Professional Documents
Culture Documents
AND NLP
TRAINERS TRAINING
TRAINING MANUAL
NEURO-SEMANTICS & NLP TRAINERS TRAINING
Certification Training for becoming an official and commissioned Trainer
of NLP, Meta-States, and Neuro-Semantic Trainings
under the Trademark name of
Neuro-semantics®
and the ISNS — International Society of Neuro-semantics
Disclaimer: This Training Manual is designed for training and education and should not be used as a substitute
for psychotherapy or psychiatry. Even though this material was designed and written by a psychologist and
a Professional Licensed Counselor in the State of Colorado, USA, neither Dr. Hall nor the International Society
of Neuro-semantics (ISNS) recommend that this should be used in the place of professional psychological and
psychiatric assistance.
NEURO-SEMANTICS TRAINER'S TRAINING
WELCOME!
June 2000
The Training Manual that you hold in your hands is designed to apply the meta-levels of Neuro-semantics to the
processes of presenting and training. The aim of the training? To enhance and enrich your platform and training skills.
The overall focus here is facilitate the accessing your genius states in presenting. If NLP is as brilliant and magical as
we believe it is in its transformative power, then the more we train ourselves in that magic, the more we can touch our
world with it. With Meta-States, we simply move to a higher magic for ourselves and our world.
What does training involve? Training involves lots of things: providing new information, teaching, encouraging,
motivating, facilitating skills, coaching, consulting, and even counseling. Training involves group facilitation and so
entertainment, stage performance, and group teamwork. Training involve many different facets and dimensions. It most
fundamentally involves you as a trainer and so your states, beliefs, desires, designs, agendas, motivations, etc. It
involves your style and skills, your way of learning and developing, your philosophy about how others learn, etc. So
much!
As you thumb through this manual, you could very easily begin to feel overwhelmed. While some have done that, I
don't recommend it as a way to enhance your learning! Overwhelm doesn't serve very well for that. You can tell if
you do if you go into an overwhelm state. Having snuck up and observed several people do that very thing, I've noticed
that they usually run that program by thinking things like:
"This is massive! I'll never learn all of this! We can't cover all of this in just two weeks!"
"I didn't know there was so much about training! Where do I start? How will I ever develop proficiency in
this? Maybe I'm just not cut out to be a trainer!"
That game will not serve to empower you. If you're clear that playing Overwhelm will not serve you well, then I
recommend doing what I did when I first began studying Science and Sanity, that massive 830-page book by Korzybski.
At first, I experienced a moment of two of feeling overwhelmed. I say "a moment or two" because I immediately sent
my brain into another direction. I knew that it would not do me any good, so I initiated a different kind of internal
dialogue with myself:
"This is great! This is going to provide me a gold mine of wonderful and marvelous insights that I can mine
for years to come. Just a page at a time. I don't have to understand it all from the beginning, or even on the
first or third reading. I'll get it. The fact that this book represents a goldmine of intellectual wealth that few
seem to master only means that I have plenty of time to master it. And I will."
Since that day, I have extensively read and explored the text seven times and with each new reading, I continue to learn
more. I would recommend a similar attitude for yourself. Take the pressure off and give yourself a decade to master
this materials, skills, principles, etc. in the field of training. Use your learnings here to guide your actions, then go play
and practice with it, then return to the reading with new insights from the experience.
Finally, treat yourself with grace and respect as you give yourself the time to learn and integrate the principles here
knowing that you are under no pressure to be inhumanly "perfect" in presenting. Let patience also be your guide as you
learn and play with this material, along with passion and excitement. In that way, you can have lots of fun as you
become increasingly more skilled in training. Welcome to this marvelous and fantastic adventure of training.
June, 2004
As I have been studying the field of training itself, I have been modeling those who present and train with excellence
and skill. I have been modeling their best states, beliefs, understandings, strategies, and practices. In modeling we
identify the critical factors and elements, the structures and processes of someone who performs with expertise and
excellence and then develop the procedures and processes for using and integrating them to make them ours.
Those who are experts in training others to learn and integrate informed skills are masterful at presenting, motivating,
drilling, questioning, engaging, framing, trouble-shooting, nurturing, and supporting. These are the practices and
processes of training. In modeling we identify these elements, identify their form, structure, and syntax, and then begin
exploring how we can best transfer them to ourselves. This leads to developing processes for learning and incorporating
the skills. In this way, modeling enables us to dramatically reduce learning and training times as well as increase
effectiveness. Such modeling will still necessitate time, energy, commitment, discipline, and learning.
NLP/NS is at attitude,
OVERVIEW developed in and by relationships,
supported by a methodology,
NEURO-SEMANTICS and that leaves behind it a trail of techniques.
TRAINERS TRAINING
Neuro-semantics initiated Trainers Training on the dawn of the new millennium. It was July of 2000 that
we conducted our first Neuro-semantics Trainers Training (NSTT) and certified 18 trainers. Our primary
objective was to provide a high level quality of training that would equip the trainers to provide top-notch
training in NLP and the foundational trainings of Neuro-semantics in Meta-States. At the beginning I
envisioned Neuro-semantics as operating as an umbrella of credibility worldwide and so formulated our
relationships as based upon a networking of professionals.
If you click the button "NS Trainers" on the website today (www.neurosemantics.com), you will find all
of the qualified trainers listed there with their details, specialities, institutes, etc. that span the globe and are
in 30 countries. This means that as a Neuro-Semantic/ NLP Trainer, you will be listed there with links to
your email address and website so that what each of us does influences and affects the rest. In this way, our
inter-dependency is reinforced and celebrated so that we operate not as lone-rangers out doing our own thing,
but that we increasingly become a community of professionals who have a vested interested in the larger
umbrella that provides credibility for all of us.
We host Trainers Training in order to generate a community of trainers and leaders to participate with us in
promoting Meta-States by providing certified training in the Gateway trainings. These include the following:
1) Accessing Personal Genius 2) Secrets of Personal Mastery
3) Selling Excellence 4) Mind-Lines: Conversational Reframing
5) Wealth Building 6) Meta-Learning: Accelerated Learning
7) Defusing Hotheads 7) Instant Relaxation
8) Frame Games 9) Games Slim and Fit People Play
10) Games Business Experts Play 11) Games For Mastering Fear
12) Games for Mastering Stuttering 13) Matrix Games
14) Coaching Essentials 15) Mastery Skills
We developed the first six of these trainings early in the process of discovering Meta-States. The others have
come later as we and others have been translating Meta-States to various applications. And in the years to
come, many more application or gateway trainings will be developed. Already at this date we have extensive
literature, videos, and Training Manuals to provide support for these trainings. Our goals and objective is
to turn the Meta-State/ Neuro-Semantic Trainers loose with these trainings so that they can provide training
in these areas in their own NS Institutes and Training Centers. In the process of having developed these
trainings we have become vividly aware that we have barely touched the hem of the garment with regard to
modeling projects and the wide-range of applications for the Meta-States of Neuro-semantics.
We launched the American Society of Neuro-semantics in 1999 and after that we initiated numerous
Institutes of Neuro-semantics in England, Belgium, Denmark, USA, Canada, South Africa, etc. and that led
to several other Societies and the International Society. This identifies another reason for the Trainers
Trainings, namely, to equip and certify people in these and other Institutes to provide Certified Neuro-
Semantic Trainings.
Meta-States takes NLP to the next higher level as it uses the Levels of Mind model (reflexive consciousness)
to chart out the structure of meaning and "mind" at its higher levels. This systemic model of responsiveness
embraces NLP by providing a larger level umbrella over all of the disparate domains of NLP: beliefs, values,
Meta-Programs, Milton Model, Time-Lines, "Sub-Modalities," Sleight of Mouth Patterns, etc. Meta-States
as "the model that ate NLP" (Dr. Graham Dawes who created the first NLP Center in London) has provided
an explanatory model for understanding NLP systemically and so unifying the different arenas of concern.
Because it also functions as a unified field theory, it provides a tremendous unification of NLP (see Meta-
States, 2000).
Meta-States explains how we create or generate meta-programs in the first place and how perceptual styles
become solidified as a fairly stable response pattern. Meta-States aligns and self-organizes the "Sleight of
Mouth" patterns to create the Mind-Lines model that specifies the seven directions we can send consciousness
and the language of persuasion elegance that emerges from that (see Mind-Lines, 2002).
Meta-States shows how that the distinctions called "sub-modalities" actually operate at a meta-level as meta-
modalities—the features, distinctions, and qualities that make a difference- when they make a difference
symbolically or Semantically (see The Structure of Excellence, 1999, User's Manual of the Brain, Vol. II)..
In these ways, and many more, the Meta-States of Neuro-semantics creates a higher and more advanced form
of NLP—what we have been calling, Meta-NLP. It not only enriches and unites the NLP Model, it expands
it as it is opening up new realms and domains for exploration. Not until the mid-1980s has structure come
back into NLP in a new and exciting way that it has with Meta-States. And this especially shows up in the
way Meta-States enriches the modeling process itself
Our Vision Statement describes the kind of people and the kind of spirit which we want to propagate in
ourselves and others. In a word, we want to make sure that the people who teach and train Meta-States
experience the model, live the model, and congruently live lives that make the model attractive, exciting, and
magical. What does that mean practically?
It means that we have meta-stated ourselves with the thoughts-feelings and the frames of higher resourceful
experiences: acceptance, appreciation, respect and honor, dignity, fallibility, curiosity, etc. What does not
serve NLP and especially Meta-NLP are trainers who take a superiority attitude or arrogance and/or
intolerance. NLP Trainers who do not apply the model to themselves and who are not open, friendly,
supportive, cooperative, but who act hostile, angry, unapproachable, etc. do not make NLP an attractive
model. Their incongruence makes the model seem toxic and undesirable.
We believe in abundance and so we want to operate from such. We believe that the map is not the territory
and that no one has a perfect map, and that our mapping processes are fallible and always open to
improvement and so we want to provide our insights in a non-dogmatic and open way. We believe in pacing
and matching, and so we want to practice cooperative and supportive relationships that make others feel
welcome. We believe that wisdom emergences from multiple perspectives so we want to practice an
openness and flexibility in considering new understandings.
As we think about setting various frames, we especially want to set a frame of being solution oriented rather
than problem oriented. This means judging, being judgmental, critical, whining, etc. does not reflect the spirit
of NLP and especially not the spirit of Meta-NLP.
"But what if I'm just a Judger and can't help myself?" Well, first statement is antithetic to the spirit of NLP.
After all, meta-programs are descriptions of functioning, not "types." They refer to the ways and styles we
have learned in thinking and feeling and perceiving, not static and unchanging things. To over-identify with
a particular way we have mapped perceiving misuses NLP. Further, there are various NLP patterns for
changing your meta-programs, are there not? Robbins describes them in his book, Woodsmall and James
does the same in theirs, and Bob and I do in ours. This statement sounds like an excuse for judging, being
hurtful, not taking personal responsibility. It doesn't sound like a person who knows and experiences the
power of NLP.
We don't need or want critical and judgmental trainers representing Meta-States or Meta-NLP. Nor whiners,
complainers, people who operate from scarcity and so who become competitive, insulting, etc. We don't
need people who can't apply NLP or Meta-States to themselves. Congruency is criterion number one.
Does this mean that Neuro-semantics will operate in a "policing" manner?
That's is not our intention at all. Our aim is to set some solid parameters and sufficient conditions that
support competency. We train for skill competency and also aim to coach people so that they will be the kind
of trainers that live what they teach—who master their states, their attitudes, their fitness and health, their
relationships, their effectiveness and wealth building, etc.
Meta-States Trainings
1) Accessing Personal Genius (APG)
2) Secrets of Personal Mastery
3) Frame Games
4) Coaching Genius NLP Master Prac.
1) Meta-Masters (14)
Frame Game Applications—
5) Games Great Salespeople Play: NLP Practitioner Advanced Trainings
Selling Excellence 1) Meta-NLP (7) 1) Modeling (4 to 6)
5) Mastering Your Wealth Matrix 2) Traditional (21) 2) Cultural Modeling
Wealth Building 3) NS Flexibility
7) Games For Accelerated Learning 4) NS Developers
(Meta-Learning)
8) Games for Masterful Writing
9) Games Slim & Fit People Play
10) Games Business Experts Play
11) Games For Mastering Fear
12) Games for Mastering Stuttering
13) Games Great Lovers Play
Another central mission is the application of Meta-States to hundreds of new areas and the development of
scores if not hundreds of new models. Using Neuro-Semantic modeling we are now developing new models
for building wealth, health and fitness, leadership, cultural change, political change, etc.
THE VISION
The Neuro-Semantic Movement is a group of people who operate out of a strong belief in Abundance rather
than scarcity and Cooperative Appreciation rather than Competitiveness. It is this mind-set of Abundance, in
fact, that leads to professional cooperation, in fact, that describes our primary frame of mind, a frame of mind.
And from that position, we graciously relate to each other as professionals with respect, and to others in an
honorable way, as we seek always to find or create Win/Win arrangements.
We envision ourselves as Neuro-Semantic Magicians who do our magic of framing, reframing and outframing
to "run our own brains" and to manage our own states, and to do so with integrity and ecology that we will
thereby demonstrate our congruency. We will "walk our talk" in a way that is obvious and attractive.
We envision creating and sustaining high quality collegial relationships with each other with honor as our
byword. We will willingly use feedback for Accountability between ourselves individually in order to operate
ecologically as a group.
We envision the exploration into the structure of human experience and meaning as an ongoing search that we
conduct in the spirit of openness as we anticipate many new developments in the years to come. We also seek
to give concrete expression to our vision of Abundance, Win/Win Cooperative Relationships, Accountability
as responsible persons, Respectful Professionalism, Ongoing Research and Development, so that we can Leave
a Positive Legacy by using the following specifics. This will give us a way to mind-to-muscle our Vision into
our own lives to create the kind of congruency that will be winsome in itself.
Acknowledge the contributions of others
Ongoing monitoring of our behaviors and trainings for congruency
Quality checking our actions and speech for balance and health
Attending regular workshops to continue our own education and training
Cohering to a code of conduct that demonstrates mental and emotional intelligence & health
Referring people to our colleagues for training
Giving due credit for materials
Sharing newly generated patterns
Paying royalties
Reciprocating the generosity of others
Acknowledging the value of others even when we disagree
Co-leading, co-training, and co-writing with others as possible
Surprising people by giving more than what's expected
Accepting and entering into mutual agreements
Accepting the rules of our association
Honorably confronting those who violate the vision to win them back to it, if possible.
Caringly communicating to hold others accountable
Letting others evaluate my work and skills with an attitude of openness to correction
Giving account of ourselves without shame or guilt
Recognizing the importance of the whole and keeping our credibility, honor, & legacy in mind.
Recognizing the vital role that I play for the success of the larger Vision.
Applying our model and patterns to ourselves first of all
Creating products, patterns, books, trainings that enrich the human condition.
Living Congruently in a spirit of open generosity
Resiliently handling upsets and challenges
Considering people as we speak and act
Responding with care and compassion
Demonstrating quality product knowledge
Welcoming differences and looking for ways of cooperating
Pacing as we respond to people
Developing a commitment to innovation
Staying open to new ideas
1) Presence:
To be present at all of the scheduled times and events for the classroom and practice hours.
2) Participation:
To perform and practice the skills in the small group learning teams, the one-on-one practice
sessions, and the participation and discussions within the larger group sessions.
3) Tasks:
To fully participate in the presentations that you and your colleagues will be making.
4) Accountability:
To be monitored by the Team Leaders, Co-Trainers, and Staff. The team leaders operate as team
coaches and are our eyes and ears at the training. They will be observing and reporting on your
knowledge and skill competency. We have empowered each and every one of them to step in and
speak with you from a coaching perspective as they see fit.
5) Coachability:
To be coached to shape your skills and you might be asked to perform other tasks in and outside the
training that will enable you to move to the next level of competency. To be a leader is to be a good
team player and therefore coachable, that is, one who is looking for areas for further shaping,
refining, developing, mastery, etc. Are you willing to be coached? Are you willing to let coaching
change you?
6) Testing:
To be tested throughout the process on your knowledge and skills in coaching rather than formal
testing on paper-and-pencil testing. Certification depends on a minimum of a 2.5 average
competency on the benchmarking of the essential presenting and training skills.
7) Authenticity:
Training is about relationship- entering personal relationships with participants. In this sense it is
dynamic and alive and calls upon us to rise up to a new and more profound level of authenticity.
In Neuro-semantics "apply to s e l f and personal Congruency is our first priority as we integrate the
knowledge so that it is neuro-semantic.
DAYS 1—4:
PLATFORM SKILLS
1) Access Self-Judgment.
Has there ever been a time when you have judged and criticized yourself?
Any time when you beat yourself up in a harsh way? Said cruel things to yourself?
Recall that time, amplify it, anchor it, increase it so that it becomes a really bad experience.
Break state, stand up and shake it off.
This principle challenges us to discover who we are and can be and to become all that we can be. In NS we distinguish
two parts of thought" 1) Attention: what we have on our mind and 2) Intention: what we have in the back of our mind.
Behind every thought we have yet another thought, and another and another. We have lots of thoughts in the back of
our minds about things. Since our thinking always involves thoughts in the back of the mind (the Meta-States model),
we need to begin by accessing those frames and making sure that the higher levels serve us in terms of developing our
skills as trainers.
Rollo May (1969, Love & Will) noted that the meta-level state or frame that we call "will" boils down to to facets:
Intention and Attention.
1) What is your Attentional Focus about training?
What do you have on your mind about training, about yourself as a trainer, etc? How do you
represent training, and being a trainer? The answer to these questions flush out what you have on
your mind, the quality of your representations, and your primary state.
2) What is your Intentional Focus, your teleological outcome about training?
