmoreaboutme,myconsultancybusinessorpublicspeakingopportunities,justgetintouch.

Website www.geniuslearning.co.uk

NLPtraining www.nenlp.com

Email [email protected]

Linkedin uk.linkedin.com/in/peterfreethgenius

Facebook www.facebook.com/peter.freeth.genius

Twitter @genius_learning

19.0.1Testimonials“IwasfortunateenoughtocompletethePractitionercoursewithPeterin2016and would recommend his training to anyone who is looking at how theyapproach thechallenges theymight face.Peter showedawillingness to learnwhat each of us on the coursewanted to gain and howwemight apply newskills.Thisfocusontherealworldapplicationofthesetechniquesbackedupby thebenefit ofPeter ’s experience andpragmatic approachwere incrediblyvaluableandenjoyable. I finished thecourseeager to revisitmyapproach totraining design and delivery and have since made changes which areincreasinglearnerengagement.”19.0.1.0.1PatrickArmstrong

“Peter ’s talent for analysing, deconstructing and distilling complexmaterialvia anecdotes, metaphor, demos, case parallels and small group practice toenliventhelearning,combinedwithhisknackforconnectingthedotsbetweencourse material and our own ‘real world’ circumstances, has made theexperienceinvaluableformeandiswhyPeterstandsoutabovetherest.”19.0.1.0.2CynthiaJacques

“Peterisacoachinggenius.IhavehadseveralcoachingsessionswithPeteraswell as attending his accredited NLP training courses. Peter is an incisive,focused,challengingandplayfulcoachwhohas theknackofgettingright tothe core of an issue quickly and without intrusion. He is hugely inspiring,influential, supporting and caring at the same time. “Time with Peter is aninvestmentthatpaysbacktimeandtimeagain.”19.0.1.0.3TonyMoorcroft

“15YearslaterandI’mstillusingthetechniquesPetertaught.IfirstmetPeterwhenheagreedtospeakatoneofourconferences.Hehasanincredibleabilityto captivate large audiences and stillmanage to communicatewith everyoneindividually.He always got great feedback.There’s no text book to do lists,Peter is able tomake it personal, giving real life, useable solutions that arepractical and give results immediately. Evenwhen there are irrational fears,suchaspublicspeaking.InanhourIwasarmedwithanapproachandastateof

mindthatIstillusetoday.”19.0.1.0.4SimonPolledri

“IhadbarelyheardofNLPbeforeIsigneduptoPeter ’sPractitionercoursetenyears ago. Iwas extremely fortunate tohavehimasmy trainer and theNLPcourse was a revelation! NLP has enhanced my own life and my work(teaching,trainingandcareercoaching)eversinceandIhavefoundhisbooksasentertainingandinformativeashistraining.”19.0.1.0.5RuthGuy

“Peterissomeonewhopracticeswhatheteaches.Heteachesnotwhatiswritteninabookbutrealpracticalstuff.It’sfairlysimple,youlearnandyouexecute.Theprocessbetweenlearninganddoingsimplyunfolds.Thefalsebeliefsandlimitations Iheld allmy life seemed todisintegrate likemagic.Andwhetheryou believe in magic or not - attend his training, you will experience aphenomenonthat’smagic.”19.0.1.0.6TapasMalaiya

“HavingjustcompletedtheNLPMasterPractitionerinSpainwithPeterFreeth,IhonestlycannotthinkofamorefantasticlearningexperienceandIhavebeenon many! This course is about “mastery” not just learning techniques andtheory,itishighlyinteractiveandimmersiveandwithconstantoversightfromPeterIfeltsupportedatalltimes.Overall,anexcellenttrainingexperienceanda complete shift in many aspects of my own skills and thinking. I cannotrecommendthiscoursehighlyenough.”19.0.1.0.7SteveHeneghan

“PeterFreethhastheraretalent.Histrainingapproachengagesyourbrainatalevel deeper than mere understanding, he helps you to learn how to teachyourself, to question and challenge your beliefs and perceptions rather thanjust regurgitatingabunchof informationand techniques.HisknowledgeandexperienceofusingNLP inabusinessenvironment is impressiveand Ihavelearnedalotfromhim.IwouldhighlyrecommendPeter ’simmersivemasterpractitionercourse.”19.0.1.0.8JohnLesley

