03 Strategies For Genius

How To Get Ahead - Page 1 - Copyright Dr Peter EH Smee, circle-of-excellence.
com, 2005
A picture from the AAWS web site for the advancement of science.
Chapter Three
Strategies Of Genius
Chapter Three, at a glance

Key Aims in Chapter Three
1. To describe a number of cognitive strategies, which have been elicited
by NLP researchers, who have worked with people who possess a particular skill or
competence, which others would like to learn.
2. To explain how you can model people that you believe to be gifted, and then
describe your model in a form that is easy to communicate to others.
Introduction
3. To suggest ideas for self-study, so that you can practise the ideas disussed
in this text and then make use of your newly found modelling skills in whatever profession
you decide to work.
In the previous two chapters, we have read about how the VAK Model can be
applied to meet the immediate needs of teachers, trainers, coaches and learners.
Overview of Chapter Three And for each of these readerships, we outlined specific applications, vis-à-vis the
ways in which the VAK Model can be used to observe and describe: (i) the kinds
 Introduction. A quick reprise of the discussion that has taken place over the course of of imagery occurring in the mind of a person whom you are watching, (ii) the
the preceding chapters.
sequences of images that combine together to comprise the cognitive strategies
 Section One - common cognitive strategies. A review of tried and that a person uses, when faced with a particular kind of challenge, and (iii) the
tested cognitive strategies related to subjects often taught in schools.
emotional states associated with success, for almost any kind of skill that you can
 Section Two - entering the mind of a genius. A summary of texts by imagine. Which means that if you have practised all the skills that we suggested,
Robert Dilts, in which we review what is known about the cognitive strategies of a range of you are on your way to becoming an NLP „modeller‟.
people often considered to be the epitome of genius.
In the terminology of NLP, you have been learning to „model‟ the inner world of
 Section Three - eliciting strategies. A description of some of the key skills those you observe. Recall the story of the doctor who could only make a decision
that you will need if you want to model the thinking of others and then represent the cognitive
strategies that you note in a way that is useful. when she felt „bad‟ enough about the consequences of not making that decision.
And you will understand how important and useful NLP modelling can be.
Because you will find that you are surrounded by people who have never been
taught to conjure vivid imagery in their mind; who have never been taught how to
sequence individual images in order to emulate the cognitive strategies of experts,
whom they admire; and who have never been encouraged to reflect upon the
power they have over their emotions, via the imagery on which they dwell as they
go about their daily business. In short, you now possess the skills you need to
enable a lot of people to become happier and more successful. (Including
yourself!)
While thinking about what story to use to illustrate the notion that you are
surrounded by people who are missing out on their full potential, because they
How To Get Ahead - Page 2 - Copyright Dr Peter EH Smee, circle-of-excellence.com, 2005
have never been taught how to consciously make use of the various components Remember imagery comes in many forms.
of their mind, Pete was chatting to a lady who worked with boys who are learning As suggested in this collage, humans think using a mixture of visual images, auditory images, kinesthetic
disabled. This is her story. feelings, awareness of smell and awareness of taste. We also chat to ourselves, internally, when we are trying to
verbally describe or measure something. As you will find out, later in this book, we mix these images and
feelings in very idiosyncratic ways. Sometimes we are successful, sometimes less so. Using NLP we can begin to
Jo was working with a boy who had an extremely poor ability in both reading and describe our experience in many useful and interesting ways. (From left to right: hear, see, measure, smell, taste
writing. Gradually, he had been taught to write more clearly, but progress was and touch).
extremely slow. Then for no apparent reason, the standard of the boy‟s work
began to get progressively worse. Having just returned from an introductory
course in NLP, Jo decided to put her newfound modelling skills to the test. She
asked the boy to describe what he was experiencing (though of course she used
more child-friendly terminology). Given his normal demeanour, the boy became
surprisingly self-reflective. And he told Jo that „the connection was broken‟.