What is your motivation, reasons, agenda, what do you intend? What thoughts, feelings, memories,
expectations, beliefs, values, identifications, fears, worries, permissions, taboos, etc. lurk back there
in the shadows of your mind about training?
Our Thought-Feeling States move forward by these two dynamics of our intentions and attentions. Attention
directs us to the primary state content whereas Intention directs us to the meta-level frame and desired
outcome, our positive intentions and nested intentions.
1) Identify a work-related activity that you perform as part of your plan for becoming a skilled and excellent trainer.
[You can choose something very positive or very negative, just as long as it is important.]
What are some of the tasks that you engage in as part of your process for developing more skills?
What do you need to do in order to succeed?
Good, let's use that activity as a reference point to explore your higher intentions.
4) Step into the higher Value States of Importance so that you feel them fully.
That' must be important to you? [Yes.] So just welcome in the good feelings that these meanings and
significances invite, and just be with those higher level feelings for a bit.
Do you like that? [Yes.]
Let those feelings grow and intensify as you recognize that this is your highest Intentional Stance, this is what
you are all about... isn't it? Enjoy this awareness.
Keep editing in the traits, qualities, and behaviors that you would like to have.
As you think about the kind of trainer you want to be, what qualities would you add to your picture?
Let these ideas and images transform your image so that it becomes a movie.
Use the most compelling and driving features of your internal sights, sounds, sensations.
3) Contrast
What question would be the opposite of your original question?
Imagine being there and asking the opposite question of yourself?
4) Exploration.
What question/s could you be asking that would enable you to use your Training Principles?
6) Adjust your essential questions and design engineer new and better questions.
Change any of the features so that they enhance your Trainer State.
Operating verbs: "control"—> understand, relate to, influence, contribute to.
Put feedback loops in the way you ask questions and represent things.
Put in a dual focus of self and other.
Presentation skills involve working on stage and that brings us to the foundations of
working with an audience.
We train from a state to a state. We train from our mental-and-emotional state and we present to participants
who are in various states. Effectiveness in training necessitates being able to access the best states and to
operate from the most resourceful states. Yet all states are not equal. There are different kinds of states. There
are primary states, meta-states, and gestalt states. Our meta-states are the crucial ones that govern our lives.
They define our overall attitude, mood, perspective, and frame of mind.
In terms of groups elicitation, using inductions and meditation times, thinking strategically about the induction
of states (What states do I want to induce in my participants? How will I induce these states?) Going first by
stepping into the state and expressing it so that the energy of the state gets communicated to participants.
Telling metaphors and/or stories that presupposes the state.
5— Asking participants to amplify the state and to fully experience it in breathing, walking, moving,
gesturing, speaking, etc. Teasing and testing to see how much of the state the participants are
experiencing. Amplifying it and anchoring the state for further use.
4— Speaking in metaphors, stories, and using other indirect methods to induce the state so as to layer
multiple suggestions to induce the state. Asking participants to be with the emotions of the state and
to manifest them more fully in the body.
3— Speaking with a voice that sounds like the desired state. Going into the state first so that it comes out
in you voice, gesture, etc.
2— Asking about the state and suggesting it. Some matching and mirroring to pace the person's current
state and then mentioning the desired state.
1— Mentioning the state with a monotone, without a tone or voice that sounds like the state. The speaker
not in the state, but in a state different from the desired state (impatient when wanting to evoke
patience, tired and fatigued when evoking motivation).
0— No mention of the desired state, no tone, tempo, story or anything that would evoke that state. Or,
mentioning the state and asking participants to experience it. "Don't feel afraid, feel courage."
Required Skills:
A state which combines apparently mutually exclusive resources, (in-time / through-time; spontaneous /
planning, etc.) excellent calibration, sensory acuity, management of our physiology, energy levels, fluidity of
movement, good modulation of voice parameters, alignment of thoughts with words, tonality and body
language, clarity and presence of mind, clear intentionality, focus, un-insultability, empathy, good management
of time and of shifting across time frames, good management of the content/process relationship, multi-tracking
(content + delivery + structure; environment + its effect on participants + self), the ability to quickly and
smoothly switch meta-programs, the fluidity of shifting across perceptual positions, the awareness of
consequences and ecology of an action and inaction,
5— Perfectly aligned delivery, presented elegantly, effortlessly, with spontaneity. Trust in self, relaxed
posture and delivery.
4— Presentation flows easily from point to point with smooth transitions, content balanced between
describing, demonstrating asking questions, etc., with some spontaneity and creativity.
3— Presentation conveys central message yet seems "rehearsed" in the transitions are rigid and stiff and
call attention to themselves, presentation is formal by reading more than speaking, speaking is
sometimes easily thrown out of balance by questions or things that happen in the group.
2 — Erratic presentation, disjointed, disconnected words and ideas, loses place, struggles to keep attention
focused as evidence when says, "Now, where was I?" Often thrown off track by participant feedback.
1— Nervous gestures in presentation, pacing stage, idiosyncratic movements and gestures that distract,
poor sequencing and managing of multiple tasks; distracted often, talking about many things; going
back and forth on different topics.
A workshop participant once asked Dr. John Grinder, "What are the
most useful things for a trainer to pay attention to? To which John
said, "First pay attention to your own state. Second, pay attention
to your own state. Third, pay attention to your audience's state. "
(O'Connor, p. 103)
"Have you ever noticed that the most effective teachers and trainers
are those with high energy and personal power? ... Chinese
philosopher Lao Tzu wrote of personal power ... He characterized
Te as the potential energy that comes from being in the right place
at the right time in the right frame of mind." (James and Shepherd,
p. iv)
What states do you need to access and develop in order to become truly dynamic, charismatic, delightful, fascinating,
etc. as a Trainer? The time has now come for us to engage in design engineer work as we pick and choose and custom-
make some states and meta-states for ourselves.
Exercise:
LMH'S CHECKLIST OF TOP STATES
Some of my best states have now become so integrated and a part of my very sense of self, that they have become higher
meta-level states, and I don't have to access them, because I never turn them off, I never step out of them.
Centered: Centered and esteeming one's self in order to become self-forgetful and to get one's ego out of the
way. Not needing or needy for approval, applause, recognition, able to make people right without caring who
gets the credit.
Responsibility. Assume the power to make responses in communicating, acting, etc. The sense of ownership
of my power-zone which builds a sense of control in life.
Authentically real: Sense of being fallible and fully "okay" with it, little need to play the role of the "expert,"
to be able to talk and respond as one human being to another.
Playful, Passionate, Excited: Having an "eye of the tiger" motivation, genuinely passionate about NLP and
NS, a ferocious state of feeling alive, vigorous, vital, and energetic.
3) Playful:
The ability to play, experiment, be silly, get out of your usual frames of reference and just enjoy the experience,
wondering curiously about what might emerge. Playfully notice your intent as a trainer: to convince, support,
manipulate, gather information, be an expert, be right, win? How serious or playful do you approach this
experience? Imagine some references for playfulness. Who offers a marvelous model of that for you?
6) Creative:
The ability to put things together in new and sometimes weird ways, to innovate new suggestions, to think out
of the box, to not be limited by former solutions or ideas.
7) Disciplined.
The personal discipline that allows us to actually do what we believe in and want to do, the ability to follow-
through on our visions, values, and promises, the ability to personally organized our minds, emotions, time,
behaviors, etc. so that we accomplish things of importance to us.
1) Identify the state that you want and identify the thoughts that correspond to, evoke, or relate to this state
What internal representations, beliefs, values, etc. relate to this state?
How would you describe this in sensory-based language (see, hear, feel, smell, taste)?
How would you describe this in evaluative language?
2) Access: Use the two state induction invitations to access the state.
"Think of a time when you fully experienced this state... "
Have you ever experienced this state before? Even in a little bit?
When, where, what was that like?
'What would it be like if you did fully experience this state? "
If you fully pretended that you were experiencing this state, what would you imagine?
How would you feel?
6) Analyze.
Let's check the ecology to quality control this state.
Does it enhance your experience?
Eliciting states and meta-states lies at the very heart of NLP and Neuro-semantics. This makes the art of elicitation
crucially important. Elicitation refers to a natural and inevitable process whereby we invite and facilitate or coach
another person to access, create, and/or experience a mind-body state. In NLP, we typically focus on using memory or
imagination to help us in elicitation.
1) Memory; Think about a time when you felt or experienced X.
2) Imagination: What would it be like if you could fully feel or experience X?
Yet there is a lot more to the art of elicitation then this. The following offers some fine-tuning so that you can become
much more skilled and artistic in your Elicitation Skills.
4) Create the context for the person to "go inside" and access this neuro-linguistic information.
Set the frame: "In just a moment, I want you to close your eyes and just let your mind float back to a time and
a place when you learned something so easily and naturally that it hardly seemed like learning, like when you
first began to play baseball..."
Use downward inflections to speak in command mode. The person accessing needs to be protected and
facilitated into the process. You are essentially communicating, "Go back and see the pictures in your mind
that correspond to appreciation. Now, go back and do that."
If you get lots of "I don't knows," you are not commanding enough.
In Commands: your voice, eye brow, tone, etc. goes down.
In Questions: make your output channels go up.
5) Use presuppositional questions and statements to make the elicitation and accessing easy.
Do not say, "Can you think of a time...?" Say, "As you do this..." "While you ..."
The engagement process involves engaging through asking questions to catch attention.
Via sharing a personal experience by telling a story. Via creative metaphors.
Via a dialogue with the audience. Via provocative statements and actions.
Via stating your theme and use it as a constant refrain. Via surprise and shock.
Via humor, being playful with words, teasing. Via involving the group.
Via personalizing by self-disclosure and vulnerability. Via creative use of silence.
Via giving lots of examples. Via compelling story.
Via pacing the current situation: put into words the states, emotions, and experiences of the participants.
Via making eye contact with everybody. Via setting a powerful intention.
Via flushing out vital information. Via an immediate demonstration.
Via doing something stark, surprising. Via using ice breakers.
Via incorporating whatever happens Via being provocative
The size of the group plays an important role in the way you design and conduct a training. In smaller
groups, you can devote more time to individual coaching.
With a larger group: "How many here have a background in NLP and know the model, at least somewhat?
Good. How many are brand new to this field? Great. NLP virgins! Wonderful. How many here want to apply
this training to business? To personal life and development? To health?"
Demonstrating:
Can you engage people by asking a question? Would that work? What do you think? Nothing engages a group
as to have someone come up and go through a transformative pattern. Arrange with someone prior to
beginning, someone who is ready, who understands the pattern, who is responsive, etc. This will set the frame
for responding—and demonstrate not only the particular process, but your respect and style in working with
people in front of the group.
"Who here really wants to develop the kind of mastery over your states that you can say that you have
your states rather than they have you? Anybody with that kind of an outcome here?"
"Since we're going to be journeying into the realm of Meta-States, I wonder how many outcomes
you've brought with you that you might like to apply to this learning?"
Use eye contact to engage people. Look at people, get intro the habit of looking at individuals and holding your
gaze, without staring, soften your eyes, and smile. With our visual powers, we can learn to looking at our
audience in new ways and to visually anchor a group. Bring them in by scooping them in with your eyes.
1) A State of Arousal: interest, motivation, attention, arousal, energy excitement, passion — "Juice,"
Using more than 10 engaging behaviors, audience in rapt attention, responding with breath (including
gasps), eye contact, laughter, etc. to content of speaker, entranced (totally focused, no non-engagement behaviors).
Using 5 to 9 engaging behaviors with audience very engaged, matching speaker as speaker has
matched audience. Non-engagement behaviors lessening.
Using 3 to 5 engaging behaviors with some good results. Audience attending and looking. Some
yawning, looking around, fidgeting, whispering (behaviors of non-engagement).
Attempts at engaging via stories, eye contact, humor, examples, self-disclosure, connecting with
current situation, asking questions, etc. Doing so incongruently, lack smoothness of expression,
clumsy in actions that brings awareness to self.
Beginning to use a few items that might engage: stories, eye contact, etc. Mostly acting as if bored
or disconnected by not smiling, not looking at people, de-focused eyes that see an "audience" rather
than individuals.
SPATIAL ANCHORING
Step back from the training room and view it with fresh eyes:
Architecture, structure, form, color, light (natural), etc.
How "busy" or simple is the stage?
Seating format, flow of traffic, etc.
Gesturing.
Extend this into an even wider range:
Sexy and seductive:
Fearful and horrifying
Commanding with authority
Urgency
Pleading
Giving Room:
After you invite people to make internal pictures, step out of the way. Let them do so without tearing up their
pictures. Also give process time both auditorially and visually. Let them have the experiential moment.
Time:
past, present, future. Visually and kinesthetically establish the parameters for setting up spatial anchors for
"time." Then you can put various ideas/ concepts into this structure:
1) Goals, desired outcomes, preferred futures
2) Toward and Away From energies for propulsion systems.
3) Attractions and aversions.
Emphasis:
Use tone, volume, hands "up" and "down"
Process, Completion
Use hand movements to gesture movement, progress, process,
Use chopping hand movements to indicate sequence, step-by step
Use hands stopped, open palm for complete, finished.
Important/ Non-Important
Use hand movements to gesture from down/ low (unimportant) to up/ high (important).
"Relevancy" / Not-Relevant. Put on the Time-Line: past, now, future. Put away from yourself.
Propulsion Systems:
A propulsion system has two internal forces operating simultaneously upon us and powerfully moving
(swishing) us forward by both pulling on our values, passions, desires, hopes (the attractors) and by pushing
us from behind (i.e., kicking us in the butt) by creating intense aversion, revolt, and disgust to the dis-values
(the aversions).
Attractors of values, desired outcomes, passions, etc. pull a person forward toward into his or her future.
Gesture with hands a Carrot dangling in front of us, a hand of seduction.
Benchmarks for Platform skills:
Definition: To move on stage in an effective way that supports the presentation and its meaning.
With a group we effectively stand and move about on stage when we stay calm and focused on the tasks and
learnings at hand, when we use the sound system and microphones in ways that do not bring attention to them,
when we think on our feet (presence of mind skills), when we demonstrate the skills we're describing, that we
effectively use visual aids (not getting in the way, standing to the side when drawing, etc.).
Spatial Anchoring speaks about the kind of anchoring in and with "space" or territory itself so that we
consistently use verbal and visual anchors that we set, that we mindfully use gestures to convey concepts, that
we choreograph our use of space intentionally,
Movements totally support content of presentation and so well choreographed that they are unnoticed
in themselves, gestures and movements all direct and invite participants to completely get lost in the
presentation.
Movements flow smoothly and elegantly, gestures have a consistency about them so that they more
effectively anchor concepts.
Movement on stage smooth and calm, gestures in terms of audience's perspective rather than
speaker's, gestures still obvious and sometimes mentioned by participants.
Moving about on stage calmly, nervous gestures reduced significantly, only barely or occasionally
present. Gestures and movements more congruent with words and content of message.
Moving about on stage in ways that bring attention to self or to presentation. Gestures, movement,
anchoring seem stilted, affected, and unnatural.
Moving about on stage by pacing back and forth, moving arms and legs in nervous gestures that
anchor everything and nothing, gesturing by using one's own internal mapping and not reversing for
audience.
What states and meta-states will you need for yourself to be able to reach out and extend yourself to others?
To invest your own psychic energy into the welfare of those who have come to receive your expertise? What
are the frames that you need to set in your own mind and heart so that you can "bring out the best" in people?
Set a positive frame about the training, about yourself, and about the participants. Actively engage the people
who have come to participant before, during and after the training. Create a personal contact with them; gather
information about your people.
Appreciation
Centering in your own Values and Visions
Honor for People
Respect for the learning styles of others
Recognition of the uniqueness of others
Being Professional
Win/Win Cooperativeness
Almost completely focused on others with connecting behaviors, matching meta-programs and meta-
states, using lots of validations in language.
Much more matching (80% or higher), continually coming back to asking about people, using names,
matching meta-programs, expressing more authenticity (see Authenticity).
More actions of connecting than disconnecting. More emotional congruence in body with connecting
behaviors than not. 60 to 70% of the time matching and pacing people in behavior and words.
Increasing number of actions that indicate attempts at connecting and equal number of behaviors
indicating the lack of such.
Some actions (1 to 4) that indicate connecting but mostly using behaviors that show disconnect and
poor relating.
No actions that connect speaker with audience: meeting and greeting, shaking hands, making eye
contact, using names, mentioning personal things, support or empathy, or matching words or behavior.
Doing things that violate a sense of relating: ignoring, quickly dismissing people with curt answers
or responses, acting aloof by looking elsewhere when talking, being incongruent between words and
actions when talking to individuals.
Benchmarks for Empowering Participants:
Definition: To infuse a new confidence in learning, changing and transforming in participants. This skill corresponds
to the belief that people have the resources within and that they only need to be called forth and activated.
With an audience we do this by nurturing and supporting people (see Supporting), by cheer-leading successes
(see cheer leading), by being protective of participants, by facilitating experiences and inducing states (see
Inducing States), by using exercises and involving people in the processes, and in handling questions well.
Celebrating and honoring the successes of participants, inquiring about results and staying with the
exploration until a full account is given of what worked, to what extent, how well, what else needs to
be done, what are the next steps, etc.
Challenging participants to rise to new challenges and to believe more fully in themselves, giving
assignments that presuppose finding and/or creating new resources.
Asking questions that engage participants to look within to access new resources, building up new
resources from small examples, showing excitement when participants respond, asking lots of
questions about the practical experience with a new plan or strategy.
Altering the percentage to 15% / 75%, making statements of belief in the potential and power of
participants. Inviting participants to find and access resources, giving time to do such.
50% of the time teaching and telling participants, and 50% of time asking questions, inviting
discussion or dialogue.