“Peter is aworld-classMaster Facilitator and has shared his vast experienceand insight with many of us. His ability to Coach and understand peoplebehaviour isalsocommendable.At thesame timeheremainsakeen learner,openfornewideasandconceptswithahighlevelofinterculturalsensitivity.HeisoneofthebesttrainersIhaveseenandworkedwith.Hehastheabilityto

bring out the best in people through putting them at ease. I will stronglyrecommendPeterforExecutiveCoachingandLeadershipPrograms.”19.0.1.0.9NitinThakur

“I became General Manager of a Business Development function in a new“intra-penuerial”division.Newmarkets,solutionsandteammemberswereallneeded. Iwas looking for support to improvemy ability to generate resultsfromandwithallthesenewpeople,notforgettingmypeersintheleadershipteamandourexecutives.WorkingwithPetergavemetechniqueswhich, inmanywaysusedmyinnatesenses,wisdomandabilitiestoreallyenhancehowItookaction.Iwasabletopacemy interactions to those of the individuals and teams I interactedwith.Too often our focus on content success, failure and answers confuses ourchancetoseetheotherperson.OnceIwastunedintoaclientorateammemberIcouldleadwiththemtotheplacesIneededtoustofindtogether.Thisreallyhelpeddevelopingnewbusinessopportunitiesanditalsogavemethetoolstobeclearandstraightforwardwithoutcomplicationorconflict.AkeystrengthIgained, through understanding why I was doing this, was the self-belief tostandupandcommunicatewithvisionandreally lead teamsandinteractions.Knowingwhy helps to unearth the natural passion for the challenge and thesatisfactionofachieving.Itwasn’tallplainsailing,managingandleadingneverisandthetoughissues,exiting poor performers, tricky client situations, tough executive reviews,tense management relationships were all enhanced through my work withPeter.Peter ’ssupportwasvitalin;

Helpingme recruit 25 new teammembers and bringing almost all ofthemtoquota,Inselling£0.3bnintwoyears,landingmilestonedealsinanewmarketandnewtechnologyarea,and in giving our executive confidence in our growth that generatedtheirinvestmentoftimeandresources.”

19.0.1.0.10GuyWood,Director,SalesDevelopment,CGI(GlobalITServicescompany)

“PetersupportedourrecentStrategicManagementBoardawayday,lookingatour future strategy and vision. His interventions were clear and kept usfocussedon theagreedoutcomes for theday inanexcellentway.Hedidnot

shyawayfromchallengingusorgivingussomesimpletoolstobringclarity.Welookforwardtoworkingwithhimagaininthefuture.”19.0.1.0.11MattProsser,StrategicDirectoratSouthOxfordshireCouncil

“I enjoyed working with Peter in a mentoring capacity which helped mypersonaldevelopmentandconfidencetotakeonamuchbiggerrole.Iwouldrecommend working with Peter to support in the training and developmentarenawithyouoryourteams.”19.0.1.0.12AndrewPettingill,ManagingDirectoratMeridianBusinessSupport

“Peterisahighlycreativeandthoughtfulcoachwithanexcellentknowledgeofhissubject.Hehasaverypersonableandpragmaticapproachthatencourageshisclientsexploretheirissues.”19.0.1.0.13StephenCordellMCIPD,L&DManageratParkerHannifin

“PeterFreethhasauniqueapproachtoputtingtheoryintoaction.Irecommendhis book to Learning and Development professionals, HR managers ortrainers.”19.0.1.0.14MannyRichter,HumanResourcesManager,Bostik

“Peter isaquality focussedprofessionalwhosetsandexpectshighstandardsof performance. Peter is able to provide real value to clients and delivercourses and learning of a high quality. The knowledge and experience thatPeterhasenableshimtobuildrelationshipswellandtoinspireothersaroundhimtoproducetheirbest.”19.0.1.0.15GavinMuge,GavinMugeLearning&Development

“I worked closelywith Peter Freeth at Oxford BrookesUniversity, andwasvery impressedbyPeter ’sknowledgeofhissubjectarea,and theattention todetail he gave regarding the terms and conditions of the contracts wediscussed.IhadgreatconfidencethathavingagreedthetermsandconditionsofthecontractswithPeter,ourinterestswerewellprotected.”19.0.1.0.16KevinHenderson,ContractsManager,OxfordBrookesUniversity

“Peter is highly skilled at building business relationships at all levels. Hecombines strong commercial awareness with exceptionally clear verbal andwritten communication. Inmy experience, Peter always delivers on projectsthatheisinvolvedin,andIconfidentlyrecommendhimasabusinesspartner.”19.0.1.0.17IanWycherley,ProgrammeDirector,OxfordBrookesUniversity