Playing along with the terminology being used by the boy (in order to maintain
rapport), Jo asked the obvious question: “What connection?” To which the boy
looked at Jo quizzically and replied, “the connection between my brain and my
hand”. With a little prompting, the boy went on to describe that when he was
writing he would see a controlling wire that ran from his brain to his hand, and
that if it looked broken his writing was terrible. Jo now began to realise that
something deeper was going on than an ability to write. Again maintaining
rapport, by framing her language using the terminology introduced by the boy, Jo
asked the boy if he knew why the connection was broken. And his reply was that
he wasn‟t really interested in lessons at the moment. Hence, he couldn‟t be
bothered to plug in the wire that controlled his hand.
Thus, after spending hours trying to help the boy improve his writing using more
traditional methods, in a matter of minutes, using NLP, Jo had discerned that the
problem was not one of ability but was mainly one of motivation. To check this
out, she asked the boy to „plug the wire into his hand‟ for a moment and to write
something, as a favour to her. This he did, and his writing returned to the level it
had previously been.
Now Jo was in a position to try to move the lesson forwards. Clearly, there was no
point in her spending more time trying to teach the boy how to write neatly,
because he could already do so. Rather, she needed to focus in upon the cognitive
components of emotion, which cause the boy to feel motivated, or not, in her
lessons.
Remember: many people describe NLP as the “science of success”.

The journey we will be taking Seeking the cognitive abilities which enable some people to climb
so much higher and faster than the rest of us.
The focus in this chapter is upon helping you to evolve your abilities. The
intention is to encourage you to extend your capacity to observe, explore and
record the behaviour and words of others, so that you can: (i) begin to observe and
describe the cognitive strengths and weaknesses, vis-à-vis the ways in which the
people whom you observe use their imagination, (ii) begin to model the cognitive
strategies of both those who succeed and those who fail, so you can help everyone
to succeed more reliably in the future; and (iii) begin to provide others with the
insights that they need in order to learn and perform more effectively in their
chosen profession.
In order to enhance your abilities, we will progress through a number of logical
steps. First, we will explore a number of simple strategies elicited by NLP
researchers. We do this because these NLP strategies are interesting in their own
right, and are also useful as illustrative examples, which will help you gain insight
into the kinds of models you will construct for yourself, in the future. Second, we
will summarise a number of detailed models generated by NLP Modeller Robert
Dilts. Historically, Dilts has made a huge contribution to NLP and we trust that
having read our summaries, you will want to buy and refer to some of his …and while some people assume that success requires huge amounts of effort,
extensive work related to NLP modelling. Third, we will explore practical ways in other people like to think outside the box, and take a shortcut…
which you can generate models of your own. And of course we will suggest some
more exercises with which you can experiment. Fourth, we will look at some
complementary approaches to modelling, used by professionals in fields other
than NLP. Which will give you a sense of perspective, so that you can gain an
impression of ways in which NLP relates to some other forms of applied
psychology.
Keep in mind, as you progress through this chapter, that each of the models needs
to work on each of three levels, if the model is to work effectively and if it is to
help someone perform more effectively. To make use of any of these models, you
need to be able to conjure imagery in the sense modes associated with each model.
You need to be willing to play with each model, and to experiment with
customising the model, in order to discover if you can make it work better for
yourself and those with whom you work. Finally, you need to be aware of the
emotional implications of each model. For you will want to customise models in
ways that make you and those around you feel good about using the cognitive
strategies you are learning. In short, remember that NLP is an attitude of mind,
which is best summed up by the word curiosity. Take the basic principles that we
explain, be curious, experiment, keep what works, and discard that which does
not.
Section One – Common Strategies Helpful hints include: The Teacher should ensure that the Speller actually moves
their eyes in a way that makes it clear that they are accessing a visual image, both
when encoding and when retrieving a mental picture of the word they have in
mind. Then, if it becomes apparent that the Speller often finds the visual image to
be indistinct, encourage the person visualising to experiment with different body
postures appropriate to visualisation. Or perhaps, ask them to use their finger to
draw the image in space, in order to engage their kinesthetic sense, or ask them to
vocalise a description of the image in order to enrich their mental picture by
eliciting an auditory component to their visual image. However, ultimately, if
someone really has problems visualising, it is important not to force the issue. The
most important thing is for the Speller to finish the exercise with a smile on their
face. If necessary, they can always refer back to exercises related to visualisation,
in Chapters One and Two,
English……..