Telling participants what to do in a "controlling" manner that gives little or no room for them to
participate in discussion to ask questions, to explore.
USING YOUR VOICE EFFECTIVELY
As we move, gesture, use space we affect ourselves and our participants and we establish semantic space as we uses
these non-verbal facets of communication. These non-verbal facets of experience can powerfully support or undermine
our verbal elegance. It depends on our state and our use of our voice. Are we coming from a state of energy, relaxation,
excitement, passion, boredom, fatigue, etc? What is the quality of our voice? We can powerfully communicate attitude
through our voice.
To use your voice effectively, pay attention to your breath. Breathe fully so that you can squeeze the juice out of your
words. Speak congruent, use pauses effectively, develop flexibility of tone and tempo.
Speak from your diaphragm. While standing in front of a wall, cup your hands behind your ears and deliver
your content from high, medium, to a low vocal range as you calibrate. How do you need to shift your voice
for maximum impact? Hit some low notes and then raise it to the highest. Find the places where your voice
experiences glitches and work on those transitions.
How much flexibility do you have with your voice, tone, tempo, etc.?
Practice developing a voice pattern for:
Questioning, denying, appealing, enticing, demanding, commanding, nurturing, giving pleasure,
giving pain, etc.
Practice saying the following using the list of adjectives and adverbs:
"You wouldn't dare!" Confidently, fearfully, amazed, in a cocky way, composedly, scornfully,
hatefully.
"Hold you the Watch tonight?" Businesslike, divinely inspired, determined.
"We do, my lord. " Impersonally, militarily, eagerly, grimly, as if puzzled, matter-of-factly,
cautiously troubled, aggressively, passively, submissively.
Exercise: Describe "Accessing Pesonal Genius" using five different states. Cycle through the five different
states repeatedly.
Exercise: Turn to the person next to you and tell him or her why you like what you're doing using your top
three training states. Sound like those states (i.e., calm, confidence, excited, playful, curious, sexy, etc.)
Using the Voice for Maximum Impact.
Voice variability involves volume (soft to loud), speed (slow to fast), pitch (deep to high), rhythm (monotone
to variations), tone (voices, accents).
Using your voice with good range an vocal expressiveness, anchoring vocally with your tone and tempo, with
pauses, with the projection of your voice, by being succinct and precise, by keeping things relevant and focused.
Communication Questions:
How precise, accurate, and succinct are my communications?
How clear is the vision or picture that I describe in word or in print?
How compelling, inspiring, or motivational are my words?
Do people seem drawn and compelled by the word pictures I draw or the frames that I set?
Seamless use of voice as an effective tool to use in communicating. Words clear and precisely
pronounced, large range of voice variation, appropriate volume control and use of silence, alignment
of sounds with meanings of words, elegant analogue marking and embedded commands.
Use of pause and silence, analogue marking, ability to imitate other voices and/or sounds. Matching
of voice and state, excellent voice projection that allows all to hear easily whether talking
conversationally or whispering, matching of predicates.
Some use of rhythm, speed, and emphasis, matching what is said with gestures that fit.
Mumbled words, voice incongruent with meaning, no voice variation, no volume control, no analogue
marking to induce states
Able to create crystal clear images and movies for the mind that move people to take action, that
succinctly states with precision the next step and that calls for action.
Able to effectively match and pace a group of people and call them into a community, mostly able to
get to the point and to be succinct, more precise descriptions.
Able to put into words the hopes and dreams of others, but verbose and close to get to the point, not
always clear or precise.
Oral and written words partly focused on a vision, dream, or new idea, still half or more of it about
self, either very talkative or offering not enough description to be inspirational.
Moderate amount of words, some suggesting a vision or dream, communications mostly vague, fluffy,
undefined, perhaps wordy, redundant, not getting to the point. Or words almost always about self or
coming back to self as if needing to put forward.
No or few words or communications that lead forth to anything new or different. Only words of
complaint or dislikes. Only words that relate to self not others.
Exercise: IMPROVISING
Use linkage words (as, and, when, after, because, inasmuch, etc.) to tie the parts together. Go round and round
the circle until a story emerges.
2) In round two, tell a story that will add insights, skills, and resources to becoming a brilliant trainer.
First as a group make a menu list of needed insights, skills and resource. "What I need to become a truly
brilliant trainer is..."
Someone keep track of the desired resources.
Begin telling a story, one line at a time ... weaving in things that will bring out the lessons.
MAKING IT MEMORABLE
6) Distribute the practice into short study periods broken up by rest intervals.
We remember best the things that strike us as having primacy (the first things we learn) and recency. Things
in the middle get lost or forgotten more easily. Remember "the magic number seven" principle. Chunk larger
pieces down to 5 to 9 pieces at a time.
2) Drama.
Make the things you say and do dramatic so that the way people represent it will stand out in vivid imagery,
bizzare, wacky.
4) Synesthias.
Create and anchor various cross-circuit wirings so that the participants get to connect and build up various
synesthesias.
5) Mnemonics.
Numerous mnemonic devices exist by which we can provide easy ways to remember ideas: rhymes, diagrams,
cartoons, places, stories. Use various memory pegs and cues.
6) Variety.
Keep shifting and switching between various learning and teaching styles: concrete experiences to abstract
conceptualizations.
7) Review.
Summarize, continually backtrack and orient. Research in reviewing information shows that reviewing data
for ten minutes a day, a week, a month... makes the retention process very strong.
2) Ordering. Some way to sort it using a format or template that's easy to recall.
3) Intending. Caring about it, intending to remember, making a point to want to remember it, having a reason.
Benchmarks for Making Presentations Memorable:
Definition:
The ability to present the subject utilizing appropriate use of anchors, emotion, stories, tonality,
gestures, questions, meaning relevant to the audience's needs, demonstrations, explanations,
exercises, reviews, frames, strategies, integration, assimilation, and future pacing to ensure
appropriate retention (remembering the right things for the right reasons).
Presentation smoothly integrated and interwoven, delivered in all modalities simultaneously; multiple
state changes.
7 to 9 applications smoothly delivered in multiples modalities; good debriefing and unpacking; good
questioning for personal relevance; future paced for integration and application.
5 to 7 applications delivered in several modalities, relevant to the audience's needs, not fully
integrated as a whole; demonstrations explained to group's satisfaction, some debriefing, some
questioning of relevance.
3 to 5 applications, some engagement, some state elicitation and anchoring, but with erratic effect;
more connected with the audience; some demonstrations; no debriefing.
Skillfully using 10 or more behaviors consistently that create atmosphere of safety and enjoyment.
Engage all learning styles and preferences.
Using 5 or more of the behaviors that encourage safety and trust: discussion, dialogue, group ice
breakers, cheerleading succeed. Beginning to use processes that make learning fun and enjoyable:
laughter, fun, playfulness. Validating persons, setting frames that make mistakes part of learning.
Using more behaviors that create sense of safety in the learning: matching, pacing, validating,
empathizing. Yet still letting comparisons and judgments to occur from time to time.
Using a few of the learning facilitation behaviors: stating benefits of the learning, giving examples,
inviting discussion, using group exercises but doing so in awkward way. Allowing some of the
behaviors that invite threat and danger to be present.
Using words that suggest threat or pressure, that challenge people to measure up or get out. Inviting
comparisons between participants. Using words and/or tone of judgment.
EXERCISES FOR PRACTICING PLATFORM SKILLS
Attention Tracking
As one person makes a presentation in front of a small group, a meta person stands behind him or her. The
meta person will point to certain individuals in the group from time to time who will then gradually cease to
pay attention to the trainer. This prevents the trainer from recognizing who is being so influenced.
The trainer's task will be to notice and track the attention level of the participants and to catch their attention
again as smoothly as possible. Stop after five minutes. Notice the different strategies in each trainer to track
and recover attention.
2 minute Presentation.
Present a basic NLP pattern (Swish, Phobia Cure, Time-Line Elicitation) in small groups of 4 persons, at first
practice reading the scripts with emphasis and passion, and then saying them to each other... shifting to your
own words where you need to. The design is to tune each other up with regard to our presentations.
Benchmarks for Storytelling:
Definition: Expressing information in the form of something that happened to someone. Using creative metaphors in
presentation, using trance induction and meditations for a guided tour.
Storytelling Questions:
Was there a story? Was there a story that tied things together?
Did it seem personal and real?
Elegant use of stories that don't seem like stories at all, that induce state and that entrance an audience
so much that there's a total rapture with the story to hear it out, typically very personal stories that
somehow bring the point of the lesson home.
Using stories very effectively and powerfully, stories that move and induce states. More personal
stories. Stories that capture 75% or more of the audience's attention.
Using stories from time to time as a comic relief, but not as a story with layered meanings.
Tossing in a little story from time to time. Minimal use of the story, usually only a "canned" story,
nothing personal.
No stories, only propositional statements and "academic" information. Using only a "teaching" or
lecturing style of presentation.
GLORIOUSLY FALLIBLE
Do you want to become a masterful trainer? Great!
Then forget "perfection!" Forget "flawless" performance. How many people want to see you acting like a god
or goddess? How many will think that anything you can do, they also can do when you come across that way?
The best trainers—present and disclose that they are human beings. Fallible ones. That's gives hope to them!
Let's set some different frames then around any and all expressions of human fallibilities. Let's reflexively bring back
some positive ideas regarding the everyday states that we so often take and use for self-contempting, self-depreciating,
self-judging, etc. Suppose, that instead of bringing some negative thoughts-and-feelings against ourselves, we set a
more neutral or, even better, positive frames of reference. Consider frustration:
Acceptance about your frustration: welcomed frustration
Curiosity about your frustration: learning about frustration
Anticipating what good will come out of this frustration: anticipatory frustration
Calmness/Relaxation about frustration: calm frustration
Loving self and others: thoughtful, considerate frustration
How about those frames? These would establish a very different frame game. Do you think of them as strange
altered states of consciousness? Would you like to go there? Would accessing such frames give you a more
resourceful handle on things? What game would they create?
If we play the "I'm Okay" game, or the My Self-Esteem is a Given game, then we don't move through life
feeling that either ourselves or others are broken, defective, or substandard. We're just perfectly fallible human
beings. Nothing more; nothing less.
Meta-Stating to set an empowering frame for self-appreciation, Self-Esteem, and Gloriously Fallible
1) Check for a sense (and frame) of internal permission.
Do you have permission to esteem yourself highly, unconditionally, with potential, loveability, and to be a
fallible human being, etc.?
PACING META-PROGRAMS
As we prepare to present, we do so out of our perceptual frames (or meta-programs) and so naturally prefer to speak
to our set of Meta-Programs. To balance this so that we don't leave out the frames of minds of others, we therefore
consciously develop the flexibility to dance back and forth between the poles of various meta-programs. This allows us
to incorporate the majority of the frames of mind or meta-programs that we find in groups.
Match/Mismatch:
How do participants respond to the materials and activities? Do they use a frame that sorts for sameness or
difference? Do they like similarity, matches, connections, etc.? Are they conservative with new ideas, want
continuance of the same? Or do they like new things, different things, etc.? What's the relationship between
things? Does one look for common themes and patterns or contrast differences?
Sameness:
Difference:
Representation System:
Visual: pictures, movies, images.
Auditory: sounds, volumes, tones, pitches.
Kinesthetic: sensations, movement, pressure
Auditory Digital: words, language
Value Direction:
Toward: Future Possibilities
Away From: Past Assurance. These tend to over-analyze information then act on it. The need lots of
assurance. Use lots of words, and want to understand all about it. Will counter-example constantly.
Adaptation Style:
Judgers: adapting life and events to us
Perceivers: adapting to life and events
Operational Style:
Options: alternatives, choices; random
Procedures: rules & steps, doing things the right way, sequential
Authority Sort:
To what do you give credence for authority or information? From within or without, internal or external?
Those with the Internal reference for authority depend on their own values, beliefs, experiences,
understandings, etc. They know and recognize that the decision is theirs. They can be hard to convince,
stubborn, not easily influenced by traditional proofs. Those with the External frame need proof and evidence
from the outside. They are much easier to influence and go along with the group.
Internal
External
Attention Sort:
Where do you put your attention? On Self or Others? Do you pay attention to others and seek to either attend
to their needs and concerns (or feel that their needs are imposing) or do you attend to what you think and feel
and want?
Self-Referent
Other-Referent
Experience of Emotion/Body:
Associated: stepping in experiencing information while in state
Dissociated: stepping out and thinking about the information with little neurological investment
Time Experience:
"Time" does not exist as a primary state experience, and so those "inside" of time don't notice it, they are lost
in it, caught up in the activities, aware of "time" as a concept. Those "outside" of events, can observe, notice,
sequence, and manage time very well ("through time"). Tell them to be back at 10:15 for a break. Tell the In
Time people to be back at least by 10 o'clock.
In Time: Random:, spontaneous, Primary state.
Through Time: sequential, Meta-State Level
What can Stories and Metaphors be used to? Among the many things, key are these:
Induce states of mind-body-emotion Build rapport
Cause the listener to access mental resources Entertain
Bring one state to bare upon another state (meta-state) Break state
Reframe content or context of a situation Frame learnings
Reduce resistance to change or new ideas Anchor states
Punctuate trainings
What is a Metaphor
Metaphor is a Greek word made up of two smaller words, meta meaning above or about and phorine which
means "to transfer" or "carry over." When we use a metaphor we cause the listener to go meta to meaning
which creates awareness which creates choice and choice allows change. We meta-state when we use
metaphors by putting one thing in hierarchy to another. The philosopher Aristotle (circa 300BC), knew this
when he said, "Metaphor is the application to one thing of the name belonging to another." So a metaphor
is "A figure of speech in which a word or phrase literally denoting one kind of object or idea is used in place
of another by way of suggesting a likeness or analogy between them."
As a exercise, write five metaphors that can be used during a Neuro-Semantic/NLP training for a specific
purpose. If your first reaction is to run to the book table to buy a book on metaphors—I know, that was my
first reaction when given that task. But that's not necessary. If you look about, the best metaphors are staring
you right in the face. You are living in them. They are everywhere. It's like the fish asking, "Where is the
water?" In fact, it is more difficult to find something that is not a metaphor.
Just prior to writing this I was coaching a client on the phone who was berating himself for personalising
someone else's anger. "Can you imagine someone learning to shoot basketball hoops," I said." Some shots
they get in and some they miss. Eventually they get more in than they miss. You have only just learned
about map-territory distinctions, so it's OK to drop the ball occasionally as long as you learn and improve."
Metaphors don't have to be long, forty-five minute stories; they can just be no-big deal everyday events that
cause you to look at something from a different perspective (meta position). Comedians such as Jerry
Seinfeld and Billy Connoly are masters of this.
2) Trans-Derivational Search
By using non-specific descriptions your metaphor will induce trance by causing the listener to go into
a downtime state and to fill in the details from their own map or experience.
3) Isomorphic
For the metaphor to be effective it needs to have the same structure as the problem it sets out to gain
perspective on.
4) An Outcome
The metaphor needs an outcome or resolution that will add resources to the listener; this will often
be in the form of a reframe.
Metaphor Play:
Exercise 1
1) Form a group of 4 or 5 people.
2) Identify a problem that a group or individual might have. (Menu list: Learning, fear of asking questions,
remembering, information overload, the trainer is the messenger not the message)
3) Identify the outcome, states of mind and resources you would like the listener to get.
4) Displace the referential index—set the scene, time and characters (fictional or otherwise).
5) Map the structure from problem to resolution.
6) Rehearse the metaphor in a way that induces light trance with a transderivational search.
7) If time allows present the metaphor to the entire class.
Exercise 2
Using a similar process, construct a metaphor that induces the states of wanton curiosity, playful learning and
courageous problem solving.
A metaphor must be meaningful; it needs to pace the elements of the student's intellectual level, experience
and current situation. Good storytellers gather information about their audience and not only pace content
but pace their delivery. No two audiences are the same and so a single story may vary in length and detail
depending on how it is being received.
Just as with state induction the storyteller must use his or her voice and physiology to act out the story for
maximum impact.
Benchmarks for Creating and Using Metaphors:
Definition:
The ability to talk about one thing in terms of another thing, to use to induce states, resolve problems,
install resources, and teach skills.
Metaphors appropriately reflect the message and fitting to the situation; expansive variety of the use
of metaphors.
Metaphors induce specific states that fit with the message; nesting of metaphors and closing of loops
of stories within stories, elegant matching with gestures and tonality.
Use of stories with good correspondence with outcome, listener comments, "This fits with my
problem." indicating presenter's awareness of the story and it's connection to the situation; some sub-
stories, many uncompleted (without closure); some matching with gestures and tonality.
Some attempt to use metaphors to communicate one's message; some correspondence between story
and outcome; no sub-story inside a story.
Minimal use of metaphors; accidental cliches, no awareness in using stories as evidence when asked
about the use of such and speaker not even aware of using such.
DISTINGUISHING RESPONSIBILITY TO/FOR
4-2 Responding
The Pattern:
1) Access your Power Zone
Access, acknowledge, and appreciate your four neuro-linguistic powers of thinking-emoting, speaking and
behaving.
Step into your power zone and own it fully (bring "ownership" — as expressed in "Mine!" to the Power Zone).
I am not able to respond (response-able) for the thinking, emoting, speaking, or behaving of anyone else! I
cannot and will not assume any ownership over their Power Zone. It belongs to them. I acknowledge that,
appreciate that, and will honor that.
4) Apply to Training.
Imagine a training group or an individual person who has contracted for you to train. Apply the Responsibility
To/For Distinction to that relationship. Giving permission, protecting, avoiding any feel of "manipulation" or
playing with them in a negative way.
Day 3: CLEARING THE PATHWAY
FOR POWERFUL PRESENTATIONS
"Dragons" refer to non-enhancing, non-productive, and problematic states. As such, Dragon States sabotage
our resourcefulness as trainers and prevent us from being as effective, dynamic, powerful, and wonderful a
presenter as we wish to be.
