01 NLP N Teaching

How To Get Ahead - Page 1 - Copyright Dr Peter EH Smee, circle-of-excellence.
com, 2005
Barnaby Bear is a UK school initiative that brings fun into primary school classes.
Chapter One Class members take him on holiday with them and he sends messages about places that he visits,
which then feed into class projects, helping kids to relate to what they are taught.
Remember that when we use jargon words like rapport,
the practical application of the jargon that we use can be simple…and should be fun!
The Application of
NLP in Teaching
Chapter One, at a glance

Key Aims In Chapter One
1. To explain how NLP vastly enhances and expands our concept
of accelerated learning, from the point of view of a teacher, trainer or coach.
2. To present a large number of examples and case studies, so that
you can decide which aspects of NLP and Accelerated Learning are of most interest to you.
Introduction
3. To provide practical activities that you can undertake with friends and The journey we will be taking
colleagues, so that you feel you are able to apply NLP in your day-to-day work.
Rapport
Interestingly, research by the Hay McBer group has found that 70% of the
Overview of Chapter One effectiveness of a teacher is dependent upon the emotional tone of a class. In other
words, the ways in which a teacher interacts with their students and the ways in
 Rapport Skills, how to read body language and send subtle ‘signals. which students interact with one another. This means that less than 30% of a
teacher‟s success can be attributed to subject knowledge. And suggests that it is
 The VAK model, a teacher’s guide to what goes on in the mind of a learner. wise for teachers to become more adept at the social and psychological
 Engineering emotions, and accessing a charismatic and confident state of mind. management of the learning experience.
Sitting in a café, restaurant, pub or bar, you will probably have noticed how
 Use of language, advice on ways you can communicate with precision or with couples, who are becoming amorous, begin to mirror one another‟s movements, in
obscurity, as the occasion demands.
what can be easily described as an informal dance of agreement. And as you look
 Communication as narrative, which relates to the notion that storytelling is an around, you might also have noticed that friends and family members also engage
effective way to package ideas so that they are effectively communicated into the
subconscious of the people whom you teach.
in this same dance, which psychologists call rapport.
Now. As a result of NLP research and training, many professionals are becoming
 Persuasive patterns of speech, in which we outline some of the key patterns aware of how to use the principles of rapport to good effect. They have learned
that mark out charismatic speakers.
how to engage other people in rapport, quickly and easily, by matching the kinds of
body movements and tones of voice used by the people with whom they interact.
They have also learned how to progress beyond rapport, in many interesting ways.
Some of which we will discuss in the pages, which follow.
How To Get Ahead - Page 2 - Copyright Dr Peter EH Smee, circle-of-excellence.com, 2005
But as the caption to the picture of Barnaby Bear suggests, as we discuss many The VAK Model.
Many people think in terms of (visual) images, (auditory) sounds and (Kinesthetic) feelings
ways in which you can use rapport in the course of your teaching, do remember
that you are a human first and a teacher second. Keep your ideas simple and to the Vision: reflect on the
point. Have fun and play with some of the ideas that we describe. See what works. visual images you use
when you recall events
Find out what doesn‟t. And maybe try your best ideas from different perspectives, that have happened to
to see how far you can push them. For experimentation is the name of the game. you in the past, or
And curiosity should be your overriding emotion, if you are to make the most of describe a favourite
cinema film to a friend
our notes. Because when we talk about rapport and the emotional tone of your
classroom, and when we discuss issues related to body language and calibrating
cognitive strategies, you have to look beyond the jargon and the psychobabble. For
the jargon is only useful to the extent that it enables us to enter into a discussion
about ways to accelerate learning. Once you get into the classroom and you are
faced with twenty to thirty faces, you do not have time to be too intellectual and
technical about your observation and calibration of student thought processes. The
intellectual stuff is fine for before and after you face your class. But, during
classtime, you have to be down to earth and practical. If you try too hard, you will Sound: when and where do you hear sounds in your
give out all the wrong signals. head, when you recall something someone said, or a
piece of music? Ask around and discover how your
The secret is to play with ideas, and to relax into the goals you have set for each experiences compare and contrast to those of friends
lesson. For example, begin by noticing the degree to which your students look and family
motivated and alert, and the number of times they smile and appear happy to be a
part of your lesson. And, if you stumble on something that works: keep it! Or, if
your planned activities go awry: improvise! Try something else. You never know.
A flash of genius might bubble up from nowhere. For a youngster in a reception
class, Barnaby Bear generates instant rapport, because he links into their feelings
for all manner of other cuddly toys. But if you were being too intellectual about
your teaching, you might never have realised how effective a stuffed toy can be…
VAK Model
Assuming you have gained rapport, you will want to do something with it. In terms
of this chapter, we will be discussing how you can progress from rapport to quickly
assessing and ascertaining the cognitive strategies of the students with whom you
interact. Remember (from the preceding chapter) that the VAK Model is based on
the observation that certain non-verbal cues are associated with the dominant
visual, auditory and kinesthetic processing of ideas. Hence the name V(isual),
A(uditory) and K(inaesthetic). Using the VAK Model we can assess the cognitive
Feeling: what are the sensations in
strengths and weaknesses of students and then progress beyond those strengths and your body that you call happiness or
weaknesses. In the short term, by reframing our communication so that it meshes excitement or joy and how do the
sensations you feel compare and
with the cognitive strengths of those whom we teach. But in the longer term by contrast with the experiences of
stretching and expanding the range of thought processes to which each of our those around you? …
students has access. For ideally, all students will gain the ability to conjure vivid
and well defined imagery in all sense modes.
Engineering emotions
Taking the VAK Model to the next level, in the pages that follow we spend some Engineering emotions.
The words engineering and emotion are often considered opposites. However,
time discussing the notion that it is possible to engineer emotions… all we are doing here is making explicit a set of processes with which we are already familiar
…Now. When we use this phrase engineering emotions in conversation with some
teachers and trainers, we find that the concept of engineering is perhaps one of the e.g. Entertainers work to make us feel
good. NLP seeks to bottle the formula
most controversial contributions of NLP to the world of teaching and training. And used by entertainers and cause students
this is mainly because many teachers and trainers intrinsically feel that the word to feel good about studying.
engineering has connotations of force and coercion. However, most of those with Imagine lessons so dramatic that no one
would want to look away, in case they
whom we chat immediately feel happier, once they realise that the term missed something.
engineering in NLP has been inherited from the work of NLP researchers working
with NASA, where the term Human Engineering refers to studying the human
aspects of any system, and not to developing some form of mass compulsion and
intimidation.
Of course we could have changed the term engineering to something else, which
elicited a warm and fuzzy feeling in you, but then you would have difficulty
e.g. Peer groups exert many subtle forces to
moving on from our work and reading more about the notion of emotional cause us to conform. We all know about
engineering in the future. Thus, as you can imagine, with the choice between situations in which our emotions get taken along
with those of the crowd. So rather than leaving
disregarding a powerful aspect of NLP, because the historical roots of that the emotional tone of a class to chance, we
discipline have given rise to a technical sounding name, or putting on one side the suggest it is a good idea for a teacher to take the
prejudices associated with the word engineering, and utilising the insights derived lead.
from highly funded NASA research, we were convinced that the decision was a no
brainer. And, having considered the matter from a number of perspectives, we felt
that most readers would quickly be able to see beyond common connotations
associated with the notion of engineering, as it is applied to psychology.
For in summary, the key observations that underlie the concept that it is possible to
engineer emotions are very simple. For example, we have all been in a situation,
like a celebration, and been reminded of a past time in which we were unhappy,
and then found that for no apparent reason we were no longer in a good mood.
Indeed, if you look at the bulk of the media output in Western Nations, it is clear
that as a society our culture accepts that it is possible to feel bad, spontaneously,
and for no good reason. Hence, it is the contention of NLP practitioners that, given
our culture permits us to engineer negative emotions for no good reason, there must
be an element of choice associated with our feelings. e.g. Many people are well practised in the
…In short, the concept of engineering emotion derived from the curiosity of NLP skill of scaring themselves with feelings of
inadequacy. NLP provides us with options
innovators, like Richard Bandler, who wondered about the underlying processes for simple techniques you can use to feel
that allow us to feel spontaneously depressed. And having modelled those good for no good reason. Realise that
processes, and changed the focus emotion from depression to joy, Bandler some of the monsters that we conjure in
our minds are merely a matter of
suddenly found that his students reported the ability to feel unusually good about perception. When you look at them from a
themselves. And the notion of engineering emotions was born. new angle, they appear a lot less
intimidating.
Language Thus, when NLP innovators modelled the world of public speaking, they found that
As we become more aware of the emotional tone of a classroom, we begin to success as an orator could be distilled down into a number of easy-to-learn key-
realise that language has a huge impact on the way we think and feel. ideas. Which means that as teachers we can make use of those key ideas. Which
will hopefully mean that we will become more charismatic and interesting to listen
With regard NLP, this has given rise to two models of language, the Meta-Model
to. Not least, you can expect to become more interested and intrigued in the subject
which engages with the conscious, logical and creative side of the mind, and the
you teach, because in order to mesmerise a student, you (yourself) must first
Milton Model, which engages with the less logical, emotional and sub conscious
become entranced in the message that you are communicating. Hence if you decide
aspects of the brain. As you might expect, both models have their uses in the
to integrate NLP into the classroom, you will be consigned to having to find ever
classroom. Teachers can use the emotionally powerful Milton Model to woo
more ways to make both teaching and learning more fun and enjoyable. Which
students into an appropriate state of mind, and then use the Meta Model to help
means you will have to spend more time watching high quality TV, reading
students to refine their understanding and problem solving capabilities. Hence by
engaging books, going to the theatre, playing games and listening to music…all in
combining the two models, we stand the best chance of linking teaching with
the name of lesson preparation.
learning.
At some level, we are all young at heart.
Remember, just because a student is exposed to teaching does not mean that they A large part of the brain is set up to interpret stories more easily than academic treatise.
are learning anything, any more than a potential customer exposed to a salesman Interestingly, it is the part of the brain most often linked with memory.
This is one reason that stories have historically been linked with communication of knowledge.
will buy the product they are being offered. In order to encourage students to be
receptive and actively engaged in learning, a teacher needs to generate a state of
mind that is consistent with the material being taught (which might range from
curiosity to a specific mental focus). They then need to engage with both models of
language to generate instructions and descriptions of the material being taught, to
which the student can relate. Finally, the two models can also be used to assess
what is taking place in a student‟s mind, and can lead to a lot of laughter when you
make a students preconceptions explicit.
For example, some of our students were completing a PowerPoint presentation and
complaining that they were not imaginative. A week later they had to give their
presentation and they were looking nervous. So we asked them: if youre not
imaginative, how come you can feel scared about speaking to an audience. Because
to feel scared about a public presentation, you have to be able to imagine
something going wrong? But since none of you is imaginative, then surely nothing
can go wrong. Which at least made them smile and forget their nerves for a
moment…which was the effect that was hoped for.
Communication as narrative
Homing in on the subject of communication in more depth, we begin to look at
ways in which you can combine both the Milton and Meta models of language in
the form of stories and narrative. Recall times when you have watched skilled
comedians, such as Billy Connolly and Ben Elton. And consider the power of
orators, such as Winston Churchill or Margaret Thatcher. You can then consider
the question: What is it that causes some speakers to be so captivating and
persuasive? And the answer is that most persuasive, engaging and charismatic
speakers are able to use stories and narrative to entrance their audience.
Persuasive patterns of speech