 An advanced challenge: Ask the Speller to spell the word backwards to you. If
they really do have a visual image in mind, it will be relatively easy for them
Strategy One: Spelling to read off the letter backwards. If they do not have a clear mental image, then
reading the letters backwards is much more difficult.
Modellers have found that most good spelling strategies are visual in nature. The
following exercise can be used to teach visual spelling strategies to others. Strategy Two: Handwriting
Exercise. We know some children who are left-handed, and who have therefore had
problems with their handwriting. The children found it very difficult to write
 Get into groups of three, and name yourselves Note Taker, Teacher and
neatly, and would often become disheartened, particularly after being criticised by
Speller.
their teachers. We began to think about the situation and we suggested that the
 The Note Taker makes a list of words, if necessary from a dictionary, with the children imagine the words on the paper in front of them and then use their pen to
words being challenging for the people who are to take part in the exercise. trace the imagined words, as if using tracing paper. We found that the first child
 The Teacher then helps the Speller to learn those words. While teaching takes with whom we used this strategy was extremely imaginative and had no problem
place, the Note Taker acts as an observer, and makes mental notes to feedback hallucinating the words on the sheet of paper in front of her. She also liked to
to the others at the end of the exercise. practise tracing cartoon figures from comics, so she was well used to the idea of
 The job of the Teacher is to write down each word and show it to the Speller, tracing. Trying out the approach for the first time, it took only a few minutes for
who is asked to make a visual image of the word. her to begin to write with lovely, neat, handwriting. Having impressed herself, as
 The Teacher then questions the Speller, for example asking about the colour well as everyone else, she retired to bed, where she was later found „practising‟
and spatial position of the word. The Teacher can also help the Speller by for several hours.
encouraging them to make the picture more vivid and/or by encouraging the Exercise.
Speller to add in other sensory images, like sound or feeling.  Imagine hallucinating some lovely, beautiful, calligraphic letters on a blank
 The Teacher then tests the Speller by asking them to read aloud some of the page in front of you, and then practise tracing your hallucination.
letters from the visual image. The Teacher might also make the exercise a
little more challenging by asking the Speller to tell them the third letter from
the left, or the fifth letter from the right.
 After each person has completed the exercise, discuss what each individual
found easy and/or challenging, and discuss how both teaching and/or use of
the technique might be improved.
 The Teacher then hides the paper and questions the Student, for example
asking about the colour and spatial position of the equation. They can also
help the Student by encouraging them to make the picture more vivid and/or
by encouraging the Speller to add in other sensory images, like sound or
feeling.
 The Teacher then tests the Student by asking them to read aloud parts of the
equation being imagined. They might also make the exercise a little more
challenging by asking the Student to focus in and describe specific parts of the
equation.
 After each person has completed the exercise, discuss what each individual
found easy and/or challenging, and discuss how both teaching and/or use of
the technique might be improved.
Maths……..
Helpful hints include: (i) if the equation is long, split it in half at the equals sign,
(ii) trace the equation with a finger in space so that you bring „muscle-memory‟
Strategy Three: Memorising Equations into play, (iii) make key aspects of the equation standout by using a vivid colour.
People who find it easy to recall equations tend to use a similar process to people,
who are good at memorising spellings, except this time the thing being visualised
is a sequence of numbers. It is interesting to note that a large number of
mathematical strategies require people to use visual or visual-kinesthetic Possible equations (from physics and mechanics) include:
processes. Which causes us to wonder why training in various forms of
visualisation is not made a part of education in key mathematical skills.  F = M*A
(Force in Newtons = Mass in Kilograms x Acceleration in Metres per Second Per Second),
Exercise.
 J = F*T
 Get into groups of three, and name yourselves Note Taker, Teacher and (Work in Joules of Energy = Force in Newtons * Time in Seconds),
Student.  P = W*T
 The Teacher makes a list of equations. (Power in Watts = Work in Watts * Time in Seconds),
 The Teacher then helps the Student to learn those equations. While teaching
takes place, The Note Taker acts as an observer, and makes mental notes to Other well-known equations
feedback to the others at the end of the exercise.