• What dragons have you already found?
• What incongruencies have you already discovered?
• What are they? Name your dragons.
How well will you be able to train if you have dragons breathing down your neck?
• What, if anything, holds you back from accessing and using your most exquisite Training States
right now?
• What states and/or meta-states can hold you back?
• Does fear, hesitancy, self-contempt, anger, stress, etc.?
We cannot truly or fully succeed until we take care of our internal "dragons." As long as we have internal
conflicts that tear us up, sabotage our best efforts, turn our energies against ourselves, or that prevent us from
becoming congruent and aligned, we can't move on. We know this experientially. We already well know that
every program of internal conflict inside us puts the brakes on our efforts or undermine those efforts. This is
why we need to slay and/or tame our dragons. There are 5 basic steps. These are not necessarily in the order
or sequence you will use. Start by attempting to name the dragon and then do whatever seems most appropriate
as you chase the dragon and circle his cave. You may have to do that many times before you get the real
dragon. (See Dancing with Dragons)
What ideas, concepts and understandings do you have for the various aspects of presenting?
Research and preparation Troublemakers
Selling and marketing yourself Difficult participants
Standing up before a group Creating materials
Being on stage, being watched Embarrassment
Failure, making a mistake Risk taking
Feedback, criticism, rejection Confidence in knowing your subject
Competence in being skilled Being good enough
Stuttering for words Comparing yourself to someone else
Losing your place
Do you have any negative or unpleasant reference experiences that need to be dealt with? If so, what?
Each of these, and a hundred other ideas (beliefs) about training make up the frames (and frames of mind) that we have
and use to think about, feel about, and respond to the subject of training.
Strengths: Advantages
What are your advantages?
What competencies and proven skills do you have?
What do you uniquely offer?
What expertise do you bring into coaching from other areas?
What are some of your passions and interests?
Weaknesses: Dis-advantages
What are your weaknesses?
Where are you deficit of critical skills?
What skills do you need to develop to be fully effective as a trainer?
Opportunities:
What opportunities do you see before you?
What circumstances could you use as an opportunity?
What problems or needs to you have a passion to address?
Threats:
What factors might impact negatively on you and your situation?
What changes might be threatening or upsetting?
What stresses and stressors?
Reflection:
What have you learned from this?
What does it mean to you?
What will you do about it?
DESIGNING A COMPELLING AUDIENCE
How you think about your audience will radically affect your performance. Your Social Panorama of your training
group sets a frame for how you'll think and feel, the states you'll experience, and how you will do in the training
situation.
Nasty Audience: Recall a time when presenting seemed especially difficult, when the audience was not with
you. As you recall this event, notice how you represent your audience.
What are the key differences between your nice and nasty groups? Between those that scare you and
those that make you roar with a passion.
4)Trainer Editing
nd
After you have developed a resourceful perception from which to view your audience, now take 2 position
... float out into various people in your audience and look back to You the Trainer in front of the group. From
this perspective (or this multiple perspectives) how can you coach the Trainer You to become more effective?
Experiment with being various participants.
Do this now from 3 position— float back to the camera man and see the group and the Trainer You
rd
participating together, interacting, etc. Offer coaching suggestions to that you from the camera man's point
of view.
Self-Expectancies:
Use any of the following sentence stems to flush out dragons. Do that by generating 5 to 12 statements. Just
begin writing. Do not censor whatever comes to mind. Let whatever thoughts come and intrude... just to find
out what comes up for you in regard to the following experiences.
Permission refers to a higher level of mind wherein we sort for proper/ improper; right/wrong; moral/ immoral;
authorization/ lack of authorization, etc.
Do you have permission inside yourself to be absolutely excellent as a trainer?
Will the higher levels of your mind allow that?
What will it allow?
The Pattern:
1) Check out your level and nature of permission.
Go inside and say, "I give myself permission to X..."
Then just notice what arises to awareness. Do you have any sense of an objection? Do any voices, words,
conversations, memories, images, etc. come to mind?
Do you have a sense of "No " at a higher level of mind preventing, forbidding, objecting?
6) Test
Now imagine the desired activity that's ecological and notice what happens as you think about moving toward
it... What do you feel? What comes to mind? Do you have any excuse lurking that you might use to excuse
yourself from life, love, and commitment?
UN-INSULTABILITY
• There is a state of taking insult. We all know that one. There is also a state of being Un-insult-able. The un-
insultable state empowers you to take criticism effectively and positively, handle communication interchanges,
conflicts, confrontations, and people in bad moods with much more grace and resourcefulness.
• Un-insult-ability eliminates the emotional black-hole of criticism and enables us to positively take
communications so we can use them constructively. This allows us to hear out complaints, even harsh and
cruel criticism, without getting defensive.
• Since everybody seems skilled at dishing out criticism, most people must have the ability to take it well and
use it for learning and growth. Right? Not quite. Most of us are sensitive to receiving criticism. Few seem
to know how to make good use of criticism. Most use criticism never think of responding to criticism with good
feelings or of putting the best twist on criticism. Most take insult all too easily.
• How do you typically respond to criticism?
Would you want a state that allows you to move through the world Un-Insultable?
How easily can you move into a meta-state about a criticism viewing it as just information and feedback?
How easy can you respond from a state where you take it with no displeasure, dismay, discouragement,
depression, but with contentment, delight, appreciation, understanding, etc.?
2) Sense of Self:
Do you have a strong and unconditional sense of your Core Self?
Access your Power Zone (responsibility) and take complete ownership of those powers.
Access Acceptance, Appreciation, and Awe (Esteem) and apply to Self.
Access your confidence in your Skills and Abilities (Self-confidence).
Step aside from the content Keep presence of mind about the criticism
Psychological distance Refusal to take personal
Ownership of your Power Zone Self-Integrity
Appreciation Ability to listen with a quiet and receptive mind
Curiosity: "tell me more..." Discern Responsibility To / For
Defusing Skills Able to stay emotionally centered
Humanize the critic Self-Esteeming
Optimistic Explanatory Style Distinguish Behavior from Person
Distinguish Language and Meaning Recognize as Feedback; just words and not the territory
Say "No!" to criticism that doesn't fit
3) Sequence the states that you want to set as Frames in terms of being Un-Insultable.
What sequence of resources makes the most sense to you?
What is it like to access each individually and applying them?
When you feel this and notice how it transforms that criticism, do you feel un-insultable yet?
Defusing Skills: Are you skilled at defusing someone who is hot, angry, irritable, etc.?
Others Matrix: Distinguish the Person of your critic from his or her Behavior and words:
Are you willing to refuse to confuse your critic's behavior with his or her person? Are you willing to esteem
your critic?
Meaning Matrix; Invent lots of empowering reasons for explaining the criticism.
Since in order to feel insulted, we have to "take" insult, do you have some compelling reasons to stop that?
It's just Information: Do you know at the feeling level that words are just information?
"Would you tell me more? Just how do you think I exist as a turkey, or why I am clumsy. How
specifically do I remind you of a turkey?"
Optimistic Explanatory Style. Will you use the optimistic style to explain why your critic criticizes?
Distinguish Language and Meaning: Do you know that we supply the meaning to words?
Just Feedback: Do you understand that criticism is just words, symbols, and feedback?
Do you need to beef up your attitude about training? Would you like to?
How would you like to beef up your beliefs as a trainer?
If beliefs are commands to the nervous system, what would you like to believe?
Beliefs do not have to be true to be useful, just enabling principles. Which will you choose to
"believe?"
Make a list of empowering ideas that you'd appreciate and enjoy "running your programs" as a presenter/trainer.
What beliefs do the trainers who you know and respect seem to use to navigate their way? What beliefs correspond to
the training principles?
5) From the highest meta-states future pace back down through other states to the primary state and beginning
"problem."
If you had this resourceful fully and completely, how would that transform things for you? Answer quietly
within taking all the time you need.
Benchmarks for Self-Evaluating:
Definition: Evaluating a person's skill level using an agreed upon criteria list with sensory-based behaviors to
improve knowledge and skills over time.
Regularly evaluates knowledge and skills against agreed criteria in many contexts over time. Validates own
rating by seeking external evaluation by others against the same criteria. Develops own criteria for defined
newly differentiated skills.
Uses proven criteria to evaluate self knowledge and skills for increased effectiveness in a single context over
time.
Uses ranked criteria to evaluate own knowledge and differentiated skills to improve performance.
Compare performance with personal ideals and only against a list of skill gradation differentiated by the criteria
definition in a minor way.
No evaluation of skills, no sensory feedback about skills; responding to self with statements of judgment, praise or blame.
Definition: Using knowledge and skills within the framework of a specific model (like the Meta-Model, Meta-Programs,
Meta-States, Matrix, Mind-Lines, etc.) to elicit other patterns of human behavior which leads to replications etc. Using
knowledge and skills in the framework of a model for consistency and efficacy that leads to successful outcomes,
retrospective analysis, greater understanding of the process, synthesis of other models and consistent replication of
successful intervention.
See and hear client through a model and make judgements and analyses based on experience and
current evidence, which lead to a strategy for effective interventions.
Populates model with client data, uses such to inform practice, uses model in thinking and speaking
to facilitate change processes.
Understands a model and uses it for retrospective analysis and developing understanding. Describes
how the model provides structure and insight.
Knows of models, speaks about them, and even uses them, but with little effect.
Knows of models and seeks to relate it to practice under supervision and training. Seldom remembers
to use the model to look for patterns.
Talks only about the content details of a subject with no reference to any model, behaves as if there's
nothing above the contents.
CERTIFICATION ACTIVITIES
Presentations:
1) Presentation of content: something in NLP or Neuro-semantics.
2) Demonstration of a process or pattern
3) Handling Open Questions
4) Introducing a speaker
5) Speaking Personally
Evaluation Criteria:
The evaluations of your presentations will be made according to the following things:
1) Engagement
2) State Induction
3) Effectiveness of the communication: Voice, Space, Language, Memorable
How well you use the tools of our trade: what you say and how you say it.
4) Frames
Debriefing on Presentations
There will be several questions that we will ask after every presentation. These will enable us to focus in on
a number of critical factors in presenting and training:
1) Engagement:
Did it grab you? Were you engaged by it?
Did you get caught up in the content of the presentation?
Did the presenter scoop you in with his or her eyes and make you feel included?
2) State Induction:
How did you feel?
What states did the presentation induce in you?
What states were conveyed to you about the presenter?
3) Frames:
What frames did this person set?
How?
What preframes?
How can this trainer take his or her skills to the next level?
Task:
Write one to three Introduction pieces to yourself. How do you want to be introduced? What do you want the
emcee to say about you that will introduce you to the audience and set some frames for why and/or how they
should listen to you?
3) Write an Introduction for you at a free Introduction Night for NLP and NS.
Possibilities:
Considerations:
Do not start with the person's name, build up the introduction so that you end with the person's name. "And
now ... will you warmly welcome Dr. Bobby Bodenhamer!"
Do not "read" it with your head buried in the paper. Read it several times... so that you can use quick glances
at the paper as you keep in eye contact with your audience.
Sell benefits and mention features. Mention what the person has done and can do and will do for the audience.
Build up reasons why the people gathered should pay attention to this person. Mention things that build
credibility and interest.
DEVELOPING PRESENTATION ELEGANCE
1) Engagement:
Share personal experience by telling a story. Surprises
Ask a question that engages? Catches attention. Drama: act out something
Begin a dialogue with the audience. Silence
State your theme and use it as a constant refrain. Mime
Use humor: be playful with your words, tease yourself. Use of title or quotation
Personalize the presentation by a piece of self-disclosure and vulnerability.
Give lots of examples. Use of Metaphor
Pace the current situation: put into words the states, emotions, and experiences of the participants.
Use engaging eye contact.
Flush out vital information.
Do something stark, surprising.
Incorporate whatever happens
2) Desired States:
Identify a list of states that you want to induce and have ways of eliciting those states.
Go first: step into the state and begin to express it... let the energy of that state lead your audience to it,
Tell a metaphor that presupposes the state.
3) Frames:
Make a list of the frames of mind that you expect people to be in and those that you want to set.
Identify how you will set the frames — what tools and mechanisms you will use.
Use of Voice:
Tone and tempo Pauses Projection of voice
EVALUATION CRITERIA
Choosing Your Criteria
What criteria do you want to evaluate yourself on and have others use to evaluate you?
Make a list of your highest desired criteria that you're willing to use for your evaluation as being the kind of
training and providing the kind of trainings that you want to provide.
Look at your Top 10 Training States. What do they say about your highly desired criteria?
My List (2001):
1) Playful and fun
2) Engaging and entrancing
3) Insightful and practical
4) Inspiring in helping people catch a bigger vision of the abundant potential that's available.
5) Direct and forthright... giving clear instructions.
6) Suggestive and teasing — yet not telling all.
7) Personal, personable — warm and authentic.
8) Magical — having a touch of magic.
Speaking Personally
When we speak from our heart about our relationship with a group and about our feelings, we speak from our
inmost self and this allows people to see us— see us for who we are. This makes us much more masterful as
trainers. In accessing the state of authenticity, we want to become comfortable and composed in just being
ourselves.
What frame do you need to set to do this?
It's okay to be me.
It's excellent to present self as a model and exemplar, even if an imperfect one.
People need to know who we are and that we care before they listen to what we have to say.
How do we do this?
We do it by saying something that's important to us.
"The most important thing in my life is..."
"My most exciting hope right now is..."
"What I want to do with my NS Training is..."
"One of my goals in the next year is..."
DAYS 5
TRAINING SKILLS
(Days 5 to 8)
"Nobody can force change on anyone else. It has to be experienced. Unless we invent ways where paradigm
shifts can be experienced by large numbers of people, then change will remain a myth."
Eric Trist (The Change Handbook)
Training Skills differ from Platform Skills and offer another set of distinctions about how a trainer uses the stage or
platform for facilitating the development of new skills.
• What are the critical and essential Training Skills?
• What are the skills that are critical, crucial, and essential for a trainer?
• What skills must a trainer have?
• What are the skills of an excellent and masterful trainer?
1) Engagement
2) Spatial anchoring
3) Establishing rapport and relationship
4) Using voice effectively
5) Eliciting or inducing states
6) Framing
Reframing, Pre-framing, Post-framing, Outframing
7) Communicating through stories, metaphors, inductions
8) Giving Feedback
9) Receiving Feedback
10) Installing
11) Demonstrating
12) Handling questions
13) Making things memorable
14) Facilitating learning
15) Setting up exercises
16) Challenging safely
17) Designing trainings
18) Opening and closing loops
19) Unpacking demonstrations and experiences
20) Relevancy: Keeping things relevantly focused
21) Transitioning: Providing a variety of transitions
22) Presenting from genius or focused state
23) Pacing meta-programs
24) Modeling
25) Thinking systemically
26) Trouble-shooting problems
27) Handling group dynamics
28) Monitoring progress
29) Facilitating and coaching dialogue
Organizing and planning a training
Negotiating for venue, mailing, etc.
Creating and preparing manuals and hand-outs
Preparing the training room: environment, structure, access, atmosphere, etc.
Sponsoring and co-sponsoring
Marketing: finding and create your market
Positioning yourself in the market
Establishing credibility, branding
Selling your services
Working with media: radio, television, newspaper, magazines
INTRODUCING TRAINING
WHAT — WHY — FOR WHO
"The ability to learn faster than your competitors may be the only sustainable competitive advantage."
Arie De Geus, Head of planning for Royal Dutch/ Shell Organisations, UK.
The importance of businesses becoming learning organizations to keep current with the market place, and
especially if they want to lead the marketplace identifies the role of trainers and training.
Peter Senge, The Fifth Discipline: The Art & Practice of the Learning Organization
"The head of training for Motorola recently estimated that the company is getting thirty dollars back for every
dollar it spends on training its people. This is said to be the highest payoff investment of time and money that
the company can make." (p. 162)
Brian Tracy, The 100 Absolutely Unbreakable Laws of Business Success
WHAT IS TRAINING?
Training is first and foremost about facilitating and coaching. While training is also involves presenting,
teaching, questioning, leading discussions, demonstrating, framing, etc., the heart of training is the art of
assisting another to develop an informed skill and have it at his or her command.
WHY TRAINING?
Here's some great news—we train because "knowledge" is not just a thing of the head. True knowledge is
experiential. It is felt knowledge that's "in the body." And that's where Neuro-Semantics comes in. We train
because knowledge alone doesn't produce the skilled ability to do things. We need an integration of our neuro-
semantic system so it is in our perception, touch, movement, muscles, and attitude.
This is good news? Yes. This is great news for the trainer. With the new workplace becoming de-stabilized,
people need more skills for what has been called the "soft" skills of emotional intelligence (E.Q.): flexibility,
communicating, getting along, handling stress, framing and reframing, understanding their own emotions and
handling them effectively, etc. There is a new and growing need for consultants, coaches, and trainers.
Today training is in the competitive advantage factor in business and entrepreneurship. Those who do not
The most successful organizations, corporations, and groups are those whose leadership enables the entire
organization to use all of their resources. Among any company's best assets and resources are their people,
their talented and energized people. Most companies give lip-service to this. Personnel departments are now
called "Human Resources." The problem is that most are not truly empowering people to think, question, look
for better ways, etc. The knowledge in the field of business and the principles of success far exceed what most
businesses actually do.