Rapport
Finally, moving on from the notion of narrative, we peer even further into the
processes that can be used to author a powerful lesson. Here we begin to discuss Aims
how you can go beyond using narrative as a way to garner interest, and beyond the
use of stories as a way to deliver analogy and metaphor. And we start to learn There are four skills that you will gain from this section on rapport. The first
about a range of ways to drop new and complicated ideas into the minds of involves learning about the nature of rapport and how rapport skills are used in a
students, without your audience even being aware that there is a subtle and variety of professions. The second relates to generating rapport between you and
subliminal level of communication that exists beyond the superficial surface of the other individuals, a skill that can be very useful in tutorial situations or when
story to which their conscious mind is attending. Then later, we can backtrack and communicating with a single person in a classroom. The third examines gaining
begin to work at a more conscious level, building upon the themes that we have rapport with a group. (The aim being to equip you with the skills needed to
previously dropped into the subconscious, by adding a more conscious appreciation generate a positive learning environment. That is, to enable you to cause students
for the detail associated with our subject matter. to feel at home in your class, by feeling able to relate to you and also feeling that
they are a valued part of a larger, cohesive, group). The fourth involves moving
The wow-factor
Ever wondered what it is about a person‟s use of language (and body language) that makes us react to them
beyond rapport between teacher and student, or between one student and their
as if they were charismatic or a waste of space? The truth is that there are a few principles that make all the colleagues, and on towards use of rapport as a foundation for encouraging each
difference as to whether we are taken seriously – or even listened to at all. Ever been taught by a teacher lacking in students‟ desire to learn.
charisma and you will understand why we could all do with more charisma than we already possess.
Now. To pre-empt the kinds of questions we often get asked with regard
motivation, we underline that we are not suggesting that you convert all your
students into some version of the Stepford Village, in which everyone yells yippee-
yippee, and experiences feel-good motivation, all day and everyday. Rather, we
will be seeking a more modest and attainable application of the notion of rapport.
But first let us examine the forces arraigned against us…
Realistically, we are all aware that some individuals are determined to feel bored
and cynical at any cost…despite any and all of your best efforts. For example, I can
say with certainty, from my own experience, that I have taught many people who
were attending my class because parents or employers told them that they had to.
And as with many people who are told that they have to do something, they react
by resisting the intrusion on their freewill. For as we all know, when told we have
to do something, the instant reaction is often to go inside and chat to ourselves in a
grumpy internal voice. The problem being that while you are inside being grumpy,
most of what goes on around you passes you by, which in a classroom means that
you are continually missing new ideas that you would otherwise find interesting.
Which makes you confused and reinforces your belief that you were right to feel
negative in the first place! Which brings us to a second group of people whose
presence sucks the life out of a class, if left unchecked…
…For, if you are like me, you will also have taught many people who were clearly
sitting in your class because they saw the certificate provided by successful
completion of your course as a passport to gaining employment. They were not
actually interested in the subject matter of the course, and were therefore
disengaged. (Though as an aside, it always surprises me when someone studies a
subject that does not interest them, given that the resulting certificate will probably
be a passport to a job in which they are not interested. However, this irony aside…) Rapport is the best way to underpin your authority.
You can try being domineering, but in the long-term it rarely works.
Again the physical presence of a student slumped over their desk with a bored aura
touching all who sit nearby, is less than helpful. Emotions are contagious, and
strong emotions are particularly easy to catch. A few slumped individuals
undermine other student‟s confidence in your lesson. (And this is assuming that the
disengaged students are not actively seeking to undermine you as a way to pass the
time of day!).
So…what to do? You can try being domineering, but by limiting yourself to one
emotional state of mind, you limit your options. And you limit the emotional tone
of the class to one that is essentially combatetive. Hence a better option is to master
a range of emotional expression, and to learn to calibrate your level of emotional
rapport with your class, so you can determine if a particular emotional strategy is
working for you…or whether you need to change tack. For if you persevere and try
enough combinations, eventually you should be able to reach and win over even
the most recalcitrant of students, and thereby set the emotional tone of the class Rapport provides the basis on which teaching and learning can proceed most easily
Use rapport to engender good feelings and a sense of security in which a student can grow and develop to their full
back onto an appropriate positive tone. potential. Without rapport, either natural or learned, very little teaching and learning can take place.
Taking a worse case scenario, even when a student begins with complete
disengagement, I find that rapport skills can be used to begin to move them from a
spirit and attitude of indifference towards at least feigning a modicum of genuine
interest. And more often, it is even possible to build a bridge between the student
and the subject, so that they begin to become enthused. Which begins a virtuous
cycle in which, as the student becomes more interested in the subject, they find that
their memory is enhanced. They then find that study magically becomes easier, and
learning suddenly becomes more fun. And so with a little thought and effort, once
you affect the main characters in your class, you get to look out on some happy
smiling faces, which has an effect on your own ability to be motivated…as a
teacher and presenter of new ideas…which feeds back into a more positive
experience for those who have to interact with you. Because if you have ever had
to experience the soul-destroying activity of teaching a class in which more than
twenty-five percent of the students are disinterested, you will know what I mean
when I describe the bored contingent as emotional vampires, sucking the life out of
the class as a whole.
As a presenter, it is difficult to stay upbeat, if your audience look disengaged. And
if you cannot remain upbeat and positive in your classroom, and if you give control
and dominance to individuals who have no love for your subject matter, then do
not be surprised if students begin to take you less and less seriously. For in each
class there is a subtle interchange of emotions taking place, and either you use
rapport to elicit positive emotions…or others will use it to undermine you.
The nature of rapport The fact is that when you know where to look, we leak the truth from every part of
our body. For example, take the mentalist Derren Brown. As a specialist in the
The word rapport is simply a technical term that psychologists apply to subtle
inner workings of the human mind and a trained NLP practitioner, Derren Brown
emotional processes of interaction with other people. These are processes, which
has an occasional series on television in which he showcases his skills. In one
we undertake everyday, without thinking about them. And the main reason that we
program he set up a sign that simply said beware of pickpockets. Human nature
need to begin to consciously attend to processes of rapport boils down to the fact
being what it is, as people read the sign they naturally went to touch their most
that our emotional engagement or disengagement with other people provides the
valued possessions, thus indicating to Brown where they were carrying their
basis on which all our other interactions succeed or flounder.
money. He then completed the gag by picking the pocket of each passer by and
For in a social setting, our depth of rapport also affects our place in the hierarchy of then giving back the valuables on camera.
the group, which means that it either reinforces or undermines our designated
Now. While you may not want to become a mentalist, who like an Olympic athlete
authority as a teacher and a leader of the activities that take place in our classroom.
has to train hard enough to make their money from an understanding of rapport, we
Which is why a class will behave well for one teacher and behave badly for
hope that you will soon become intrigued enough to find out more. Most of us have
another. Because one teacher is able to exert an aura of personal authority that the
read the statistics in popular psychology books that tell us that 80% of
other cannot.
communication is non-verbal, but few of us realise the implications of this
Whatever your previous experience in the classroom, we emphasise that becoming statement until we meet someone who is an expert in body language and begins to
skilled in the use of rapport can be learned. Whether or not you feel you are a point out the cues that are occurring all around us. For example, psychologists have
people person, you can become more attuned to the people around you, and better used slow motion photography to discern very fast facial movements that
able to engage with their emotions. To begin with, you may have to consciously communicate subliminal messages between people, without those people being
attend to the processes of rapport, but after awhile they will become second nature. consciously aware that anything was happening. The movement is completed and
For example, we often liken rapport skills to skill in running marathons. Just as answered in less than 1/100th of a second, and we register only vaguely in our
running is an activity in which most people can engage without much conscious conscious mind that we like or dislike someone as a result of that movement. In
thought, so is rapport. Yet just because running is an activity available to everyone short, no matter how good you are at rapport now, there is always something more
with legs, we accept that if someone wants to become a professional runner they for you to learn, in order to improve your skills.
need to undertake conscious coaching, training and practise. And if they want to Suddenly the non verbal signals of others come into focus
attain national or international fame, they need to put a lot of time into their The more you take the time to look and to appreciate, the more you will see - and the better you will react
training. The same is true of rapport. If all you want is to gain enough rapport skills
to get by in your personal life, a few hours instruction will be enough for most of
your needs. You can then safely do a couple of laps around your house, in relative
safety. If your profession requires a lot of communication and interaction with
others, then you need to be more diligent in your training. And if you expect to rise
to the top of a communication-based profession, you will need to make the most of
the advice to come…
In particular, you will want to take the time to become more observant of the non-
verbal behaviour that goes on all around you, of which you may previously have
been unaware. From my own perspective, I can recall being taught to recognise the
eye accessing cues (explained later in this chapter). Now I see those cues all around
me, used by people I know, people I meet, people I pass by, and people on
television. Hence a small snippet of information, combined with a ten minute
practise session overseen by an NLP trainer, suddenly opened up a whole new
world. I can recall suddenly beginning to understand how street magicians appear
to telepathically know what their audience is thinking.
To use a common experience, as an example of the impact of subliminal non- they have been wrong about the other people around them, all along. Now, as you
verbal communication, we often feel negative about the superficiality of a have a might have guessed, what we hope to do in this chapter is to indicate how rapport
nice day smile because while the mouth is smiling, other facial muscles are not. can be used to generate these epiphanies without the need to grouch about one
Thus while our conscious mind registers a smile, our subconscious mind registers another for several years. Just imagine how powerful it would be to encourage all
something very different and notes the discrepancy, which is why people who often teachers and students to like one another, or if not like…at least find grounds for
use a false smile are often experienced as being untrustworthy. But fortunately, respect.
once we begin to tune our senses to the non-verbal communication that is taking
place all around us we do not need high-speed cameras to progress our Rapport in Russia
understanding. As soon as we notice that a subtle dance is taking place all around If you get the opportunity, watch the television show in which
us, we can use the metaphor of dance as a tool by which to influence a lot of Derren Brown recreates the skills of some Russian con artists,
practical understanding. who spend about a minute gaining rapport with a tourist, and in that minute persuade the tourist
to let the con artist hold on to their wallet, with absolutely no coercion involved.
A good dancer is one who is able to glide in synchronisation with a partner without Using rapport combined with hypnotic sleight of mouth,
treading upon their feet. And thus it is with the processes of rapport. Anyone who one guy handed over his wallet, mobile phone and watch,
has ever danced with another person, or watched dance on television, will realise in return for Darren Brown‟s half drunk bottle of mineral water.
that good dancers move in time with one another. With Olympic ice-dancers Torvil
and Dean, it was as if two people were moving as one, perfectly synchronised. And
it is this ability to intuitively and emotionally synchronise with another person that
we will be seeking to embed within your mind over the course of the next few
pages.
In fact if truth be told, with regard rapport, it is not so much that we have to teach
you anything. Rather, our task is to remind you of aspects of your mind that you
may have left behind in childhood. For rapport skills are hardwired into our
subconscious, and are in use from the time you were born. It is only as you left
behind childhood and moved your locus of thought into the conscious parts of your
brain, that you began to rely less and less on your subliminal appreciation of the
emotional cues given off by the body language of those around you.
Becoming skilled in the processes of rapport is especially useful when you have to
engage with people whom you would not normally get on with. Like a couple of
dancers who appear dis-coordinated, we all experience some of the people around
us as if they were stamping all over our toes. And they probably feel the same
about us. With the result that each person withdraws into their own mental
imagining of the other person‟s state of mind, so that they less and less actually see
and hear what the other person is actually trying to communicate.
Look around and you will see many disputes and bitching contests in which two
people actually have very many values in common, yet have constructed a fantasy
image of the other person that demonises that person‟s every intention. Everyday
we hear comments, such as “they always do that”. Then, the complainant goes on (http://www.channel4.com/entertainment/tv/microsites/M/mindcontrol/)
to perpetuate the ill feeling, by acting as they have always done in the past.
As many NLP trainers say, “if you keep doing the same actions, you will keep
getting the same reactions”. One day, if they are lucky, our Odd Couple act out of
character for a moment and as a result have an epiphany in which they realise that
On a more positive note, many readers will have had the experience of meeting a Sometimes you have to make a conscious effort to blend in
Rapport skills give you a starting point from which to begin.
stranger and in a short time feeling that they have known the other person all their
life. In this situation, if you imagine sitting and watching the meeting unfold, as if
you were watching two strangers meeting for the first time, you begin to notice that
the body language, voice tone and subject matter of conversation between the two
people are in tune and that the dynamics of the movements of the two people are
in synchronisation. You will then notice that as the people you are observing begin
to move, talk and chat in ever more synchronisation, they become oblivious to
everything else around them. Finally, you will notice that the more the physical
actions and tone of voice of each person merge into a flowing dance, the more
deeply they become immersed in one another‟s world, whether the context be
people falling in love, a sales person closing a deal, or a charismatic speaker
charming an audience.
Whichever of the preceding scenarios that you are witnessing, you are also
experiencing the day-to-day use of the same techniques that are used by hypnotists
and magicians the world over. This is why we say that an audience is entranced by
a charismatic person, that people who fall in love are under one another‟s spell, or
a persuasive sales person is mesmerising to watch. Indeed, go to any place in which Some suggested homework
people meet and communicate and you will see the hypnotic processes of rapport The need to learn rapport is an excellent excuse to visit cafes, bars and pubs to watch the dance that people
taking place, with people falling in and out of rapport, in and out of agreement, in undertake as they interact one with another – and perhaps to have the odd drink in the name of research.
and out of relationship. Indeed, an ideal lab, in which to observe the effects of
rapport, is a local pub or club in which singles meet to pair-off. Go along to your
local pub or club and subtly watch the world go by. Watch those who quickly
synchronise with those they meet, and appear to effortlessly pick up a date, and
those who are anxious, stiff and awkward and find it hard to find anyone who
wants to talk to them, because their lack of rapport puts others ill at ease. Usually,
for no other reason than that their anxiety causes them to move out of
synchronisation with those around them. .
Having visited a club, either literally or in your imagination, cast your mind back to
a time when you met someone, who felt familiar, despite the fact you had never
met them before in your life. You may remember that there was an almost instant
attraction (and we use the term attraction here in a wider sense than simply sexual).
Now, as you recall the situation, you may begin to notice that the other person‟s
body language reminded you of a close friend or relative. You will probably notice
that their tone of voice was similar. You might also notice that their interests in life
were alike. Having completed the preceding thought experiment, think of someone
who irritates you, and you will begin to notice the very opposite sequence of
factors. The person who irritates you moves and speaks in a very different way,
using different kinds of words and different patterns of speech. Without realising it,
you may have taken an instant dislike to the person simply because their body
language was very different to your own.
Now, flitting back to the bar and watching couples begin their dance of rapport, Remember. Like a dance, the process of rapport is dynamic and leads somewhere.
So keep checking to ensure that it is leading in a direction that is appropriate.
you will begin to notice that, within the dance, one person leads for a while, then,
after a time, the other person takes the lead. Keep the metaphor of a dance at the
forefront of your mind, because a dance is dynamic and keeps evolving. At no time
is it static, except when it is over. Hence, it is important to underline that,
ultimately, the process of rapport is moving and evolving your relationship in a
specific direction. Hence, in a professional setting, it is helpful that you can
compare and contrast the direction in which rapport with another person is taking
you, because that direction needs to be congruent with what you hope to achieve.
Those teachers, who are truly skilled in rapport, lead in such a way that their
students become engaged with the goals of the lesson. I can recall teachers for
whom I was happy to study for an extra hour and other teachers for whom I
resented spending ten minutes on an assignment. And while this may sound
manipulative, as a student I would rather feel good about my teachers and my
studies than feel bad or bored by either. Hence, it would benefit many teachers to
watch the skills used by sales people, because ultimately all teachers are selling the
ideas that they present. Because if the class is unwilling to buy into the idea, then
both teacher and class are wasting each others time.
As you consider the skills of sales people, you may have noticed that some sales
people immediately engender a feeling that you really would like to buy, even
though you had only been browsing or window-shopping. In contrast, you will
recall other times in which other sales people so mismatched you, and so failed to
gain rapport, that you felt distrust, irritation and a desire to take your business Another good place to study the dynamics of rapport is to watch sales assistants
who are successful with their clients. Or even better, spend some time watching market traders and
elsewhere. For example, I can recall a recent trip to an electrical retailer in which street entertainers, where you can see some excellent rapport skills in action.
none of the handheld computers I wanted to buy were switched on. I asked the
shop assistant if they could demonstrate the products and they said they could not,
because if the computers were switched on for customers to play with, they would
become demonstration units that could not then be sold. I then asked how I was
going to find out which, if any, of the products (ranging from £70 to £300) would
do what I wanted, if I was unable to try them out. His answer was for me to visit
their website (which meant that I would have to travel three miles home). Two
minutes later, I walked next door to another shop. In the second shop I bought one
of the exact same computers from a salesperson willing to put a battery in a
computer and switch it on. Hence, far from being rocket science or manipulative,
rapport is more often concerned with becoming aware of what someone else is
communicating and communicating back in an appropriate manner. The sales
person who told me to visit a website, that I could have viewed at home, without
travelling three miles to the shop, completely mis-matched my request, so I mis-
matched his desire for a sale.
Illustrative stories from a variety of professions In terms of practical lessons from the stories told here. First, all professionals can
use rapport techniques to gain trust or cooperation, the only question is the degree
There are some extremely interesting and powerful applications for the processes
to which those professionals are conscious of the impact their non-verbal
of rapport within the profession of teaching. But before examining these, we will
communication is having on those around them. Second, the more sophisticated
take a moment to reflect upon a number of stories from our personal experiences of
one becomes in joining another person‟s dance, the more likely the dancer will
rapport in a number of different venues. These examples will help you to get a feel
cause others to feel good for no apparent reason, and the less likely it will be that
for the ways in which the theory can be put into practise, in a number of very
we will cause those around us to feel awkward – unless that is our intention. For
straightforward ways.
most of us, learning the secrets of rapport will enable others to better enjoy their
time in our company.
Nick‟s Story: causing people to smile for no apparent reason.
Pete met Nick after he had been diagnosed with a serious illness. While Nick was When you begin to experiment with rapport, think of being a mirror,
but a mirror which distinctly alters what it displays, because exact mimicking is irritating
talking, Pete noticed that Nick was naturally agitated and that his hand was moving
in a rhythmic motion. In order to calm him, Pete began to nod is head very, very
slightly in time with the hand movements. As the movements synchronised into a
subtle dance, it took only a few moments for Nick to begin to smile and to visibly
relax.
A practical point to note here is that while some dances (of rapport) involve an
overt mirroring of another person‟s movement or tone of voice, these dances are
like the childhood games we play with friends and family. As we grow up, it seems
stranger and stranger to see another person mirror our movements exactly. As you
will realise from your time spent in observation in pubs, clubs, cafés and
restaurants, while those who move in-synch with one another move in time with
respect the rhythm of their movements, the way they act is not an exact mimicking
or mirroring. Rather, like in a dance, each person improvises and evolves on the
basis of what their partner is doing. Thus, while later in this chapter we will
suggest exercises in which you practise mirroring another person‟s movements and
tone of voice, we will also be emphasising that the suggested games are simply a
foundation. An exercise to get you started.
As an adult, you will quickly move beyond an exact mirroring of another person‟s
actions, tone of voice and content of speech. For example, Pete took the rhythm of
Nick‟s hand movement, and made up a complementary head movement, which only
needed to be extremely subtle because the human sub-conscious is aware of far
more information than is passed-on to the conscious mind. (The subtler the better!)
Other people, who are expert in the art of rapport, match their rate of breathing. For
example, we have heard of trainers who have had to deal with a child who was
distraught after an accident. They held the distraught child and matched the child‟s
rate of breathing, before then calming their own rate of breathing into relaxation. A
few seconds of matching the panic, followed by a slowing into calmness, was all
that was required to subliminally communicate to the child the direction in which
their behaviour should move.
Tania‟s Story: Diffusing conflict As you become better with your sense of rapport,
imagine yourself to be like a percussionist, improvising with a dancer,
A good friend of ours is in business and uses rapport techniques to pacify difficult gradually take the rhythm towards the kind of music that you want to play.
(Pictures: drums and berimbau are used to provide the rhythm for a game/dance of Capoeria).
clients and to reduce their aggression. A friend of Linda‟s recently used the same
techniques to diffuse a potentially violent situation on the London Underground.
Tania was travelling by underground to a training course. On the way, two guys got
into an argument over who should sit on the one spare seat. Just as the two were
about to begin a fistfight, Tania stood up and placed her hand between the two guys
and shouted in a really loud and angry tone of voice “Isn‟t it f***g awful how
these cramped trains make us all so angry”, as they stood stunned, looking at the
hand she had placed between them, she calmly sat down and smiled demurely in a
relaxed manner. The two men simply looked at each other and were at a loss what
to do next. The rage was gone and they backed off to opposite sides of the carriage.
The message to take away from this example is that you do not need to be in
rapport for very long before taking over the leadership of a dance. Tania simply
matched the aggressive mood of the men for a few seconds, and then changed her
own emotional state with the expectation that the men would follow. Having
matched the emotional state of the men, on a subliminal level, as soon as Tania
changed her state, the natural human reaction was for the men to follow her and
become more relaxed.
The principle of matching and following is well illustrated by Street Hypnotists
(entertainers who practise hypnotism on the street) who walk behind people,
exactly matching their cadence and rate of breathing. The walkers are often not
consciously aware of what the hypnotist is doing, but are still greatly influenced,
whether by peripheral vision or through hearing footsteps. In one routine, the
hypnotist exactly matches the walker, a member of the audience who does not
know what is going to happen. After a few seconds, the hypnotist pretends to trip
and almost invariably the walker simultaneously loses their balance. The trick
works because any subliminal match between two people has a powerful hypnotic
effect.
For example, few people realise that when a group of individuals are in-synch with
one another, their rate of breathing, heart rate and even blinking also begin to
synchronise. The gradual synchronisation is a natural process, and is one of the
reasons why music and singing is experienced as such a powerful bonding force. If
people are singing the same song, they are even more quickly moving their bodies
into synchronisation, and as the group begin to literally breathe as one, everyone
subliminally senses the unity. Which is why groups can end up acting in ways that
an individual outside the group would never consider. Because once everyone is in
synchronisation, dissent becomes less and less of an option. Each individual enters
into an ever deepening hypnotic state.
Scooby-Doo Story – Being a Leader. Rapport can be gained in all manner of ways…through cultural allusions.
People will only follow your lead if they respect you or if they fear you. And as we
stated previously, engendering fear is not an effective long term solution to control.
Neither is it desirable in many social contexts. This leaves us with the notion of
respect. Which also leaves us with the challenge of demonstrating respect to others,
for respect is a two-way emotion. For after you have communicated respect to
others, they will feel more relaxed about reciprocating. And as you might imagine,
rapport techniques are a powerful way in which to communicate respect. For
example, many people gain rapport with kids by picking up on the words they are
saying, the tone of voice they are using, and games they are playing. They then link
from the words and the tone of voice to whatever it is they want to get done. For
example, if you want a five year old to go and clean their teeth and they have just
been watching Scooby-Doo, you get a much more positive response by pretending
to be a monster chasing them upstairs, than you do from whinging and whining.
The request is then part of a game, rather than a chore.
In terms of using rapport to communicate respect, there are two important
principles to bear in mind. First, in order to obtain rapport, you have to
momentarily visit the other person‟s state of mind. This means that you actually
need to have respect, or else your non-verbal communication will leak the fact that
you are a fraud. People who do not have respect for those around them can get
away with much in the short term, but then tend to be faced with medium and long- One of our colleagues conducted an online university module by basing it on Big Brother,
term repercussions. For example, many people in sales, who sell products they do with people being voted in and out of teams, based on their participation.
not believe in, tend to generate a variety of neurosis. I have met a number of The course was rated highly in end of module feedback forms, submitted by students.
therapists who make their living treating sales people who think that they are
getting away with conning their clients, and who then live lives in which they are
unhappy. Whether or not one has any spiritual beliefs, people who abuse others in
any way tend to reap a mental whirlwind.
Second, the concept of respect does not mean that you want to live the same
lifestyle as the other people you meet. The principle of respect does not even mean
that you approve of their behaviour. It simply means that on some level you
recognise that the other person is another human being and that you are willing to
enter the same world of experience, even if only for a few moments. For example,
if a young child is having a tantrum, you might match their activity for a moment.
By doing this, you will not be indicating that a tantrum is an emotional state that is
to be visited very often or for very long. Rather you will be indicating, through
role-play, that it is OK to have a tantrum but even better to calm down quickly
afterwards. After experiencing your pattern of behaviour a few times, the child will
learn the progression from tantrum to relaxation, and afterwards be able to go from
anger to relaxation without having to go via the tantrum.
We underline here that when we suggest that you respect the other person, whose When in Rome do as the Romans do
By now you will be realising that rapport is a skill that depends on an ability to observe
behaviour or attitudes you want to modify, you do not want to relinquish the lead in and gently mirror back the values, language and movements of others.
the process of rapport, or else they will modify you into their attitudes and Think of yourself as an actor studying for a new role.
behaviour! Hence the reason that many psychiatrists become neurotic, because
their form of therapy uses rapport and then gives over guidance of the session to Combine the watching of a mime,
discerning how people move…
the client. The client then takes the therapist into a neurotic or psychotic state of
mind, from which they find it increasingly difficult to return. In short, you have to
tread a fine line between leading from a position of respect and dominating from a
position of arrogance. Hence, while there is give and take in the process of rapport,
you need to monitor that the overall direction of the relationship is on course to
reach the aims that you have set in your mind.
A really good illustration of one person‟s use of the processes of rapport, to lead
another person to a clear end-goal, is provided by famed hypnotherapist Milton
Erickson. Once, when Erickson was working in a psychiatric hospital, one of his
patients continually talked word salad. Word salad being a way of speaking which
refers to a form of expression in which all utterances are total gibberish. From a
conventional point of view, all words are spoken in a seemingly random way, to
the extent that the mental condition which gives rise to word salad is difficult to
mimic. However, Erickson was not to be daunted by this challenge… …with the analytical abilities of a singing
teacher or voice coach…
The unfortunate patient was not only speaking incoherently, but because he had
been picked up on the street, no one knew anything about the man‟s background.
Feeling empathy for his client, Erickson went out of his way to use an audiotape to
record his interviews with the word salad patient. He then set about learning how to
mimic the word salad, by beginning to mimic the strange patterns of intonation that
he began to discern in the speech that he had recorded. Having begun to grasp the
strange intonations, Erickson then listened to his tapes and began to discern other
patterns within the babble – until he felt confident to begin communication.
One day, a little while later, Erickson sat with the patient. The doctor let the patient
speak for as long as he wanted, which in the event transpired to be a marathon
three hours. Erickson then proceeded to chat in word salad, back to the patient, for
three hours. Then, after some six hours of incoherent babbling, the patient turned to
the psychiatrist and said, in normal English, “you know, you are the first person I
have met in here who spoke any sense” . Over the course of the next few weeks
and months, Erickson spoke with the man regularly, and gradually, more and more
of the conversations were in English and less and less were in word salad. The
principle to note here being that while Erickson was always willing to respect his …with the observational attention to
patient and engage in word salad, at the same time he was subtly moving the detail of a comedian, commenting on
patient towards speaking in English for longer and longer periods of time. how people interact with one another.
Using rapport in teaching Strangely, while controversy ranges over the use of various forms of discipline,
few people seem to wonder what it is about a number of teachers and youth
You will have begun to realise that rapport is a phenomenon with which we engage
workers that enable them to interact successfully with delinquent children, whom
everyday of our lives, and that the key insight communicated in this section is that
other people are unable to deal with. I have heard a number of stories of small
we can use rapport in very practical ways in order to cultivate happier and more
women having very large men quaking in their boots, through the use of tone of
fruitful interactions with others. We have heard stories of rapport being used to
voice. And there are the archetypal stories of hospital matrons, holding tremendous
cause others to become happier, to lead others towards a more enjoyable and
power through force of personality. Yet strangely, outside the NLP community,
useful state of mind, and to replace conflict with friendship and calm. We are sure
few people make it their business to investigate what causes one person to be
that you will agree that all these uses of rapport are useful to teachers, trainers and
perceived as having authority, while another is perceived as ineffectual. So here are
coaches, whatever the subject matter they seek to communicate. However, to be
some stories to pique your interest…
more specific about the uses of rapport in teaching, we offer another set of stories
that are more teacher specific. For research by the Hay-McBer group indicates that Dave used to run a youth club in a community centre next to a South London
the main distinguishing feature of a good teacher is not a deep understanding of the estate. To give a sense of context, the estate was a no-go area for police, unless
subject matter, but rather an interest and enthusiasm for the subject you teach and they were in force. And in the time I lived nearby, a number of the kids were
the people you are teaching. implicated in a murder. While I met others who ran the family drug trade while
their parents were in prison. (When Dave asked a fourteen year old drug dealer
Noel‟s Story – demonstrating an interest in those around you.
how they protected themselves… the reply was that they dealt from a car
People remember teachers who appear to have an interest in them and the subject window…and there was always someone in the back seat with a sawn-off shotgun
matter they are teaching. I remember one of my teachers, a man called Noel. !) In short, the kids were not easy to work with.
Everyone who met Noel came away from a conversation with him feeling that they
However, Dave was very good at gaining rapport with youths who had trashed
were the most important person he had met that day. He was not a graduate of any
many other youth clubs. He did this by joining in the youths games. Unlike many
school of psychology, he simply had a genuine passion for what he taught and a
other teen-workers, Dave was not afraid to get involved in games of physical or
genuine interest in the people he met.
verbal jousting. Being a sportsman and ex-martial artist, Dave joined in and made
When I think back to the times I chatted with Noel, I now realise that he had an sure he won by being more determined than anyone who challenged him. The kids
uncanny ability to pick up upon what you were saying and to frame his reply in thought this was great fun, and found it a novelty having an adult talk and act in
terms of your own language patterns. Thus, whether talking to a doctor or a this way. Thus, by the time a few weeks had passed, Dave had the respect of many
dustman, everyone had the impression that they were talking to someone who was of the leaders of the main peer groups.
interested in their understanding of the subject being taught.
Dave then deepened the respect of the kids by helping those who were chucked out
As an example of an expert in rapport, Noel epitomises best practise. Ideally, of home or who had been arrested. As an ex-policeman, he was able to sit in on
everyone reading will learn the principles of rapport, play with the principles with interviews with social workers or the police and act as a translator between
friends and colleagues, then like Noel simply allow your sub-conscious to take the officialdom and those on the street. He also operated an open house policy, which
principles you have learned and put them to work for you…in the best interests of was rarely abused. As an example, I once remember entering Dave‟s house as three
both yourself and those around you. very large guys were leaving. We all said hi and everyone was very polite and
Dave‟s Story – tough love amicable. Later I found out that two of the guys were gang leaders and the third
People tend not to want to break rapport, with someone with whom they feel an was their minder. Underneath the polite smiles, they were all carrying swords or
emotional bond, and this is useful to know when you need to provide discipline in a large knives. The point of the story being that none of the guys with whom Dave
difficult classroom situation. By the same token, there is no innate reason or worked had achieved their position of power in the local underworld by being
motivation for anyone to follow the orders of someone for whom they have no weak. Yet through Dave‟s continued use of respect and rapport, he was gradually
emotional bond of respect. A good teacher therefore needs to be in rapport with all working new ideas and values into the street culture of the area.
individuals in a class, because without rapport the only other form of authority is After a few months, as Dave‟s rapport with the many peer groups grew, their
fear, and fear is difficult to maintain unless one lives life in a manner that few of us respect for his values grew. Many of the kids had no-one else to turn to. And they
would enjoy. knew that if they were out of order, Dave would tell them to walk until they had
apologised and made recompense to the people they had wronged. Thus over time, At the time in which I knew him, I saw Gerald often have an audience eating out of
kids who one year were threatening to burn down an activities tent that the youth the palm of his hand. For Gerald had an ability to insightfully gauge the emotional
club used over the summer, in later years became bouncers at that same event. tone of an audience, to tap into the beliefs and attitudes of those around him, and to
Indeed, one of the gang leaders that I met on that dark night, a couple of paragraphs build those insights into a powerful feeling of rapport, in which an audience of
ago, eventually became a youth worker working in a nearby estate. several hundred people would become motivated to undertake even the most
Thinking about the lessons that can be learned from this story, if Dave had tried to harebrained of ideas. For people loved Gerald‟s cheeky willingness to say the
play the fear card in order to instil discipline, there is no way he could have things that normal and polite conversation left unsaid. Thus, while he was never
controlled gang members who threaten others with knives and swords as a matter rude, or crude, or even blunt, he was simply matter of fact with a large dash of
of course. On the other hand, without authority Dave might just as well have comedy to sweeten the pill. A Package that he used to sell all manner of lifestyle
packed up and gone home, because other youth clubs in the area were trashed by choices to those around him.
vandals. Thus, in a situation in which neither fear nor laissez-faire-hope-for-the- Looking back, Gerald‟s delivery was not unlike a comedian like Ben Elton, which
best leadership will work, rapport is the only way in which one can hope to cause simply underlines the fact that rapport with an audience does not require someone
people to behave in a more acceptable way – and the rapport worked, time and to be bland. On the contrary, it requires someone to be adept at sensing the mood of
again to Dave‟s advantage. Of course, it was not an easy tightrope to walk. And as the people around you and then using that mood to take your audience on a
I look back I can see that there were many times that Dave literally put his life at journey. For the power of Gerald‟s performance was that he engaged in a huge
risk. But at the same time, he got the results for which he hoped, and there are amount of rapport, but then pushed the bounds of what is normally acceptable, just
people who are alive now and living law abiding, productive lives, who would enough to keep people interested and to encourage the minds of his audience in a
otherwise be either dead or in prison. very particular direction.
Now. Considering the wider implications of Dave‟s story…I have met a number of To provide a personal illustration of the preceding point, Pete once had to give a
other teachers who came from a similar police or military background, and who presentation at a conference in which he had to speak in the dreaded after lunch
have treated their students with an attitude similar to Dave‟s. On the one hand slot. Notice here that the lunch was both very large and very enjoyable. The venue
showing rapport, and on the other having very clear boundaries. And this approach was a small island in the middle of a large river on a hot sunny day, with the
to life appears to be a mix that both kids and adults respect. On the whole, most windows open and the sun sparkling off the water, as it moved slowly by. All
people like others who are able to combine respect with a clear value system of morning, there had been interesting but fairly monotone academic presentations.
their own. Because most people like others whose values they can depend upon, There was only one course of action in order to avoid catalepsy in the audience.
and like others who live their values, without proselytising. Even if they do not Pete got a chair, stood beside it, said “This is a lovely sunny day and we have all
agree with those values, they begin to respect them and even to admire and emulate had an enjoyable lunch and feel the need to sleep” and so saying began to fall back
them. into the chair and drop down into a caricature of sleep. Then he changed tack,
jumped up and said “ or I can tell you my story” at which point everyone was
Gerald – reading an audience wide-awake. So, while Pete in no way describes himself as the life and soul of the
There are some people who are considered charismatic, they light up a room, or party, the ability to sense what needs to be said and done in order to engage
are recognised as the life and soul of the party. These people, of whom my rapport, even if those actions and words appear strange in terms of normal
acquaintance Gerald was one, are brilliant at reading the emotional tone of any everyday convention, is an essential skill for any presenter of ideas who hopes that
group of which they are a part. They are also expert in discerning the things that his or her audience will be interested, motivated or otherwise influenced by what
everyone is thinking but no one is saying. And by being the first person to they say. And, if we are not seeking to interest, motivate or otherwise influence
articulate these unspoken thoughts, they quickly gain respect and authority from then we have to wonder what we are doing as teachers, other than drawing our
those around them. salaries. I say this because there have been occasions on workshops for
schoolteachers when attendees have said that they thought it dangerous for teachers
to seek to be charismatic. To which my reply is very simple: I believe it to be
dangerous for us not to be
The importance of drill and practices…

Exercises. Great sports personalities also practise so that they can play without having to consciously stop and think every
few moments. If you want to get good at rapport, you will also find that you need to put in a reasonable amount of
Get into threes and take it in turns to fill the roles of storyteller, interviewer and conscious practise, so that the skills will be subconsciously available to you when you need them.
So…start easy and gradually build up to more sophisticated applications of the ideas you have read about.
observer. Each storyteller needs to tell a story about an interesting life-event, or
recall and recount a time in their life when they felt really good.
During the exercise, the interviewer wants the storyteller to be as relaxed as

possible. In order to help the storyteller to relax, the interviewer finds subtle ways
to mirror the speaker‟s body language. For example, if the storyteller is slumped,
the interviewer slumps, if the storyteller crosses their legs, then the interviewer
crosses their legs too.
The task of the third person in the group is to act as observer. The observer feeds
back their observations at the end of the session and leads a short and succinct
exploration of the interviewer and storyteller‟s experiences.
Important note. The art in this exercise is to mirror the other person without them
becoming too aware of what is happening, which means that subtle body
movements such as rate of breathing are the most powerful. The art is to avoid
inducing a feeling in the other person that you are mimicking them and having a
joke at their expense. Otherwise, they might get angry and bop you on the nose.
A note about embarrassment. As this is your first real NLP-like exercise, you and
your friends may feel a little self-conscious to begin with. It is fine to laugh. You
will soon settle down into your respective roles.
If you feel adventurous as an interviewer. If your storyteller begins to flag,
consider mirroring voice as well as body language. Identify exact word phrases
and/or mannerisms, such as tone, pitch and speed of talking. These phrases and
mannerisms are then embedded within open questions designed to get the story
flowing again. But avoid paraphrasing, because it is usually irritating to a speaker.
Paraphrasing is a classic error made by poor therapists and often results in poor
rapport – and another bop on the nose.
If you feel really adventurous. If you have a job in which you meet a lot of people,
you can of course take the essence of this exercise and immediately apply it.
However, if jumping in at the deep end, take care to err on the side of subtlety,
because people really don‟t like to be overtly mimicked.
The problem is that, as a close friend once said to me many years ago, weaknesses
VAK Model can become strengths, and strengths can become weaknesses, it all depends upon
context. For example, attention to detail is a brilliant cognitive skill to possess,
Aims except when applied in the context of a relationship, when it can become nagging.
We are using the term VAK model here because the term is often used by NLP A laissez-faire and laid back attitude can often be very effective in allowing
trainers. And it is also used by teachers and trainers, who have been influenced by students to explore the bounds of their capabilities, but in other cases can cause
ideas derived from the work of Lozenov, in the discipline now referred to as immature students to believe you do not care if the work is completed on time (or
Accelerated Learning. However, while both sets of professionals use the same at all). It all depends upon context. And yet the human mind tends to prefer to play
term, they mean slightly different things. Hence, those knowledgeable in to its strengths irrespective of context, which can become a problem. For when we
Accelerated Learning will be intrigued by the NLP definition of the VAK Model repeatedly utilise the same cognitive strategies in every situation in which we find
because it greatly expands the range of practical applications in the classroom: ourselves, irrespective of how appropriate those strategies might be, we store up
trouble for the future.
First, we can modify the way we communicate ideas in order to match the mental
processes used by our students, pupils and trainees. For example, there are times The wider the range of cognitive abilities to which we have access, the better. For
when Pete hands out instruction sheets, which two thirds of a class use to get very then we have choice. For even the most basic of academic tasks requires students
good marks but which one third find difficult to understand. The question that then to be able to access a range of abilities. For example, an ideal cognitive strategy for
arises is: What are the differences between someone who can read a sheet of editing a text is very different to a strategy that is ideal for generating a block of
instructions and get a good mark, when compared with someone who receives the text, which is very different to the strategy that brings success when setting the
same sheet of instructions and receives a less impressive mark? Because if we can aims and objectives you wish to achieve by writing the piece of text. Hence, one
identify those differences, perhaps we could teach a bigger proportion of each class reason why we might want to make use of the VAK Model in the classroom is to
to do well. Indeed. Most teachers I have spoken to agree that, when someone asks extend each student‟s repertoire of mental strategies. A thoihgt which is epitomised
you to explain an instruction that nearly everyone else finds easy to follow, the and emphasised by the saying, often repeated during this book, that if the only tool
situation can quickly become very frustrating. More often than we would wish, we you have is a hammer, then everything begins to look like a nail. Hence, it is
are faced with three options: (i) give up on the student and blame them for the important that students learn to become more discriminating in the kinds of mental
problem, (ii) repeat the same words again and again in the hope that repetition will tools they use, when undertaking an assignment.
generate insight, which it rarely does, (iii) or use the VAK model to gain insight Third, we can begin to model expertise in terms of the VAK model, so that we can
into the student‟s cognitive processes, so that we can identify how to refine our then teach that expertise more easily in the future. You will find that in later
instructions in the light of those processes, thus enabling the student to continue sections of this book there are extensive descriptions of the mental models used by
their work. accomplished experts. People using these models have caused pupils labelled as
Second, we can use the VAK model to extend a student‟s repertoire of mental learning disabled or dyslexic or ADD to quickly accelerate their learning. And all
strategies. Often, people have grown up and developed various habitual responses that is required is a modicum of imagination on the part of the therapist/teacher
to various categories of problems. For example: (i) the student who always applying the VAK Model. For example, an award winning international composer
approaches a new module with fear of failure, and is convinced s/he will fail at developed a simple strategy to teach children how to compose sophisticated music.
everything, except the process of applying fear to every issue; (ii) the student who His strategy is based on Mozart‟s mental strategies for composition. And within an
is convinced that every new idea has to fit into their preconceived notions, which hour, the composer can take most groups of children through the processes
becomes the intellectual equivalent of a three-year-old child bashing a round peg required to compose an interesting piece of music.
into a square hole, (iii) the student who is so open minded, and who is ambivalent Now. Having outlined what we might want to do with the VAK Model, we will now
about everything except ambivalence; (iv) the student who procrastinates about describe the model in more detail, so that you can begin to make use of it…
everything except for procrastination; (v) or the student who is serious about
everything, to the extent that even when asked to relax they furrow their brow and
make an effort…to relax.
Confusion is a norm to be avoided