 E = MC2
 Taking each equation in turn, the Teacher writes the equation on a blank piece (Energy in Joules = Mass in Kilograms * Speed of Light in Metres per Second),
of paper and shows it to the Student, who is asked to make a visual image of
 V = I*R
the equation. (Volts of electricity = I amps * R Resistance in Ohms),
Strategy Four: Adding and subtraction Strategy Five: Multiplication and division
For simple sums, you can visualise using your fingers or an abacus, or any other
Simple multiplication.
counting device with which you are familiar. Alternatively, practise writing sums
on real, physical, paper. Then practise imagining writing the same sums on an In the UK and in America, many people learn their „times-tables‟ by rote. For the
imaginary white board, in your mind‟s eye. Once you can generate an appropriate sake of this text, we will refer to calculations based on the use of our times-tables
mental image of your fingers, an abacus, or an imaginary white board, or some as „simple multiplication‟. By now, it will not come as a surprise that memorising
other kind of counting device, you are ready to begin. parts of your times-tables is most easily achieved through a process of
visualisation, a process similar to that used for spelling. But rather than repeat the
Exercise.
exercises that we have already completed, in order to learn our times tables we are
 Get into groups of three, and name yourselves Note Taker, Teacher and going to use a more sophisticated technique, which will help us conjure more
Calculator. vivid images in the future, as well as helping us to learn our times tables.
 The Teacher makes a list of sums involving addition and subtraction (but
Exercise. In threes, draw a large and colourful times table. Take it in turns to act
NOT multiplication or division).
as Camera, Camera Operator and Note Taker. The Operator places the drawing of
 The Teacher then presents those sums to the Calculator. While Teacher and the times tables in an appropriate place. Then, when everyone is ready, they
Calculator are working, the Note Taker observes and makes notes to feedback activate the Camera by touching them on the shoulder. The Camera then blinks
at the end of the session. and describes the after image that remains. (For example, by reading off a row
 The Teacher asks the Calculator to mentally calculate a few simple sums. And from the table). The Operator keeps presenting different parts of the table in a
afterwards the Student should explain what they experienced, so the Teacher logical order, being sensitive to the (cognitive) strengths and weaknesses of the
can check both from their observation and from the Student‟s report, that the Camera. The ultimate aim is to learn all, or a pre-determined part, of the times
Student is engaging with a visual process. table and to have that table fixed in visual memory ready for recall at any time it is
 Gradually increase the level of difficulty of the sums being asked. And each needed.
time, explore the Student‟s experience. If sums are becoming too complex, Having completed the visualisation process, you can check whether this has been
then experiment with customising the strategy. successful by asking questions based on the times table. These questions can be
 After everyone has had a chance to experience all the roles, compare notes. the traditional ones, such as is eight times nine, or they can be in the form of
visual questions, for example, what is the sixth number in the fifth line of the
Helpful hints include: It is possible to enhance the vividness of a visual image by table. You can then watch to see whether or not the person answers the question
verbalising what you read on your imaginary white board and tracing the numbers by looking at an internal visual representation of the table.
with your finger in space. Obviously, the more clearly you can visualise, the more
Now…
complicated the numbers you can add and subtract on your imaginary piece of
paper - or on your imaginary abacus. Moving beyond the use of visualisation, it has been noted that there is a strong
kinesthetic component in multiplication, to the extent that a good mathematician
More helpful hints include: when asking someone to visualise words or numbers,
often has a feeling for the solution to a problem. To encourage the kinesthetic
ask them to create a particular background or work space that is familiar to them.
processing of numbers, it is helpful to generate games which make the learning of
For example, a computer programmer might like to create an imaginary computer
mathematics fun. One mathematics teacher that we know lets children play games
screen or might generate a mental picture of a particular software package that
in which a lot of calculations need to be made, such as darts. For example, they
they frequently use. Or, they might like to imagine the words and numbers
can score points on the basis of multiplying all the numbers that they „hit‟.
scrolling across an imaginary T.V. screen, in the same form as the credits/titles of
their favourite film or T.V. programme.