DiKamp(1996):
"If organizations are really to be dynamic, effective, and resourceful, they need to be full of dynamic,
effective, and resourceful people. This means that they need individuals to 'buy in' to the change and
commit themselves to being a part of it." (p. 10)
"To be effective in a world of constant change and development demands an ability to be constantly
learning and developing." It is only recently that concepts such as 'the learning organization' and
'life-long learning for individuals' have come to the fore. These concepts have to be turned into
reality by enabling people to view training and development as a positive and vital continuous
learning." (p. 18)
Meta-Training moves to a level higher to specific content and works with attitude. Training starts with need
assessment, skill identification, benchmarking or modeling best practices, transferring skills, installing
supporting beliefs, values, decisions, understandings, and doing so both explicitly and implicitly.
1) Why?
Why is this training important? What will it achieve? What will it do for the participants? Why do you want
to provide it?
There's a relationship in training between our outcomes and the outcomes of participants.
"I know that you don't have a choice about attending this training and I know that can get in your way
and my way of you getting any value out of this experience, especially if this training could provide
some information or skills that would enhance your work."
2) What?
What will you teach, present, and train? What is your offering? What is the training about? What content,
ideas, skills, patterns, etc. will you facilitate, teach, and coach?
What ideas, understandings, models, etc. will you present?
What skills and processes will you want to train people for or in?
Aim for structured flexibility, not for flexibility in structure, that leads to chaos, or for structured structure that
leads to rigidity.
3) How?
How will you do it? How will you offer what you have to offer? What processes, techniques, and training
patterns will you use? How will you carry the training off? What will be the style of your training? The feel
of it?
Will it be dynamic, boring, matter-of-fact, rehearsal of traditional ideas, cutting-edge, exploratory,
meeting the demands of an organization, energetic, playful, entertaining, respectful, insulting,
challenging, comforting, etc.?
4) So what?
What different will it make tomorrow, next week, over time for the participants?
What if... ? Consider the things that get get in the way. What are the constraints about using a given pattern?
The 4-MAT Design
1) Explanations:
We explain and describe what NLP and NS is, what it can do for you, how it works, etc.
In doing this, we use propositional language that's forthright and direct.
This is the "teaching" part and can degenerate into lecturing. Here also we can use storytelling,
personal disclosures, and case studies.
2) Demonstrations:
Overtly and explicitly, we demonstrate and show how a process works.
Covertly and more implicitly, we also demonstrate by how we do our training itself
3) Exercises:
We offer hands-on processes and patterns and encourage people and coach them to try on the patterns
and see how they work, what they experience, and what they learn.
5)Inductions:
Benchmarking the 4-Mat Analysis of a Presentation
Definition: Checking for the why, what, how, and what //"dimensions of a presentation. Why describes the reasons,
benefits, values, outcomes, intentions. What? describes the information and content presented; How? describes
processes, strategies and techniques. What if? describes possibilities (both positive and negative), consequences, and
alternatives.
Why: Reasons presented elegantly and seamlessly, integrated to content, no attention to reasons as
separate part. What: Description complete and clear, many illustrating metaphors, well balanced in
information. How: Process information given in multiple ways, direct sequential information, story,
metaphor, demo, so that it is 'installed' simultaneously. What if: Many examples of other
possibilities and consequences offered, no questions about other possibilities.
Why: 2-3 statements suggesting benefits or the harms if not. What: Subject not sufficiently defined,
as evidenced by the questions about the subject. How: Process information given, but insufficiently
to carry it out; poorly sequenced, lack of linear structure. What if: Some mention but only briefly,
without any details or follow-up.
Why: No reason given for learning the subject, no mention of benefits and values. What: Failure to
even mention of the subject content; all focus on why, how and what if. How: No process
information; all information solely about theory, concept, reasons. What if: No alternatives as to
other possibilities, no pre-framing for trouble, shooting difficulties.
DEVELOPING YOUR MATERIALS
3) Create an outline that tracks the line of reasoning and the states.
Once you have an outline or flow chart you can use it to test and govern the structure of your materials. Give
your training a memorable title.
Sequencing the flow of events during the training: Design a flow chart that designates the pathway
for the learning and skill development. Does it move from simple ideas and exercises to increasingly
complex ones? Does the training build? Does it move from safe exercises to more risky ones?
Clarity of Purpose, Intention and Outcome can then lead to INTENTIONAL TRAINING
With your outcome in mind, who are your participants?
What do they want Do they want knowledge, skill, states: beliefs, values, character, remedial training,
generative training, public or in-house training? What is the content of your presentation?
OPENING AND CLOSING LOOPS
Training can be seen as a whole series of process outcomes
nested one inside another like a Russian doll,
all aligned with, and included in, the main outcome."
(O'Connor and Seymour, p. 127)
The multiple embedded metaphor is technique for creating overload, confusion and amnesia. It is an expansion on the
Milton Model Pattern of the Extended Quote. The basic process is to tell a story within one or more other stories.
Bandler refers this to as opening and closing loops. Each story can make multiple points that the listener can use to find
solutions to his or her problems. In fact, this is a way to address several problems at once. The reason for creating
amnesia is that this keeps the conscious mind from sabotaging the solutions generated in the unconscious searches.
| Introduction: A conversational induction that may or may not link to the first story.
| Story B begins: This grows out of the first story in some way, e.g., a character in the story tells a
story (extended quote). Story B story stimulates the listener to access resources
| Story C is told to completion: This story grows out of story B and is told to completion and
contains hints and tip for the listener to solve their problem. The story may emphasise
support systems, imagery, words and phrases and new behaviours.
| Story B ends: A connection is made back to story B whose ending links ideas and resources from
story C to the desired outcome. Previous resources from B are reiterated to reinforce the point.
| Story A ends: A connection is made back to the first story. This closing further reinforces resources and
solutions and future paces the outcome. The ending can be logical or a surprise. Finishing with a suitable
quotation can add weight as well as increase the amnesic effect.
| Re-orientation: The listener is brought back to the present with positive commands to continue to work on the change
which is presupposed to be already in progress.
Metaphor Play:
Exercise 1:
Write and advanced metaphor to be used in a NS training. Practice the delivery over the next few days and be prepared
to deliver it to the whole class.
Exercise 1:
Write 5 basic metaphors that you will use in a NS training prior to introducing a new topic.
META-PROGRAM DESIGN
Designing a Presentation:
2) Privilege:
It really is an honor to go first and I want to honor you for doing this with me.
4) Content free:
I don't need much detailed information. Nosy people can buy the gossip sheets at the grocery store.
This isn't for that.
5) Safety:
2) Offer a menu list of examples. This will "prime the pump" and enable people to begin to select what to work on.
Smooth sequencing from one step to the next, weaving the audience in the interaction, validating the
volunteer, immediately made relevant to the audience, excitement and eagerness to do it, as evidence
by people saying "When can we do this?" Celebrates and utilizes the unexpected.
The demonstration occurs seamlessly and elegantly making the point and show participants how to
do the process, the process introduced and debrief to satisfaction of participants, it is future paced for
the audience; if unexpected happens, remains unperturbed but explains and post-frames; appreciates
the unexpected.
Well paced and timed, directions given clearly in a step-by-step fashion, maintains balanced rapport
with both the volunteer and the audience; presenter focuses attention on the process not self, audience
still asking some questions on how to do it, accepts the unexpected.
Clearer sequencing, smoother transitions, loses rapport with the audience while speaking to the
volunteer, can be disoriented and lose balance if something unexpected happens.
Demonstration is not framed at all, or poorly framed about its purpose, role, and/or process; no
sequencing of the steps, no rapport with audience or participant, no sense of time, no outcome,
presenter interrupts process in a jarring way leaving the volunteer looking frustrated , upset, or
embarrassed; no audience involvement, completely overwhelmed by the unexpected.
1) Relevance: Listen for relevant structure and points for the participant's level of learning.
What structure will you be listening for? (MP, Matrix, MS, etc.)
How did it work?
What was critical about what happened?
5) Reinforcement: Highlight what has already been taught. (i.e., rapport, matching, etc.)
Did you see X?
Did you spot Y?
Highlight these factors in order to reinforce them in the behavior of participants.
6) Invisible structure.
What's not been said? What frames-by-implication have been set?
Form:
Interruption
Space for client
Rapport and matching
Highlight or put the spotlight on structural features: MP, MS, language, movie structures, tracking skills, etc.
FEEDBACK
What is feedback?
"Mistakes are toothless little things P r e c i s e S e n s o r y - B a s e d behavioral
if you recognize and correct them. information
If you ignore or defend them,
they grow fangs and bite." O u t c o m e o r i e n t e d a n d relevant
Action-able t h a t gives next s t e p
(Dee Hock, 1999, in small e l e m e n t s
Birth of the Chaordic Age, p.280) without judgment
with care, interest, and benevolence
as immediately as possible
Principles:
"There is no failure, there is only feedback; and all feedback can be used positively for refinement of skills."
We need feedback. We need good, accurate, useful, and reflective feedback that truly assists us in tuning up
our skills and getting new patterns down. Giving timely feedback depends upon the exercise. Typically do it
after you have practiced a pattern. Review the process—what was superb? What needs some tuning up?
RECEIVING FEEDBACK:
1) Meaning: Identify your current frame (meta-state/s) about feedback (correction, error detection, etc.).
When you think about someone informing you (telling you) that you made a mistake, error, messed up, did
something wrong, etc., what thoughts and feelings come to mind?
What state does that put you in?
What do you believe about that?
2) Meaning: Deframe the old Frames of Meaning to Dragon Slay or Tame the old States.
Do these states enhance your learning abilities?
Do these states, frames, meaning serve your creativity, growth, understandings, etc.?
How do they represent ill-formed maps?
3) State: Separate feedback from the person and even the style.
Most people really do not know how to given sensory-based feed back.
They give judgment, evaluation, mind-reading statements, hallucinations. Refuse to let their incompetence or
sloppiness to deprive you of useful feedback. How? By coaching them to translate their judgments into
sensory-based referents so that you can receive it and experience it as "just information." Meta-model them
with indexing questions.
4
5) Texture your state with the qualities and resources for a Robust Feedback State.
What do you need to texture your feedback state with?
Do you need more patience, acceptance, appreciation, recognition of positive intention, commitment to
yourself, to your learning, to your budding genius, etc.?
Have you the frames set to texture your state for receiving feedback with the most robust Matrix?
Have you decided to refuse to let another's incompetence or sloppiness in giving feedback deprive you of the
feedback? How hungry are you for feedback? Enough?
Are you able to invite another to specific the feedback in precise sensory-based behavioral terms?
Will you make the sensory-based/evaluative distinction when someone communicates in judgments?
Will you help the speaker translate from judgment into feedback?
Will you also stubbornly refuse to buy into feedback that doesn't fit for you?
7) Future Pace
Imagine moving forward with this way of operating with your feedback Matrix fully robust and ;powerful in
this way — do you like this?
How well will it enhance your interactions and relationships?
GIVING QUALITY FEEDBACK
We need feedback, but we do not need judgments, evaluations, or mind-reading. We need precise, accurate, and
sensory-based feedback that assists us in tuning up our skills and incorporating new patterns. All forms of coaching
involves giving precise, accurate, immediate, useful, and sensory-based feedback—feedback that truly assists the client
in refining responses and honing skills. Feedback differs from evaluation. The first is sensory based and behavioral,
the second is an interpretation that comes from a person's model of the world.
3) Tentative: Offer feedback tentatively while seeking the person's validation or dis-validation.
Have you made your feedback tentative?
"In view of eliciting the learning state (objective), you only paused two seconds for her to recall a
memory, and just when her eyes defocused, you jumped in and asked her to make the picture brighter
(sensory based), I got the impression she needed more time to process... Did you need more time?"
5) Person/Style Distinction: Elicit your client to separate feedback and from the style of the feedback.
Have you invited your client to recognize self as more than behavior?
Have you set the frame that distinguishes person from behavior and feedback?
6) Helpful and Supportive: Invite the client to set the frame or reframe feedback as acceptable and valued.
How is feedback valuable to you? What other values can you give to it?
What positive values and meanings do others give feedback?
Giving Feedback: A balanced evaluation of a specific behavior that leads to an improvement in performance.
All feedback from Level 3 and 4 are delivered with measured steps for improvement, it is made in a
tentative way, it invites responsibility and it excites the client to make even more positive changes.
All of the behaviors from Level 3+ are respectful and well-framed feedback. It is individualized and
balanced, it is feedback that opens up new possibilities for the client.
Giving specific feedback that paces the person's matrix, is factual, concise, succinct, relevant,
sensory-based, and useable for moving on toward objectives.
Giving convoluted and/or vague feedback, non-descriptive, using one's own values, about behavior,
not the person's.
Giving feedback with negative energy, criticizing, blaming, arguing, telling, making it personal.
Receiving Feedback: Taking and integrating external responses to improve personal performance.
Actively seeking and appreciating feedback, celebrating it, recognizing patterns and efficiently
implementing changes in behavior that enhances personal performance.
Appreciating feedback by questioning it in seeking clarification, asking for more, and reflecting upon
it.
Accepting the feedback by showing trust and acknowledgment of it, demonstrating acceptance of
being personally fallible.
1) Set your aim to never but never make the questioner wrong!
Do everything you can to not embarrass, insult, threaten, laugh at, make fun of, etc.
Set the question in your mind: How does this make sense? How can I use this.
Celebrates the question for new insights it offers the presenter; elicits the meta-question implicit in
the question.
Expresses appreciation for the question, validates the questioner, addresses the question and uses it
to pre-frame new learnings, checks to see if the question was answers to the questioner's satisfaction.
Repeats the questions, asks for clarification, addresses the question and outframes with prior learnings.
Failure to ask for questions, fails to hear the question asked and answers a different question,
responding with words, tones, or behaviors that are rude; deflecting, disconfirming, and making the
questioner wrong by making statements of judgment, answers from unresourceful state of frustration
or anger, no exploration of the questions.
SETTING UP EXERCISES
Design exercises to create a sense of success and accomplishment, with a bit of a stretch.
Learning Passion:
Be hungry to get all that you can from the experience. For this reason, don't chit-chat in the groups! If you
do, you will not learn the patterns or have them as well installed, you will have less skill, less confidence, less
competence.
Installation:
We do this for installation and accelerated learning
Feedback:
Give and receive enhancing feedback
"When we get into the small groups, more than anything else the amount of mental and emotional energy
you're willing to put into it and to support the others in the group, the more you will get in terms of
incorporating these skills into your own behavior. This really is not a time to socialize and chatter; it's a time
to practice the magic. Are you ready for that? Do you know the process? Good. Then go for it."
TRAINING PRINCIPLES
"Training is a circular, co-operative venture, and the trainer has primary charge of creating a context
where it is easy for people to learn. Everybody is responsible for their own learning.... If the trainer
is not learning, the trainees are unlikely to be either." (O'Connor & Seymour, p. 60 Training with
NLP)
Excellence in presenting/training masterfully occurs when we operate from the following Principles.
Training is not about us, it's always about giving the participants who have paid money to come to receive
whatever it is that we are offering. It is about what they need in order to become more informed, resourceful,
skilled, etc. The training is not about our excellence, good looks, intelligence, wit, or success. The training
comes through us. We are always involved, always being presented. In that sense, you won't be able to hide,
so, be a wise and safe guide.
There is an "authority" and "power" in presenting, in training so we need to use our role as a trainer with care,
grace, and compassion. When you stand up to present, you are in the role of an "expert." This can be
intoxicating especially if you have low self-esteem or problems with your sense of self. In this, it takes a lot
of self-esteem to handle the ego-satisfactions that can come along with the expert role, your "authority" in the
training context, and the praise that can come.
How does the idea of being an authority or expert settle with you?
Many things build up personal credibility— congruence is one of the most important. The more credibility
people grant you, the more power and effectiveness your training.
INSTALLING NEUROLOGICALLY
Put your Creed into your Deed (Ralph Waldo Emerson)
"We know too much and are convinced of too little " (T.S.Elliot)
Since the NLP Developers found and codified some truly powerful principles from the world-class communicators that
they modeled, we have in the NLP presuppositions some of the best, most ecological, and profound principles for
communicating, being effective, and succeeding. Now that we know about the mind-to-muscling process, we can take
these NLP presuppositions and the meta-level principles in Meta-States and install them within us as our operational
programs.
Well, can your highest executive level of mind commission it and install this principle so that everything self-
organizes under it?
FRAMING
Asking about empowering beliefs, values, decisions, etc. (Meta-Questions) and using induction skills
(see Inducing States) to set new categories.
Asking about layers of categories, asking challenging questions about such. Giving space and time
to explore the higher embedded layers of awareness. Reminding participants that all perceptions are
just maps.
Asking or calling attention to the classification of the details and asking about awareness in
participants, providing menu list of other filters, quality control questions about filters and categories.
Speaking as if there is only one other classification and imposing that upon participants by rhetorical
questions. Using either/or expressions. Tone of judgment, right/wrong, talking more than client to
impose the other way of seeing things.
Talking about the classification, pattern, or structure of the details as if that map is the territory, as if
no other classification is possible. Using universal quantifiers (all, nothing, always, etc.) and absolute
terms. Speaking and feeling from perspective of being inside the box of participants' story, problems,
and challenges.
Talking about and asking questions in the very words and details of the story without giving evidence
of the classifications or categories of the details. No distinguishing between content and structure.
FRAMING EXPECTATIONS
What can you expect from them in terms of their states, thoughts, feelings, worries, fears, etc.? Let's adjust ourselves
to the reality of the training world.
"I can expect...."
Some to not be sure, to wonder if they have made the right choice, if it is really worth it.
Some to fret and worry about the cost and time involved.
Some to be preoccupied about other things in their lives. Crisis events frequently arise just prior to
them leaving to come to the training.
Some to go into harsh self-judgment at any little sign that they are not getting it, that someone is
picking it up quicker, etc.
Some to come with agendas —to embarrass or harass you, to show you up, to win clients for their own
trainings, etc.
Some to not be feeling well, to be in very unresourceful states: grumpy, irritable, etc.