The nature of the VAK Model Reflect on how difficult it is to get people to understand and follow the simplest of instructions
and you will realise why we need more effective ways of communicating ideas
Underlying assumptions
The underlying assumption of the VAK model is that all human thought can be
conceptualised (and notated) as a sequencing of information from our five senses:
visual, auditory, kinesthetic, olfactory (smell) and gustatory (taste). The main
reason for the term VAK being that most models tend to focus heavily on the first
three senses: visual, auditory, and kinesthetic. (And the fact that the acronym
VAKOG is relatively clumsy!)
In notation terms, the letters V, A, K, O, and G refer to the various senses, with a
small i being added to the letter if the person is focusing inside and imagining an
experience, a small r if the person has withdrawn inside and is remembering an What the customer asked for As sales recorded the order
experience, and a small e being added if the person is focusing outside, on external
stimuli. The only other notation is Ad, which refers to the internal voice or dialog
many of us have within our mind‟s ear. (As when we are internally running
through the items on a shopping list).
In short, all human experiences and mental processes can be notated by the
symbols: Vi, Ai, Ki, Oi, Gi, Vr, Ar, Kr, Or, Gr, Ve, Ae, Ke, Oe, Ge, and Ad. While this
may at first glance look complicated, especially to any math-phobics reading this
book, the practical application of the underlying theory is extremely simple. And as
long as you have a gentle grasp of the overall concept you can achieve good The brief provided by the As the design team
practical results. The symbols are simply presented here in order that you gain an analysts, after reading the sales finalised the blueprints
overview of the detail of the model before we get onto the practical tricks of the paperwork
trade that will help you accomplish more in your work.
At this point in my explanation of the VAK Model, someone who is intently
interested in detail may challenge me about the legitimacy of reducing human
thought to a total of 16 symbols. At the same time, someone from the humanities
may challenge the legitimacy of providing such a detailed mathematical model.
The only reply to these criticisms is that the developers of the VAK model were
(and are) unashamed pragmatists, paid by organisations and individuals who
needed a model that worked well, rather than a theoretical model that was in any
way scientifically correct. As successful scientists, with a string of successes in
physics and mathematics, they were well aware of proper scientific method and What the engineer actually fitted What the maintenance engineer
believed it to be ineffectual as a way in which to study subjective experience. They refitted after a complaint
therefore made the conscious decision to develop an approach to psychology that recorded by customer services
would result in practical techniques that would work in a replicable way, rather
than develop detailed theories which appeared to be logically consistent, but which
in practise worked very little of the time.
VAK eye movements VAK body movements

Surprisingly the majority of humans move their eyes in predictable patterns, It‟s not just the eyes that give away the internal processing taking place in the brain.
according to the area of the brain that is activated. Certainly the eye movements of an individual Whether sitting or standing, body posture can also tell you a lot about another person‟s internal world
can be calibrated and then used to discern their thinking strategies for a given skill
Visual Accessing:
”saxophone player”
stance
Visual Imagined. For example, if you Visual Remembered. For example,

ask someone what a pink elephant when you ask someone what colour
would look like their car is
Focus to Focus to
the left the right
Auditory Imagined. For example, if Auditory Remembered. For suggests suggests
you ask someone to make up a poem example, when you ask someone to use of use of
or a song or a piece of music recall a favourite song, or poem imagination recall
Auditory Accessing:
”telephone user”
stance
Kinesthetic Imagined or Auditory Digital. For example,

Kinesthetic Remembered. For when you watch people recall a list
example, if you ask what wool feels of shopping in the supermarket
like, or how it feels to relax in a
warm bath
Kinesthetic
Internal
Accessing:
Dialogue:
”foetal comfort”
”classic thinker’
stance
stance
Without wishing to get sidetracked in a treatise on philosophy of science, Century is believed today. Just as very little of what is taught as true in today‟s
psychologists throughout the Twentieth Century have eschewed a study of schools will be believed in a hundred years time. So never be swayed by whether
subjective experience, because there were no ways in which to make cast-iron an idea can be described as scientific. Be more concerned about whether it will
assertions about the internal subjective experience of another person. It is simply work. The degree to which it can be relied upon to work. And the risks that accrue
not possible to accurately measure and quantify what goes on in the mind of to you if it fails to work.
someone else. However, what the founders of NLP discovered was that it is Returning now, from the world of philosophy of science…
possible to make inferences that can be used to give highly reproducible results.
In general terms, what the founders of NLP found was: if you ask a thousand
Hence the VAK Model should never be considered to be a wholly accurate people what colour their car is, they all display a particular non-verbal behaviour
description of what takes place in the mind of another person. It was never devised while processing your pictorial question; if you then ask them to hum their
to be a model to be applied to all people, in every culture, in all the world. favourite song, they all display an identical second kind of behaviour, while
Rather…what the model does claim is that empirical observation indicates that processing your auditory-based question; finally, if you ask them to describe what
people consistently act as if certain non verbal behaviours are linked to certain it feels like to be in love, they display a consistent third set of responses, in answer
patterns of thought. It also claims that if you act on the basis of the models to your feeling-based question. From the non-verbal behaviour, the founders of
predictions you will be able to achieve certain effects. Again those effects being NLP began to make a number of strong inferences about how the human body
replicable on an empirical basis. Thus, if you are a research psychologist, interested reacts when processing certain kinds of information.
in garnering a Nobel Prize, the VAK Model may not be of much use to you. But if
Hence whether or not people are conscious of making pictures, hearing sounds or
you are a professional who needs to be able to understand and influence the
feeling feelings is an irrelevance, for they were certainly showing consistent
attitudes and behaviours of others, you will find it invaluable.
reactions to questions designed to focus on vision, sound or feeling. It also became
For example, the developers of NLP found that using a technique based on the evident that each person‟s use of language mirrored the non-verbal physical cues
VAK Model they could free most people of phobias in less than an hour. In they exhibited. For example, those displaying visual cues talk of seeing the big
contrast, therapists using more scientific and logical approaches to psychology picture. Those displaying auditory cues want to know if you have heard them.
often fail with the same patients over ten or even twenty years. Now. From the Those displaying kinesthetic cues want to know if you have a feel for the solution
client‟s point of view, the underlying science is generally of less interest than the to a particular problem. (Which means that a quick perusal of this book will tell
resultant effect. And I suspect that most students will feel the same way. If I were you a lot about the internal processes at work in the authors).
a student and the choice were between a three year slog of boring lessons and
Testing the VAK Model in relation to eliciting rapport, NLP researchers found that
standing on my head for five minutes singing the national anthem…show me the
by adjusting their own non-verbal behaviour and language to fit that of their clients
way to the gym! Because I am more interested in results than in the science of the
and test subjects, rapport was increased. For example, if a client was calibrated as
process. Personally, as a teacher, I am interested that my students learn quickly,
operating in a kinesthetic mode, the researcher would use lots of words associated
easily, with fun and in a way that leads them to live a more enjoyable and
with feeling, until the non verbal cues of the client switched to another mode, such
successful life. I am interested in any and all techniques that will promote these
as visual. At which time, the NLP practitioner would also switch. Thus NLP
aims, and if they are a placebo fiction that just happens to work, great, lets open
professionals learned to craft their communication to the internal mental processes
our imaginations and generate even more effective fictions for the future.
of others. Interestingly, researchers gradually realised that the process of
Now. If any reader finds themselves aghast at the unscientific nature of the communication they were using was identical to that intuitively employed by good
preceding paragraphs, I urge you to read our text on philosophy because you will salespeople, charismatic leaders, good teachers and stage hypnotists. In effect, the
discover that all scientific theories are useful fictions. It is just that some of the NLP researchers had consciously stumbled across processes that many persuasive
fiction has been tarted up to look more persuasive and imposing, so that the fund and empathetic people have unknowingly made use of for centuries, if not millenia.
holders of research grants feel that they are getting their monies worth. If you
doubt this then look at any text book that is more than fifty years old and discover
how little of the science that was considered to be true five decades ago is
considered to be valid today. Go back a hundred and fifty years and what you will
find is even more extreme. Very little of what was taught as true in the Nineteenth
Sense modes we will agree to disagree. At worst, we will snipe at one another and generate a
relationship that is on a downward spiral. We will be like the classic Englishman
You will by now appreciate that we all experience the world differently. We make
(or American) abroad. When other people speak in another language, we shout the
sense of the world using different sense modes and this gives rise to all manner of
same words more loudly in the hope that volume will clarify the message.
communication, and mis-communication. For example…
In contrast, if we take the VAK Model to heart, and gain a vision for the application
Imagine (in whatever mode you desire) the confusion that can occur if one person
of the model, in a way that sounds the right note for our situation, we can convert
is describing a picture when the person they are talking to is trying to convert the
each opportunity to communicate with other people into a unique and
words (with which they are describing the picture) into a comprehensible feeling.
unprecedented opportunity. Each difficult student becomes an opportunity to learn
To help in this exercise…imagine my friend Fred is visiting the Louvre Gallery in more about the range of ways in which human‟s process and sequence ideas. Each
Paris. Fred is a verbal chatty sort of person and he calls me on my mobile phone previously frustrating situation becomes an intriguing opportunity to extend our
because he is totally enthused by the picture of the Mona Lisa. Now, if I have never abilities as communicators, an opportunity to become more flexible in the way we
seen the painting of the Mona Lisa before, then while I can pick up on the emotion describe the world around us to others.
in Freds voice, I have almost no concept of the image that Fred is experiencing.
And because Fred is verbally oriented and unpractised as an artist, he has almost no
technical language by which to describe the art work that is in front of him. Hence, Personally, as a kinesthetic processor of ideas,
I prefer to feel intrigued and curious, rather than tired, angry and frustrated.
if I were to sit down and draw a picture of what Fred had described to me it would
almost certainly not look anything like the original!
However, I am enthused by the emotion in Fred‟s voice so I go out and tell Sam,
who is visually oriented. Sam asks, “What does the picture look like” and I reply,
“I don‟t know, but it‟s really great. It makes you feel as if you were looking at the
most beautiful girl in the world”. So while Sam is visually adept at processing
information about the world around her, she has almost no information to go on,
because all the detail has been filtered out as it passed through Fred‟s eyes, through
his mind, down the phone, into my ears, through my feelings, and out of my mouth
in the form of the words that I spoke to Sam.
Now being a visual and imaginative sort of person, Sam has the need to conjure
some kind of image to represent the words that I am speaking. Hence, her
interpretation of what I have said is that Fred has seen a picture of a beautiful
French model. Later Sam is telling some mutual friends about Fred and his
beautiful acquaintance, and so by the next day half of Fred‟s friends believe that he
has a new French girlfriend, who works in the fashion industry.
In short, people often mis-communicate because they each focus upon different
sense modalities within their communication. This is why the process of eliciting
rapport and calibrating the cognitive strategies of others is so important to anyone
involved in any aspect of teaching or learning. For if we are in rapport with one
another, then our communication will be much more effective. By contrast, if we
mismatch our modes of communcation, we are more likely to misunderstadn one
another. And we are more likely to experience frustration or dislike or antipathy.
Ultimately, if we know nothing of the VAK model, then when we meet people who
operate using a different set of cognitive strategies, the best that will happen is that
Sequences in a way that is congruent with the way the customer makes decisions. People find
communications sequenced in a way that is congruent with their own internal
I now have a slight confession to make. There are some added sophistications to
processes extremely persuasive and motivating. For example, I had one client who
the idea that people are visual, auditory or kinesthetic processors of information.
used my brief description of the VAK Model to realise that whenever he stood on
The truth is that while each person may have a preferred mode of processing
one side of his boss, they argued. Yet whenever he positioned himself on the other
communication, it is also true that every individual person sequences sensory
side, they were more likely to agree. Guess where he chose to spend the next few
experiences in a different way. The practical implication of the realisation (that
meetings!
people sequence sensory experiences in different ways) being that it is much too
simplistic to label someone as a visual, auditory or kinesthetic thinker. While a At the end of the day, the message of this whole book is not concerned about the
label of this kind is a useful stepping-stone towards a more sophisticated insight details of the VAK Model, internal imaginings or mental sequences. It is to
into the mind of a student, pushed too far the categorisation misses the point that encourage you to become curious and intrigued enough to notice patterns of
within any real-life situation we are all actually running mental „sequences. This behaviour all around you, and to encourage you to notice how changes in your
section therefore builds upon our preceding discussion, vis-à-vis sense modes, so behaviour affect those around you. Assuming you are a moral and ethical person,
that you can understand how people sequence their thoughts. you can then alter your patterns of thought and behaviour in order to cause
everyone to enjoy their work and their life more fully. Learn the terminology,
As an illustration of the sequencing of mental processes, two people may both be
practise for a while, then begin to play with the ideas. You will find that even with
able to visualise and may be more than able to process feelings, however, if Fred
a little knowledge and practise, you can achieve a lot.
has a visual-kinesthetic decision making strategy and Freda has a kinesthetic -
visual decision making strategy, they will continually block one another. For You can envisage cognitive states to be like stepping stones in a river.
Except that each individual has their own separate path across the water.
example, Fred has a vision for the future and wants to play with those visuals until
he feels he has hit upon a viable plan. At the same time, Freda has a feel for how to
proceed and is looking for an image that evokes that feeling.
Notice that as each person completes their own personal sequence, the way they
communicate is likely to take their partner back to the start of their sequence.
For example, if Fred comes to a decision, he will begin to chat about how he feels,
which will take Freda back to reconsidering how she feels, which for her is Stage
One of the decision making process. In contrast, as Freda describes her visuals,
Fred will gain new in-sights and thus re-access Stage One of his decision making
process. Unfortunately, without someone (or something) to break the process, Fred
and Freda will be like the proverbial Wonger Bird, flying round in ever decreasing
circles, until it disappears up its own rear end.
Interestingly, this is one reason that so many committees find decision making so
difficult. For the most part, few participants in the meeting are aware of how they
or their colleagues prefer to sequence ideas. Everyone is therefore attempting to
force their own preferred cognitive sequences on everyone else, with the result that
no one ever feels satisfied with the outcome of the discussion. In contrast, an NLP
consultant can observe a group and work to sequence the participants in a more
appropriate order, so that each individual‟s cognitive strategies contribute to the
work of the committee as a whole, rather than each individual working ad hoc, and
in a way that is often detrimental to the decision making process.
To change metaphor, all good sales people know that in order to get someone to
buy a product, their communication with a potential customer has to be sequenced
Bubble world hands to keep pointing and marking out the place (position on or within the bubble)
where the students eyes were focused when they were generating their inspiring
By now you will understand that a key theme, associated with the application of
picture. Repeatedly point to the place where the student focused, when they felt
the VAK Model, is that it is the task of a teacher to discern patterns of non-verbal
confused, then quickly move their attention up to the point in space, where they
behaviour and then use those patterns of behaviour to discern what is going on in
focus when they feel excited. This will help them to get into the habit of flipping
the students mind, with a view to using that insight to clarify communication. You
from confusion to excitement, with greater ease, so that they begin to forget about
will also realise that we can use the VAK Model as a way to understand each
confusion and find excitement a more normal state of mind into which to enter.
student‟s cognitive strengths and weaknesses, so we can enhance the strengths and
Because, with practise, it really is that simple and easy to alter another person‟s
supplant the weaknesses with new mental skills. So what we need now is a
internal emotional state.
technique that makes it easy for us to apply the VAK Model, in the classroom.
As you get better at observing and then matching your conversation to what you
One of the simplest ways in which to enter the inner world of others is to imagine
observe, you will find it easier and easier to communicate in a sequence that has
that the people around you are each surrounded by an imaginary bubble. Imagine
meaning to individual students and which enables them to quickly progress past
that each bubble has a grid drawn on it, and you can begin to effectively calibrate
significant blocks. You will also become aware of ways in which you previously,
all the non verbal activity taking place before your eyes. For example, ask people
and inadvertently, generated blocks in others. I have often witnessed a teacher talk
about times in which they have been certain, uncertain, confused, understanding,
a class into confusion. Everyone was happy and focused until they observed the
believing, dis-believing, empowered, weak, truthful or lying and you will observe
teacher‟s concern that they might become confused. And the more the teacher
totally different patterns of behaviour, which you can relate to the coordinate
talked about confusion, the more confused the class became. Which is a feeling
system on your bubble.
that we all want to leave behind. So now we urge you to spend a moment or two
All you need to do is to be a little inquisitive and you can quickly calibrate the non- reflecting on a skill that you understand really well, followed by another skill that
verbal behaviour associated with all manner of internal states. You can then make enthuses you, before progressing on to turn the page…
good use of those patterns. For example, when talking to someone who is feeling Imagine a bubble with a grid on it, to give yourself a set of imagined coordinates
uncertain of their ability to study, you might notice that the student places all their to help you note movements, gestures and eye accessing cues that you observe.
uplifting, exciting and inspiring images in one place (for me, up and to the right) and that
they might place all their doubts and confusions somewhere else (for me, down and to the
left). You might also get a sense from their language, and other non-verbal cues, that
your student is happiest when they can generate a clear picture of what it is they
need to complete. And notice that your student talks to themselves with a critical
and whining internal voice, when they are unable to generate such a picture. All of
which gives you insight into how to refine the way you present your lessons.
The calibration completed, your task is now easy. In the case just outlined, the only
thing preventing your student from progressing is a clear mental picture. So the
most sensible thing for you to do is to blatantly encourage your student to generate
a picture up and to their right, in the place where they like to position ideas about
which they feel good. Get them to focus upon generating a clear picture, until you
are convinced they have succeeded, using the bubble and the grid to make it easier
for you to calibrate what you are observing. (For example, when you can see them
focusing their eyes on a large imaginary picture, which is causing them to smile a
lot, you can assume you have either succeeded or are well on the way to success).
Finally, If you want to do a particularly complete and thorough job, you can be
chatty about a time you (or a friend or another student) felt confused and blocked,
but then suddenly had in-sight, and got excited. And as you tell the story, use your
Calibration – the eyes have it A quick recap:

VAK eye movements.
When deciding that you would like to be able to discern the internal mental states
of others, so that you can gain better rapport and communicate more clearly in the
classroom, most people begin by learning the degree to which the eyes really are a
window onto the soul.
Look at the diagram (opposite) and you will see that different eye movements have
been found to correlate to specific kinds of mental processes. Most notably,
movement (or flicking) of the eyes up and to the right (as you look at a person)
correlates to someone recalling a visual image, for example in answer to a question
Visual Imagined. For example, if you Visual Remembered. For example,
like What colour is your car? Movement up and to the left relates to generating a
visual image, for example in response to the request Imagine a pink whale wearing ask someone what a pink elephant when you ask someone what colour
a bowler hat. Movement to the right side of the eye is normally seen if someone is would look like their car is
asked to recall a song or a poem, while movement to the left is associated with
someone asked to compose a poem or a song. Movement down and to the left is
encountered when someone is recalling a feeling. Finally, movement down and to
the right normally means someone is chatting to themselves, with the kind of
internal voice one hears when critiquing one‟s performance or recalling a shopping
list.
Now. Try your knew found knowledge on some friends, who don‟t mind you
ogling at them, while you ask them a set of seemingly inane questions, whilst Auditory Imagined. For example, if Auditory Remembered. For
referring to this book… you ask someone to make up a poem example, when you ask someone to
The next step is to fix the different eye movements in your mind, so that you don‟t or a song or a piece of music recall a favourite song, or poem
need to use this text every time you want to calibrate the internal cognitive
strategies of another person. And there are some obvious ways you might like to do
this. First, many people like to learn the different eye movements by drawing their
own cartoon representation of those movements. Then, having drawn their cartoon
a few times, they sit down and think through some appropriate calibration question,
which would be suitable for use in different professional contexts.
The final step is the big one, in which you go out and about, meeting people. And Kinesthetic Imagined or Auditory Digital. For example,
you take the time to begin to notice patterns of eye movements of the people whom Kinesthetic Remembered. For when you watch people recall a list
you meet. Of course, now you will need to learn to become more discrete, because example, if you ask what wool feels of shopping in the supermarket
few strangers will want you peering fixedly into their eyes! Thus, to begin with, it like, or how it feels to relax in a
will all seem a little weird and wonderful. But you will soon be able to notice and warm bath
remember ever longer sequences. Because, as with every skill, the more you play
and practise, the better you will get. While to begin with you may need to
specifically look for eye accessing cues and people may notice what you are doing,
after a few days or weeks, you will notice eye movements without inadvertently
staring. You will also notice increasingly subtle movements, quick flicks of the eye
that eluded you when you first began your practise.
Linda frequently noticed how Tony (aged 6) often had difficulty finding the words of them. Ask them to take any card and to imagine that card in their mind‟s eye. At
to describe something that he was trying to discuss. He would get very frustrated at the very least you will be able to discern suit and probably whether the card is low,
not being able to say what he wanted to say. She noticed that when he paused to middling, high or a picture.
think his eyes would go up and to the right, suggesting that he could see a picture For example, you might see that your partner lays the cards out with each suit
but could not find the words he wanted. Therefore, Linda started to ask him to imagined in a separate row. You notice that the top row is Hearts, the second row is
describe the picture he was seeing. Which made the process of talking much easier. Diamonds, the third row is Clubs and the fourth row is Spades. You also notice that
For Tony found it easy to answer questions like, What colour is it? What shape is the Ace is to the left and the King is to the right. When asked to imagine, your
it? Ultimately, it transpired that Tony was so good at visualising, that he had partner is looking at a mid point on the row associated with Hearts. You can
simply not practised verbalising his thoughts, a problem made worse by blocked therefore infer that they are looking at a middle value Heart. The intriguing fact is
ears, which made it difficult for him to hear clearly. that most people are not even aware that this is how they are using the space
The interesting point to note here is that by relating Tony‟s ability to speak to his around them, or that their eyes are communicating so much information.
ability to visualise, and encouraging that link, Tony found he was able to use his A Quick Recap.
mind‟s eye as an aide memoir. Later he brought home a short statement that he had Body movements associated with different cognitive strategies.
to read out as part of an assembly. Out of interest, Linda asked him to look at the Visual Accessing:
”saxophone player”
statement, close his eyes, and tell her if he could still see the words. She then asked stance
him to read the words in his mind, which he was able to do perfectly. Another by-
product of the situation has been that Tony has taken to drawing very rich cartoons,
which he uses to explain some very inventive storylines.
You will find that observing eye movements is like riding a bike or driving a car, it
is a skill in which the first few outings appear mind-blowing. Then suddenly you
are driving without being aware of pressing the clutch or changing gear or looking
for the brake pedal. Now, life can become really interesting. You can begin to
notice some of the other non-verbal cues, such as the body positions displayed
Focus to Focus to
(below). You will also begin to notice language patterns that associate to the
the left the right
various eye cues. By now you will be increasingly intrigued with regard the limits suggests suggests
to which you can take the underlying concepts in the VAK Model, and you can use of use of
begin to practise on the wider world. Go out to places, like bars and cafes, writing imagination recall
rooms and classrooms. And begin to notice all the subtle and not-so-subtle non
verbal communications that were always there to be seen, but of which you were
Auditory Accessing:
previously unaware. ”telephone user”
stance
As you get really good, you can begin to calibrate all kinds of mental states. For
example, a card shark can watch someone, calibrate them, and then tell what cards
they are holding. If this idea intrigues you, when you have become experienced in
observing others, get a partner to take five cards. Ask them to look at each card, tell
you what it is and to then imagine the card. Repeat this process, until you have
distinguished the particular way your partner is placing the cards onto their Kinesthetic
Internal
imaginary workspace. Then ask your partner to imagine any of the cards in front of Accessing:
Dialogue:
”foetal comfort”
them. All you have to do is to refer to your calibration and you appear to be a mind ”classic thinker’
stance
stance
reader. You can then progress to working through a pack of cards asking someone
to imagine each of the suits, the range of cards from a low ace to a King. You will
find that many people sort the cards fairly logically in the imaginary space in front
Practical examples of the VAK Model in use Suddenly Pat realised that the key difference between his mind-state on a simple
slope, when compared and contrasted to his mind-state on a complex slope, was
Five examples of the VAK Model in use will be presented here, the examples
that on the complex slope he saw the edge of the slope in the far distance and that
relating to the concept of development of rapport, the appropriate sequencing of
the existence of that edge caused him to feel his muscles stiffen slightly, followed
mental processes to improve performance in a skill, and moving people from an
by an internal dialogue. In contrast, on the easier slope, there was no edge and Pat
inappropriate and frustrating sequence to a more useful and beneficial sequence.
was able to ski in a much more relaxed and fluid manner. He would see the line he
Increasing rapport and then using rapport to effect change was to ski, he would feel confident and excited, and there would be no internal
dialogue, simply enjoyment of the moment. Now for an important question! Before
Gaining perspective
continuing, Pete had to ensure that there was no danger of Pat falling off the slope
Linda was chatting to a girl about her choice of secondary school and there were a he wanted to ski, because the last thing one would wish to do is to give someone
number of issues the girl felt would block her getting her first choice of school. As the false confidence to be foolhardy! And having ascertained the fact that
the girl began to chat, she became increasingly despondent. Fortunately, because everything was indeed safe, Pete asked Pat to use a technique, which in NLP is
Linda is experienced in calibrating VAK cues, she was quick to notice what was called future-pacing.
going on. She therefore discretely changed the course of the conversation onto a
Pat imagined and enacted standing at the top of a complex slope and seeing the line
few things that she knew the girl was good at, in order to generate a resource state
he would take on the way down, he then visited the feelings he felt at the top of a
for the rest of the session. Only when the girl was smiling again, did she begin to
simple slope, felt the muscles relax and the flow of exhilaration, before setting off.
explore the more depressing issues, with small forays into problems, between visits
Finally to test the effectiveness of the work! A few weeks later, it was the Easter
back to the positive resource state. By the end of the session, the girl had been able
break, and Pat took his family skiing. On returning, he was excited and reported
to make some major decisions for her future, and was much more able to view the
that he had really enjoyed skiing the more complex slopes and had found it easy to
few things she did badly within the wider perspective of the many things she does
stand at the top and ski in a relaxed and enjoyable way.
well.
You can use the process of rapport combined with the VAK model to explore all manner of skills.
Learning to ski
One of the people with whom Pete worked was a competent skier, but was
perturbed by his inability to perform well on a number of the more complicated
slopes that he had attempted. As one of Pete‟s colleagues, Pat was very interested
to know if NLP might be of use. Rapport was easy to achieve because of Pat‟s
underlying interest in NLP. Thus, Pete was able to quickly proceed on to using the
VAK Model to model Pats view of his skiing prowess. Pete began by asking Pat to
imagine himself on different kinds of ski slopes. He then fed back the key words he
had noted Pat using, whilst mimicking body movements related to skiing, with a
slight characterisation because the mood was one of fun and he was keen to use
humour as a resource.
Whilst feeding back the cognitive sequence for an easy slope and the cognitive
sequence for a complex slope, Pete began to pick up on aspects of Pat‟s description
that were vague. To anyone watching, the whole process would probably have
looked comedic, with two adults miming ski-related movements back and forth to
one another. But this is one of the great aspects of using rapport to effect change,
both people get to smile and laugh a lot. Not only is this enjoyable, but on a neuro
physiological level, the chemicals produced during laughter tend to re-enforce
memory.
Enhancing skills Notice that strategies for spelling and reading are different.
Phonetics works fine for reading, but not so well for spelling.
As we already know, certain skills depend upon specific imagery associated with
specific sensory impressions, and also specific sequences of imagery. And later in
this book, many of these sequences are described in depth. However, here we will
outline two of the better-known sequences, the first concerning spelling, the second
concerning neatness of handwriting.
Spelling
Two children Maya and Lynne were both having problems in their literacy, and in
particular with their ability to spell. Maya, 8, and Lynne, 10, were both scoring 5 or
6 out of 10 for their spelling tests, even though they were putting time into trying to
learn their spellings using the phonetic method taught in their school.
Given that the phonetic method was proving to be a total failure, Linda taught both
children to use a method of visualisation, and checked that both children were
actually visualising words by asking them what colour the word was in their
mind‟s eye, and by noting their eye accessing cues (from Linda‟s perspective, up
and to the left). In all, it took about fifteen minutes each for Maya and Lynne to
learn the technique, with each one adapting it to suit their own personality and
preferences.
While Maya put all her words in one place, Lynne tended to project/hallucinate
words onto things around her. Then, as soon as both girls had mastered the idea of
imagining pictures of words, Linda began to test them. After a few minutes they
were able to look at a word on a list, make a mental picture of the word, and recall
the spelling in only a few seconds per word. The only problems came with lack of
attention, when a y might be misread in the mind as a g. (At which point it was
worth referring back to the phonetic method to get the children to double check that
the spelling was correct by phonetically reading back what they had written on the
test paper in front of them).
In terms of results, soon after this single session on memorising spellings, both
children began to average eight or nine out of ten for each spelling test that they
were given. And what was even more interesting to note is that both Maya and
Lynne began to act as if they were more confident about their ability to remember
facts, using a form of visualisation. For over the coming months, they began to
adapt the technique to other subjects. For example, when Lynne began to learn
French, she began to use an adapted version of the spelling visualisation to learn
her French Vocabulary. So all-in-all one short session had a great effect.
Talking to Maya and Lynne several months later, in terms of added confidence, a
ten to twenty percent increase in spelling test performance, and the added ability to
apply memory in other subjects, the fifteen to thirty minutes it took to teach
visualisation was time well spent.
Handwriting
Simple BrainGym exercises helped Mayas hand to eye coordination.
As well as facing challenges with her spelling, Maya also had problems with her
handwriting. For while she is incredibly bright, she also has the ability to come
across as the archetypal dizzy blond. Fortunately, despite her dizzy reputation, at
school Maya is recognised as being intelligent by her teachers and is placed in the
top groups for Maths and English. In both these subjects, Maya‟s biggest downfall
is her tendency to chat too much and for her tendency to write in an
incomprehensible scrawl.
What is interesting to note at this point is that Maya is left-handed and that up until
recently she used to hold her pen in a very awkward way. While from time to time
she made attempts to hold the pen in all manner of alternative ways, she found all
the suggestions her teacher provided both time consuming and frustrating – indeed
the whole issue was in the first stages of becoming blown out of all proportions.
Maya was becoming increasingly defensive in the face of mounting pressure and
was in the process of becoming „switched off to subjects taught by certain tutors.
Having discovered a set of physical techniques called BrainGym (see
BrainGym.Com) the first step was to find a fun activity that would begin to diffuse
the tension and add some humour. Each morning, Maya and the rest of the family Maya found that her handwriting improved when she thought of writing as a form of art.
(And she was interested to see examples of calligraphy, such as the text below)
joined her doing the BrainGym exercises, which had them all laughing. Hence,
while the BrainGym is a useful way to get mind and body working in better
harmony, in this case it was also especially useful in helping diffuse the feeling that
Maya felt she was a problem and that people were disappointed in her.
Then. During a conversation with Maya, she mentioned that she knew her
handwriting was messy, and that she had tried to improve but found that she often
made mistakes that she then had to rub out. Linda then asked her if she could
visualise in her head how she would like to see her handwriting look. Maya said
that she could…but her script never ended up the way see imagined it should.
At this point, a couple of ideas came to mind. Linda realised that Maya had a
tendency to speak very, very fast, like a stream of consciousness, which goes in all
manner of directions. And watching Maya, it suddenly became evident that she
tried to write as quickly as she was sounding out words in her head. Obviously the
act of writing as fast as one would speak is difficult enough for a right-handed
person holding a pen in the traditional manner. For a left-handed person, holding a
pen in a slightly awkward way, the challenge is even greater. Added to the
compounded problem was that Maya now associated the messy writing with being
the natural outcome of her left-handedness.
In terms of the VAK Model, Maya had been using a purely auditory stream of In all, the change from an auditory stream of consciousness, to an auditory/visual
consciousness, a stream that was both unfocused and too fast. As a result of strategy took only a matter of minutes to obtain because Maya became so excited
criticism, she had also built up a lot of negative feeling associated with a picture of by the better results that she could achieve using the second strategy. She now has
her writing and indeed she visualised all left handed people as having poor the choice to write neatly or messily (after all she is only 10). Having the choice,
handwriting. When she spoke about writing, the word try was becoming she does not get upset by criticism of her tidiness because she knows when she has
increasingly common, along with a non-verbal cue that indicated she didn‟t really dashed-off a piece of work without concentrating and when she has taken care over
expect to obtain any success. her presentation.
The first step out of the quagmire was to tell Maya about a number of left handed In terms of our understanding of the VAK Model, the idea for visualising
friends who wrote beautifully. Linda also suggested that Maya use the word can handwriting on a page came from reading about a strategy derived from artists and
rather than the word try because most people only use the word try when they don‟t used to help people learn to draw better pictures. This strategy was combined with
really believe that they can achieve the goals they have set for themselves. Being a Maya‟s own innate strategy for generating words and content. The focus helps to
very positive girl, very good at visualising, Maya was more than willing to „see keep the two strategies glued together so that the verbal side does not race ahead.
what she was able to achieve. Modelling those that excel
From skiing to spelling, each skill has VAK sequences that characterise those who excel from those who do not.
The next task was to re-focus her mind and to help her to develop a new strategy For some reason, we often forget to look at what it is that causes gifted children to succeed, so that we can teach
for writing. Linda asked Maya to close her eyes and to imagine she could step out those cognitive skills to those who are failing. We need to help the less able to latch onto the thinking strategies
the gifted find natural. Hence, we need to discern: what goes on in the mind of a successful person?
of her body and walk behind where she was sat and then look at the back of her
head. To check her ability to follow the instruction, Linda asked her some
questions like, could she see the colour of her hair and could she see what top she
was wearing. Linda then asked her to imagine that she was sticking an orange on
the back of her head with magic glue (gently touching the top of Maya‟s head to re-
enforce the image).
Having gained a focus of attention on the top of the head, which incidentally is
associated with the focus of attention found in expert readers, Linda then asked
Maya to visualise a note pad in front of her. She was then asked to pick up an
imaginary pen and to hold the imaginary pen above the imaginary notebook. As
Linda read a sentence picked at random from a book, Maya was asked to write in
the best handwriting she could imagine. Now, opening her eyes, Maya was asked
to imagine the same writing on the blank sheet of paper in front of her. All she had
to do was to trace the outline of the imagined writing with her real pen.
Maya commented after the first word that is wasn‟t exactly the same as in her head
but Linda asked her to continue writing anyway as it didn‟t matter if it was not
exactly the same. The sentence she wrote was far neater than anything Linda had
seen her write before, and Maya was so excited by her achievement that she
continued to practice this technique into the evening. The next day at school she
continued to use this strategy and proudly showed her teachers her work. The
teachers immediately picked up on the difference and praised her for her
presentation, much to Maya‟s delight.
Moving from a negative to a beneficial sequence Pete then made the point that Dave now knew how to instantly depress himself if
that was what he wanted. Or alternately, he could choose to look up and laugh and
A choice between confusion or laughter
feel confident. Dave‟s response was that the information blew his mind, but for the
Sometimes when faced with a large or novel task students talk themselves into whole of the rest of the session, each time he began to look down and confused,
confusion. In this instance it can be very helpful to compare and contrast the Pete would say look up in an exaggerated and caricatured kind of voice, until it
confused state with the nonverbal behaviour and language patterns the student uses became a private joke and Pete only needed to alter his voice and say the word up
for things that they understand. Someone who illustrates this process is Dave. Dave to cause Dave to laugh.
was obtaining tutorial advice for a large project and at the end of every session With regard results, Pete was only scheduled to see Dave two or three times over a
would go away happy, only to re-appear at the beginning of the next session period of several months, so there was only a limited amount that could be
confused, having scrapped the agreed plans. To complicate matters, Dave was achieved. However, from that time on, each time Dave arrived to a tutorial session,
dyslexic and would run ideas past his counsellor in Student Services, and as a his mood was more upbeat…and importantly, he did finally and successfully
result was having trouble reconciling the advice from two members of staff (even complete his assignment, despite all his doubts as to whether he had the capability
when we were saying the same thing, using only slightly different words). to obtain a degree.
After four weeks of this repeating pattern, it became evident that something needed Notice where people look and the non verbal behaviours they exhibit when they are experiencing
to be done, or nothing was ever going to be achieved. Pete began to notice that different moods, for then they have a choice as to which mood they experience,
because they can select which behaviour they will play out.
Dave would sit down and then begin to look wildly around, as if there were ideas
scattered all round the floor. It turned out that while Dave had decided to use a very
powerful method of sorting ideas called concept sorting, he tended to place all his
written ideas on pieces of paper all round him on the floor. Having done this, and
being a tall guy, looking down, he found that an internal voice would start up and
babble away at him. Gradually, he would talk himself out of his agreed plan and
into a state of total confusion.
With Dave‟s description of his method of study quickly sinking him into the
physical embodiment of a jelly, Pete began to distract Dave by telling him a story
about how we store ideas in different places around us. He told the classic story of
how Richard Bandler found that if salespeople ask clients to sign contracts on a
desk, they have many more people back out of agreements than if they get clients
to sign the same agreements using a clipboard. The reason is that when we look
down and towards our left hand, our brain is wired to access internal self-talk,
which for some people involves generating a lot of self-doubt. Of course, when a
contract is placed on a desk to be signed, it causes most clients to look down and to
the left. But when a contract is placed on a clipboard, you have more choices as to
where the clipboard is positioned.
Pete then asked Dave about ideas he believed he understood and which excited
him. By this time Dave was intrigued by the story and was smiling. And as soon as
he accessed an idea that excited him, he began to positively beam with joy.
Deciding that there was little need for subtlety, Pete pointed out that each time
Dave looked down, he fell into despair, while each time he looked up, he was
smiling and laughing. Dave looked a bit uncertain, then tried it out, with Pete
caricaturing him. And realised that it was true!
Self-belief and turning negative patterns to good effect Thereafter, throughout the next fifteen minutes while they talked, Zara kept
snatching a quick peek up and to the right, then smiling or laughing. And her peeks
Some people feel trapped into inappropriate and destructive thought patterns,
became increasingly frequent after Pete suggested that she now knew an easy way
because they don‟t realise they have a choice. People in a habit of looking at
to access good feelings and to avoid picturing food. Finally, in keeping with the
negative beliefs find it easy to feel negative feelings. They need both choice and an
idea that weaknesses are misplaced strengths, at the end of the session with Zara,
ability to transmute negative patterns into something useful. However, at the same
Pete suggested that she could make use of her ability to paste an imaginary picture
time, it is worth remembering the saying, weaknesses can become strengths and
in front of her field of vision. If the picture was of something she really wanted to
strengths can become weaknesses depending upon the context. For example, Pete
achieve, she could place the picture in front of her eyes and become as motivated
once met a lady called Zara who was many stones over weight and was having
towards that picture as she had previously been towards food.
trouble dieting. For while she was disciplined with regard her exercise, if her
personal trainer asked her to eat a specific food, she would eat massive amounts of In terms of results, a few days later Zara‟s friend phoned Pete to say that Zara had
that food, and forget to include a veritable tanker load of Pepsi Max on the pages of been walking to work and had been about to binge out in a bakers, when she
the food diary that she was supposed to keep. remembered the idea of looking up and recalling a good experience. Suddenly,
Zara found she had forgotten about food and was at work. A few weeks later, Pete
While chatting over a cup of coffee, Pete asked Zara how he would need to act if
heard that Zara had decided she was confident enough to go for a more senior
he were to stand in for her for the day. Imagining Pete as a „temp who was to take
position in the company in which she was employed, and had adapted her
over her weight problem for a day, Zara began to take Pete through the sequence of
happiness strategy to help prepare for the interview. So all-in-all it had been a
steps he needed to understand so that he would know when he needed to eat. Now.
productive hour.
Having arrived at the consultation meeting a little apprehensive of someone who
Remember our notion that cognitive strengths can become weaknesses and vice versa,
was going to use psychological techniques, Zara soon warmed to the idea of depending upon the context in which they are used.
teaching Pete his new role as a trainee foodie, and very quickly everyone was
laughing (Zara was attending the session with a friend
After about twenty minutes of discussion, it transpired that in order to be an
effective foodie, Pete had to sit on a chair and feel slightly bored. He then had to
see a small image of food down and slightly towards the left. The image then had
to be allowed to grow and grow, and to get closer and closer, until it filled his field
of view. (Zara was a very vivid visualiser). At that point, Pete had to feel that there
was nothing else he could do until he had eaten what he saw in the picture. Notice
here that the two ladies fell around laughing when Pete observed that it was
obvious that if you stick a picture in front of your face it becomes difficult to do
anything else. He then took out a picture from a magazine to prove the point. Place
a magazine in front of your eyes and you are unable to see around it. Zara had
never previously thought of the problem from this angle. Suddenly what she had
always believed to be a huge personal flaw became more mundane and
understandable.
Having got to grips with his new role, as a foodie, Pete began to ask Zara about
things that caused her to feel happy. It took a while, because all her happy
experiences appeared to be in the past. But after a little encouragement, she soon
found a number of sports related memories. Interestingly, these were all up and Little Miss Greedy.
slightly to the right of the midline of Zara‟s body. More interestingly, every time
she looked there, she laughed in a very rude way, which caused her friend to laugh
as well. Pete exploited the behaviour by pointing to the same spot that Zara had
been staring at and mimicking her, which set everyone off laughing all over again.
Foundational exercise. Intermediate exercises

Work in threes, and as a preliminary aspect to this exercise, make a list of This exercise is entitled: good decision versus poor decision. Working in threes, in
questions designed to elicit different kinds of sensory processing in the brain the roles of interviewer, interviewee and observer, the interviewer asks the
(visual, auditory, kinesthetic, taste or smell). For example: interviewee to vividly recount a time in which they bought something and it turned
out to be a really good buy, with which they were very happy, and to then recount a
 Please describe the interior of your house? (Visual recall)
time they bought something that turned out to be a complete disaster. The task of
 Describe your image of a red and yellow elephant wearing a bowler hat. (Visual the interviewer and observer is to note the sequences of eye movement and also the
imagined) place(s) in space to which the interviewee‟s eyes appear to focus.
 Hum a favourite song. (Auditory recall) Now. In the initial stages of your practise, you may want the interviewee to recount
 Imagine the sound of your voice mimicking Donald Duck. (Auditory imagined) two or three separate instances of decision making in order to be sure that you have
noted a reliable pattern of eye movements.
 Tell me about a time when you felt really confident. (Kinesthetic)
As a rider to the preceding exercise. If you want to complete a number of
 Tell me, what you tell yourself, on those occasions when you are unsure what interviews, you may want to explore decisions other than shopping. Shopping is
to do. (Auditory digital) simply a convenient focus for an activity with which most people have experience,
Having generated your list of questions, the task of the interviewer is to ask the and which has a rich number of positive and negative connotations, which are non-
interviewee those questions and to note changes in eye movement and/or body threatening.
posture that occur as the interviewee accesses different processes within their mind. A note to the interviewer. As you become more confident and begin to use your
While the job of the observer is to gain an overview of the interactions taking place rapport skills to aid the interviewee in their recall of various life events, at
between interviewer and interviewee. appropriate junctures, feedback specific key words the interviewee uses, and also
Of course…Make sure that each of you in turn take the role of interviewer, point to the specific points in space to which their eyes focus when describing their
interviewee and observer. Then, as an extension task, elaborate on your list of experiences. You will find that a powerful rapport is quickly built and that the
questions and generate a list of subtle questions that could be easily asked within interviewee‟s engagement with the exercise and ability to recall more vividly
the course of the professional work in which each of you are engaged, to calibrate increases.
people with whom you interact, so that you can take your practise out of the This exercise is designed to encourage you to explore contrasting sets of attitudes
classroom and immediately apply it in your place of work. and emotions. You can customise the preceding exercise to work with other
contrasting emotions and experiences. Classic pairs of emotions to work with
include: understanding / confusion and belief / ambiguity. With this advice in
mind, and in your threes, explore the patterns of eye movement, eye focus and
body postures that are associated with each pair of contrasting emotions.
(Note you cannot work with belief and disbelief, because disbelief is a form of belief).
Intermediate exercises, completing the jigsaw. Having elicited patterns related to