Complex multiplication Division

A number of people report that when the times-tables are absorbed in a visual- One way in which to help someone learn division is to get that person to think of
kinesthetic manner, more complex mathematical calculations become easier. division as the „opposite‟ of multiplication, thus if you want to know the value of
People have a feel for the right answer. Startling examples of this ability are 155 divided by 5, ask by what number you would have to multiply 5 to get 155 (or
mathematical prodigies who can provide the square or square root of any number as near as you can without a remainder). As with multiplication, good
within a time space of two or three seconds. However, for those of us with less mathematicians will often have a feel for the scale of the „answer. They will then
agile mathematical minds, it is helpful to visualise jotting down the multiplication have a „feel‟ for the amount of change that needs to be made to move from the
and to then visualise splitting the overall sum into simpler component parts. For incorrect guess to the correct solution. For example, I know that 10x5 is 50, and
example, the sum 13x33 can be split into two much simpler sums. These being 50x3 is 150, so I can quickly jump to the idea that there are just over 30 5s in 155,
10x33and 3x33. Having worked out the total for each of these simpler sums, you and a quick internal check shows me that one extra five will do the „trick‟.
can then add the two (sub) totals together to get your (final) total).
Developing a feel for mathematics is partly about knowing the times tables, and
10x33=330 also having experience with a range of other multiplication sums. However, the
following exercise will give those without the requisite „feel‟ an opportunity to
3x33=99
develop an effective way in which to do a more conscious form of division.
330+99=429 13x33 = 429
Exercise. In pairs, generate a set of complicated sums and work them out on
Exercise. In pairs, generate a set of complicated sums and work them out on paper. Become aware of your own patterns for simplifying complex sums into
paper. Become aware of your own patterns for simplifying complex sums into sums that are easier to deal with. Having become competent with division using
sums that are easier to deal with. Having become competent with multiplication paper, use your imagination to generate an imaginary white board. Now use your
using paper, use your imagination to generate an imaginary white board. Now use imaginary white board to mentally compute the same sums for which you
your imaginary white board to mentally compute the same sums for which you formerly required paper and pen.
formerly required paper and pen.
Helpful hints. After each sum, discuss what you experienced. Find out if you can
Helpful hints. A number of people report that multiplication and division have a work out ways in which to customise your cognitive strategies so that they
large kinesthetic component, so make sure that both eye movements and body become more elegant and powerful.
posture reflect access to those modalities.
More helpful hints: Play with the notion of moving your imaginary whiteboard to
More helpful hints: With regard the kinesthetic component of mathematics: (i) different places. Does this help or hinder you. Keep what works. Forget that which
develop a „feel‟ for what kinds of numbers will give rise to what kinds of results, does not.
(ii) physicalise the „feel‟ of the size of a number in space using your hands, (iii)
find out whether the physicalisation of the size of numbers with your hand has any
consistency. It would be very cool to find out that your kinesthetic system provided
you with a physical readout of which you had been previously unaware.
Fly By Wire.
Conjure an imaginary pen in your mind, and use it to control the real pen in your hand.
Art……
Strategy Six: Art Strategies

There are a number of art strategies. We suggest that you „test drive‟ each of those
that we explain below, and then set aside some time to experiment and customise
each. As ever, the strategy that is most effective for you will depend upon
personal taste and the art in which you are engaged. So…as we keep repeating: If you can learn to hallucinate an image on paper in front of you,
then drawing becomes as easy as tracing.
keep what works and forget that which does not. (Picture: the Personal Projector Drawing Table).
Fly by wire
Exercise. Look at your subject. Now. Imagine that there are two pens, one real
and one imaginary, connected by a wire or a long ruler. As the imaginary pen in
your mind moves, the imaginary wire moves the real pen on the paper, at the same
time. Hence, as you trace around the image with your imaginary pen, in your
mind, the connection between the real and imagined pen causes the real pen to
move.
Tracing
Exercise. We know some people with a lot of artistic talent who use their mind‟s
eye to mentally project (hallucinate) a visual image of what they want to draw
onto the piece of paper in front of them. All they then need to do is to trace around
the hallucinated image.
Making Space
Exercise. A number of artists say that focusing on drawing the space around an
object gives rise to more accurate drawing than focusing on the object itself. This
idea and more are elaborated upon in a number of popular books, such as Drawing
On The Artist Within by Betty Edwards and How To Draw Anything by Mark
Linley.
