Listen to Language literally

 "All of us have good and bad experiences; how we think about them is often what makes the difference between them."

-Richard Bandler

One of the most useful skills I have developed in my years as a trainer and coach is the ability to listen to language literally - that is, to take what someone says as a literal representation of what is going on in their minds. 

For example, I remember a client saying to me that he felt as though his debts were pressing in on him and his finances were so tight that at times he found it difficult to breathe. 

I asked him to briefly visualize his finances and notice where in his internal world he "saw" them.  Sure enough, his pictures were 360 degree wrap-around panoramas surrounding him on all sides and literally "pressing up against him". 

When I asked him to unwrap the panorama and lay it out on the floor beneath him, he immediately began to breathe easier. When he shrunk them down to the size of one A4 sheet of paper, it was like talking with a different person. 

He went quiet for a few moments and then said "Oh - is that it? I can handle that."  Like the traveler who discovers in a flash of lightning that the "snake" he was hiding from is just a piece of coiled up rope, by changing his pictures he was able to give himself a new and empowered perspective on his problems. 

Here are some of the most useful patterns which come up again and again in my work:

 *"I just can't see myself doing that"

 Taken literally, that means you can't make an internal movie or picture of yourself doing whatever it is being discussed. Once you can create that internal imagery, you will often be able to move forward.

*"This is a BIG problem for me"

 If you shrink down your internal representation of the situation, does it still seem so Big?  If you make it smaller and smaller, does it still seem like a problem? 

*"I'm stuck"

 How do you know that you're stuck? On what?  With what?  What do you want to use to unstuck yourself?  Which parts of your life/work/relationship are flowing?  If you increase the flow, would that be enough to unstuck you?

 *"The future looks bleak" 

What happens if you brighten it up?  Make your internal images big and bold.  Drop in some pictures of things you would love to see happen - and see what happens!

  "I'm hanging on by a thread here"

 Inter-woven steel thread is actually remarkably strong.  And if you tie it on to your waist and engage fully with your challenges, you just might find you enjoy the climb...

 Have fun playing with this on your own.  You can use the exercises at the end of this article to practice.  But before you begin…

Here are some simple exercises you can use to strengthen your ability to become a more effective ‘mind programmer’… 

1. Go through each of the examples above and actually try them on with real situations in your life.  Is there anything you can't see yourself doing that you might like to do?

Go ahead and make a mental movie of yourself doing it until it seems "normal" and "natural.  Any BIG problems in your life? Shrink them down and notice what new ideas come to mind!

2. Just for fun, listen to language literally this week.  Notice how many times someone is telling you exactly what is going on in their internal world.

If you're up for a more interactive challenge, ask people what they're seeing in their mind in relation to what they say to you out loud.  While some people will look at you a bit funny, if you ask congruently most people will simply tell you exactly how they are re-presenting their world inside their heads.

3. Take at least 5 minutes a day this week to practice image streaming.  If you really want to make a dramatic change, do it at least 15 minutes a day.

Have fun, learn heaps, and happy exploring!

With love,
Michael Neill

©2008 Michael Neill all rights reserved

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