Some to need to show off, present their intelligence, and some to not know how to adopt a learner's
position or a supportive position.
Some to get upset and walk out. Yes, some will walk out on you— on your training! They do with
Tony Robbins, they will with you! Are you ready for it? Or do you expect that you can please
everybody?
Just Observe:
"Some of this may challenge your beliefs. When that happens, just notice the challenge, notice how you feel
and put this aside for future evaluation. This will allow you to walk through the experience and make a good
decision later."
A Different Kind of Thinking:
In these statements we have frames for "Trusting the Process," "Embracing Confusion," "I'll be responsive and
accountable to you," and "Judgment is not needed." I regularly set those. What other frames would you want to set?
Which frames have you been setting?
Boldness:
You are very bold and brave for courageously investing in your Development.
Fun:
I want you to have fun, be playful, and allow yourself a chance to become more resourceful.
Considerate:
There are others here, so be thoughtful, considerate, non-judgmental, and empathetic.
Passionate:
Be absolutely hungry to get everything you can out of the exercises.
Diversity:
Installing.
What can you expect in a training? What frame or frames are How can I reframe this?
being activated? How can I give it a new and more
What can you expect of participants? enhancing meaning?
THE WHAT
What we actually do in training revolves around how we manage the
training process itself.
PRINCIPLES:
Use criticism, resistance, etc. as valuable information and incorporate whatever is offered to you.
#14. Installing.
We train best when we install the learnings and states throughout the process of training.
By incorporating installation processes and patterns within our presentations, demonstrations, questions, we
install knowledge and skills along the way.
#21. Structured.
We train best when we develop effective training structures.
The 4-MAT form is one such structure: These quadrants gives us a simple organization using Why, What, How,
What if, So that... what? The "Present State—to Desired State" sequence provides another structure. A
governing Metaphor can do the same. Create a flow chart of the training.
#22. Cooperative.
We train best when we cultivate and develop a sense of cooperation and team spirit with the participants.
The attitude of cooperate and collaboration helps to build a better learning environment.
When people feel that they own and buy into the experience or process, they are much more likely to get more
from the experience and to enjoy it.
#23. Energy.
We train best when we are physically feeling good.
Be healthy, focus on maintaining your energy and vitality via exercise, stretching, eating right, sleeping well,
etc. Don't give these things up.
#24. Team.
We train best when we work and network with others.
Decide now to expand your skills through co-training, through assisting others, through creating a resource
team for yourself. Don't even try to do it all yourself. Bring others in and team them how to be a team with
you. Model being a great team member.
INSTALLING
Among the very processes and mechanisms that "install" we have the following:
Have played around with this new idea or skill? Am I willing to play with this?
Processes:
1) Overload conscious attention: and induce an open, receptive, pleasant state and participants will be open to
receive other information unfiltered.
4) Mind-to-Muscle patterning.
5) Tell stories to entrance and set a covert context for installation of specific strategies and information.
6) Use covert frame setting processes (see Frame Games Training Manual), such as presuppositional
languaging.
7) Layering
9) Open loops without closing them. The non-closure will have an unconscious effect on those who need
closure, building up a response potential,
We begin by pacing, connecting, creating rapport to comfort, assure, support, and empower. Then we begin
leading— challenging, pushing, deframing, inviting confusion, mystification, tease, play, etc. We push and
extend the boundaries. This makes the dance between equilibrium and disequilibrium an ongoing and constant
dance. So we have to use confusion effectively so we don't push too hard or too far.
4 After mentioning and asking about current reality, exploring further into how painful, unpleasant, and
undesirable things will be if unchanged. Doing this in a matter-of-fact tone and attitude. Inducing a state of
intolerance and high level frustration about current state and direction.
3 Mentioning and asking questions about current reality to induce the client to feel the need to move away from
the current situation, problems, and anticipated consequences. Inviting client to stay with the emotions and
awarenesses even though unpleasant. Asking SWOT questions.
2 Mentioning and asking questions about current reality, but moving away from such if the client begins to feel
frustrated, upset, angry, anxious, or fearful. Quickly moving to a "thinking positive" mode, rescuing client
from facing the current reality of his or her situation. Mirroring or pacing back current reality.
1 Briefly or slightly mentioning the client's current situation, but not dwelling on it, quickly moving away from
speaking about anything unpleasant, negative, or that would lead to painful consequences.
0 No mention, questioning, or elicitation about current reality, only speaking about the past or future, asking or
mentioned outcomes and goals.
5 Intensity of questioning increases as client is called upon to act immediately, respectfully doubting whether the
person has the guts, balls, or courage to take action.
4 Questions and statements with a tone of teasing, playing, nudging, mimicking ideas and concepts that create
problems for the client, even mocking and playfully insulting.
3 Questions and statements that invite discomfort, irritation, pained awareness and that call for action and that
doesn't stop even when the client manifests a negative state. Mimicking physical gestures and tones.
2 Questions and statements that explore the client's matrix of frames from every angle and that invite a level of
awareness that creates discomfort, yet no statements that call the client to take immediate action.
1 Questions that get to the heart of things and invite a client to face current reality in the face and so to feel
"challenged" (see Challenging).
THINKING SYSTEMICALLY
• Language: Linguistics and the sensory based neurological languages (the VAK).
• Perception: Perceptual filters and sorting devices — thinking patterns.
• States and Levels: State dependent neuro-linguistic experiences—the mind-body or thought-feeling
states in which we live and from which we operate.
• Representation: The Cinematic features that determine the quality of our mental movies. ("Sub-
Modalities," or Meta-Modalities).
The linguistic distinctions (the Meta-Model) occur in the Meta-Programs as perceptual distinctions and then in the
thought-feeling distinctions of our meta-states to effect the mental movies playing out in the theater of our mind. A
person's experiences have all of these facets and dimensions: linguistic, perceptual, and state distinctions working self-
reflexively. So over time these dynamics create a system of interactions.
l)The Meta-Model:
The Meta-model identifies the form and structure of mental mapping. This provides an understanding of the
linguistic magic that governs our mental mapping and it provides us the structure of precision. We move up
into the meta-linguistic domain of evaluative words from primary representational.
2) The Meta-Programs:
By the habituation of internal representations arises the magic of the Meta-Programs—our structured ways of
perceiving. At a meta-level, they govern our everyday thinking-and-feeling and become our perceptual filters.
Because these also show up in language, they have counterparts in the Meta-Model. For example, we have
favored modals that describe our basic modus operandi (modal operators) for operating: necessity,
impossibility, possibility, desire, etc. And because they originated as meta-level thoughts or feelings, they were
first meta-states. As they coalesced into "our eyes" (and so get into our muscles), they become meta-programs.
3) Meta-States:
Our thoughts-and-feelings generate our states become meta-states when we apply them to other states. In this
way we create meta-programs. When we generalize the state to our basic style of thinking or perceiving. A
driving perceptual style can become a meta-state. Consider a gestalt thinker who sorts for the big picture to
such an extent that he or she always frames other states with global thoughts-and-feelings. Or, someone who
sorts for "necessity" and who thereby brings a state of compulsion to bear on every other thought-feeling state.
Inquiring about spiraling loops of responses and interactions, the contexts and contexts of contexts,
the layering effect and emergence of new properties in the system.
Integrating multiple models to offer an explanation about something and acknowledgment that the
models are all just maps and therefore inadequate.
Talking and acting more in Both/And terms, recognizing multiple causes, the fact of
simultaneousness.
Some talk and action about multiple causes, still mostly linear in thinking. Either/Or statements, ,
Aristotelian statements assuming things are static and unchanging.
No words, actions, or attention to the system of interactions. Talking on in linear cause-effect terms,
stimulus-response terms.
META-STATING ATTRACTORS FRAMES
"Self-organization theory is a branch of systems theory that relates to the process
of order formation in complex dynamic systems. ... According to 'self-
organization' theory, order in an interconnected system of elements arises around
are called 'attractors', which help to create and hold stable patterns within the
system." (Robert Dilts, Strategies of Genius, p.
What are you Attracted to? What functions as an Attractor in Your World?
1) List the ideas, beliefs, understandings, values, experiences, references, etc. that pull on you, that keep you
repeating a pattern or style of responses.
2) What drives them? What empowers them?
3) What Attractors have you had that have become non-operational? How did it become de-commissioned?
What destablized the attractor? How did it become destablized?
4) What new Attractors would you like to set (meta-state) as your Neuro-Semantic frames?
As trainer, you manage the training process itself—what is done, how and when. As a process manager you have to
be in uptime, alert, and out of time in order to gauge the time. Model a permissive, yet firm and empowering influence.
You are the one responsible for creating the training culture.
Track the group
When its flagging
When it needs a break
The speed of learning in the group
Variety of expectations
Role play/ case studies, discussions, demonstrations, videos, tasks, rehearsing, drills, puzzles,
brainstorming, trance, etc.
Utilize whatever is given to you and incorporate it for the sake of the training.
#2) RESISTENCE:
1) Gather information. When you feel resistance meta-model the resisting itself. What is the resistance? How
is he resisting? Resisting what? For what purposes?
"Resistance" typically indicates that we do not having sufficient rapport. We have not spent enough time
validating and supporting the person's world of frames and meta-states. How have I contributed to this
resistance?
2) Acknowledge the resistance and pace it fully.
3) Sort out space in your training area for cooperation, play, learning, etc. and a space for "resistance," feeling
negative, pain, hurt, etc.
4) Build new reframes for preventing this resistance next time.
5) Set frame on the fly that move everybody into thoughtfulness, respect, and Win/ Win attitude.
"That is one way of looking at it, given this model, let me offer you the Meta-States take on that-
Then later you will have sufficient knowledge to decide on the strengths and weaknesses of both."
"That's an interesting view point. What I think would probably be best at this moment is to ask that
you suspend disbelief for the sake of really learning this and then you can figure out which offers you
the most resources."
6) Apologize as appropriate.
Options:
Defer to a break
Identify the Positive Intention
Reframe the meaning
Incorporate into ongoing experience
Ask to be allowed to continue
Invite group pressure
Challenge relevancy
Options:
1) Treat resistance with curiosity and interest — and use them to set new frames that will prevent it from
arising, next time.
2) Playfully turn the tables and invite the person to be skeptical enough to test the material thoroughly to see
whether it really works. If you were me how would you deal with a comment like that? Invite the heckler up
on front onto your territory. It's much easier to heckle from the safety of the audience. "Either enjoy playing
with hecklers or be so patient that the group controls them!"
3) Use the Relevancy Challenge on statements. How does this relate to our topic?
4) Invite the person to become the devil's advocate for the group.
5) Utilize what the heckler says and turn it back upon them. Being heckled is a good challenge. Stand-up
comedians, far from avoiding them, love to interact with them.
6) If you suspect hidden agendas, flush it out and tackle it openly. Flush out projections as well. People who
project, disown their statements. "Let's check that out."
Exercise: In a small group of 7 people, exchange roles as speaker with someone really skilled at
heckling giving them heck.
"It's time to go away... So do that... just go away... to a place ... inside ... where you find a sense of
delight and comfort... and just rest... take a daily vacation in that special place... as you find some
rejuvenating resources to bathe yourself in..." (O'Connor, p. 68, 54)
#5. TROUBLE-MAKERS.
When you have to ask someone to leave, get sensory based data for the why. Constant interruptions, irrelevancies.
1) First, notice, then pace in order to incorporate.
FRAMING CLOSURE
With every training event, there are actually 3 trainings:
1) They one you prepared to give.
2) They one you actually gave.
3) The one you wish you had given.
Why end with Pleasure? We want to end trainings with pleasure for several reasons:
• To integrate the learnings and skills in a memorable way.
• To send the participants forth ready to use the newly learned skills.
• To coach and frame people about possible new developments that they can anticipate.
• To backtrack through the learnings to give a sense of closure.
• To give a sense of direction into their future.
• To end on a high note with lots of fun, playfulness, and pleasure.
Set another aim to end with an Quality Control on the training itself.
"Training without outcomes is throwing money down the drain." (O'Connor and Seymour, p. 201)
Intentionally plan how you will evaluate them:
How will you evaluate the training?
What difference has the training made?
How will you look at the results and track them?
What criteria will you use in the evaluations?
Effectiveness/ Efficiency/ Productivity /
Intro.
Setting
Frames
Breaks
Exercises
•
Demos
Exercises
5— Elegantly and compassionately or firmly addressing the trouble and bringing it to resolution using
group processes.
4— Matching and pacing the trouble, setting higher frames of the group's purpose and intention to
outframe the trouble, creating supportive atmosphere so participants feels safe in the trainer taking the
lead in dealing with the trouble.
3 — Direct recognition and acknowledge of the trouble, attempt to address it forthrightly, but with result
that trouble still dominates, group becomes divided or dissatisfied with lots of complaints.
2— Recognizing trouble and bringing it up, but ineffectively so that it continues and the presentation or
task at hand gets side-track to whatever agenda the trouble creates for the group.
1— Recognition of difficulty, but no forthright working with it, peacemaking and/or pleading with a
group. Trouble only finds expression in gossiping and complaining in the corridors.
0 — Losing control of a group to confusion, disorientation, arguments, insults, refusal to work together as
a team. No effort to confront a person or issue and work through to resolution.
5 — Lots of variety for group, utilizing comments, questions, and responses, matching meta-states, meta-
programs, and challenging/ supporting participants in becoming better team players.
4— Pacing and leading group to more fully experience and learn, saying words that give overview of
things, content of what's happening or will happen, lots of group activities for variety in learning.
3— Pacing group's mental and emotional states, asking questions of group about needs, checking time
schedule aloud about the group's activities.
2— Scanning to calibrate the group, some pacing words to match participants, recognizing whether group
can see and hear as you move on stage.
1— Scanning room to notice the group. Yet no mention of the group's needs, no pacing words about
where group is.
0 — No or little contact with the group, focused almost exclusively on self or one other individual no sign
of awareness of the group's need for breaks, energy, focus.
FEEDBACK FORM
Name (with title or position)
Address:
1) Most Impactful. What insight, idea and/or skill did you find most important, useful, or impactful?
2) Immediate Use. What learnings or skills will you immediately use in the coming days and weeks?
3) More Information. What information or patterns would you want to know more about?
When it comes to training, there's the activity and process of training—that's working in the business. Then there is
the activity of selling yourself as a training, selling your trainings, getting training assignments, negotiating, building
a training center, building credibility, and so on—that's working on the business. Each demands a different set of skills.
There are many excellent trainers who can train, but not create a successful training business. There are many excellent
business people who can get the training assignments, but who lack distinctive in the training situation. It takes both
skill sets to succeed.
For trainers to succeed in this business they have to know as much about how to work on the business as to work in the
business. We have to shift to becoming consultants, coaches, sales people, entrepreneurs, and good financial planners.
Unless you work as a trainer within a large business or corporation, you will operate as an entrepreneur in your own
business. As an entrepreneur, you will have to have the flexibility to shift and to play many roles:
7) Consulting skills:
When we contract for training with an organization, we need to use the very tools and skills in
communicating, dialoguing, and negotiating with the company representatives as we will be teaching
and modeling in the training.
Why do they want this training?
What is their first level request? Meta-request? Highest intentions?
What exactly do they mean in requesting a given training?
What form do they think the training will take?
How much flexibility or rigidity is there in their requests?
What is the company's culture?
What results (benefits) do they want?
How will they know that they have those results?
How will they measure the results?
Do they have any measurement scheme?
How realistic are the results they want?
What do they expect of me as a trainer?
Who will I be dealing with?
Will this be a single event or a series of trainings?
Do they want a proposal plan?
How much time, effort, etc. will this involve?
Will there be any reimbursement for this?
Creating a vision for the business, communicating it on a daily/weekly basis to the team or
organization (formally and informally), able to express the USP succinctly.
Creating Win/Win alliances with people, learning about and using negotiation skills, delegating tasks
to others.
Devotes as much as 10% of time and energy to working on the business and 90% in working in the
business; detailing business structure and needs, creating Business Plan, taking time to think and plan
ahead.
Studying and learning about Adm. tasks, modeling best practices. Using some phone skills in
business.
3) Specialize.
Find or create your niche market and specialize there.
4) Develop credibility.
Marketing and selling your trainings is all about credibility.
What forms and expressions of "credibility" have you already achieved?
How can you increase and expand your credibility with your customers and clients?
How do you get sufficient numbers of people to a training to make it financially profitable?
Selling a Training
Consider what's involved in selling a training seminar. This "product" is one of the toughest things to sell for a number
of reasons. Consider what it is that you are selling. You are selling:
* An intangible product:
Something people can see, hear, or feel, namely, the learning of new skills, models, understandings.
* An experience
An intellectual and personal experience that will enhance their life and empower them as a person.
* The experience of studying and learning.
You are asking people to give up their days, evenings, or weekends to sit in a classroom. Most people
find this turn them off—and you want them to pay for it?
* A challenge to the way people have been thinking and feeling.
After you get them to pay to study, use their brain, you are going to challenge their precious limiting
beliefs!
2) Promotional Materials:
• Send 2 or 3 pieces. One mailing is seldom sufficient. Most people need 2 or 3 or more reminders. Current
wisdom in the field of marketing recommends at least 3 mail-outs: A postcard 3 months prior to the training:
a sales letter (4 to 6 pages) 2 months prior; and another flyer 1 month prior.
• We have been developing many different forms of sales letters, flyers, extensive brochures, etc. and we are
constantly improving these. We will make these available to you. You should plan to invest minimally $400
and depending on the size of the training, perhaps $3,000 for printing of the flyers.
5) Promotions:
• Start the training the previous night, Thurs. evening if the training starts on a Friday morning—plan a 2 hour
introduction open to those who haven't made up their minds, "Free 2 hour Introduction to Wealth Building."
• And/or, Social— the night prior to the training for formal or information introduction.