Approach
At this point there are two ways to proceed. One is to write and see where the
story takes you. The other is to devise a structure and to set specific targets to
preload your imagination, before putting pen to paper.
The approach that suits you will depend on whether the safety of a structure
causes you to feel you have the security to be creative, or whether you feel that a
structure is constraining and interferes with a free flow of ideas in your mind.
Getting into the flow
With the preceding exercises as a background, you now need to download ideas,
images, words, sounds, feelings and actions (from your mind) as fast as you can,
Written work…….. stopping for nothing. See what you see, hear what you hear and feel what you feel
and as you experience these things, report on them. Performing any editing at this
time involves a different part of the brain and is therefore likely to break up the
Strategy Seven: Creative writing strategies „flow‟ of your experience and „bog you down‟. Only when you have completed
the creative flow of ideas, should you return to edit that flow. (The more you want
Notice that the title of this section is focused on the needs of creative writing. As a reader to experience your story from the first person perspective, the longer you
with any creative process (or processes) different individuals have different needs. will want to spend generating a flow of consciousness).
The following ideas will be of interest to all authors, but the degree to which all
the ideas are applicable to individuals will depend upon the kind of text the author Appeal to the senses
wants to compose. Having generated a flow of consciousness, and as you begin to edit, make a
Exercise. The exercise for this section is to read the following ideas and to play conscious decision to ensure that your text cycles through all the various sense
with the ideas by exploring your own ability to write and generate interesting text modalities, so that all your readers will be drawn into your work. This involves
in a style of your choosing. you finding your own rhythm for the cycle, which will in turn depend both upon
the sense modes you find it easy to imagine and the sense modes you expect your
Foundations readership to value. Gradually, as you find your own cycle, your awareness of all
To write creatively, it is helpful to know what it is you want to communicate and the sense modalities will increase and your reporting of the different sense
to whom you want to communicate your „message‟. With this in mind, (Step 1) modalities will happen as part of the „flow‟ of your work, rather than as part of
create a vivid internal picture of the situation about which you want to write. (Step your „editing‟.
2) Once the pictorial image is clear: listen for any internal sounds, become aware Avoid repetition
of any internal feelings and listen for any words that come to mind and which are
evoked by the image. (Step 3) Note down all that comes to mind (or more easily One of the key challenges that we find when authoring a long text is the need to
ask a colleague to act as a scribe while you talk, because for some people the act provide pattern and theme, while avoiding repetition. Over the coming years you
of writing interferes with the act of imagining). Now. (Step 4) Create a vivid will be seeking to extend your command of language and your ability to say one
picture of the person for whom you are writing. (Step 5) Once the visual image of idea in a number of different, yet complementary, ways. Often, writers, including
your reader is clear, note down any internal sounds, feelings and words that come us, have a few pet phrases that gradually become a little grinding on the reader, so
to mind. Finally, (Step 6) note down the kind of emotion you want to elicit from it is helpful to note any repetition and think of alternative ways to say things.
your reader and the kinds of images, sounds, feelings and words most likely to
elicit those emotions. You now have a wide foundation of perceptions from which
to author an engaging text.
One easy way in which to avoid repetition and inject interest is to play with the
Polish and shine
idea of cycling through tenses. For example, if everything is currently in present
tense, would it be interesting to add some memories or aspirations? Another Having designed an appropriate flow of ideas, having edited the text so that pages
suggestion is to write your text from a number of different perspectives, as and paragraphs flow one into another, and then edited the text so that sections and
denoted by a mixture of pronouns I, We, You, She, He, They, It. chapters work together to tell a coherent story and flag up key themes, it is time to
Our third suggestion is to „cultivate good connections‟. You will want to make add the polish and the shine. In short, you will want to clean up any typographic
sure that the connective words you use ensure that your story „burbles‟ along at a mistakes and any grammatical errors that may have crept into the text.
pleasant rate. Connective words include words and phrases like: because, Adding polish and shine is most easily achieved if you use a word processor that
therefore, after, while, whenever, so that, if, although, in the same way that. underlines spelling errors in red and possible grammatical errors in green.