19.0.2ReviewsforPeter’sbooks“CoachingExcellence-Astraightforward,noholdsbarredguidetothesteps

to coaching mastery. As well as boiling down the real keys to an effectivecoachingsession,italsoexploresthebehavioursthatcoachessometimeshavethatholdthembackfrommakingarealdifference.Apowerfulreadfromstarttofinish,andabookthatI’mrevisitingconstantlytohelprefinemyskillsandpushthroughthefear,whoever ’sfearithappenstobe.”19.0.2.0.1MattHatson

“Hugely practical and refreshingly straight-forward. A must for any coach,teacherortrainer.”19.0.2.0.2DavidNicoll

“A practical, congruent and elegant handbook that I can not praise highlyenough...inspiring,stimulatingandhighlypractical”19.0.2.0.3StephenCotterell

“Thisreallyisasgoodastheysay”19.0.2.0.4KarlTyler

“ThisisoneofthemostpracticaltoolkitsIhavefoundforopeningupthinkingandcreatingnewpossibilities.Oneofaleader ’s‘musthave’books”19.0.2.0.5DavidNicoll

“Iactually felt that Iwasn’t reading thisbookbuthavingaconversationwiththeauthor.Peter ’s style isverymuch towrite to the innervoice, the internalcriticthatweallhaveandIfoundmyselfansweringthequestionsposedalongtheway.Hehasmade it averyengagingbook indeed -howmanybooksdothatnow?Nodoubtyouwillhear thatsomethingis“commonsense”withoutstoppingtothinkwhatthatmeans.Whatstruckmeinthisbookwasthatifyouwantagoodideaaboutwhatcommonsenseactuallylookslikeinpractice,thenit’scontainedwithinthepagesofChangeMagic.Theprinciplescontainedareideal advice for anybody engaged in change (and who isn’t nowadays?) atwork, and also to build into training programs which are about personalchangeorforthosewhobringitabout.Ihavetosaynoneofthiswasincludedinmyformalmanagementqualificationsbutreally,itshouldhavebeen.”19.0.2.0.6StephenHopkirk-ESHAssociates

“If Ihad to reducemybusiness library toonebook, thiswouldbe it.Peter ’sapproachispractical,downtoearth,andperpetuallychallenging.Thischapisto be counted amongst the business gurus/greats. And he has one greatadvantage over many of them - his stuff actually works across the wholebusinessnotjustfor‘strategy’people.”19.0.2.0.7DavidNicoll

“Peter gift wraps startling ideas with great entertainment. Peter has enoughintellectualpower tomake this a ‘MUSTHAVEBOOK’ ...ChangeMagichasconviction,style,knowledgeandhumour.”19.0.2.0.8MichaelFlaherty,PracticeManager(RAMC)29CommandoRegt(RA)

“A practical and engaging set of everyday problem solving tools which isguaranteed togeneratesolutions toproblems,andleaveuserswithsmilesontheirfaces.Magic!”19.0.2.0.9GeoffCook,MD,TheTrainingPartnership

“A wealth of new insights and ideas, Change Magic represents a differentapproachsothatyoucantakeawayyourownuniqueinterpretationsandapplythemintotherealworldoforganisationalchange.”19.0.2.0.10PeterHarty,MD,InnervisionPerformanceCoaching

“Not just another book about how to think outside the box.No check list orrecipes to follow but definitely full of ideas that challenge your establishedroutinesandconventionalthinking.Nomatterhowsuccessfulyouhavebeeninthebusinessworld,amustreadforall.Veryinspiringbook...shouldbegivento all employees andmanagers at every level of the organizationwhen theycomeonboard.”19.0.2.0.11Jean-BaptisteGruet,VPGlobalSales,WorkplaceOptions

“Excellent,brilliant,justwhatIwaslookingfor.ThebooknowlookslikeI’vehaditforyearsandhasloadsofstickymarkersalloverit.I’venowbecomemoreawareandrefined,honedandadaptedusingthesuggestionsandtipsandI’ve been using/applying it all over the last twoweekswith fantastic results.ThisweekhoweverI’vehadphenomenalreactionsfromthesalesstaff in theclassroomsessionsI’vebeenrunning.SoaverybigTHANKYOU.”19.0.2.0.12KarenStockton,AssociatedNewMedia

19.1OtherbooksbyPeterFreeth

Also look for TheUnsticker on the Google Play Store. It’s free, it’s worldfamous,andyou’llneverbestuckagain.