good decisions, bad decisions, understanding, confusion, belief and ambiguity,
“Engineering” Emotions
consider what you now know about the pattern of behaviour that each person (in The aim of this section is to demonstrate how easy it is to apply the underlying
your group) associates with each emotion for which you have elicited cues. You principles of rapport and the VAK Model to produce a number of „stunning and
will now be in a position to explore use of the VAK Model to give interviewees the powerful effects in your life, and in the lives of the people around you. However,
choice as to the emotions that they experience. For example, perhaps the key to we know that a number of people become defensive when faced with the idea of
moving from confusion to understanding for one of your group might be the engineering emotions. Therefore, our first task will be to discuss in more depth
generation of an internal mental image that is in a very specific point in space; or what we mean by the term, engineering, and to demonstrate that we are all
perhaps a good decision is an image with more sparkle associated with it, and a bad engineering emotions, each and every day. It is just that we are not always
decision is a smaller image that is less colourful. As you are all individuals, you consciously aware of doing so. The only real issue is whether the emotions that we
will probably find that your experience of each emotion is very different. engineer are those that benefit us and those around us. A further issue being: Can
we imagine alternative emotions that we would prefer to experience on a more
Advanced exercise regular basis? For if you can imagine an alternate emotion, then you can practise it.
This exercise is called the swish pattern. Assuming that you now have a very clear Which means that you can become more proficient in experiencing it.
concept of the mental experience of something that is confusing and something that Now. In order to explore the notion that we can (and already do) generate emotions
is understood, we can begin to apply those experiences in a very practical way. on demand, we need to begin our discussion by explaining a number of
Take anything that one of your team does not understand, for example foundational concepts embedded within the field of NLP and its „sister discipline
programming a video player. Get the team member to focus on their not Design Human EngineeringTM (DHE). And we need to understand that the main
understanding and to then imagine that focus like a ball flying out to infinity in a reason that so many people are reticent to embrace the concept of engineering
fraction of a second and then bouncing back in another fraction of a second, to emotions is that, although we have entered the new Millennium, the media are still
wherever they „store their understanding. As the team member‟s focus bounces being informed by theories of psychology that are between thirty and one hundred
back, they suddenly generate the experiences they associate with understanding. years behind the leading edge of current research. And of course, the public are
being informed by the media!
The faster the focus moves out to infinity and bounces back the more likely that the
exercise will generate insight that leads to understanding because the faster the Here a little history is in order. In the 1920s and 30s, mainstream psychology was
brain engages with this exercise, the more likely it is that the mental processing in pretty dismissive of Freud, and the various forms of psychotherapy that were
the two hemispheres of the brain will scramble old patterns of thought and generate derived from his work. However, a lot of rich movie stars, movie makers and
a new more useful pattern. artists from other media, were drawn to the notion of psychoanalysis. Because at
the heart of psychoanalysis there is drama. And hence, many of Freud‟s ideas were
Once you become experienced in the application of the swish pattern to generate embraced and embedded within the underlying assumptions of many plots and
understanding out of confusion, you can also use it to swish people between any subplots in the world of cinema. All of which led to some of the most prevalent
two emotional states that you have accurately modelled. The reason for the power plot devices of the Twentieth Century. And led to the widespread belief that
of the technique is that it simulates and stimulates the way the brain sorts and humans are subject to emotional whims over which they have no control. Of
classifies experiences. Most people have experienced the sudden flash of insight course, with so many of us growing up and watching thousands of hours of
when something they found difficult to understand, suddenly became easy, or when television, cinema and advertisement, it is not surprising that in the modern day
a skill with which they were struggling suddenly became simple. many people act as if emotions are in control of their lives. Which (in a circular
loop of logic) causes psychoanalysts to tell us we told you so! If you look at
modern media you will find a belief in the sanctity of emotion which borders on the
religious. The implications of this belief system being that rather than freeing us to
fulfil our personal potential, the belief more often dissuades many individuals from
undertaking any activity that feels challenging or unfamiliar.
On the whole, humans hate to lose face. Hence, given that we have all made poor Hollywood movies have indoctrinated us into a notion that we have no control over emotions
and that to attempt control is to be anally retentive, which makes for dramatic stories,
emotional choices at one time or another in our lives, there is a natural desire to even if the idea is a complete fiction, in terms of psychological ‘truth.
rationalise that our emotions are a powerful force, so that we can retain some self
dignity, when we reflect on the silly and foolish things we have done. As a result,
the status quo has become for many people to act on their feelings, in the
assumption that they have no choice but to do so, a frame of mind often discussed
and explored in comedy films by the New Yorker, Woody Allen.
Except with the advent of NLP and DHE, practitioners began to generate counter-
observations to the effect that human emotions can change (and be changed) very
rapidly. In contrast to the Freudian line of psychotherapy, NLP and DHE
researchers found they could generate lasting change, very quickly. Many worked
on the basis of results, feeling that this was a more ethical basis for working with a
client than the weekly cheque demanded by practitioners of less effective
techniques. This made a lot of rich psychoanalysts and therapists very unhappy, as
their own pay cheques began receding out of the door and across the street to an
NLP or DHE practitioner, who actually knew what they were doing!
The emotions that we experience are the result of a chemical process, which are
initiated by subconscious components in the human mind. Now. The great secret,
which was discovered by NLP and DHE researchers, was that there is nothing
mystical about the way these subconscious components act and react to the world To suggest that we do not engage with techniques that help us build and maintain a positive emotional
around us. There are some key principles, some of which we have already met in state in the classroom is to give 70% of our effectiveness as a teacher over to chance.
our discussion related to the VAK Model. For example: if you change your body
language, the content of your speech and the sense modalities with which you
„think‟, then you will begin to feel differently! The implications of this observation
being that if you replace one set of habits (vis-à-vis body language, content of
speech and mode of thought), with a different set of habits, then you can feel more
motivated, more focused, more relaxed and more happy with your lot in life. All of
which has many implications for teachers in a classroom.
Remember our oft cited research by educational consultants Hay-McBer,
sponsored by the UK Government, which indicates that only 30% of teaching and
learning can be attributed to the subject knowledge of the teacher. While the other
70% of the teaching-learning process is rooted in the emotions. This suggests that
if we are to be successful as teachers, then we need to find ways to influence the
emotional content of the classroom. Otherwise, we can generate all the lesson plans
that we like, but our planning will only be addressing 30% of our effectiveness.
Which brings us back to our interest in NLP and DHE.
Both NLP and DHE provide us with observations that we can use to good effect.
Teachers can learn to become more motivated and excited in their subject and they
can become more engaged with their students, three emotional states which affect
those whom they teach in positive ways…
DHE and the notion of „taking control; We use the word engineering, in the sense of seeking more effective ways to achieve our aims and
objectives. Which in this case means learning how to influence the chemical composition of our body.
The main protagonist in Luke Reinhart‟s classic book Dice Man, decides to live his
life by the throw of a dice, the dice being a metaphor for the unpredictable and
changing circumstances of life, which program our emotions and thus control our
behaviour. Not surprisingly, Reinhart‟s book soon leads to a descending spiral of
anarchy and negativity. And hence the Dice Man is a metaphor for people who
leave the engineering of their emotions to blind chance. Now put fiction to one side
and consider the evidence of your senses...
If you are reading these words, then you have probably spent many years as a client
of one education system, or another. Which means that you will have sat through
your fair share of boring lectures. And also means that in order to stay sane, you
have experienced your subconscious „taking control and encouraging your
conscious mind to drift off to a happier place. Gradually, your conscious mind
floated out of the lecture theatre or classroom and began to dream of lazy days on a
summer vacation, in a far away place…or a celebration…or your latest love…or
lunch...which means that you already know how to use your imagination to alter
the emotions that you are experiencing. The only question being: Which emotions Once you start thinking like an engineer and considering how the emotions of your class are affected by
have you taken the time to practise? your decisions, everything from the colour and layout of your classroom to the marks that you attribute
to individual students can be viewed from a fresh perspective.
Here it is worth considering studies and interviews with survivors of the Nazi
Holocaust, along with more modern survivors of brutal prisoner of war camps.
Many state that the difference between those, who go on to enjoy happy and
fulfilling lives, and those, who succumb to the trauma they have experienced, is in
the conscious mental attitude that each has adopted. Many go on to report that, in
their experience, mental attitude is a function of the way a prisoner uses their
imagination to inspire hope or to confirm despair. For example, one Jewish Rabbi
kept sane during his time in a concentration camp by focusing upon what he would
do after the war. While an American GI in Vietnam focused upon his game of golf,
and each day went for an imaginary game with his friends. Or to take another
example, it is worth reading books like Brian Keenan‟s An Evil Cradling, which
details the highs and lows of Keenan‟s life as a prisoner of Lebanese terrorists, and
explores his different and varied attempts to keep sane and optimistic in the midst
of horrendous circumstances.
Ultimately, even if you had never read a word about NLP or DHE, the conclusion
to which you are led by reading a range of accounts by individuals, who have
triumphed or succumbed to some of the most extreme challenges faced by
humanity, is as follows. The people who do best in difficult circumstances are
those who consciously set themselves into a frame of mind that focuses on
celebrating positives, and a frame of mind that seeks to embed negatives within a
larger perspective, in which the negative has less of an emotional impact. For
mental perspective is a key contributor to the way that we feel.
As an example, consider the story told by a courageous lady, who is now leading a You have a bartender in your brain
Your body reacts to a large number of chemical messengers in your blood stream.
national self help charity. After the lady had been raped, she found herself reliving If you are good at producing the chemicals associated with fear and stress, then you feel fear and stress.
the event in her mind…everyday…until one day she realised that while her attacker If you undertake behaviours which encourage feel good endorphins, then you become adept at feeling good.
and the more often you feel good, the more adept you become at feeling good whenever you want to…
had violated her once, she had mentally repeated the attack several hundreds of
times. At which point she made the conscious decision to put the images behind
her, and decided to practise focusing on aspects of life which made her happy. This
was a decision that resulted in her mind dwelling less and less on the trauma. Thus,
gradually, her feelings of trauma receded from memory.
In similar vein, another lady, who had been abused, tells of how she spent years
rehearsing the crime against her so that she could live out a fantasy of revenge.
Until she realised that she either needed to act on the feeling, or let it go. Because
the mental image of revenge was doing nothing to her attacker. It was only causing
her to rehearse feelings of pain and grief. Which led the lady to one of life‟s many
crossroads. The lady had to decide what sort of person she was, and what sort of
person she was going to allow her abuse to make her. Then, having decided that
she (personally) was not the sort of individual who believed in exacting revenge,
she put the memory of the attack behind her. And found that as she ceased to dwell
on the past and began to look forward to the future, there was no effort and no
„trying to feel better, life simply became easier, from that point in time.
But enough of trauma…
On a lighter note…If you are familiar with the T.V. show Fear Factor, you can
soon spot the competitors, who are more likely to be successful with certain
challenges (like the ones that involve eating a particularly unsavoury item). You One (non NLP) study found that depressives who take up running begin to feel better.
Thus makes sense because many people generate feel-good chemicals when they undertake aerobic exercise, like
can discern those who have the ability to change their inner state and to conquer running. Hence, the running gradually enabled each depressives body to gradually remember how to produce
fear through the application of their imagination. When asked how they did the endorphins. And once each depressives subconscious learned that it had a choice between feeling depressed or
feeling good, guess which state it began to tend towards…
obnoxious task placed before them, the winners often refer to making use of their
mind‟s eye. For example, imagining that they were drinking a strawberry
milkshake instead of what they were actually given, which in one case was a pigs
brain „smoothie. (Apparently a great delicacy in some parts of the world!)
Notice that we are not proposing a positive thinking regime that causes people to
sublimate problems and pretend that everything is OK. Because just like dieters
can cheat on the food that they eat, so too can many imagineers cheat on the diet of
images on which they feed their mind. And just like cheating on a diet keeps you
overweight, so cheating on the images you embrace keeps you in the thrall of
whatever emotion is associated with those images. Which brings us back to the
principles of DHE and NLP, which can be used to help people alter aspects of their
mental world…and the emotions associated with that world. Change body posture,
content of speech and modes of thought and new habits of mind and body begin to
open your life to new opportunities.
As you read the next few pages, you will realise that you have a bartender in your One application of the ability to engineer emotions.
When you come off a motorway (or freeway) and enter a city, you have to slow your car and it feels like the cars
mind. Like Tom Cruise in the film Cocktail, the bar tender can mix the chemicals around you are in slow motion. This is a similar state to that reported by top performers in sport, by soldiers in war
needed to re-create any emotion or other state of mind that you have ever and by emergency workers at the scene of an accident.
experienced. The power of this ability to mix chemicals within the body can be
gauged by hypnotherapists who have taught ex-drug users to mentally produce the
endorphins and natural opiates they need to avoid the withdrawal symptoms
associated with coming off of heroin. And as experienced by the bar tender played
by Tom Cruise, the more you practise mixing drinks, the wider the range of drinks
and recipes you will have within your repertoire.
So experiment. If you want to know what it feels like to mix confidence with
excitement and a dash of anticipation, there are some very simple ways to find out.
For the more you practise your ability to mix emotional cocktails, the faster you
…how much more quickly could someone progress in their learning of many skills if the ability to access „slow
will be able to mix the cocktails that you enjoy, and the more natural the process of time at will were a part of training in sport, the military and the emergency services…
mixing will feel. Like a trainee bar tender, your first effort may not be impressive.
But like all skills in life, practise plus feedback makes perfect. So…practise…and
if you feel what you wanted to feel…you are heading in the right direction…so do
more of whatever you are doing. All that is required is the desire to be curious
about the way your imagination affects your emotions.
Having one or two half-hearted attempts at learning to be a cocktail bartender,
feeling awkward and giving up, would be seen as very strange behaviour for an
adult. We expect to need to practise physical skills. By the same logic, we should
expect the same to be true of emotional skills. You will find that as you become
more used to applying the ideas introduced in your work with the VAK Model you
will notice certain patterns in your experience of the world around you. You will
notice that certain patterns of thought and behaviour lead to certain emotions. And
as soon as you become conscious of the emotional triggers in your life, you can
control and influence the emotions you will feel in the future.
Pete once watched two street entertainers juggling. As the jugglers performed, they
began their patter, part of which explained what they were doing. Their familiarity …now realise that slow time is not the only emotionally charged brain state that one can learn to enter into.
with juggling enabled them to see and to react to the spaces that occur while all the There are others, such as the focus needed for complex surgery, or the focus that promotes innovative artwork…
balls are in the air. The audience have trouble even seeing the space, let alone
imagining how they might physically react fast enough to catch the balls that the
jugglers manipulated with ease. They were shouting out here‟s another space and
waving to the audience, in a relaxed way that none of us could match, while
keeping five balls in the air, all at the same time. In a similar vein, as you begin to
notice the „space that exists between different emotional states, you will begin to
notice how easy it is to select the next emotional state you want to experience, and
you will notice the point at which the right gesture or word can completely alter the
emotions experienced by those around you. Which then gives you a choice as to …and as you consider the possibilities, suddenly new worlds of experience begin to open up to you…
how you will proceed…
Illustrative Stories Thus, in Celine‟s case a simple application of this notion was to use her own
strategy for making happy internal images, and to then seek ways to extend that
Anchors away… strategy by adding sound. While listening to Celine‟s description of her internal
Having read about the VAK Model, you will already be familiar with the state, if adding sound had changed her tone of voice negatively, I would have
proposition that excellence in certain skills is associated with specific states of backtracked. As it was, the sound added to Celine‟s experience, so I explored ways
mind. And from the preceding couple of pages, you will be acquainted with the to make it work even more effectively, listening all the time to the tone of her
notion that most (if not all) states of mind have an emotional component to them. voice, for feedback. All she then needed was an anchor.
You will also be aware that when teaching a skill you have two sets of emotional An anchor is anything that we can use to propel us into a specific emotion, or a
variables that need to be tracked. On the one hand, you have the emotional particular state of mind. Recall previous stories, such as Dave or Zara, who smiled
variables connected with rapport, on which you build a relationship between when they looked up and to the right, and were in a state of depression or
yourself and your student, your student and the subject matter of your lesson, and confusion when they looked down and to the left. Recall also that once they
between each student and their peers. On the other hand, you have the emotional became aware of how their non verbal behaviour could be used to affect their
variables connected with the subject matter, by which we mean the emotions allied emotional state, they each learned that they had a choice. They could literally look
to the states of mind into which a student has to gain access to make use of the for depression, confusion, or enjoyment. In effect, the act of looking in a particular
information and knowledge with which they are being presented. For you will direction was an anchor that each had evolved over the years. In Celine‟s case, she
recall how we discussed that different skills require different states of mind, and we needed to consciously create a new anchor, which was achieved by me suggesting
promised that in a late chapter we would outline those states in more detail. she imagine feeling good in front of the interview panel. Thus, in her mind she
For example, a teacher called Celine was about to go into an interview for the linked (anchored) the image of the interview panel with a positive feeling, so that
deputy headship of her school. I happened to be on the phone with her and sensed as she entered the interview room and met the panel, her mind would instantly be
she was feeling extremely nervous. I asked her to recall a time she felt excited and grounded back in her good feelings.
confident. Then, I got her to make the image richer and more dynamic. Thus, after
only a few seconds, her tone of voice had completely changed. And later, she Remember the notion of anchoring emotions and states of mind to specific images,
contacted me to say that she had been awarded the post. Yet all I had done was to movements or behaviours. It is a powerful concept and one that is easily put into practise.
elicit Celine‟s (own) strategy for thinking about a pleasant experience. And then
helped her make use of her own internal strategy to help her elicit a more positive
and confident frame of mind. In this case, I began by encouraging her to cause the
colours of her mental images to become brighter and more vivid. Then, because
Celine did not naturally sense any sound in her image, I asked her to imagine
adding sound to the visual images in her mind‟s eye, in order to deepen the
experience. Gradually I worked around several sense modes, causing each to
become more vivid. And the result was one very happy lady.
Now…we begin to embrace DHE as an extension of NLP. As we do this, we
discover that the concepts associated with DHE deepen our understanding and
ability to apply the VAK Model. Thus far, we have suggested that we use the VAK
Model to model the cognitive processes used by people who excel in particular
skills. In contrast, DHE proposes that we use our knowledge of the VAK Model to
experiment with various forms of body posture, content of speech and imagery to
find out if we can generate new states of mind and emotion. We don‟t need to
model an expert. We can begin to use ideas we have already discussed to generate
new ways of thinking and feeling.
Running feelings backwards. Your memories are contained in electro-chemical signals passed between neurons in the brain.
(Picture is of a single neuron)
The human mind is in a constant state of change. Hence to feel an emotion for an
extended period of time, whether five minutes or five hours, the emotion has to be
fuelled by an experience of imagery. For example, to remain nervous about
something, one has to continually choose to imagine, or recall, a frightening
situation. It is not enough to frighten yourself once, you have to keep stoking the
fires of fear and anxiety. And the same is true of any other emotion that you can
name. As soon as the imagery is lost (whether real or imagined), your mind will go
off on a new direction. As we discussed in relation to many people who had
experienced various forms of trauma.
A classic story told of hypnotist Milton Erickson is of his interaction with his
young son, who tripped and cut himself. The boy was only a few years old and was
distraught. However, Erickson was unable to physically do much to help the boy,
due to his extensive paralysis. However, he could talk. And so that is what he did.
He began by matching the boy‟s anguish for a couple of seconds, using tone of
voice. He then refocused the boy‟s attention away from the pain of the injury by
saying “Wow look at all this blood. How much blood do you think that there is
here?” The boy paused. “Do you think that you will need even more stitches than
your big brother did when he cut himself?” Now the boy was intrigued and curious
as to whether he was about to out-do his big brother in some way. Building on the
thought that more stitches were an aspect of being very brave, the boy attended Running a memory in reverse affects the physical connections between neurons in the brain.
(Note: We can now peer into the brain and quantitatively assess the utility of NLP and DHE techniques.
casualty, and was so curious about the whole process that he didn‟t even want an The picture presents two brain scans indicating two adults undertaking the same reading task, one of
anaesthetic while he was stitched up. whom has ADHD, the other of whom does not).
As soon as we take on board the DHE principle that emotions require continual
replenishment, we can begin to unpick and become conscious of the
neurophysiological links between anchors and emotions, both in ourselves and in
the people around us. And one of the great insights to derive from the fields of
NLP/DHE occurred when Richard Bandler found the following. If Bandler asked
people to run the memory of an experience backwards, it confused the automated
neural pathways in the imagineer‟s mind to the extent that it became difficult for
them to then re-experience an image which had once been upsetting. For example,
running a memory that used to make you feel afraid, backwards, makes it more
difficult to feel the fear in the future. For instance, imagine a postman with a fear of
dogs because one has bitten him. If he re-winds the experience in his imagination,
in his mind he experiences the dog running away from him. And he will find that if
he does this a few times, the fear and apprehension soon begin to turn into
enjoyment. If the process is repeated six to ten times in quick succession, it
becomes difficult for the postman to ever experience the memory in the same way
again. For the neurology of the brain has been both physically and chemically
altered.
Another example of the concept of running emotions backwards is to ask someone, of exploring the relationships between anchors and emotions to find a way to alter
who is upset, to describe where in the body the upsettedness begins. Assuming that a negative emotion into a positive. In this case, it was easy to elicit Nellie‟s interest
the person with whom you are talking has the kinesthetic awareness to describe and to work at a fairly conscious level. Though with practise, it would have been
sensations in their body (and not everyone does) then you can make quick progress. almost as easy to repeat exactly the same process, in a more covert manner. Which
For if they can then describe where the feeling „starts and flows to, you have we have done with students who were feeling anxious before going into an exam.
elicited the physical manifestation of the emotion in question. For example, many Whether you believe in the reality of alternative medicine, or whether you believe it is all in the mind,
people experience butterflies in their stomach when they are nervous. But if you getting people to imagine energy flow in and out of important Chakras,
ask a number of people, you will find that the butterflies fly in different directions. as described in Indian medicine, or along the meridians of Chi,
as traced by practitioners of Chinese medicine, can yield some very positive emotions.
In some people they fly around in a clockwise direction, in other people they fly (See Becker 1985, Gerber 1988 and Oschman 2000 for some interesting discussion).
counter-clockwise, an in some cases they fly front to back or back to front.
Now. Having described the link between a specific emotion and a repeating pattern
of physical sensations, we find that if we imagine running the sequence backwards,
we begin to experience the opposite emotion. For example, we find that fear turns
into confidence. To illustrate this principle, a friend called Nellie was experiencing
a lot of stress, having just started in a new managerial position. She was
particularly stressed because she was seen as something of a fire fighter and
problem solver. As a result, she had been assigned to sort out a particularly poorly
performing leisure centre, owned by a large chain. And we happened to telephone,
just as she was about to drink a large quantity of wine, in an attempt to de-stress
from the rigors of the day. So we suggested that before downing yet another bottle
of wine that week, she might like to enjoy a little experiment.
We began by asking Nellie to describe the sensation of feeling pressured. And as
we listened to her, we discovered that all the sensations and language patterns that
she described were congruent with someone literally and physically pressing into
her body. This was all the clue that we needed to suggest a more positive image for
her to entertain. We suggested to Nellie that she reverse the feeling of feeling
pressed in upon. We helped her to conjure an image of a feeling that she was
expanding, outwards. Clearly, she could not keep expanding forever. Therefore, to
keep the image dynamic, we suggested that at a certain point of expansion, she
Note: Some martial artists
imagine that the outward flow of energy should flip around and re-enter her body use visualisations
through her tummy button. Now we had set up a cyclical movement in her of their opponents lines of energy
imagination, we knew we were on the home straight. All we had to do was to to dis-empower them.
suggest that Nellie cycle her expansive feeling faster and faster, until we reached Again, whether you believe
the lines exist, or the technique
the speed that made her feel really good. We then added some other sense modes, is all in the mind,
by asking Nellie to imagine adding colour to the movement. Finally, we suggested empirical experimentation
that she add sound, and to make the sound amusing. Five minutes later, Nellie‟s indicates the phenomenon is real.
tone of voice had completely changed (for the better) and she had completely
forgotten about the wine (which her partner later told us remained in the
refrigerator).
Realise that all Pete did in the preceding situation was to use the VAK model to
elicit Nellie‟s (own) strategy for feeling pressured and to then use the DHE notion
Playing with your emotions.

As you will realise from the preceding example, and from your work related to the
VAK Model, you can alter your inner world as easily as you can change the picture Over to you Mr DeMille
on a television, or play with a graphics equaliser on a hi-fi. Hence, and with this in Pretend you are a famous film producer and reedit the pictures, sounds and feelings you experience in your
imagination. As you change the images that you reflect on, you will find the chemical messengers in your blood
mind, it is worth spending some time experiencing how changing the nature of begin to change, which in turn will affect the emotions that you experience. Play with these changes, until you end
your internal imagery affects the way you feel. And although everyone is unique, in up with a final edit that suits your tastes. Just like a TV station, you can add effects and generally play around with
the images in your mind. For your mind is the ultimate virtual reality editing suite.
general the principles to watch out for are common sense. For example…The more
vivid the colours in an image, the more intense the emotion. The louder a sound,
the greater the impact it will have. And the more dynamic the movement of an
emotion, the more intense it will be perceived to be.
As an illustration of the preceding ideas, Pete was speaking to a lady called Fiona
at a party. Fiona was interested in NLP because she kept having panic attacks, as a
result of seeing pictures of her family in graphically vivid accidents. From her eye
movements, it was clear that the pictures were both big and bold. And Fiona had
been in therapy on and off for six years, so a party hardly felt to be the appropriate
place to discuss these kinds of issues in any depth. So to divert Fiona from her
problems, and to stall for time, Pete told a story of a lady, treated by Richard
Bandler, who also used to have severe panic attacks, to the extent that each time
someone was late, the lady would fall to the ground and writhe around in panic.
Taking the tack that he was to stand in for her for a day, Richard asked the lady to
explain how he would know when to throw himself on the ground. The lady gave
him the sort of look that someone gives when a small child is being particularly
stupid, and said that it was more complex than that, as if he were the crazy one.
Then, over the course of a few minutes, Richard elicited the lady‟s strategy for
frightening herself, and had to agree that it was particularly effective. Like Fiona,
she too saw vivid pictures.
At this point, I suggested to Fiona that she imagine catching hold the corners of her
image and pulling them inwards, until the large screen was shrunk to the size of a
Sony Walkman TV. I then suggested making the TV black and white. And I
watched her eyes to check that she was able to complete the instruction, and then
changed the topic of conversation. Two weeks later, at another party, Fiona was
very excited to tell me that she had been ringing all her friends because for the first
time in years she had gone for two weeks without a panic attack.
But notice that all I had done was to: (i) tell an appropriate story to gain Fiona‟s As they say: “…all reality is, in fact, virtual…”
confidence that someone else had been through what she was experiencing, (ii)
caused her to become intrigued by the notion that it is possible to play with ones
mental images/sounds/feelings, (iii) given her a specific instruction, (iv) watched
her complete the instruction and appear to gain the expected effect, (v) and finally
distract her conscious mind with another subject, so that Fiona could come back to
the ideas I had presented in her own time. And that is what we mean in NLP/DHE
when we refer to emotional engineering!
Feeling bad requires both practise and commitment

