When I wrote about my NLP application to my first radio interview
in the last issue, I didn't know how interested people would be
in the details. I must preface this discussion with an admission
that I don't consider myself an advanced practitioner of NLP.
Here's an elaboration for those who are interested:
* 1st, I framed it as just a conversation between myself and a couple
others--the microphone was incidental.
In part, reframing involves changing the perspective from which
you view an event, to one that has a more positive emotional impact.
In the movie Forrest Gump, Forrest's mother used this skill when
she said to him: "If God wanted everybody to be the same,
he'd have given us all braces on our legs." You can read
more about this in Anthony Robbins' book, Unlimited Power.
* 2nd, I mentally stepped out of my timeline and viewed it at
right angles. I could see that this event was just a step in a
process that would eventually result in me being highly skilled
at doing interviews. I then associated to the inevitability of
this mastery, and used this feeling to pull me through the interview
with massive self-confidence. This allowed me to answer questions
with poise, rather than trying to cram too much information into
the three minutes we had on the air.
NLP deals with the study of subjective experience. Timeline theories
deal with the way we represent time in our mind. People often
say, "Glad to get that one behind me," which indicates
that many people store past events in the back of their internal
visual world. They know if something has already happened if it
is "behind them" in their mind. I applied this distinction
by forming a mental image of my journey through time that looked
something like this.
---x--------------------------------------------x-------
I then imagined myself standing apart from this timeline and viewing
it at right angles. I could see that the event I was about to
experience was just one step in an ongoing journey that would
eventually result in the skills I want to achieve. I then "stepped
into" the future time slot so that I could feel with certainty
that this time would come. Finally, I used this feeling of certainty
to pull me through the present event with inner assurance.
* 3rd, I shrunk my mental image of the radio station and turned
down the brightness a little--this made it less intimidating.
When I first heard the advertisement, I felt like I was about
to go before the great wizard himself. I needed to think of the
situation in more human terms, to complete the Oz metaphor.
This point refers to NLP submodalities. It also
refers to the scene in the movie classic The Wizard of Oz when
they discover that the great and powerful Wizard was just a man
running a bunch of machines in order to intimidate people. I was
using this as a metaphor to convey the inner process I went through
to make the idea of doing a radio interview a little less intimidating.
* 4th, I tapped into my passion for the ideas I was going to share.
I really come alive when I associate to the feelings that launched
me on the Brain Dancing journey four years ago. Deep down, I believe
there are some basic ideas that have been discovered that need
to be widely taught. In many cases, people are getting diminished
results simply because they don't know these things. It has nothing
to do with how smart they are, and sharing these ideas requires
the consumption of no natural resources. Ideas don't get used
up! One of the things that helped shape this perspective was reading
The Knowledge-Value Revolution. Here is an excerpt from
that book:
"The other important feature that characterized the Japanese
during this period was the diligence with which they learned to
go about acquiring the "software" that did not require
resources...The habit of studying foreign technologies purely
for their practical applications, in a context utterly divorced
from the ideologies or social characteristics that produced them,
helped Japan introduce, absorb, and transform the world's foremost
technologies."
Japanese culture allowed Japan to gobble up the "software
of civilization." In other words, to search the world for
useful strategies, and to use them effectively without any ideological
resistance.
This seems like such a powerful distinction. It really lights
a fire under me when I think in terms of helping people upgrade
the mental software that they use to interact with information
and upgrade the mental processes they use to learn, read and remember.
When I associate to (i.e., "feel in my gut") these feelings,
it comes through in my voice, and I have a much broader impact
on those who hear me.
* 5th, I developed a strategy for delivering maximum value to
the listeners in the 3 minutes I had (In other words, I did my
homework). I came up with a series of sound bytes that referenced
common experiences (metaphors) and used those as a bridge to the
new ideas I was presenting.
Click here for the discussion of metaphors
in Chapter 3 of Brain Dancing.
* 6th, I decided that I was going to enjoy the process no matter
what--I was there to have fun and deliver value.
* 7th, I was awakened by a late phone call the night before and
wasn't able to get back to sleep. Rather than allowing myself
to use this as an excuse, I made it absolutely clear to my subconscious
that this event was very important to me, and that I was going
to give it every thing I had--all available resources were to
be brought forth in order to maximize chances of success. I've
pulled enough all-nighters to know how to power through situations
when I haven't had enough rest, and I wanted to draw upon those
resources.
* 8th, I created a highly resourceful state by stacking a bunch
of empowering reference experiences into my consciousness. I was
able to remember several thoughts and feelings that enhanced my
belief that I was worthy of talking about the topic to tens of
thousands of people. When I thought about the interview, it triggered
the state.
"Stacking" refers to remembering a time when I felt
a certain strong emotion that I wanted to bring forward to an
upcoming event. This includes emotions such as confidence, and
the sense of accomplishment I felt after successfully completing
previous public speaking situations.
Home Page
: About Brain Dancing : How to Order
: Newsletter
NLP and Neuro Linguistic Programming are the property of Richard
Bandler.
Copyright ©1996 by Patrick T. Magee