• Radio or Television Interview the day prior to the training.
Sample:
TRAINING AGREEMENT
L. Michael Hall, Ph.D.
P. O. Box 8
Clifton CO 81520
(970) 523-7877
(970) 523-5790
NLPmetastats@onlinecol.com
www.neurosemantics.com
Client:
The Training/s:
Title or Theme
Dates
Location
Participants
Times 9 am to 6 pm
Fee $ 1500 per training day
Or as agreed upon:
Investments Travel (flight). Hotel, Food, Training Manuals
Arrangements:
1) Deposit for Booking.
To secure these arrangements, there is a $500 non-refundable deposit of the anticipated training fee. Booking
occurs when the deposit has been received. Flight payment is due 4 months prior to engagement. One-half
of the total Training Fee is to be paid 1 month prior to the date.
2) Cancellation Policy.
If the training is canceled before one month prior to the training date (4 weeks), the deposit on the flight will
be refunded minus the costs for canceling or transferring the flight, and half of the Training Fee will also be
refunded. If cancellation notice is received after one month prior to the scheduled event, the deposit will not
be refunded.
3) Training Fee.
Daily training fee is $2500 for business; $1200 for Training and/or Event Organizations and $700 for Non-
profit Organizations. Balance is due upon the day that we complete the training.
Signatures
Date
Date
MISTAKES TO AVOID WHEN PLANNING
TRAININGS
If you are going to conduct a training, host or sponsor a training, there are specific things to do. We have detailed many of them. What
One promoter I worked with had years of experience as a tele-marketer. She thought that because she could
sell tickets to a training already scheduled and promoted with an international trainer, she could get in on the
ground floor by planning and hosting a training. But there were several problems with her strategy. First she
was very global in her thinking and so missed most of the crucial details. Her greatest skill was having the gift
of gab and a pleasant charmingness at talking fluff. This allowed her to talk people into buying tickets. Yet
when she confused being a great talker with selling and promoting, she thought she would use the "talking her
way through anything" as the way to solve logistic problems. But she could not. She missed details right and
left, didn't listen well, and lacked critical thinking skills.
Tony Robbins already had name recognition value there, he already had a team together, he already had lots
of investment money upfront for generating a hot calling list.
4) Don't ignore networking and getting people to share the burdens and responsibilities.
To go it alone makes it all much harder than it needs to be. To create alliances and to share the risk with others
who can bring in other skills, interests, and expertise enables us to double and triple our efforts. Fear of
cooperating, of being taken advantage of, of losing control, etc. leads to being more independent and not-
connected.
MARKETING
WHAT IS MARKETING?
Marketing refers finding, or creating, a market of people for a product, service, or event. We market our offerings
through ads, mailers, phone calls, etc. and through personally talking to people to sell them. In this way we bring a
product, service, or event to a market. This means that marketing involves multiple facets of presentation.
Directly, we market when we—
• Create and run ads in newspapers, journals, and mail outs.
• Get publicity for a new product, service, or event.
• Send out Press Releases.
• Call people on our mailing list and sell them on a book, training, etc.
Indirectly, we market when we—
• Let people know who we are and what we do that adds value to their lives.
• Create Web Sites, offer free articles, techniques, etc.
• Provide top-notch customer service that backs up and supports our offerings.
There's a difference between finding a market that already exists of people wanting or needing a service or product and
creating a market for those things.
Marketing is about attracting people to what we do and offer, humanizing ourselves in their eyes, and making our
products, services, and events increasingly more desirable. It means giving a personal touch, a touch of meaning and
value to everything we do, from how we treat each other, our partners, associates, employees, etc. to how we treat and
support our customer. We create loyalty in all these relationships as we give things a personal touch. Customer service
is absolutely critical for keeping our market and basing it upon quality of service.
Marketing is "selling" to the extent that in marketing we are informing people in our market (and people who will
become our market) the what and why of buying.
We tell them why to buy
We tell them how to buy
We tell them what to do
We tell them why to do it now.
Marketing involves developing our skill in presenting these questions in a compelling and simple way. The
more smoothly, personably, passionately, respectfully, authentically, and congruently we do so, the more
powerful our communications in terms of getting results.
Marketing is about building a reputation in the mind of customers, creating a demand for our products, building credibility, et
WHY DO WE HAVE TO MARKET?
If we want people to know about and respond to our offerings. People will not respond (buy) if they
don't know what we have to offer. Marketing is communicating in order to inform people.
If we are going to establish ourselves in a market. What is our market? Who makes up the
demographics of our market? Why are they interested? What got them interested? Who else could
be a part of this market? How do we keep them involved? What would satisfy them and turn them
into loyal customers?
If we want to develop and maintain rapport with customers. This means marketing is also building
relationship, building trusting relationships with consumers, extending ourselves to understand them,
meet their needs, etc. Marketing means coming to truly understand what customers need and want,
providing high quality products and services that actually deliver the goods, and building a business
upon that exchange that guarantees our own integrity.
If we want to become profitable and successful in our business. Marketing is the interface activity
between our product and those who invest in it.
To whom do we Market?
1) People who have had enough of something that doesn't work and are ready for a change. People sick and
tired of not running their own brains, managing their own states.
2) People who are changing and/or in the process of change, transition and need tools for doing so.
We can spend a fortune on marketing with very little to show for it in return. Advertising, mailing, creating artwork,
display ads, etc. are not cheap. If we want to get the most for every dollar we invest in marketing, and not waste our
money, then we have to think in terms of Marketing Effectiveness.
• We develop a powerful focus on communicating benefits to the customers by thinking in terms of "What is
there here for the customer?"
• How can we guard against making statements concerning features without benefit? Silently add the words
"Which means..." to the end of every statement you make during a sales presentation. This will translate all
the objective, intellectual features of the product into the meaningful, desirable benefits. Doing this translates
features into the language of the customer, whose only question is, "What's in it for me? "
• We have to touch the customer's emotions. Regardless of what we sell, the important things are actually the
intangibles, things like value, benefit, meaning, and specific emotions. Customers see our offerings in terms
of what it will do for them.
• We differentiate ourselves and our products. We develop a unique and special offering that meets the needs
or wants of customers.
THE GOVERNING PRINCIPLES OF MARKETING
4) We need to find something that people want and need. Fears —> Desires.
This means marketing research to find out what people really want and need, to get close enough to our
customers and to look intensely at what we have to offer.
Abraham: "One of the biggest problems I observe when I'm consulting one-on-one is that people erroneously
want me to bombard them with a ton of different concepts, ideas, and strategies in order to feel they've gotten
their money's worth. I tell them that this is wrong. Rather they are for better advised to take one good, sound,
and workable idea—and single-mindedly work it to its fullest potential before turning to another idea. Sadly,
most business people become "whirling dervishes" of diffused freneticism instead of concentrating their
attention on one focused concept and working it to its full potential." (97).
"The real super-achievers I've known take on one really good idea at a time. Then they spend the time and
attention necessary to fully perfect and optimize all the avenues of sustainable profit which that one idea holds."
(98)
4) They persevere.
Tenacity, commitment, resiliency, and unrelenting determination to accomplish their objective is their strategy.
They don't "fold" at the first sign of temporary defeat. Setbacks are but a challenge, and these are people who
recognize the gossamer-thin line separating "frustration" from "challenge."
This is why we don't impose our preferences on the market; but experiment to find out which approaches bring the best resp
Analyze responses for quality as well as for quantity. Analyze not only front-end response to a promotion, but
also how many of those who respond convert to a sale, and how much the average sale is in dollars.
Test the headlines, offers, prices, etc. that you use to determine which work best.
Call for action toward and away from. What are you inviting people toward? Are you giving your customers
adequate incentive? What are they moving away from? What are the penalties if they don't respond?
Give abundant information that people will value. People crave information. So give valuable information as
part of your promotions. Do so from your generosity in sharing knowledge. This implies that you must have
much more to offer than what you've shared, and also much more than what your competitors have.
Give candor and forthrightness. Again, people appreciate candor. So explain your strategy. Explain that you
could make more on an initial sale if you wanted to, but that you're concerned about the long run, about return
business over the years. I want to give my customers the best service at the lowest price and believe that will
work best in the long run.
Don't under-estimate the pre-emptive advantage. If you're the first to tell the public about your industry's
standard, behind-the-scene services, they will consider you to be the one among all your competitors who looks out most fo
Find the hot buttons— keep your eyes and ears on what the market wants. Nurture endorsements as you go.
Publicity must be newsworthy, have value and interest for the readers.
Get someone in another business to promote you. Have him or her send out to his/her most cherished
customers, "I Want to buy your next NLP book for you —no strings attached!" Sending out such unsolicited
gifts helps to create good-will.
ADVERTIZING MAGIC
Roy Williams (1998) in The Wizard of Ads describes the art of how we can turn words into magic.
2) Combine Intellect with Emotion to move people. Get people to use their intellect to supply the logic for justifying
what they want emotionally. If you win their hearts, their minds will follow.
3) Time and money are two sides of a single coin. No person gives you his money until he has first given you his time.
Win the time of the people, their money will follow.
4) Sight and sound function differently in the mind, with sound being the surer investment. Win the ears of the people,
their eyes will follow.
5) Opportunity and security are inversely proportionate. As one increases, the other must decrease. High returns are
gained from low-risk strategies only through the passionate of time. He who will cheat time must embrace the risk of
failure.
Activate Imagination and get people to see, hear, and feel themselves acting on your suggestions
Describe in detail what a person can expect when he arrives. No person will take action until he has seen
himself taking such action in his mind. We always imagine doing a thing before we do it. The real power we
have lies in our ability to help the client tell his story as convincingly as possible.
"Efficiency is one of the most important components of wealth accumulation. People who become wealthy
allocate their time, energy, and money in ways consistent with enhancing their net worth." {The Millionaire Next Door, p. 71)
• Do you know that you can increase your efficiency and your effectiveness by becoming better and better at your key tasks?
• Are you willing to become better at the most important things you do?
• What do you need to be more efficient?
Think of something that you have learned do very efficiently, but which you did not always do efficiently. Think of that behavior when
3) Amplify the Personal Efficiency State
How much do you feel and sense this feeling of personal efficiency from 0 to 10?
Allow your feelings and awareness to double. Let it grow and increase.
What else can you do to step even more fully into this state?
5) Neutralize and Integrate the NS of "work," self-discipline, fear of losing alternatives, etc.
As you feel this fully... and let it grow... You can recall how that others call this state of personal efficiency
"work " And you can too... know that it's not really work, but fun and efficiency.
As experiencing this in this positive way, you can recognize that others may look at this and call it self-
discipline, and so can you. But when you exercise your personal power to get yourself to do what you want
to do, should do, when you need to do it, regardless of whether you feel like it or not, you know it's just being
efficient!
Do you yet have the habit of just doing the things that need to be done?
6) Connect and Align your everyday activities with your Highest Intentions.
Are you clear about your goals and objectives in training? Since your efficiency arises from clarity of intention.
What are your top 10 goals for this year about training? If you were to accomplish one of these goals, which
one would have the greatest positive impact on my life? What is your most important goal? Second? Third?
Is every part of your mind full aligned with this efficiency in the area of training?
Any objections to being resourceful in this way?
The challenge is for you to step back and to take a meta-position to the training. As you do, then notice how
it is formatted and how it flows. Take each bit and pattern and notice how the process works at a meta-level.
On a more personal level, you may want to apply the pattern of the genius states to yourself as a Trainer to
create the best flow states for yourself when training.
What did you learn from Accessing Personal Genius the first time?
What do you aim to get out of the training this second time? Set several outcomes each day for things to learn,
discoveries to make, etc.
What do you need to know about meta-states or recursiveness that will allow you to put all of your learnings
to better use?
What questions have you not yet asked yourself that will enable you to take the next step of development with
Neuro-semantics?
DAYS 12—14
Neuro-semantics®
NS is all about how meaning (semantics) gets incorporated or embodied in our bodies (neurology)
It is founded first upon Meta-States, then Frame Games, and finally in the Matrix model-
NS has become an international society of professional men and women who are using the model for
teaching, training, coaching, consulting, writing, managing, wealth building, etc.
FACETS OF NEURO-SEMANTIC
CERTIFICATION AND LICENSE
During NSTT you will have the opportunity to have hands-on practice in coaching and training people in
Accessing Personal Genius. Afterwards, we will debrief the structure of that training and provide materials
so that each certified NS Trainer will be able to begin training and certifying that training.
What if I already have NLP Trainers Training?
Then we invite you to the 14 7 days of NSTT to add Neuro-Semantics and Meta-States to your repertoire of
skills, patterns, and trainings at 54 price.
Date:
NS Trainers are required to submit and have on file a Letter of Intent that outlines a basic description of what
they intend to do in terms of an Institute. As a Trainer, if you plan to create a Training Center or Institute, you
agree to presenting a "Letter of Intent" and to keep it updated on a yearly basis.
NS Trainers agree to the NS Vision and Mission Statement and to conduct themselves professionally and
ethically according to that statement. Every person certified as Neuro-Semantic-NLP Trainer agrees to the
Vision Statement and to the general principles of professional conduct doing trade under the Trademark of
"Neuro-semantics. " Each Trainer has been coached about the importance of operating from respect for self
and other, from abundance and cooperation, from recognition of the importance of teamwork and community.
Each trainer agrees to uphold the principles and ideals of NS-NLP in order to create a more professional and
healthy public image of these fields. Each trainer agrees' to take full personal responsibility to stay in
community, to keep learning and sharing, and using NS to work out conflicts.
Signed:
NEURO-SEMANTICS LICENSE
CONTRACTUAL AGREEMENT
Copy for the International Society of Neuro-semantics
Date:
NS Trainers are required to submit and have on file a Letter of Intent that outlines a basic description of what
they intend to do in terms of an Institute. As a Trainer, if you plan to create a Training Center or Institute, you
agree to presenting a "Letter of Intent" and to keep it updated on a yearly basis.
Signed:
Conflict Resolution Agreement
Trainer's Copy
Signed:
Conflict Resolution Agreement
Copy for the International Society of Neuro-semantics
Conflict is always bound to arise when people interact. This is not a "bad" thing. Conflict is simply a reflection that
we operate from different maps, different perspectives, have different needs and wants, and are unique. In this we can
celebrate and honor differences. But conflict also arises from misunderstandings, failed promises, misbehaviors,
disappointments, violation of trust, frustrations, stress, and general unresourcefulness.
While this is the beginning, this is just the beginning. There is much to do and together we will be inventing it as we
go. How NS will grow and develop in the years to come will depend to a great extent upon you ... upon those of you
who are the first to catch the Vision and to make this a facet of your commitment.
Institutes: To create or announce an Institute of NS, Trainers need to apply to the ISNS and submit a letter of Intention.
This will function as a tentative business plan about what you intend to do— your goals, objectives, and vision. We ask
that you update your Letter of Intent every year.
USE OF MATERIALS
4) Cut and Paste from the T.M., description pages, patterns, etc. and giving full credit for such, using a
prescribe description that I will provide for you, and create your own Manual. If you alter, change, or add to
the text so that it becomes significantly different from the T.M., then we will copyright as it as a co-produced
work of that product. It will then reflect both your creativity and mine and will become another version of that
T.M.
MAKE US PROUD!
What we are doing is not without consequences. What we do in training, coaching, consulting, and writing will affect
the lives and minds and hearts of people. And with the powerful magic at our disposal— we can harm as well as heal.
We can hurt and damage as well as empower and enhance. The ethical use and the human use of this technology does
not lie in the technology, but upon the user. So ... as you have learned the structure of magic and many of the secrets
of magic... May you go out to do much good as you touch the minds and hearts of many. May us proud of what you
do and how you do it!
Being real and human and authentic. May you experience your fallibility in glorious ways so that you truly
become gloriously fallible... and instead of fearing or dreading your weaknesses and inadequacies, you develop
them and play to your strengths and focus on what you can do. Yes you have quirks and yes you are quirky.
We all are. And that's what makes us so loveable ... or makes us great candidates for developing new NS
patterns.
Applying NLP and NS to yourself first. Don't forget to experience the magic yourself, the transformation of
your personality so that you can feel and experience the power of personal congruence.
Having lots of fun. This is the rule in NS, "You must enjoy yourself." You must pleasure yourself first and
then spread the fun and joy around. Your competence and congruence depends on your ability to have a
delightful and appreciative attitude as you move through life. So make NS attractive by having lots of good-
natured fun every day. If you get serious, you will get stupid.
Experiencing life as richly and fully as possible... and then, double that. Make the quality of your state and
your life an attractor for others so that they will say what the lady in the movie, Harry Meets Sally said in the
restaurant when Meg Regan showed Billy Crystal what an organism sounds like, "I want what she has!"
THE NEXT LEVEL OF
TRAINERS TRAINING
L. Michael Hall, Ph.D
What is the next level of quality and competency for trainers training?
For many of us in NLP who truly care about this field and want to see it succeed in terms of gaining more credibility
academically, gain more effectiveness in the world of business, and gain more acceptance publically—we've got a
problem. We have a lot of serious challenges facing us. After 30 years, NLP is not only not recognized for its
credibility, it is all too frequently seen in a negative light.
We could spend time exploring why this is so, where this comes from, who has contributed to this problem, etc. Yet
to do would not help and it would not be applying NLP to ourselves. The issue we need to focus on isn't the source of
the problem, we rather need to focus on constructing some powerful solutions to turn things around. Since I see this
problem almost everywhere in the world—in the USA, Europe, Australia, Africa, Asia, South America—the problem
must be a systemic problem.
Perhaps there is something amiss in the very way that we train trainers. Actually, this isn't a new thought or one that
I've invented. I hear this from NLP trainers, thinkers, and leaders everywhere. The very conflicts between various
"schools" or "camps" in NLP suggests that there's some inadequacy in how trainers have been trained.