As you review the evidence from NLP, from DHE and from many other
psychological studies, the bottom line is that we all tend to experience the emotions
that we spend our time practising. And we practise some emotions more than
others because we find comfort in emotions and habits with which we are familiar,
even if the images we call to mind upset us.
For example, Carrie had blagged her way onto a degree course in a local university,
for which she was not technically qualified. As a result, she was not unsurprisingly
concerned that she had not got the intellectual resources to complete the course.
The major problem was that Carrie spent so much time worrying that she had too
little time to do the work that her tutors set her. Carrie‟s second major problem was
that she had not considered that there might be more effective ways to study, and
so she used a particularly ineffective rote method of memorising new ideas. And to
compound matters, to take her mind off work, Carrie decided to embark on
developing a secondary set of problems, by piling on too much weight. In short,
Carrie spent a lot of time rehearsing negative emotions, and was getting
increasingly proficient at feeling bad. .
Linda first met Carrie, when a friend suggested that NLP might be used to help her
with her weight. And fortunately for Carrie, who rationalised her problems as being
weight related, Linda soon realised that the underlying problem was the stress, that
was leading to comfort eating, that was leading to additional pounds being put on
Carries waistline. Exploring the issue of stress for a while, Linda chatted with
Carrie, who was adamant that she was feeling stressed because „she had not got the
time to put into her studies. So Linda asked her to keep a diary, which after a
couple of weeks showed an entirely different story.
The diary soon showed that there were several hours a day when Carrie wasted
time. She might go out to get a book and spend an hour in the library, come home,
and then go out to get some shopping. All of which caused Carrie to realise what
was obvious to everyone around her that if she spent a few minutes planning, she
could save a lot of time, and use some of that time for study, and then reward
herself with a proportion of the time for pleasure. And as way to save Carrie even
more time, by replacing her awful rote method of learning, Linda also taught Carrie
a couple of very simple mind mapping and accelerated reading techniques.
Feedback a few weeks later indicated that Carrie was now beginning to do well on
her course, was feeling much more relaxed, and that the weight issue was coming
under control. Having changed her habits of life and her habits of mind, her
emotions had naturally evolved to become more positive in nature.
Remember! When it comes to emotions, practice makes consistent
Anything worthwhile in life requires practise.
Being consistent in conjuring the emotions that you prefer to experience is no exception.
It takes a lot of effort to feel upset, disillusioned, and resentful us to do. In short, if you feel put upon, use DHETM techniques to become more
forceful and say no.
One of the pithy sayings and truisms that underpins NLP is the observation that to
generate a feeling of disillusionment and resentment you have to mentally As another example, a friend of Linda‟s was in a job for which she was poorly
construct and continually re-enforce a whole set of illusions. As a strategy, paid. For a number of months she hassled personnel, who were unresponsive,
disillusionment and resentment require a mental picture of what we expect promising much and delivering little. In the end, the decision was clear, find
someone to do, and then a comparison of that person with the ideal, when they fail another job. The friend was paid part-time, but ended spending more time on-site
to act in the way that we imagine they should. than she was contracted. She soon found that if she only worked the time for which
she was paid, she had a reasonable amount of time to build up a thriving and
Bizarrely, we generate these mental images all the time. Even more bizarrely, we
interesting business of her own.
are then surprised when those around us do not psychically react to those images.
As with Linda‟s client Carrie, the friend‟s only block to achieving her goals was
One often meets people who are in a close relationship, who allow huge feelings of
her illusion that she had no control. In this case, the illusion that she had to do all
bitterness and betrayal to evolve over the years. Sometimes, one partner is not even
the work set her, even if it meant working for more hours than she was paid. As
aware of the issue, because the other has kept the problem to his or her self. Other
soon as she reconfigured her image of how life ought to be, to take into account the
times, knowing that someone has a personality flaw, like forgetting dates, we focus
reality of her employer‟s intransigence, the easier it became to „see the
in on that flaw and get upset when they forget our birthday. Any reasonable person
opportunities that were already around her. The reframe went along the lines of if
has to ask: Did you only marry the person for their ability to recall dates? If you
my employers want to relate to me on the basis of my contract, then that is how I
know that they cannot be trusted to remember dates then ensure that you do things
will relate to them. This reframe was not said with any hint of malice, simply as an
to make sure they are not able to forget. Like: place a calendar somewhere that is
acknowledgement of the reality of the situation. Legally, there was no way her
obvious! Once you have found a practical solution to the other person‟s
employers could fault her. Verbally, we taught her how to use language patterns to
shortcomings, you can then get on with enjoying the positive personality and
tie managers in legal knots, if they attempted any intimidation. Instantly all the
character traits that attracted you to one another in the first place.
tension of the situation was dissipated and the problem was given back to its
Realise that all rights and responsibilities are entirely mental constructions. You owner, the managers who thought it possible to get people to work for free. They
cannot go to a shop and buy a box of freedom. You cannot measure politeness. also had the option to change the situation by paying our friend the proper rate for
Similarly, you cannot weigh out responsibility or duty. All these constructs are her work.
fictions, the meaning of which we negotiate. When we dictate to others, or allow
From the perspective of DHE, our friend‟s initial reaction was I couldn‟t do that.
others to dictate to us, we generate problems for everyone. If our illusions do not
Her second reaction was Who‟s to stop me?
mesh, then one of us will become disillusioned. At which point our relationship
may become broken. This means that if we want to shed our disillusionment, we
have three choices, set before us. We can change our illusions, so we react to the
behaviour of others in anew way. We can change other people‟s illusions, so that
they act differently in the future. Or we can change our perspective, so that
nothing changes, except that we look at the same behaviours in a new light..
For example, it is common for people to take on additional jobs that go beyond
their contract and which they do because they feel they cannot say no. Pete once
nearly worked himself into a state of collapse on a large project, much of which he
now realises was his own fault. While it is commendable for people to elect to do
additional work, we must all be aware that it is our decision and we can blame no
one else. Neither can we blame others if we do additional work that is the result of
our own actions. If we have a reputation for saying yes, and give the appearance
that we are happy to say yes, then people who need things to be done will be
attracted to us. Our habit of saying yes re-enforces their habit of finding work for
Basic exercise. Now, suggest that the dial goes from one to ten and is at the moment only on three.
Get the experiencer to crank up the dial and feel the additional feeling. Help by
In threes, take it in turn to experience, elicit and observe. In turn, discern an making the appropriate noises, sound effects and tones of voice congruent with the
emotion you would like to feel more of. One person helps the experiencer to elicit experiencer‟s description of both the emotion and the dial
the sequence of images, sounds, feelings, tastes and /or smells that occur to
maintain the target emotion. Now tell the experiencer that you were mistaken, the dial can flip around a whole
additional turn. Crank it up again. Find out just how much emotion the experiencer
To do this, the experiencer has to access a memory (or imagine what it would be can cope with.
like to experience the target emotion). Realise that it may take a moment or two for
the experiencer to access the sequence because it may be so automated that it is at Advanced exercises.
the edge of consciousness. A classic question to ask is: If you were to associate this Exercise 1. Make some additional emotions, each with its own switch, then
emotion with an image (sound, feeling etc), what would it be? explore what happens when you mix and match emotions by playing with two or
When making an emotion more intense: more switches at the same time. For example, what happens if you mix joy,
 When you are playing with images think of the controls on a TV. Go for richer confidence and concentration?
colour, contrast, animation and size. Realise everyone is unique, after each Exercise 2. Elicit a negative emotion and turn down the modalities. Once the
change calibrate by looking at the experiencer‟s non-verbal communication emotion has been turned right down, and the experiencer knows they can turn it
and listen to their tone of voice. If you want joy and a grin becomes a smile, down at will, explore reversing the experience and finding out the opposite positive
becomes a laugh, you are heading in the right direction. If the smile becomes a emotion.
grimace, then backtrack. Once the experiencer has realised that they can alter the emotion to something
 When playing with sound consider the controls on your hi-fi. What happens if positive, create a dial for the new emotion and a dial for the old emotion. Play with
you alter the volume, tone, pitch, vibrancy, and spatial position of the sound? the idea of cranking down the old and cranking up the new.
For example, if you have an internal dialog: What happens if you alter the If you have the time and confidence, use your other dials to give your mind a range
gender of the voice? What if it is made squeaky and clown-like? What happens of options, because your sub-conscious quickly generalises and will be drawn to
if it sounds like it is generated from the right shoulder instead of the left? one or more of the new options you have just installed.
Again, recall that everyone is individual and calibration is the only way to
know if you are heading in the right direction. Exercise 3. Create a public speaking bubble. This is a set of switches that turn up
your emotions to make you more charismatic and irresistible. For example: a
 When considering feeling: What are the muscles involved? What are the vibrant shield to protect you from outside influences… imaginary beams of light
sensations? What direction do the sensations flow? What if they flowed a and energy directed toward you…and anything else that you feel could assist you
different way? What if they flowed faster – or slower? What if they had a in the delivery of a public message. For example, when I used to perform physical
colour? What if they had a sound associated with them? theatre, I imagined light and energy coming from the spotlights, I was surrounded
Intermediate exercise. in a vibrant green and purple shimmering bubble, excitement was bubbling up in-
side, yet my head was clear, and my body knew where to go because I imagined
Quickly elicit an emotion within the person, whose turn it is to report on their jumping in the top of a waterslide, I simply slid from movement to movement until I
internal experience. Then, ask the experiencer to imagine a control mechanism, reached the end of the show, the sides of the waterslide guided me into what to do
such as a switch, lever or dial. It can be anything from a dial on an imaginary next…
starship flight deck to a switch on an imaginary desk.
Quickly get the experiencer back into the good emotion you recently elicited and
ask them to imagine the dial (or whatever else they desire) is the control
mechanism for the emotion. Generate a vivid illusion, by asking the experiencer to
describe the control, including colour, sound and feel to the description, as
necessary.
message is that you get what you focus on, so as a communicator, ensure you focus
Use of language people upon what you want them to be thinking about.
Re-enforcing the idea that you get what you focus on, notice how when people are
Aim confused they tend to respond to the first clear command they hear. For example, a
The aim of this section is to orient you within the rich set of observations that NLP friend needed to get her young daughter to finish tidying her room instead of
researchers have found to be true in their study of language. A further aim is to messing around. To do this Lisa sent her daughter into a slightly confused state, by
make you aware of the impact of words upon the behaviour of others. using a lot of long words and a slightly comic tone of voice. As soon as her
daughter began to look blank, she gave her the clear and firm directive to “take the
The reason that NLP professionals are interested in the structure of language is that
Hoover upstairs and finish cleaning your room”, which her daughter did straight
we are all involved in using communication to influence one another. Language
away without question. Now. Let us begin to explore a number of other very
patterns: influence students towards or away from interest and engagement in that
simple, yet powerful effects that language has upon our lives.
which is taught; influence trainees to be more or less professional in their
application of new skills; or influence athletes to become more or less motivated to Communicating with clarity
Our words inspire internal pictures, sounds and feelings in the minds of those around us. The knack is to evoke
undertake the training schedules provided. images that are congruent with the message we want to impart. We are back to the idea of imagining yourself as a
film director and producer. Imagine I say that “my shed contains many tools”. Any number of images might come
The other reason that NLP professionals are interested in the structure of language into your mind, the following being some possibilities. As a communicator, I need to think through whether it
is that lack of awareness of the way the structure of language influences mental matters if the first image that is likely to come into your mind is an axe or a pair of pliers…
processes opens individuals to be controlled by others. Moreover, lack of
awareness of the power of patterns of language also makes it entirely possible for
individuals to mis-communicate their ideas. Which may be good or may be bad,
depending upon the context. For example, speakers can seed ideas and notions that
they never intended in the minds of others. For instance, there are many well-
documented cases of cancer patients getting better or worse depending upon the
suggestions of their doctors. There are clear cases of children and students living
out their allotted role of class dunce or class clown, on the basis of a teachers‟
misplaced comments. I have even witnessed teachers persuading people into
confusion and dismay.
If you remember only one main point from this section of work, remember that the
sub-conscious mind processes ideas in very strange ways. A helpful image to bear
in mind is that while your subconscious is amazingly fast and powerful, in terms of
intellect the subconscious has the intellectual and verbal abilities of a five year old.
Which is its great limitation. And is why it is such a challenge to access the
insights of the subconscious. In effect, it is using a different set of operating
instructions to the rest of the mind.
For example, and before we get into the text proper, the subconscious does not
process negatives very well. Each time you see the word not half your brain
processes the message as an order. Don‟t be late! Don‟t forget! Don‟t talk! Are
orders processed as Be late! Forget! and Talk! For example, many of you will have
experienced being told by someone don‟t look now… only to immediately look in
the direction the person didn‟t want you to look in! It would be far better to use the
commands Be five minutes early! Remember! and, Listen for the silence! The
Nominalisation often occur when someone takes a verb or adjective and turns it into a noun,
Nominalisations e.g. free becomes freedom – as in well defend our freedom.
A nominalisation is a word that refers to anything that has no physical or material (Picture: the declaration of independence, where independence is another nominalisation).
reality. Examples of nominalisations include abstract ideas like: help, freedom,

repression and confidence, because no one can go and buy you a box of help, or a
truckload of freedom. Whenever you hear someone say that they are afraid, upset,
disturbed, confused or any of the hundred or so other comments that students and
trainees make, when they are having problems, you are in the presence of a
nominalisation.
What is really happening is that the student is sensing certain internal feelings and
is making an inference based on those feelings. If the inference is incorrect, the
student can easily self-limit their rate of progress in your class. As an illustration,
consider the case of a man called Tim, about whom I read in a psychology book on
human communication. Every time Tim went to speak in public he described
himself as feeling nervous, and the more nervous he felt, the more he exhibited the
symptoms of fear and distress. Then one day, Tim read about a psychology
experiment in which students were administered adrenalin. As he read on, he
discovered that some of the students reacted to the adrenalin by attributing fear,
while other students reacted to the same adrenalin by attributing excitement. He
Back in the days of the Cold War, countries using the word democratic in their title were often using a
then realised that he never felt afraid or excited, but that he had only ever sensed nominalisation in an attempt to try to persuade people that they really did hold free and fair elections.
the presence of adrenalin coursing through his bloodstream. Suddenly, as if a light As in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, which to this day is renown for its free press (not).
were switched on in his brain, every time Tim stood before an audience, he sensed
the adrenalin and, realising that what he was feeling was only adrenalin, he began
to enjoy the feeling of excitement. Pretty soon, Tim was seeking opportunities for
public speaking instead of shying away and hiding in the back row.
While all this talk of „things that are physical and ideas that are conceptual may
sound philosophical, the habit of letting nominalisations pass unchallenged is at the
root of many practical problems and misunderstandings, it is also at the root of the
generation of hypnotic and persuasive patterns of language. Wherever
nominalisations lurk, without being anchored with some kind of context or
explanation, you are either in the presence of someone who is vague, or lazy or
seeking to artfully persuade you into a course of action. Nominalisations are by
their very nature open to individual interpretation. My view of freedom may equate
with your view of repression – but who is to know unless we discuss exactly what
we both mean in some detail? For example, in the 1970s, many repressive regimes
and terrorist groups used the word democratic within their title, because it made it
more difficult for detractors to complain without themselves appearing to be
intolerant.
Understanding the role of nominalisations in speech enables us to accomplish science and academia, it is clear that there are at least two applications of an ability
many things: to discern hype. First, an ability to identify nominalisations is one of the essential
tools in the tool bag of a good researcher, if the researcher is not to become prey to
1) If we are teachers, we can identify our use of nominalisations in order to become
the hype and pseudo-science that is often mistaken for factual reporting. Second
more precise in our use of language. This does not mean that we never use
using appropriate nominalisations can also be a useful way in which to introduce
nominalisations, simply that we clarify those nominalisations with examples. For
students to complex ideas, without the students being aware of what is taking
instance, rather than ask a vague question like, Does everybody understand what I
place. The idea is to teach the complex idea before the students have an
have asked them to do? We can begin to ask more specific questions, like Does
opportunity to decide they are confused and confounded.
everyone understand the task well enough to explain it to someone else? As you
will realise, the more specific question relates the concept of understanding to the Exercise. Using the preceding definition of a nominalisation, generate a set of your
process of verbally explaining. A colleague called Sue used this form of question to own examples. First, list as many nominalisations as come to mind. Then begin to
ensure that everyone understood the assignments that she set. As a further list times and places in which you have heard yourself or other people use
sophistication, she would occasionally pick someone at random to tell her their nominalisations. Finally, search through some daily papers and magazines and note
understanding of the assignment in order that students did not simply nod their journalistic examples of nominalisations. As an optional extra, imagine that you are
heads in the hope that she would ignore them. an investigator and think of some questions you believe would be useful in probing
2) Nominalisations can be used to be artfully vague, to avoid argument or to elicit the journalistic examples you have gathered.
agreement. For example, if someone is struggling with a new concept and clearly A search through some newspapers and magazines should soon yield
generating a lot of bad feeling and confusion, you might say All we need is to gain a bumper crop of nominalisations. Most of which will have been used in a way
that reinforce the assumptions and the values in which the nominalisation is rooted.
an overall understanding of these ideas because we can come back to this exercise
and complete it properly at a later date. Just remember the basics for the moment
and we can consider the detail in later lessons. In this example, the phrase overall
understanding can be taken to mean anything the student already understands and
the detail can be defined as all the things that have yet to be understood. In practise,
Pete uses this form of statement many times, adjusting his patterns of speech to re-
enforce each student‟s feelings of confidence and to downplay those aspects of a
lesson with which students might be confused. Ideally, by the end of the
conversation, the student is led to a belief that they have actually progressed further
than the tutor had intended. Feelings of failure are replaced by feelings of
competence and attainment.
3) Use of nominalisations can indicate that someone is vague in their mental model
of the world-around-them. For example, when a student hands in an essay
containing superlatives, like the computer is very powerful and can be used to
achieve many things, it is clear that you need to explore exactly what they mean by
the vague concepts powerful (compared with what?), used (by whom, and in what
circumstances?) to achieve many things (such as?).
4) Finally, journalists, politicians, spin-doctors and PR consultants all know the
value of nominalisations to obfuscate and cloud an unpalatable truth.
Nominalisations are therefore used to avoid people from disagreeing with the
message the communicator is proposing. To cite extreme examples, noun phrases
like collateral damage and neutralise are some of the more common ways in which
war is given a saccharin coating. Relating these principles to the twin realms of
Unspecified Verbs 2) Unspecified verbs may be used to identify boundaries and misunderstandings
in a speaker‟s mental model of the world around them. For example, during
Unspecified verbs do for activity related words what nominalisations do for the four decades of life, Pete has often heard people say that a bad experience has
world of nouns. The less a verb relates to a physical action or to the world of the taught them a lot. He has then seen the same people go and commit the same
senses, the more ambiguity is created in the mind of a listener. For example, words mistake again and again. The lesson here is that trite little sayings, like that
like do, fix, solve, move, change, wonder, think, sense, know, experience, taught me a lesson, tend to indicate a vague and insubstantial perception,
understand, and remember are all relatively abstract verbs that can mean many unless backed up by more specific descriptions. In this case, one would want to
things to many different people. To illustrate the point, look at the following know more about what was learned and how it will affect the person‟s future
instances, in which the verb learn becomes less and less specified: behaviour and decision making and how they will ensure that they do not fall
 I want you to learn ways in which to use visual basic to program computer back into the same pattern of behaviour.
games. (Fairly specific)
 I want you to learn more about visual basic. (What kind of more?) You do not need to look far to see that we are all being inundated by paperwork, which is filled with
 I want you to learn. (Learn about what?) ambiguity. Some of the ambiguity being the result of omission on the part of the author,
 It is good to learn things. (No more reference to I or to You – Good in what way? Good for whom? some of it being the result of a specific attempt to mislead.
From newspapers to so-called scientific reports commissioned by PR companies,
What things do you want me to learn?)
to video segments on television news provided by marketeers.
As with nominalisations, unspecified verbs can be used in essentially three ways.
1) They are used to gain agreement and reduce inappropriate questions. For
example, a computer sales company might address a group of students by
saying our new product BrightMinds brings consistently good results and
causes pupils to quickly rise to new levels of achievement. You will already
have spotted the nominalisations nestling in this communication. Now
recognise the unspecified verb phrases brings consistently and quickly rise.
Taken as a whole, the questions that rise in our minds are: Specifically what
kinds of results? Measured using what kinds of data collection methods?
Consistent across what number of students and what age groups? What
specific percentage of improvement? Some people will be reminded here of the
scandal of the early advertisements for fluoride in toothpaste. In the
advertisements, graphs for reduction in tooth cavities were „truncated so that
only the very top portion of the graph was displayed. The result was that a very
small percentage was made to look as if fluoride halved tooth decay. Another
classic example in the UK, is when adverts use phrases like nine out of ten
people prefer. After the phrase, some adverts add the caveat of those
questioned, but none that we have seen go on to indicate if those questioned
were independent or whether those questioned represented a straw poll taken in
the advertising agency creating the advertisement.
3) Another classic language pattern is the they always… something… something… your own examples. First, list as many unspecified verbs as come to mind. Then
pattern, for example, they never do the things I want them to do or they are begin to list times and places in which you have heard yourself or other people use
always upsetting me or he never says he loves me or the class is so difficult or I these kinds of words. Finally, search through some daily papers and magazines and
couldn‟t make it to class today. At first glance the utterance appears to be note journalistic examples of unspecified verbs. As an optional extra, imagining
communicating something important, at second glance it is virtually yourself as a super-sleuth, think of some questions that you believe to be useful in
meaningless (the meaning usually being communicated in the tone of voice probing the journalistic examples you have gathered.
rather than in the content). As you consider the they always… something…
something… pattern, you will realise that the words leave a huge amount to the The place where the world of public relations meets the world of science is a particularly fruitful ground
for unspecified verbs. Read some of the books by Stauber and Rampton for more discussion on how a
imagination. With a little practise, one way in which to investigate and clarify clever PR agency can affect the world in which we live.
the speaker‟s mental model is to caricature the meaning by generating an
extreme interpretation (with the caveat that ideally you should be sure that the
extreme interpretation is a caricature and is not the reality). Take each of the
examples listed.
 They never do the things I want them to (Possible retort: You mean they lie
in wait for you and continually and intentionally plot ways in which to
make you unhappy).
 They are always arguing with me. (Possible retort: What, you are just
standing there minding your own business and they come up and argue
with you just for the sake of arguing?).
 He never says he loves me. (Possible retort: Every time you tell him you
love him, he just stands there immobile, like a statue, not reacting in any
way, no vocal or non-verbal communication? Are you sure that he is
alive?).
 The class is so difficult. (Possible retort: Would your degree be worth very
much if you only learned things that you already understand?)
 I couldn‟t make it to class today. (Possible retort: You mean someone was
holding you down on the bed and forcing you to sleep in?)
4) Unspecified verbs are often used in communication to groups. For example by
professionals, such as politicians, lawyers and spin-doctors. In this context,
unspecified verbs are used to gain agreement or to hide an unpalatable truth.
As with the use of nominalisations, teachers need to be able to spot their
tendency to use unspecified verbs, so that they ensure their communication
does not contain any unfortunate subtext. Look at the following and see if you
can spot phrases that are often used in education:
 Our results are much better than they were.
(Questions that need asking: How much better? And Is it good enough?)
 Clearly we need to more fully assess and quantify school performance.
(Questions that need asking: Why is it clear? And To what extent not fully And What kinds of
performance? Based on what educational criteria? To attain precisely what kinds of aims?)
 iii) We hope to achieve significant gains.
(Questions that need asking: Why hope and not expect? And, How significant? And, What kinds of
gains?)
Exercise. Using the preceding definition of unspecified verbs, generate a set of
Unspecified Referential Indices leave a lot to the imagination.

Unspecified Referential Indices Notice how often old horror movies make use of this kind of phrasing.
An unspecified referential index is a noun that refers to something physical when
that noun is used in a way that can be construed as vague. Because the noun refers
to something physical, the noun or noun phrase is not technically a nominalisation.
However, the overall effect of the use of the phrase is similar. For instance, the
most obvious unspecified referential indices are found in the common use of pro-
nouns like: this, that, they, them… However, with a little skill and practise other
everyday nouns can be made to appear similarly vague and ambiguous. For as in
the previous exercises, related to nominalisations, using an unspecified referential
index can derive from a desire to obscure or confuse or persuade, or it can derive
from a muddled or limited mental model of the situation or context being
described. For example:
 People applying for project grants are often purposely vague about what they
hope to achieve, so that they retain a degree of autonomy once the grant
application has been accepted.
 Students who don‟t really understand the content of a lesson will often talk in
generalities – making it seem as if they understand. Given a concrete example
in which to test their theoretical understanding, the apparent learning
evaporates into confusion.
 It is common for people in organisations to blame a group of people called
„them for all the problems that are faced by the organisation. Most groups have
an un-specified „they. Questioning people and putting a face to „them can be an
interesting and salutary experience.
 Statements containing unspecified referential indices often cause the listener to
use their own imagination to look for the meaning of the phrase. The result is
that in adverts that use statements like „this can enhance your life, the listener
goes inside and imagines what kind of this might enhance their life. Different
readers might instantiate the word this in different ways, which is how a vague
advert captures more business than a more specific advert.
Exercise. Generate a set of stories, situations or experiences that are clear in your
mind. First, imagine that you are Mr Spock or Lt Data from Start Trek and
describe each situation in a highly defined and scientific way. For instance, I
arrived by car at the train station at 10.30 am, I then proceeded to the main
terminal… and so on. Then, under your defined text, pretend you are a weaselling
political spin-doctor and type a second text, describing the same story, situation or
experience and in which you cram in as many vague and unspecified terms as you
are able. For example, when reaching the main terminal the train arrived many
happy and smiling faces of travellers were about to embark on a new adventure,
etc. Finally, and as appropriate to your interests, list the kinds of audiences for
which each text would be useful.
Deletions Exercise. First, write a piece of text with the original information included (i.e
something you might say or have said to someone), then find ways to delete any
The term deletion refers to a piece of text in which a major noun phrase is missing.
aspects of the text that appear to be problematic (or could create conflict).
In practical terms, this means that there are blanks in the sentence. For example, I
might say that you may find yourself becoming increasingly intrigued and in as Second, look through books, newspapers and magazines and note examples of
much as you are intrigued I suggest that you begin to study language structures in deletions, and importantly, note the kind of information that has been deleted.
more depth. At no point have I actually said what you are intrigued by, although
Lastly, if the kind of information is not apparent, note questions you would need to
there is the implication that it is something to do with language. Also notice that
ask of the author to clarify their message.
the utterance suggests that even if your intrigue is miniscule that you begin to do
more study. (For good measure, the statement also contains a number of embedded commands, which we will
discuss at a later date).
Learn to read between the lines.
The applications for the use of deletions are similar to those applications outlined It‟s not just the military and spies who talk and write in code.
People often speak and write in a way that is far from clear.
in previous work. First, we might want to delete overt or obvious references to Sometimes we have to be alert to see the real message
anything that might cause problems. In this case, we can write a text with the hidden between the lines, so that we can react appropriately.
original information included, then find ways to delete any aspects of the text that
appear to be problematic. A classic example of the use of this idea in teaching is to
ease a class into a complicated subject for study by avoiding complicated words.
For instance, Pete finds that the word mathematics causes many people to become
flustered, yet the same people can complete a mathematically based game
relatively easily, as long as they do not see the dreaded M-word. As another
example, the party games Animal, Vegetable, Mineral and Who Am I? both require
the use of deductive logic. However, classes that blanche at the concept of logic
laugh when playing either of the games. Second, we can search for deletions in the
speech of others and the deleted information can provide us with insight into the
assumptions, prejudices, and motivations of those others. For example, when a
student says that they do not like or are not interested in a subject, it is interesting
to discern more about the information being deleted in the utterance? When they
say they do not like the subject do they really mean: (i) the subject is not
interesting, (ii) they have not yet found an interest, (iii) they have not looked for an
interest, (iv) they have been discouraged by some previous experience, or (v) they
just can‟t be bothered with an interest in learning anything and they think that you
(as a teacher) can be easily fobbed off.
In everyday speech, we call a search for deletions reading between the lines. We all
know that sometimes the words that go unsaid are as powerful a message as the
words that are heralded. For example, we all assume gravity, so we do not feel it
necessary to explain the concept when we talk of the dangers of walking under
ladders or the injury that can be caused by falling work tools. Listening to the
dialogue of Earth people, someone who grew up on the moon could infer that some
kind of force causes our tools to drop at a dangerous speed.
Some links are stronger and more durable than others.

Linkages
Some words imply a cause-effect relationship between ideas or happenings. As
ever, these words can be used to hide meaning or can be observed to help us more
effectively read between the lines. In particular, the linkage words and and or are
often used to conjoin ideas which in reality have very little relationship. On paper,
the join can look a little odd, but in speech many listeners will fail to notice and
will be carried along by the rhythm of the conversation. For example: I know that
many of you are interested in language structure and so I am sure that you will
want to know about future versions of our software NLP Language Lab.
The words as and while are also powerful conjoiners of ideas, because as much as
you gain expertise in language structure, you will want to keep looking at our web
site for news of new and more sophisticated versions of the powerful language
software NLP Language Lab. And. While you will be aware that these statements
are tongue-in-cheek, the smile that is brought to your face will make your desire to
purchase future versions of this software a welcome idea. Or, I can by-pass the use
of linkages and make one action or idea implicit within the context of a completely
different action or idea. For example: On completing these exercises, you will find
our web site crammed with ideas for ways in which you can continue your studies. A powerful argument has to link right back to the assumptions on which it is based.
(The assumption being that on completion of the exercises you will feel motivated
enough to log on and go to our web site).
Exercise. First, think about instances in which you give, or could imagine, giving
people instructions. Then, practice linking the ideas which comprise your
instruction using conjunctions such as: and, as, while. Finally, begin to use implied
causality of the link-words to strengthen your argument / instruction.
An easy way to pace and gain rapport is to articulate what you believe to be in your audiences mind. In
Mind Reading the 2005 UK elections, Blaire was heavily criticised for taking the country to war in Iraq.
Rather than try to dodge the issue, Blaire embraced other people’s right to their own opinion
Mind reading does not refer to the development of psychic ability – far from it. and re-focused the debate on his need to make a difficult decision,
Rather, mind reading refers to the habit many of us have of making assumptions all of which is impossible to argue with. You may disagree with his decision,
but he has already given you permission to do so.
about the thoughts, feelings, desires, expectations and motivations of those around Which means that whether you agree or not, he has taken control of the debate.
us. As with many of the preceding language patterns, mind reading can perform
three functions. First, it can cause us to behave according to a faulty model of the
world around us. Second, it can be used to plant ideas in the minds of others. Third,
mind reading can be used to create the impressions (real or illusory) of empathy.
In the first instance, we use our awareness of mind reading to help us find ways in
which to clarify our understanding of what another person wants, desires or
requires. In this way we make life easier both for ourselves and for those around
us. For example, Pete will often go into a class and gauge the body language of
specific students, and describe what he sees, before then commenting on a
caricatured interpretation of what he sees. If the interpretation is wrong, the initial
description prevents there being a problem. If the interpretation is right, it normally
causes people to smile. For example, he was teaching one tutorial group of six
people, who had all been to the same party the night before. After a few seconds
spent mimicking six people who looked very hung over, the mood of the students
was very much more work focussed. Knowing that the mood was the result of a
party and not boredom, it was also much easier to re-work the lesson schedule to
take into account the student‟s condition.
In the second instance, we recognise the attitudes of one person can be affected by
talking about the imagined attitudes of others. This process is how propagandists
have worked for thousands of years. For example: In history we have often seen
the use of agent provocateurs telling people your rulers intend to do you
horrendous wrong and do not care about your plight in order to stir up one group
of people against another. Alternately, we also see instances in which conflict is
avoided when it is suggested that while management have made mistakes, they
were honest mistakes, made out of an honest intention to do good. In sport, we see
a similar process occurring when a coach wants to motivate a team for an important
match. The coach gets the players to imagine the reactions of friends to victory,
and the sneers of opponents if they lose. A subtle coach can hide these imaginings
under a layer of humour or even use indirect forms of suggestion, but the
underlying message is still there.
In the third instance of mind reading, we can make an intelligent guess at the kinds Of course, it is not always easy to read body language.
For hundreds of years, people have been guessing
of thoughts and emotions being experienced by another person. And stating the at the reason for the Mona Lisa’s enigmatic expression.
guess aloud can cause the person to feel that we understand them and that we
empathise. Of course, if the guess is couched in the kinds of language patterns
already practised, we can hedge our bets. If we are wrong in our guessing, we still
have room for manoeuvre. This use of mind reading is a more subtle and
sophisticated version of the previous example, when Pete was working with the
group of hung-over students. In this case, he would see what appears to be a
hangover and make an open comment. If the person gives a positive response, like
a smile, then it opens the way to delve further. Each time, one makes a suggestion,
if the body language is positive, it becomes possible to garner more detail. If the
body language is negative, one simply diverts off in a new direction as seamlessly
as possible. For example: "I get the impression that you are a little confused by
today‟s lesson, many people who come to see me find that their confusion is the
result of…" If the person non-verbally agrees that they are confused you would
continue. If confusion is not the case, you seamlessly change tack saying, “other
people look confused but are not, and I get the impression that there is something
else in your mind…”
Exercise. First. As you go through the day, or scan back through your memory,
observe, record or recall the body language of people around you. For each person,
begin to list or make up a number of possible scenarios that could account for that
body language. For example: Is a dour complexion due to intense thought? Or
tiredness? Or irritability?
Second. Scan through your memory and make a note of times in which you have
assumed the desires and/or expectations of others. For example, times you may
have been pressured to complete a task, then found out that the standards you
sought to place upon yourself were higher than those required by those in authority.
Third. Take some scenarios in which you have had a degree of experience, for
example dealing with a difficult client. Are there patterns of complaint or
misunderstanding that you can note? If so, note some of these patterns. Then note
ways you could pre-empt the complaint in ways that either make it difficult for the
complainant to say anything at all – or at the very least in ways that diffuse the
negative emotion from the situation.
Lost Performatives Exercise. First. Watch or read a number of advertisements and for each one seek
out the lost performatives – and any other pre-suppositions. Second. Write your
Lost Performatives are evaluative statements in which the evaluation is presented own version of each advert. Seek to embed as many (lost performative-style) pre-
in a manner that makes the evaluation seem as if it were an obvious truth to be suppositions as you can, whilst being as concise as you are able.
accepted by all that read it. In order to provide and enhance the impression that the The notion of the American Dream was created by a group of media moguls in the early Twentieth
statement is a universal truth, the identity of the person making the evaluation is Century. They specifically set out to infuse the core values of modern America within their movies.
deleted from the statement. For example, it is common for people to say great
party as opposed to I think this is a great party. Even better would be to say
something like great party – best ever. In this second example, not only has the
statement been distanced from me and phrased as a „truth which describes the
beliefs of everyone at the party, but the implication is also that the party is so great
that its better than other great parties.
The examples may appear to be labouring a point. However, many effective
advertisements stack these kinds of implied presuppositions within their internal
structure, because lost performatives are an effective way to seed motivation in the
minds of others. For example, many adverts presuppose a certain lifestyle as cool,
indicate ways in which you are less than cool, and then sell you cool for the cost of
the product. In study, our experience has been that the lost performative is often in
evidence when students write essays. First year students in particular like to make
sweeping statements in the belief that all the world‟s experts agree with them.
Then, there are the students who have obviously looked at the statement and felt it While by no means the first to propose the message,
Walt Disney took the core message proposed by his predecessors and took that message to its logical
to be too strong and so have stuck a weasel word in front of the strong statement to conclusion, whilst building his own media empire along the way.
soften the effect. What results simply looks bizarre. For instance: most people Watch a few f his films and notice how many values are embedded within each storyline.
agree that the obvious problem with sponsorship in sport is that…We never find
out who the most people are and the obvious problem is usually an idea recently
reviewed in the papers, with no attempt to compare and contrast the view with
other equally valid points of view.
As ever, lost performatives can be used to persuade and convince or to identify
false assumptions and vague ideas hidden within the mental models of others.
When used to identify the false assumptions, unsubstantiated qualitative words,
words which indicate relative value such as good, excellent, larger and smaller
should begin to cause a bulls**t detector to sound a warning. With our detector
beeping quietly in the background, we can then begin to deploy questions, which
elicit the criteria and data from which our students derive their values, their
motivation and their enthusiasm. We can also begin to teach them how to use
language more eloquently, so that they can think more clearly. As the philosopher
Wittgenstein said early in the Twentieth Century: The limits of my language are the
limits of my world.
Notice how many sales people use universal quantifiers.

Universal Quantifiers
As with many of the other language patterns presented, universal quantifiers
provide us with ways in which to avoid confrontation and build forms of
agreement. Again, by deleting detail, our words can be used to mean whatever we
want them to. Some readers might recall Humpty Dumpty in Lewis Carroll‟s Alice
Through The Looking Glass, in which Humpty Dumpty asserts his right for words
to mean anything he wants them to mean…which Alice finds too stupid a concept
to entertain. Because if everyone uses words to mean whatever they want, then
those words end up having no „shared meaning. The words soon become
meaningless.
As an example of the use of universal quantifiers, we can be certain in our steadfast
belief that people continually use universal quantifiers in much of what they say Also notice how often universal quantifiers get used by politicians,
and write, so much so that it often becomes difficult to ever understand what other especially when the politician is campaigning for office.
In the 2005 UK elections, the Tories made use of vague quantifiers
people are trying to say or communicate. (To make life as easy as possible, we have to scare people vis-à-vis the numbers of immigrants arriving in Britain.
underlined the quantifiers in the sentence youve just read!). And to cast doubts on whether so many government civil servants were needed.
The best way that we have found to make progress in unravelling the universal
quantifiers of others is to dismantle the generalisations and ask for specific
instances that confirm and specific instances that deny the general rule. One
technique that we use is similar to that suggested for the unspecified referential
indices. Take the utterance and push its meaning to the absolute extreme of the
words presented. For example, if someone says everyone likes playing football, you
could retort I don‟t like football, are you saying that Im not an everyone, because
that means you must think I am a no-one, do you think that little of me? Then smile
and watch the look of confusion as the person tries to mentally process what you
have just said.
Exercise. First, read through papers and magazines and identify any
generalisations that you find. Then, list observations about the way the
generalisation has been employed. For instance: Does the generalisation lead the
reader to certain conclusions that on reflection need to be questioned? Then. If
there are questions to ask, list what those questions might be. Second, imagine that
you are generating a political speech, sales patter or other form of persuasive
communication. Find out how many generalisations like all, every, always, never
and nobody you can cram into your text.
Unspoken Assumptions running business applications.

To one extent or another, unspoken pre-suppositions and assumptions exist in Good examples of this embedding of unspoken assumptions can be seen in all
everything we speak and everything we write and everything we do. The reason for areas of advertising. At its most extreme, the media sell a pre-supposition that
this universal application is that unspoken presuppositions and assumptions are the everyone should aspire to a fast living Hollywood lifestyle. Many adverts feed off
mind‟s way in which to reduce the computational load as we navigate our way the image of glamour, reminding us of the life to which we aspire, before then
through the world-around-us. To give an illustrative example, we dress in certain telling us how the product will enable us to attain that lifestyle. However, not all
ways to influence the pre-suppositions of others, particularly if we work as a pre-suppositions are so obvious. Sometimes the pre-suppositions are subtler. We
manager or sales person can see spoof adverts, which make us laugh by parodying a Hollywood lifestyle.
As they do this they cause us to recall the images upon which the parody is based.
The interesting thing is that because pre-suppositions are so powerful and work so
(So in effect there are two layers of pre-supposition happening – one the message
subliminally, they can be used in many interesting and intriguing ways. One
of cool and the other making us feel above the general crowd and able to look
particularly powerful application of unspoken assumptions can be seen when we
down – a kind of inverted snobbery). Then the hook-line is inserted, in such a way
agree to a message that on the surface sounds logical and coherent and then find
that we can see that we would be foolish to refuse such a good offer. The irony is
that we have been „sold the idea that lays behind the overt message, an idea that we
then that everyone who wants to rebel ends up looking the same – so that all other
would never have entertained if we had had our wits about us.
rebels can identify them as being un-coolly, cool.
For example, if we accept the tenet that new technology is good for education, then
we have to act by purchasing new computers, which means changing budgetary Exercise. Look at a selection of advertisements - or even a selection of text books,
priorities and using certain rooms as computer labs. Most schools have reacted to particularly those written for humanities students, and begin to unpick the pre-
the overt message that new technology is good for education by proceeding along suppositions embedded in those texts, pictures, videos or audio tapes.
one particular route in their implementation of IT policy. They have been fed the
Deciding what to pack for the journey
assumption that new technology equals desktop computers equals computer labs You can liken preparing for a speech or researching a text to be like packing for a journey.
and of course there have been many companies very keen to encourage that The longer and more important the journey, the more you will need and the less can be omitted.
assumption and to downplay the alternatives. We know of one well-qualified
commentator of current educational initiatives who considers most educational
multi-media Wanna-Be TV. However, there are few people pointing out that the
quality of much software, up until very recent years, was far less sophisticated than
the quality of VHS Video used to record the many available television
documentaries. We can write essays, complete accounts and surf the web on our
£150 palmtop with a £50 extension keyboard, and a plug-in module so we can
attach our PDA to a monitor. Only when there is a need for graphics processing
and multi-media do we really require the power of a desktop. While I am writing
this text on a 800 Mhz computer, other than the fact I am now familiar with the
environment, I do not need that much computing power. I can never type fast
enough to even begin to reach the limits of many of my computer‟s capabilities. In
an arena where there are unspoken assumptions about what education wants to
achieve, it is very difficult to make clear any coherent decisions about the kinds of
technology by which to attain those unspoken goals. As another example, there
used to be a computer called a Commodore that people in the UK perceived as a
games computer, but which on the continent was also used by many businesses.
For many years, businesses were paying well over a thousand pounds for the same
functionality that many kids were purchasing for a couple of hundred pounds,
simply because the lower priced machine was assumed to be inferior and not up to
A temporal clause plays with notions of ‘time.

Temporal clauses
Words, which refer to time or to process, are often referred to as temporal.
There are many ways in which temporal clauses can be employed to under-gird and
strengthen a pre-supposition. For example: we can use words like before, after,
during, as, since, prior, when, and while to link two un-related commands. For
instance, I might suggest that while you read this text, you will discover new ways
in which to stack pre-suppositions. Indeed you may recall that we looked at a
similar example previously. The difference is that in this case I am suggesting that
while you do one thing, something else will occur to you. Realise that the very act
of me making the suggestion, makes it more likely that the result will occur. I have
planted the seed of another idea in your mind and have buried it within my initial
statement. This is the way that some of the most powerful hypnotic suggestions are
delivered by those skilled in the art. (It is also how powerful hypnotic suggestions
are delivered by accident by those who have no idea the impact their words will
have).
Now, all this talk of the use of temporal clauses may appear to be a nit picking
analysis of language, but in fact, we are seeking to become more sophisticated in It is easy to cause someone to generate an image in their mind and link the image to a future event.
our understanding, as we seek to identify the more powerful applications for NLP People do this all the time without realising what they are doing, which can cause problems for the
people with whom they interact, if they embed images in an uninformed way.
models of language (or is this sentence simply another set of pre-suppositions A classic example of this is when a doctor misdiagnoses someone.
designed to manipulate your desire for power? And why did I use the word power The medical literature is full of reports of people getting well (or ill)
instead of the word competency? Am I saying something about you? Or does this on the basis of a doctor’s expectations.
set of asides simply indicate my brain is overheating…Time for a refreshing
cuppa…Now…As you drink, relax and enjoy the insights that rise in your mind…).
Joking aside, in the classroom, an understanding of presuppositions is important in
order to note sub-texts that we want to avoid. A teacher can easily build into a class
of students the assumption and pre-supposition that a new idea is complicated and
that as a result they will have to experience confusion, which will be very upsetting.
Alternatively, a new idea can be rooted in the idea of excitement and exploration.
We might say: while you may feel a little disoriented at times, you will be able to
recall many times previously that you felt the same kind of disorientation…before
then getting a buzz and a feeling of accomplishment. Notice how in the second
italicised example, the student was taken back and forth in time to „sell the idea
that the new lesson will be exciting.
Notice how many interactive TV polls appear to be giving you a choice,

Use of the word or but in fact all the options have been prescribed by the producers of the program.
The word or is often used when people want to hide a presupposition under the
illusion of choice. Someone might ask a potential date: Would you prefer to go out
to the cinema or go to a restaurant? Both venues pre-suppose the date will agree
with you and want to „go out‟. Obviously, the preceding example is crude and is
presented in order to make a point. But you will find that over the coming days or
weeks, that you will soon become expert in spotting the use of or as a
presupposition. Alternatively, you will begin to spot other or-type words. Because
there are many other words that have the same semantic meaning as or. And
because even if you do not feel the need for a detailed knowledge of the use of the
word or as a presupposition, you will find yourself in many situations where
knowledge of presuppositions is useful. For example, when trying to control
children in a classroom. Children like to feel they are getting their own way, so you As some cynics say: whoever you vote for, the government always get in!
might want to frame the alternatives so that they are stacked in your favour. Do you
want to clean your room before watching TV or for us to spend the evening having
an argument about your room which will make us both miserable?
Another way in which to apply the or-pattern of speech is to hide a presupposition
under humour. For instance when you say, those people who want a good mark can
complete the exercise and hand their work in on time, while those who want a poor
mark are advised to hand their work in as late as possible, so that it can be failed.
The only other alternative being to manage your time and hand your work in a
couple of days before the due date and make it much more likely that your grade
will be a high one. The last example raises one final point. We have noticed that if
you suggest a number of seemingly equally valid choices, the last one mentioned
appears to get a better response from any group of people, especially if the last
option is marked out with a slight change in your tone of voice.
For more exercises, visit our web site at circle-of-excellence.com

Pause for Thought
Having completed some of the exercises presented in the previous few pages, you
are now in a position to have some fun with your colleagues. Here are two games
that you can adapt to your interests and work environment.
 The challenge of precision. To whet your appetite, we will split into teams.
One team elects a robot who is to pick up a small object navigate a maze and
place the small object on a target area. Another team are programmers, with a
chief programmer who gives instructions. The job of the chief programmer is
to tell the robot what to do, the job of the robot, as with all pieces of electrical
equipment, is to mis-construe the instructions within the limits of the English
language. Teams can help their starring players. A third team, consisting of
judges, adjudicates in the event of a dispute.
 The challenge of obfuscation. Split into two teams. One is a team of managers
who are going to attempt to sell a set of problematic management decisions to
the workforce, the other are the work force who want to interpret the decision
in their own favour and get the management to agree to their own list of
demands. A set of legal experts will at the end of the game decide which team
got agreement to most demands within the limits of the English language.
What next?
The intention of this section has been for you to begin to gain an appreciation of
the richness of language and the ways in which various language patterns
communicate more about us and to us than we had previously been aware. Those
who want to take the concept of language patterns further should be aware that
there are more language patterns presented in later chapters and that software
supplemental to this book can be downloaded from http://www.circle-of-
excellence.com. Go to our web site, look for our ReadingRoom and seek the
exercises that are appended to our book on philosophy.
has had a bad reputation in academia because many Universities are rooted in a
Communication as narrative tradition of thought that is ultimately derived from the philosopher Plato, who was
an ardent opponent of Sophism. This is one reason why textbooks have
Aims traditionally (until recently) been difficult to read, while advertisements and
magazines are chatty and appealing to a reader.
The aim of this section is for you to build upon your insight into the world of
language and to provide you with a number of „structures by which you can
powerfully harness those insights. The underlying theme of the section is that Applications in teaching
charismatic and memorable communicators tend to embed ideas within story and Stories in which a speaker has an emotional investment naturally communicate the
narrative, because the human mind is designed to easily recall patterns, and a story speaker‟s emotions to others. As reported previously, research by the Hay-McBer
is a pattern of ideas hung around a core theme (or themes). The intention is that by Group indicates that the emotional tone of a lesson accounts for 70% of the
the end of this section you will have all the knowledge you need to evolve into a learning that takes place as a result of the lesson. Irrespective of whether we agree
charismatic story teller, all you will then need is a commitment to practise. with the exact figure, it is clear that emotion has a significant impact on a learner‟s
motivation to participate in a class and upon the learners ability to recall what they
The nature of story and narrative have been taught. If we all think back to our own school days, the personality and
style of teaching of some teachers makes those teachers far more memorable than
Recall times when you have watched skilled comedians, such as Billy Connolly
the personality and teaching style of others, for whom we have developed an
and Ben Elton. If you are more conservative in your leanings, consider the power
amnesia to protect us from recall of hours of boredom or intimidation.
of orators, such as Winston Churchill or Margaret Thatcher. You can then consider
the question: What is it that causes some speakers to be so captivating and so For example; Linda‟s favourite teacher at school was her English teacher. He was a
persuasive? The answer to the question posed is more straightforward than one rather scruffy looking chap, and the sort of teacher on first impressions you would
might imagine. think was a bit of a push over. However, he had an impressive range of tonality in
his voice and a great passion for books. Linda‟s fondest memory of him was when
Before humans began to write ideas, all societies valued stories and poetry as a
he was reading Of Mice and Men, by John Steinbach. He would sit perched on the
way in which to encode the knowledge of the time. The Ancients expected their
edge of his desk at the front of the class and read to the children, he would change
storytellers to be able to memorise long stories very quickly. In less ancient times,
his voice for each character of the book, Linda‟s favourite being Lenny. Everyone
there are stories of Medieval Minstrels being able to recall songs several hundred
in the class would be quiet as if mesmerised by this teacher. When he read you
lines long after having heard the song only once or twice. Modern memorists, such
could easily create the pictures in your head of what was happening in the story,
as those studied by reputed educationalist Lev Vygotsky, used the same basic
and when Linda recalls it now it‟s as if she is watching a film, that is how vivid the
method of encoding ideas. The memorists would create a memory palace or
pictures are.
memorable narrative and embed ideas and information within the imaginary palace
or story. One of the reasons that this text contains so many personal illustrations is that
different readers will respond to different stories and will be able to identify with
Consider for a moment, which would be easier to describe to a friend, the themes
our experiences, which in turn will make it easier for many people to recall larger
of a University lecture or the storyline of a captivating movie. For many people, the
portions of this book.
more time that passes, the more likely it is that the movie will win. Now consider
how, when you see the first few frames of a movie, the rest of the storyline comes
back to mind. Currently, on television, The Simpsons are being repeated on cable
and every time I walk into the room where my children are watching an episode
that they have seen many times before, I am able to see a few frames of the
animation and recall much of the storyline. (Unfortunately, as an adult I am less able to tolerate
watching repeats in the same way that children enjoy).
Less auspiciously, in Ancient Greece, the Sophists developed oratory and hired out
their persuasive abilities to the highest bidder. From that time to today, narrative
As an added sophistication, where a teacher is seeking to change someone‟s mind, Engaging the imagination
stories can be used as stepping-stones. If a teacher is faced with a group who is Great teachers are often storytellers and great orators often talk engagingly about visions and dreams. This harkens
clearly bored because they have just spent two hours listening to other teachers back to the storytellers of old. Storytelling is not only a big business in the entertainment industry, but is
increasingly recognised as an effective way to distil complex ideas into key themes and to communicate those
„talk, and are now more interested in the fact that in sixty minutes time school will themes in a way that is memorable. Take for example, the striking image of the dragon…
finish, a teacher is unlikely to make much progress by being initially excitable.
Recall earlier notes on pacing and rapport. If a group have a low energy level and a
teacher has a high energy level, there is a mis-match. The teacher needs to first
match the mood of the group for a few seconds, perhaps even a couple of minutes,
and then move to a similar, but more positive emotion. The teacher may see a
number staring out of the window and comment upon how when one is bored it can
be a good distraction to stare out of a window and to begin to imagine more
interesting times and places. The class are already halfway there, all that now needs
to be done is to focus the imagination and link it back into the subject of the lesson.
For the sake of illustration, consider a history lesson. As the class stare into space,
suggest that they imagine a film of Medieval Life and begin to notice the kinds of
clothes people are wearing. Take the mood onto one of curiosity and intrigue, by
telling a story related to the content of the lesson. Then, when attention is focused,
feed in the detail in an appropriate manner to retain that interest. Gradually, the
class are moved from story to story, each story leading to an emotional state closer
to the state the speaker desires.
A classic set of stepping-stones is: dis-belief, boredom, curiosity, wonder,
excitement, motivation, but it really depends upon the initial state of the class as to
the number and kinds of stepping stones you will decide are appropriate for use in
your classes. From a personal perspective, working in this way makes teaching
more fun and gives the perfect excuse to peruse all aspects of culture for ideas and
inspiration. Creative ideas can be garnered from many sources, from television
shows to novels to music. And any idea that is interesting can be added into the
mix and used to intrigue your students. Thus you can begin to motivate your
students to consider what you are presenting beyond the time when the bell rings
and indicates that „schools out. For real learning is what takes place outside of
school; when a motivated student begins to take the time to do a little thought and
reflection on what they have been taught.
Techniques and ideas for getting started Other people‟s inner ear focuses less upon sounds and more upon words in the
form of an internal dialogue. The point to note here is that the dialogue is almost
When getting started with the telling of stories, the first point to note is that stories always focussed upon detail. If you are engaging with inner dialogue you need to
are rooted in the world of the senses and that a good way to begin storytelling is to ensure enough detail to keep this aspect of your student‟s mind engaged. At the
become more aware of the way your patterns of speech are directing students same time, you need to be mindful to avoid so much detail that you lose the feel of
towards mind‟s eye images, mind‟s ear sounds, and awareness of body sensations the communication as a story.
and emotions. As you get really good you will also want to include in links to the
other senses, by salting your stories with taste and peppering the same stories with For example: "Whenever I talk to people about their life-goals, many people tell me
smell. that they sat there thinking "Well that‟s OK for other people, but it‟s not for me".
Fortunately, however, they then go on to tell me that by the end of the session they
Visual Predicates experience a new tone of voice in their mind telling them "Hey, I am beginning to
understand how I can use some of these ideas". In this segment of text the
One of the key ways in which many people process information is by making following key ideas have been integrated into a story format: (i) people often think
pictures in their mind‟s eye. If you are presenting to people who are very visual in that mind techniques only work for others, (ii) a new tone of voice often changes
their thinking strategies, you need to use language that encourages and supports the the internal experience and can make new ideas more interesting, (iii) a new tone
production of visual images. For example: "Imagine a group of people and as you of voice can make it easier to understand new ideas. The more chatty form of the
look at the group you are suddenly able to see thought bubbles above them, each italicised text makes it much more useful as a way to introduce the bulleted points,
bubble with a picture inside it”. As you paint the picture, play with the colour, which can always be repeated later once the students have become interested in
brightness and contrast in order to engage your listeners and realise that it is the what you have to say.
goals towards which you look that most attract your attention and captivate your
imagination. Kinesthetic Predicates
In the classroom, many students enjoy using their ability to visualise, others have Having completed some of the work previously suggested, you will now be
to be taught how. Suggestions for improving an ability to visualise are presented in wondering about embedding some emotional content in your work. Obviously, the
a later chapter, and these can be integrated into everyday lessons, so that learning feel of your communication is largely affected by tone of voice and body language,
how to learn quickly becomes the medium by which subject matter is actually so as you consider the following examples and illustrations, you may like to jot
presented. This enables classes to learn new subject matter, learn how to learn, and down some ideas about both the content of your presentation and the process(es)
to practise accelerated learning techniques all in the same block of time. by which you present.
Auditory Predicates The most obvious way in which to generate kinesthetic awareness in a story is to
use words and phrases designed to elicit and encourage emotional response and
While some people are extremely visual in their thinking, other people are more bodily sensation. For example: "Most of you will be able to recall a time in which
adept at processing sounds and words. For these people, you will want to evolve a you ate the most amazing meal. You will remember how the smell of the meal as it
rich set of descriptions that stimulate the internal ear. When telling stories, this is was cooking caused you to feel hungry and you may even have begun to salivate in
easily achieved by alternating between the visual and the auditory. Or, alternately, anticipation. It is that feeling, I desire you to feel as you sit here in anticipation of
if you want to really stimulate an ability to use auditory cues, „stack them. For the mission I am about to hand to you. Only as quickly as you allow yourself to
example: "As you think of your personal goals, begin to add a video and a imagine playing out your new role will I suggest that you allow yourself to re-taste
soundtrack. Some people enjoy adding a triumphal fanfare – so that even as you the food you loved so much and re-experience the full satisfaction you felt at the
listen, the music deepens in tone and resonance, causing you to hear and heed the end of the meal. It is that depth of satisfaction that I want you to enjoy upon the
importance of your mission. Realise that as you become more serious in your completion of tasks that are set before you. Yes. Those tasks are difficult, but as
desire, the tone and resonance of your inner soundtrack will deepen yet further. you know, sometimes it can be difficult to resist picking at delicacies before a
Hear me, when I say, that you can change the tone and resonance of both the music party. Nevertheless, however, as soon as you make the decision to do so, your
and any vocals, as you do when listening to music on a hi-fi. resolve makes the results you obtain from your work all the more delightful to
savour."
As you will be aware, the example has been constructed to be extreme and to Be sensible in the way you express yourself!
Remember what we said in the introduction to this book, the last time we showed you this collage. Much human
demonstrate an extreme loading of kinesthetic predicates into a storyline This said, thought comprises of images that are visual, auditory, kinesthetic, taste or smell. If you can‟t pick it up, see it, hear
it would be very difficult for someone to listen to the story without on some level it, smell it, taste it or measure it, be aware that you increase the likelihood that you will be misunderstood. So the
trick is to keep relating anything you say or write back to each and every human sense. (From left to right: hear,
being encouraged to go inside and experience the meaning of the words. The see, measure, smell, taste and touch).
emotional impact of the whole passage is designed to be far more than that derived
from simply telling people to do their work on time. Also, if said in a somewhat
tongue-in-cheek tone of voice, the effect is likely to be to cause people to laugh,
and to feel a part of your joke, which often has the effect of increasing the impact
of the embedded suggestions.
Mixed Predicates
Having practised communicating using a single dominant sense mode, you now
need to realise that in any group of people there is a mix of mental processes being
engaged. Indeed, the reality is that no one person is wholly visual, auditory or
kinesthetic. Some people are very visual, others prefer auditory, a few are very
feely, liking kinesthetic predicates, however most prefer a mix of predicates.
The following is an example of how mixing predicates from different senses might
look: "Many of you can instantly see what it is I am asking, and can picture
yourself typing in an effective set of mixed predicates. Others will need to read
through the instructions once or twice and begin to mentally rehearse the text of a
presentation, hearing the words and getting a sense for the tone of voice being
used. A few will want to simply get the gist of what is being asked and have a go.
As you type in a few good ideas, youll get a sense for what is required and practise
will do the rest."
I am sure that you can recall times when you, like me, have written instructions and
hoped that readers will respond. You will therefore realise how happy it will make
me to hear of your future successful exploits. As teachers, trainers and coaches,
you will be able to clearly imagine, in whatever sense modes you prefer, that the
key to your on-going development is the practise of ideas, whether conscious or
unconscious,. Whether you take a few minutes or a more extended period of time,
you‟ll find yourself having fun. And with a view to adding more fun and
enjoyment into the work in which you are engaged, you will quickly find that the
whole idea of storytelling becomes enchanting to the extent that it is difficult to
stop yourself from writing text, such as that you are now reading, before going on
to act in a manner appropriate to your interests.
Great Metaphors When generating your own stories, the key point to make is that you have a theme
around which the story is to evolve. The only other principle is that the story
We are fortunate to know many good teachers and trainers whose life hobby
should normally have a beginning, a middle and an end. The beginning sets the
appears to be the collection and generation of amusing and easy-to-understand
scene; the middle takes you on a journey; the end presents a conclusion or
metaphors. For example, "I liken the inner workings of the human mind to a bowl
resolution. Ideally, the conclusion has some kind of relationship or resonance with
of intelligent spaghetti. The mind has many neurons that communicate one with
the beginning, but it is not essential.
another and then tell the muscles how to move. The bowl of spaghetti has many
strands within it, each able to communicate with the other strands through touch. People like stories, which is why they have been a prime way
in which to embed knowledge, since the dawn of time.
Where the strands touch, they pass sauce between them and it is within this sauce (Pictures: Charlie Chaplin in true comic mode
that the meaning of a message is to be found. Many minds enjoy being saucy, but in and also in the pre-war satirical film The Dictator, designed to undermine Hitler)
this case, as the strands of spaghetti on the outside of the bowl see someone
approaching, they call out. Each strand communicates the danger to its neighbour.
Unfortunately, despite the fact that all the strands of spaghetti now know that
someone is approaching, no bowl of spaghetti has yet survived long enough to
evolve the muscles necessary to run away. Our human neural nets tell us that when
we see a bowl of spaghetti we need to eat it. Those neurons then control us as we
sit down, reach out, eat and use some garlic bread to wipe the plate".
Hilarious Stories
A great way to perk up a lesson is to read out some stories from a book of amazing
but true stories, or to tell a story of your own based upon something that happened
to you (suitably embellished for impact). To get into the habit of collecting good
stories, all you need is the motivation to look through TV listings, visit your video
store and hire comedy tapes, explore your local bookstore, and flip through
magazines. Remember, that it‟s a difficult job, but someone has to do it.
Alternately, as you become more aware of the structure of a good story, begin to
author some of your own. Try out your new stories on some friends and at parties,
and then re-author as needed.
For example, one story Pete used a number of times last year was a radio clip that
he downloaded from the Internet. The clip is great for underlining the importance
of listening to instructions. The clip is of a person in a radio competition who is
asked to spell the name of the group AC/DC. The contestant is obviously
overexcited because he kept repeating the letters AC/CD and getting more and
more agitated as the presenter made fun of him. The clip goes on for about two
minutes and gets more and more extreme as the presenter tries to get the contestant
to actually listen properly to the question.
Stepping Stone Stories Stepping stones