As a result, many trainers are not very skilled, lack the competency even in the context of presenting NLP information,
facilitating the processes, eliciting states in an audience, engaging an audience, and building skill and competence in
participants. Among those who have this level of competency, there's a great many who do not have the business skills
for creating, building, and sustaining a viable business. And for those who do, they often lack the skills for networking,
collaborating, and creating coalitions so as to not be stuck in a small proprietary business and feel that they are in
competition with the rest of the NLP community.
Then there's the problem of scarcity. Beyond all of the petty competition, small-minded nit-picking and highlighting
of differences in this tiny little community, there is the attitude that there's not enough. This leads to fear of sharing,
childish clinging to "intellectual property," refusal to acknowledge sources, and other toxic ideas, feelings, and
experiences that come from a sense of scarcity rather than abundance. So, what can we do about this? How can we
create a new, different, and better future?
While leaders come in many different forms so that there are many different kinds of leadership, leaders arise and
express themselves in a given context. That context is the particular values, expectations, needs, style, and culture of
the referent group. This realization, of course, leads to numerous other questions—questions that are more precise to
our concerns.
• What qualities and traits do we look for in recognizing leaders in Neuro-Semantics?
• How will we recognize and qualify the men and women who will arise in Neuro-Semantics as leaders?
• What criteria of leadership will we set?
• If we want leaders who lead from the Neuro-Semantic vision, what will be the prerequisites of leadership?
Obviously, in Neuro-Semantics, we will look mostly and preeminently for leaders who embody the principles of the
neuro-semantic vision—its principles and practice. We will look for practical leaders who are excited about the vision,
who apply that vision to themselves, who look for adding value to others, and who work at translating their talk into their
walk. Conversely, we will not be interested in leaders who are driven by visions of personal glory, the rank and status
of privilege, or the ego satisfactions of someone driven to be a guru.
To that end, we have set forth the following leadership criteria. This criteria comes immediately and directly from the
Vision and Mission statement of Neuro-Semantics. As such it reflects the very qualities of individuals who are in
actuality leading out in directions which fit the meaning and purpose of Neuro-Semantics.
In recent years, we have become aware that we should not only wait for men and women with these special traits and
qualities to arise, but that we should intentionally plan to facilitate this kind of leadership development in people. Also,
recognizing that most leaders in Neuro-Semantics will come through the Training and/or Coaching Tracks, we have set
forth the following 7 criteria as the foundation for leadership. These are divided into two categories: Being and Doing
criteria.
Being Criteria:
Authenticity: being and acting from one's true self without masks and personas
Integrity: being as good as one's word, impeccably honest and fair-minded
Congruent: applying the principles to self so that one walks the talk
Doing Criteria:
Contributing: giving of oneself to others, serving from the NS principles
Collaborating: operating as a team player, cooperating with others
Pioneering: leading out into new areas
Communicating: sharing and disclosing in ways that are clear, precise, succinct, engaging,
and compelling
The following is still in its formative stages and I will be updating it in the years to come. In setting forth the following
criteria, I first offer a definition and then a benchmarking from 0 to 5 of specific behaviors that evidence that criterion.
About reading the benchmarks, start with 0 and move upwards. With each higher number, the person demonstrates
increasingly more of the positive features of the quality and less of the negative features.
1) Authenticity: Authenticity: being and acting from one's true self without masks and personas
Being real or true to oneself, to one's gifts, talents, abilities, dreams, values, visions,
Definition: Authenticity refers to "authoring" one's own life from one's own thinking, feeling, speaking, and
acting. It's an expression of being personally real and true to oneself. This comes from "applying to self and
becoming congruent with one's own truths. Authenticity speaks about being real— being and presenting
oneself as one is without the need for pretense, arrogance (arrogating to oneself traits and qualities that one
doesn't have) or having driving ego-needs. Being authentic speaks about being willing to be human, fallible,
to know not everything, and to not have to be the center of attention. Authenticity implies a solid enough sense
of self so as to be modest, humble, and able to extend self to and for others. The opposite of authenticity is the
shallow make or woman who is only known through masks, roles, personas, etc.
Authenticity Questions:
What do I really want and believe in?
What is really important to me?
What makes for a meaningful and significant life?
What do I really think and feel about the things that are important to me?
How true do I act on my own beliefs and opinions?
What are my passions, talents, and vision?
Benchmarking "Authenticity"
5 Will pay price to live up to highest values and visions and not follow "path of least resistance."
Willing to stand out from crowd.
4 Willing to take a stand on unpopular issue, speaks with energy, emotion, and enthusiasm about things
one values and cares about. Willing to show emotion about such.
3 Mostly speaking and acting congruently, words and gestures match content of what one says. Speaks
from one's views and opinions even when in conflict with social group.
2 Sometimes speaking and acting in ways that reveals one's true heart and views. Mostly trying to
please others, fit in, and conform.
1 Speaking and acting in ways that are incongruent, not sounding believable because tone, volume, style
doesn't match content of words, outward expressions not revealing inward feelings and thoughts.
0 Playing roles to trick or deceive, acting as a "Yes" person to whatever is socially or politically correct
or acceptable, not owning one's own voice, lack of confrontation, hesitating when confronting.
2) Integrity. Integrity: being as good as one's word, impeccably honest and fair-minded
Definition: Integrity speaks first about being whole and integrated which immediately leads to a forthright and
honest presentation of self. When a person has integrity, there is an honesty and reliability in the person so that
the person will do what he or she says. Integrity means making promises and keeping them, It means honoring
the words we utter and not breaking our commitments. Integrity leads a person to typically do whatever it takes
to come through with one's word and that when we cannot, we immediately communicate that, apologize
quickly, and make whatever amends seem appropriate.
Integrity also refers to telling the truth even when it's difficult. It means living one's life as an open book
without a lot of secrets or cover-ups. Several of the pathways to integrity is making oneself accountable to
others, receiving and integrating feedback, and staying in a community where we can be available for such.
The opposite is being dishonest, lacking the strength of character to tell the truth and to be fair.
Integrity Questions:
Are you as good as your word?
Do you generally come through with what you do?
Can people generally trust you, depend on you?
Do you receive feedback graciously and seek to use it?
Do people have any basic integrity issues with you?
Benchmarking "Integrity"
5 Comes through on promises even at great cost (financially, time, energy).
4 Lifestyle and actions shows strong and consistent congruency between word and actions. Quickly
making amends or communicating about problems when cannot come through on a promise.
3 Mostly doing and acting on what one says or presents (75%). Mostly open to correction and feedback,
making amends.
2 Coming through with 50% or more of what one says, acknowledging misalignment between word and
action. Sometimes making excuses, getting defensive.
1 Saying that one wants to come through on a promise or idea, but evidencing little to no behaviors that
match those words. Breaking agreements without making it open and explicit.
3) Congruency; Applying the principles to self so that one walks the talk
Definition: Congruency speaks about being harmonious, in agreement with self, and arises from the ability to
"apply to self." Our speech and behavior fits with our thinking and feeling. This comes from applying and
translating our ideas, principles, and beliefs to ourselves. When this happens, we can walk our talk. Our
actions then appropriately reflect our principles and premises.
Since "apply to self lies at the heart of NS, it lies as one of the key and central leadership criteria. Apply to
self enables us to be congruent so that all of our parts are aligned and congruent with our values and visions.
We are not inwardly torn, we do not fail to live up to our values. We can step back, evaluate ourselves with
some fairness, seek feedback, and take responsibility for one's own responses.
Congruency Questions:
Does you apply NLP and NS to yourself?
What are the indicators that you do?
Am I aligned with my values and visions?
Do others see me as congruent or incongruent?
Do I walk the talk?
4 Applies most things to self, constantly seeking to continuously learn, develop, improve. Few
incongruencies, searches for feedback.
3 Apply many things to self, asking about how to apply something to self, receiving coaching, feedback,
2 Applying a few things to self, but mostly focused on what others are doing or not doing Still many
incongruencies in lifestyle.
1 Thinking about how something might relate to self, but not applying to self. Word and action doesn't
match, incongruency between talk and walk.
0 Never talks about applying to self, or how something relates to self, talks only about what others are
doing or should do.
5) Collaborating: Operating as a team player, cooperating with others
Definition: Collaborating with others means cooperating, operating as a team player, helping, assisting, etc.
A collaborative style such as that presupposes the ability to reference the thoughts, feelings, values, and needs
of others, to take second position, to be empathetic, concerned, and even loyal. It means matching, supporting,
and following the lead of another. If the person is naturally a mismatcher, he or she can turn off the
mismatching to be a member of the team. As a team player, we are able to shift from sorting by self to sorting
by others and thinking of the good for the larger community. Opposite to collaborating is keeping to self, not
sharing, not disclosing, not making oneself open or vulnerable to others.
Benchmarking "Collorabative"
5 Adding to a team in creating a sense of working well together, performing as a high performance
team.
4 Following the lead of someone and supporting him or her in a project (see Supporting), contributing
ideas about team work, collaboration, etc.
3 Being a part of a team project, Assist Team, Coach; helping a group or team become more cohesive.
2 Supporting others in a project, collaborating with them on something that contributes to their success
1 Talks about collaborating, but does not get around to it, mostly keeping things to self and not sharing.
0 No participation with others, keeping completely to self, criticizing others and what others are doing.
People who are actually leading out in some area by speaking out on something, creating a product or service,
doing something that's commercially viable, running a training company, developing a training, creating
coaching practice, developing new program, model, idea, pattern.
Pioneering Questions:
Do people follow me?
Where and in what areas do they follow?
Can I communicate a vision clearly and precisely?
What have I provided leadership for?
In what areas am I now leading out in?
Benchmarking "leadership"
5 Setting frames for solving a problem, setting forth a vision of a new possibility, inviting others to
share the dream and co-invent the solutions.
3 Exploring a market gap with lots of solution-focused questions, inviting people to brainstorm about
solutions, researching what solutions have already been developed or explored.
2 Exploring, talking, questioning about a problem gap that needs to be addressed, asking solution
1 Talks about new directions, but does nothing, talks about needs, problems, and complaints.
7) Communication: sharing and disclosing in ways that are clear, precise, succinct, engaging, and compelling
Definition: Leaders lead by communicating. They communicate a vision, an idea, a value, a hope, or a desired
outcome. In leading by communicating, the communication typically is persuasive or influential because it has
certain qualities. It is precise, succinct, clear, compelling, and inspirational. The communication effectively
languages or frames the felt needs, emotions, values, hopes, dreams, fears, etc. of those who follow. Leaders
lead by framing, building relationships, matching, negotiating, seeing and seizing opportunities, risk taking,
and developing an entrepreneurial in attitude and disposition.
Communication Questions:
How precise, accurate, and succinct are my communications?
How clear is the vision or picture that I describe in word or in print?
How compelling, inspiring, or motivational are my words?
Do people seem drawn and compelled by the word pictures I draw or the frames that I set?
4 — Able to effectively match and pace a group of people and call them into a community, mostly able to
get to the point and to be succinct, more precise descriptions.
3 — Able to put into words the hopes and dreams of others, but verbose and close to get to the point, not
always clear or precise.
2— Oral and written words partly focused on a vision, dream, or new idea, still half or more of it about
self, either very talkative or offering not enough description to be inspirational.
1 — Moderate amount of words, some suggesting a vision or dream, communications mostly vague, fluffy,
undefined, perhaps wordy, redundant, not getting to the point. Or words almost always about self or
coming back to self as if needing to put forward.
0— No or few words or communications that lead forth to anything new or different. Only words of
complaint or dislikes. Only words that relate to self not others.
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RECOMMENDED BOOKS Metamorphous Press
Garratt, Ted. (1996). The effective delivery of training using
NLP: A handbook of tooks, techniques, and practical Veale, Tony. Metaphor, Memory and Meaning: Symbolic and
exercises. London. Connectionist Issues in Metaphor Interpretation. Thesis
http://www.compapp.dcu,ie/~tonyv/
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Work London: Gower. Metaphor. Wales, UK: Crown House Publishing.
Co-Founders of Neuro-semantics
L. Michael Hall is a visionary leader in the field of Neuro-semantics and today works as an entrepreneur,
researcher/modeler, and international trainer. His doctorate is in the Cognitive-Behavioral sciences from
Union Institute University. He worked as a psychotherapist in Colorado when he found NLP in 1986. He
then studied with Richard Bandler and wrote several books for him. When studying and modeling resilience,
he developed the Meta-States model (1994). Soon he began traveling nationally and then internationally, co-
created the field of Neuro-semantics with Dr. Bob Bodenhamer. The International Society of Neuro-
semantics (ISNS) was established in 1996. As a prolific writer, Michael has written more than 30 books,
many best sellers in the field of NLP. Michael first applied NLP to coaching in 1991, but didn't create the
beginnings of Neuro-Semantic Coaching until 2001 when together with Michelle Duval co-created Meta-
Coaching trainings. In 2003, the Meta-Coach Foundation was create.
1972: Gregory Bateson's classic work Steps to an Ecology of Mind that brought together all his revolutionary studies
on double-bind theory, applications of Logical Theory of Types, going meta to meta-levels, the levels of Learning
Model, etc.
1975-1983: John Grinder & Richard Bandler utilizing the idea of going meta in their NLP model beginning with the
Meta-model—an explicit model about how language and VAK representations work in human experience. They
distinguish sensory-based level from the evaluative level, the importance of meta-parts, and the strategy model for
modeling "the structure of subjective experience."
1994: Michael Hall specifies how meta-levels of mind-body neuro-linguistic states factor into the structure of subjective
experience and bring over Korzybski and Bateson ideas into the strategy model. This arose from modeling resilience
and discovering that within it people have embedded numerous layers and levels of consciousness and states. Awareness
by the International Trainers Association of NLP (1995) for the most significant contribution to NLP during 1994-1995.
1998: The Framing Model was developed and articulated as Frame Games This initiated a series of Frame Game
trainings and books: Games for Mastering Fear, Games Slim and Fit People Play, Games Business Experts Play, etc.
2002: The 7 Matrices Model was developed from Frame Games. The Matrix Model was immediately put to use as a
template to gather and sort out information and then as a diagnostic tool for a person's Frames.
Books:
1) Meta-States: Self Reflexiveness in Human States of Consciousness (2000)
2) Dragon Slaying: Dragons to Princes (1996)
3) The Spirit of NLP: The Process, Meaning & Criteria for Mastering NLP (1996)
4) Languaging: The Linguistics of Psychotherapy (1996)
5) Becoming More Ferocious as a Presenter (1996)
6) Patterns For "Renewing the Mind" (w. Dr. Bodenhamer) (1997)
7) Time-Lining: Advance Time-Line Processes (w. Dr. Bodenhamer) (1997)
8) NLP: Going Meta — Advance Modeling Using Meta-Levels (2001)
9) Figuring Out People: Design Engineering With Meta-Programs (w, Dr. Bodenhamer) (1997)
10) A Sourcebook of Magic (w. B. Belnap) (1997)
11) Mind-Lines: Lines For Changing Minds (w. Dr. Bodenharmer) (2002)
st
12) The Secrets of Magic: Communication Excellence for the 21 . Century (1998)
Now, Communication Magic (2001)
13) Meta-State Magic. From the Meta-State Journal, (1997-1999)
14) The Structure of Excellence: Unmasking the Meta-Levels of "Sub-Modalities "(Hall/Bodenhamer, 1999)
15) Instant Relaxation (1999, Lederer & Hall)
16) The Structure of Personality: Modeling "Personality Using NLP and Neuro-semantics (Hall, Bodenhamer, Bolstad, H
The central NS web site is: www.neurosemantics.com where you can read about the ISNS, the community,
membership, etc.
Bobby G. Bodenhamer, D.Min
1516 Cecelia Dr.
Gastonia, NC 28054
(704) 864-3585
Fax:(704)8641545
bobbvbodenhamerfSivahoo.com
www.neurosemantics.com
Bob Bodenhamer was first trained for the ministry where he earned a doctorate in Ministry and then served
several churches as pastor. Presently he is serving as pastor of a mission church in Gastonia North Carolina.
He has been married to Linda for 39 years.
He began NLP training in 1990, studying with Gene Rooney, Tad James and Wyatt Woodsmall and received
Practitioner, the Master Practitioner and Trainer Certifications. Since then, he has taught and certified NLP
trainings at Gastonia College in Dallas North Carolina and led workshops from Australia to England.
Beginning in 1996, Dr. Bodenhamer began studying the Meta-States model. He then teamed up with Michael
co-authoring nine books with Michael. He worked with Michael early in the development of the Meta-States
Model. In 1996 also, Bob and Michael co-founded the Society of Neuro-Semantics. This has taken his work
to a new level, taken him into International Trainings, and set in motion many Institutes of Neuro-Semantics
around the world.
Books:
1) Patterns For "Renewing the Mind" (w. Hall, 1997)
2) Time-Lining: Advance Time-Line Processes (w. Hall, 1997)
3) Figuring Out People: Design Engineering With Meta-Programs (w. Hall, 1997)
4) Mind Lines: Lines For Changing Minds (w. Hall, 2002)
5) The Structure of Excellence: Unmasking the Meta-Levels of "Sub-modalities " (w. Hall, 1999)
6) The User's Manual of the Brain (1999, w. Hall)
7) Hypnotic Language (2000, w. Burton)
8) The Structure of Personality: Modeling "Personality" Using NLP and Neuro-Semantics. (Hall,
Bodenhamer, Bolstad, Harmblett, 2001)
9) Games for Mastering Fears (2001, with Hall)
10) User's Manual, Volume II (2003, with Hall)
11) Mastering Blocking and Stuttering (2004).
Everyday all over the world trainings are being held. On the surface, it doesn't seem to be that big of a deal. Get a good trainer or announce a nee