The gap between confusion and understanding can be likened to a wide river, it is helpful
Previously, we spoke about the concept of emotional stepping-stones. To make use if there are stepping stones to ease the traveller on their way across
of this concept you can link stories together. You might begin with a story about
disinterest and how that disinterest turned to curiosity, you can then tell another
story about how curiosity plus a little knowledge led to enthusiasm, and then how
something you achieved led you on an amazing adventure followed by how you
wish you had realised years later that something you once thought boring was
actually very interesting then link into the life experiences of your audience by
saying how when you look back, the things you enjoyed as a toddler are not the
things you enjoy now, so we all realise how our interests change through life,
which means it is very helpful to be open minded and looking for the opportunities
that life presents.
Taking the idea of stepping stones and applying it more widely in the classroom,
we know that over a period of one or two hours, the physiology of those listening
to us needs to go through a number of cycles, which means we can either force
people to fight the natural cycle of their body or utilise those cycles to everyone‟s
advantage. Most people prefer to cycle through emotions, rather than stay in one
emotion for long periods of time. The way Pete utilises this concept in his classes is
to begin with a simple game-based activity to get people interacting and to get their
brain cells firing. Then, students might mark one another‟s work in order to engage …where there are no stepping stones, the intellectual and emotional distance
that your audience need to cross may be too great…
their critical faculties and practise ability to discriminate between good work and
work that requires more consideration. Then, link into something more task-
oriented to get the key concepts to the front of the mind. Then, a chat or
presentation provides the key intellectual ideas to be understood. The chat is
followed by a task-related game, or exercise, or visualisation. Then, a pep talk is
used to orient the students towards their self-study work for the next session. Notes
in written or electronic format are provided for students to consider as a foundation
for the next session, along with written exercises to be marked during that session.
…you risk having your audience washed away, as they

battle in the face of too many
new ideas and controversies…
Immersive speech
Exercises Learn to describe ideas in very vivid and visceral ways in order to engage the senses and the imagination of those
listening to you – use words as if programming a virtual reality simulation in your listeners minds (NB: Graphics
Basic exercise. A good game to get you started using your imagination to create copyright to http://www.vrealities.com/)
images, themes and contexts for making stories, is to play the popular children‟s
game Granny went to market. For those of you who need reminding, this game is
made up of an assortment of picture cards (of things like umbrella‟s, animals,
household objects etc). You shuffle the cards and each person takes a turn in
picking a card and stating, Granny went to market and she brought a …. Then the
next person picks another card and repeats the phrase but adding their card to the
list. If you get the list order wrong then you‟re out of the game…Now. With our
version we suggest you turn it into a story for example, Granny got up one morning
and spotted a parrot at her bedroom window… and so on incorporating each image
on the card into the on going story.
Basic exercise. Identify an experience, recall that experience and describe it using
a mixture of picture words, auditory words, sensations, and any other trick by
which to ensure that the audience are able to experience your memory. You will
find that as you practise generating and recounting experiences in this way, you
will become an increasingly confident and accomplished raconteur.
Basic exercise. Begin to collect and record memories and experiences of your own,
along with stories you have heard and anything remotely narrative that impresses
you in some way. In particular, explore common human experiences, so that your
narratives will appeal to a wide audience.
Advanced exercises. Seek personal stories that may be rooted in negative emotions
and find ways to redeem the experience by transmuting it into a communicative
story that conveys a positive message. For example, perhaps you can find a way to
locate the black comedy in the worst day of your life, in a way that other people
can identify with crisis in their lives. If you need inspiration, watch some comedy
shows like MASH or Ali McBeale. Note: It is essential that you transmute the
emotion within yourself and find that which is positive or else the story will simply
drag others into your negativity.
 As the stories are completed, the listener is subliminally accelerated back

Persuasive patterns of speech through the sequence of stepping-stones from cynicism to motivation (or
whatever other emotions were embedded in the individual stories).
Aims  Completed elegantly, the conscious mind is so absorbed in the stories, the
There are times when there is a need to be more covert and/or sophisticated in message slips in below the threshold of consciousness, to resurface later. The
one‟s delivery of stories. Many of us will have experienced a trainer telling us a subconscious is also entrained several times into the sequence of emotions that
trite little anecdote that did more to alienate than it did to inform. If students feel the speaker wants people to experience.
that you are playing the academic equivalent of Watch With Mother all students Remember that the preceding example is a simplistic one and for illustration
over the age of twelve will begin to switch off. This section of the text will suggest purposes only. Other sophisticated narrative structures involve going back and
how you can link stories together in a sophisticated way, so that you can make forth, more and more quickly, moving between the stories. With each interaction,
maximum use of the ability of narrative to reach into the subconscious mind of the speaker sets body language anchors or verbal anchors. The anchors link the
your audience. performers movements and/or words to specific emotions, the most obvious
example being a comedian‟s catch phrase, which over time can cause people to
The nature of persuasion laugh without the comedian actually telling any jokes.
Using imaginative stories, you will have already progressed in your ability to hold All Frankie Howard had to do was to stand on stage and say “oooh er missus”. For
the attention of a class. To the extent that you have evolved vivid and imaginative examples of up to the minute catch phrases, simply listen to the phrases being used
stories that link together into natural chains of emotion, you will have begun to be around you. At the time of writing, in the UK, phrases like I have a cunning plan
recognised as more interesting to be listened to. Now, we return our attention to (taken from the comedy Black Adder) or wassup taken from the Budweiser advert
those comedians like Elton and Connolly who embed messages within their work. are examples of strong emotional anchors that are available for any presenter to
Once you realise how they structure their work, you will realise how easy it is to use. In politics and in advertising, much research is put into discerning words
emulate their style, providing you are willing to put in a little practise. which already have meaning and which can be used as a vehicle to promote an
emotional state or motivation to act.
You may have noticed how many comedians work, and if you have not then you
are advised to rent and watch some videos of modern comedians in live Having evolved a set of anchors, a presenter is then able to fire those anchors in
performance. The performer begins a story, and then just as the audience are quick succession, and send a subliminal message that actually accelerates the
entranced by that story, the comedian moves to another story, and again, as the listeners mind through the emotions associated with each anchor. Those
audience become entranced, the comedian moves on. After a number of stories, the experienced and eloquent in the use of embedded stories can achieve much at the
comedian begins to provide all the punch-lines one after another in quick level of the subconscious, and as they do so come to quickly realise that most
succession. learning takes place in the unconscious mind, with the conscious mind acting in the
role of knowledge sphincter. The more the conscious mind can be diverted and the
A classic (though basic) structure is as follows:
important information sent straight into the subconscious, the less people have to
 Start Story1 for example a story about cynicism. be concerned with being confused and the easier and more quickly learning can be
 Start Story2 for example a story about curiosity. achieved. Confusion only sets in when people „try with their conscious mind. As
 Start Story3 for example a story about motivation. with the other sphincter, at the other end of the body, the more you try the more
painful the passage becomes. Once people have confusion and then decide to move
 Motivation needs direction, so now the communicator slips in a message, like
on to fear and self-doubt, they have pretty much stopped listening and watching,
“you can feel really good when you have completed your homework”.
but are busy making images of failure and chatting to themselves internally. Far
 Now, ignoring the embedded command, almost as if it never happened, return better to relax and let information slide through with ease.
immediately to Story1 and complete it.
 Then, quickly complete Story2 and complete Story3.
A classic story which illustrates the elegance and power of this process is the one As I look back in my life I realise how
(S3: the positive side of using new mind techniques).
in which the hypnotist Milton Erickson MD was threatened with being „struck off much happier I could have been at an earlier age if I had not been so narrow
for practising hypnotism in the 1950s. At the time, most doctors in America did not minded and conventional in my thinking, if I had explored the opportunities and
believe in hypnosis and stated that it was dangerous. Raised with the belief that possibilities that surround us. Why did I allow myself to be so complacent and not
Father Christmas is not real, and yet he is able to leave presents, the doctors to fully engage and enjoy life?
appeared to be able to weather the lack of internal logic in their point of view. As a (Message) So when people talk of manipulation…I say that knowledge of persuasion
result, they determined that Erickson should be struck off the medical register for can be used in many positive ways.
being too successful in treating patients that other people were unable to cure using (S1: the negative side of manipulation). We all agree that the Nazis were evil, but even the
conventional methods. At the time, the process for striking someone off required Allies had to mobilise an army. My own family had members who fought, who
that the person be allowed to make a statement in their defence. Strangely, after were prisoners of war and whose property was bombed out. Indeed most families
making the statement, the Medical Association made a U turn and left Erickson to have scars that are rooted in the two world wars. Ordinary people had to be
his own devices. Years later a committee member was being interviewed and said: persuaded to fight and to die in order to free Europe from Nazism, but we accept
“It‟s a funny thing, all I can remember is that Erickson told us some stories and for that a certain degree of propaganda is inevitable in a war, because the
some reason we decided that the case against him was unfounded”. Of course, the consequences of not acting quickly can be so appalling.
ex-committee member was still adamant that hypnotism was an unfounded fallacy,
(S2: safety through understanding). The only alternative to extremism is for us to learn to
which was unfortunate because that meant he was unable to see the irony of the
open our mind to new possibilities. However, if we are to open our minds, we need
situation.
to understand how those minds work if we are not to be tricked and conned. Only
Example when we understand the mechanics of persuasion can we be assured of our own
safety.
The following is an example of a number of embedded stories around the theme of
(S2: safety through understanding). My experience has been that many unexplored powers
persuading someone who is anti the use of persuasive patterns of speech, to accept
that there are situations in which the technique can be used very effectively, exist in the mind. I know people who can rid others of phobias in a matter of
ethically and professionally. For the purposes of clarity in this exercise, the overall minutes. Imagine if doctors were able to engage the placebo effect on demand, if
presentation is split into segments and annotated. If this were a real presentation, evil could be transmuted into good, and weakness into strength.
the separate stories would be more integrated and would of course be merged more (S1: the negative side of manipulation). We can recall those who were persecuted in the war
elegantly one with another. who survived by finding inner strength.
(S1: the negative side of manipulation). Many people feel that it is unethical to embed (S2: safety through understanding). People who began to believe that there is more in the
persuasive and hypnotic suggestions within a speech or oration. They think back to world than that which is immediately obvious and those who use any and all
newsreel footage of Hitler and his henchmen. The rise of the Third Reich and all techniques to help improve the quality of life of those around us.
the war films they have watched. Picture in your mind the massed crowds, the Nazi (S2: safety through understanding). So… is manipulation a word that deserves the image of
salute, the cheers and the burning of the books...the anger and the hatred…and of Hitler, or a word that should cause us to pause and wonder why the speaker is
course you will feel that manipulation is intrinsically wrong using such a pejorative term. I wonder what it says about that speaker that they
(S2: safety through understanding). Intolerance is a strange thing. All kinds of people would deny others knowledge to which they themselves have access. When we
demonstrate the same characteristics as the Nazis and declare that their view of the realise that we can use powers of the mind to be secret agents of change, in a world
world is the one that must predominate. I recently saw a documentary in which a that pressures our friends and family. Is it right that we should deny our friends and
famous scientist was suggesting that the work of another scientist be burned. families access to the knowledge that we now possess – or should we make that
Though less charismatic than Hitler, the scientist was still so arrogant and knowledge widely available so that everyone can avail themselves of the ability to
dogmatic, sure he was right and that everyone else was wrong. Fortunately, other communicate more precisely and protect themselves from the charlatans who
scientists in the documentary were more open-minded and able to consider difficult surround us.
questions and issues. They were able to make up their own minds rather than have
their minds made up for them. As a result of their work, and as a result of their
open minds, many powerful and innovative technologies are in development.
Exercises Chapter One, summary and conclusion

Basic exercise. Identify three emotional states and appropriate stories related to Throughout this first chapter we have endeavoured to show you some of the main
each. Ensure that each story has a rich variety of words that appeal to a range of key themes and concepts of NLP. These are skills and concepts that will help
your listeners‟ senses. Now, add both verbal and non-verbal anchors to your enhance and expand the learning experience from the viewpoint of the teacher,
stories, for example key word phrases and hand gestures. Pitch and tone of voice trainer or coach. The following is a summary of the journey we have undertaken.
are other markers that can be used. Finally, as demonstrated in the preceding text, Rapport
place the three stories within a longer narrative, intertwining the stories to create an
As a result of NLP research and training, many professionals are now aware of
overall message.
how to engage other people quickly and easily by matching the kinds of body
Advanced exercise. This final exercise is a game called Reflecting States. It is a movements and tone of voice used by the other person. They understand how to
game that you can play with friends or family, and again, you will need three gain rapport before taking the lead in a dialogue. Given the importance of rapport,
people. The aim of the game is to illustrate how easily your own internal state as the underlying foundation in many powerful NLP techniques, we suggest
affects the state of the people around you. practising your rapport skills with friends and colleagues. For this is an excellent
To play the game, two people sit facing each other (person A and person B). The way in which to begin to evolve your own personal abilities. It will also give you
third person (person C) sits just behind person A, in a position where they can see an excuse for some days spent sitting in a coffee bar watching the world go by and
person B‟s face, but cannot see A‟s face. observing other people‟s body language as they interact, one with another.
Having sorted out the seating arrangements, person A has to think of an experience VAK Model
that generated a strong feeling or emotion in them, such as excitement, happiness, The ability to represent and talk about another person‟s internal subjective
boredom, pleasure – and they must do this without speaking! The task of person B experience is an essential instrument in the toolbox of any teacher interested in
is to concentrate on person A, by simply looking at their face. The task of person C enhancing the cognitive abilities of the students whom they teach. Most people
is to guess by looking at person B, what emotion or feeling person A is who learn about the VAK Model say to us that they find it difficult to believe that
experiencing. When C has guessed the emotion, they can let the others know and A they never noticed the non-verbal cues that were always there to be seen. While
can begin to re-imagine another experience. there is much sophistication possible with the VAK Model, initial exercises are
easy to master. And can be fun to practise, if shared with friends and family. Then,
What should happen, as the exercise progresses, is that the emotions and feelings having mastered the basic model, you can progress on to discern the modes of
felt by person A gets passed to person B and then from person B to person C just thought and the cognitive strategies used by people around you. In practical terms,
by looking at one another. this means that you can begin to assess the cognitive strengths and weaknesses of
Note. It is important that when person A concentrates on an experience, they focus on the feelings different students, vis-à-vis the skills they are learning. Which means you can
associated with that experience and does not try to act out, in facial expressions, an imaginary communicate to individual students using the most appropriate media, and you can
experience. This exercise is best done quickly so that not too much time is spent thinking about what
the person is thinking, but just experiencing it instead.
provide exercises to enable students to expand and extend the powers of their mind.
Engineering emotions
Possibly the most contentious title in this book, the concept that one can begin to
take control of one‟s neurology and feel good for no good reason is timely news for
many teachers and trainers who feel over worked and undervalued. With this in
mind, the techniques presented provide many practical ways in which to turn stress
and anxiety into relaxation and confidence.
Language As technology causes us to begin to think of the structure of the classroom of the future,
let us ensure that any technical solutions that we embrace are complementary
Some of our more advanced colleagues make us feel language impaired by their to the principles discussed in this chapter.
eloquence. However, now that we understand some of the underlying patterns of
language, it becomes easier for us to develop and evolve a more interesting and
engaging way in which to communicate with others.
No doubt, in years to come we will read these words and feel “we could have
expressed that idea so much more charismatically”, but that is not the point.
Whatever our current abilities, we have many years of progress to look forward to
– and we hope to meet up with you as we amble our way along life‟s highway.
Narrative
We all like to hear a good story and as a result many business communicators have
returned to the use of narrative and metaphor as a way in which to communicate
complicated ideas. In modern culture, the ability to deploy narrative is becoming
increasingly important because short narrative is the intellectual currency used in
the media, by which the minds of many of our students have been moulded. To
engage people, who are used to watching television and reading magazines, one
needs to be artful in the embedding of complex ideas within a simple narrative
format. The alternative is that pupils, students and trainees simply „switch-off and
learn very little.
Persuasive patterns of speech

Having gained a grounding in narrative, it is worth becoming aware of more
powerful persuasive patterns of speech. Some of these have been presented.
However, in good theatrical manner, we have left some aside, should there be
interest in a „sequel to this text.
Pictures: top, the logo for blackboard virtual learning environment;

middle, equipment to generate augmented reality and portable wireless computing;
and bottom, an interactive whiteboard.
Time to get active

Pause for Thought Making use of ideas, and undertaking practical activities, is the best way
to help understand and remember what you have read
Exercise 1: Ensure that you have completed a range of the exercises presented in
the course of this chapter. These will help you relate the ideas you have read to the
teaching, training, mentoring or coaching work in which you are engaged.
Exercise 2: If you know how to draw a mind map, or concept map, then draw one
that encompasses the content of this chapter. If not, then imagine that you are
drawing a poster to advertise this chapter to other people. Draw your mind map,
concept map or poster by hand, or in a computer, depending upon your preferences
and the equipment that you have available to you.
Exercise 3: Think of one or more mnemonics to help you remember key ideas that
we have discussed, in the course of this chapter. For example, limericks, poems,
songs or stories. (And if you don‟t know any mnemonics look at some of the
PowerPoint presentations on accelerated learning, which can be downloaded from
the circle-of-exllence.com web site). .
Exercise 4: Try the following kinesthetic mnemonic technique. Go for a short
walk, and as you walk, associate key ideas that we have discussed with things that
you see, hear, feel, or touch, on your walk. When you get back, relive the walk in
your mind a couple of times, so that you can relive then recall the walk, at will,
whenever you want to remember what we have told you: about ways to ramp up
the power of your brain, and about ways to extend the power of your mind…
 Two years, as a UI/UX Designer, conceiving and authoring resources to facilitate

About the author (last revised Oct 2010) group discussion and collaborative planning;
 Seven years, as a UI/UX Designer, researching innovations in e-learning, accelerated
learning and new mind technologies.
My background being: a Doctorate in the design of Educational Technologies; a
Master’s Degree in the design of Intelligent Computer Systems; a first degree in
Sport Science and Dance, specialising in Performance Psychology; professional
level certifications in: NLP, DHE, ETF, Psych-K, Reiki and Ericksonian Hypnosis; and
My name is Dr Peter EH Smee; and, I am a Learning and Development Consultant, orientation trainings in: Photoreading, Brain Entrainment, Biophysical Effect,
specialised in the user experience design and delivery of new programmes of Remote Viewing, Systematic Kinesiology, Bodynamics and Somatic Experiencing.
study and new educational technologies. In terms of what I might do for you:
Within this role, my key skills relate to: accelerated learning, innovation 1. Personal Coaching and Consultancy...
facilitation, leadership development, and the UI/UX design, programming and
I can provide you with personalised coaching, consultancy or mentoring, in my
testing of innovative educational technologies; in support of: classroom teaching,
office in Basel, in Switzerland, or via Skype, over the web. For example, I can: (i)
systems modelling, collaborative planning and digital communication.
provide one-to-one mentoring on aspects of accelerated learning, creative
To date, I have acquired over twenty years of award winning and award thinking and leadership development; (ii) coach and choreograph public
nominated success; connected with: (i) the client-centred scripting and presentations; (iii) tutor research and report writing skills; (iv) advise on the
presentation of face-to-face trainings; (ii) the coaching and mentoring of structuring of an integrated long term programme of personal health and
professional skills; (iii) the instructional design and authoring of blended learning personal development; (v) deliver counselling related to stress, bullying, phobias,
solutions; (iv) the user centred design and programming of new systems addictions or trauma; and (vi) contribute to the user experience design of new
modelling technologies; and, (v) the usability testing of new e-learning software. programmes of study and new educational technologies.
My most recent work experience includes: 2. Training Workshops...
 One year, as a Commercial Trainer, conceiving and delivering workshops in business
I am working with Anthony McCarthy, the Director of the Cross Border Banking
analysis and systems modelling;
Consultancy, based in Zurich, in order to deliver trainings in business analysis and
 One year, as an Innovations Facilitator, facilitating team meetings in support of
business analysis and systems modelling;
systems modelling; for individuals and groups, working within Finance.
 Two years, as a Senior University Lecturer, conceiving and delivering courses related Tony is a Senior Business Analyst, with over fifteen years of experience, heading
to presentation skills; up major international banking projects. Our training thus combines his
 Two years, as a Senior University Lecturer, conceiving and delivering courses in the experience as a commercial Business and Process Analyst, with my experience as
design of educational technologies; a Learning and Development Consultant; the result being a view of business
 Two years, as a Senior University Lecturer, conceiving and delivering courses in analysis and systems modelling that is unique.
systems modelling and business analysis;
 Two years, as a Senior University Lecturer, conceiving and delivering courses in As well as clear and detailed instruction in modelling techniques, our intent is to
innovation facilitation and project planning; help you understand the psychology and philosophy that you need to have to
 Two years, as a UI/UX Designer, conceiving and authoring nlp-based neuromarketing hand, if you want to succeed as an analyst, within a modern corporate
software; environment. Or as we put it: the Who, What, Where and Why of Analysis.
 Two years, as a UI/UX Designer, conceiving and authoring resources to facilitate If you are interested, visit the BATTT.ch website, in order to find out more.
creative thinking and innovation facilitation;

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How To Get Ahead - Page 1 - Copyright Dr Peter EH Smee, circle-of-excellence.

Chapter One, at a glance

Persuasive patterns of speech

The importance of drill and practices…

During the exercise, the interviewer wants the storyteller to be as relaxed as

Confusion is a norm to be avoided

VAK eye movements VAK body movements

Visual Imagined. For example, if you Visual Remembered. For example,

Kinesthetic Imagined or Auditory Digital. For example,

Calibration – the eyes have it A quick recap:

Foundational exercise. Intermediate exercises

Intermediate exercises, completing the jigsaw. Having elicited patterns related to

Playing with your emotions.

Feeling bad requires both practise and commitment

reality. Examples of nominalisations include abstract ideas like: help, freedom,

Unspecified Referential Indices leave a lot to the imagination.

Some links are stronger and more durable than others.

Notice how many sales people use universal quantifiers.

Unspoken Assumptions running business applications.

A temporal clause plays with notions of ‘time.

Notice how many interactive TV polls appear to be giving you a choice,

For more exercises, visit our web site at circle-of-excellence.com

Stepping Stone Stories Stepping stones

…you risk having your audience washed away, as they

 As the stories are completed, the listener is subliminally accelerated back

Exercises Chapter One, summary and conclusion

Persuasive patterns of speech

Pictures: top, the logo for blackboard virtual learning environment;

Time to get active

 Two years, as a UI/UX Designer, conceiving and authoring resources to facilitate

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