Again, as you edit, you will gradually develop your own style and pace with However, always print out and read your text aloud to yourself because you will
regard cycling through these words and phrases. often HEAR mistakes that you do not SEE. Only after completing this step, should
As a final suggestion, revisit the notes on language patterns and play with all the you give the text to someone else to proof read. If the text is to be made public –
applications of those patterns. Recall our description of the Meta-model and always give it to one or more people to proofread because there are very few
Milton-model. There are a number of teachers who suggest that Milton-Model authors who are able to pick up on all the errors in a long piece of text that they
language patterns are often to be found in good stories. The reason for this is that themselves have written.
those patterns of language „draw the reader in‟ and cause them to „feel a part of
Keep an eye out for our free Orator program, which is part of our BrainBox Unleashed
the text‟. By contrast, asking Meta-model questions and using Meta-model suite of software. It will read aloud to you from any active Word file.
patterns of language can be a useful way in which to enrich description. And to
underline structure.
Moving from creativity to construction

Moving from editing the text at a paragraph and page level, to considering the
structure of the piece at the level of sections and chapters, check that the overall
structure of the piece is cohesive. Remember that there should always be a
beginning, middle and an end.
In a factual piece, tell people an overview, tell them the details, tell them a
summary of what you told them. In a fictional piece, set the scene, create a
problem, tell about the journey to fund a solution, end with a resolution.
Sometimes, editing the overall structure is as simple as adding a few „signpost’
paragraphs, sometimes you will need to shift around whole sections of text, before
you are happy with the results. Importantly, consider each chapter and sub-chapter
as a micro-story in its own right, with its own beginning, middle and end. Also
ensure that there are links between each section and the overall „whole‟. The
reader needs to understand why and how this part of the text relates to the „bigger
picture‟.
Games which require the application of logic

Roborally, Zendo, Cluedo, Mastermind
Science and Technology……..
Strategy Eight: Science and Technology

There is a lot of literature to suggest that primary thinking skills in both science
and technology are visual. NLP modellers have discovered that the best chemists
are able to visualise how atoms and molecules interact with one another. Staff at
circle-of-excellence have also talked with electronics engineers who say that in
order to devise a new circuit, you need to be able to visualise the flow of
electricity around that circuit. Hence, if you are teaching or studying science or
technology, practise ways in which to visualise more effectively, instead of
leaving this important mental ability to „chance‟.
Exercise. Generate visual metaphors and / or stories to explain complicated ideas,
so that the ideas become easier to understand.
Of course not all thinking in science and technology is visual. If you consider that
most pieces of technology involve many components working together, then you
will realise that when something goes wrong it is helpful to be able to think about
each component in isolation. Technicians need to be able to verbally label
components. And they need to be able to break large problems down into small
bite sized chunks. Our experience is that many people find this way of thinking
both abstract and difficult, until they have become more practised. The key skills
here are: (i) an ability to identify which bit of a system is faulty, and (ii) to be able
to decide which tests will help isolate the fault that is causing you problems.
Exercise. Games like Cluedo provide an environment in which questions and
answers can be used to narrow down the search for a „solution‟. The format of the
game can be adapted to fault finding in a variety of disciplines. Use DTP software
to create your own customised version of any number of games in which the
players have to think either deductively or inductively.
begin this process is to become a mimic of famous people that appear on

television.
Be like a mime artist, seeking to communicate through the use of movement alone.
Given that much human communication is non verbal, it should come as no surprise that languages
are easier to study when you begin with immersing yourself in the culture and the non verbal
communication of the culture, whose language you hope to learn.
Foreign Languages……..
Strategy Nine: Learning Foreign Languages

NLP researchers who have modelled accomplished linguists (by which we mean
people who know dozens of languages and use those languages in a professional
setting) suggest that languages are best understood when a student begins their
study by mimicking the body language of the culture in which the language is
commonly used. The idea of mimicking body language and tone of voice makes
sense because much of human communication is non-verbal and in the inflection
given to words. In short, people literally need to get a feel for the language, before
they can effectively learn to utter anything meaningful.
We have met NLP trainers who have played with this idea and report that if you
(sensitively) mimic the non-verbal communication of someone speaking another
language, you begin to get intuitions about what the words mean. This observation
makes sense in the light of the earlier exercise presented in which it was found
that if you take on the body posture of another person, insights leap to mind, fed
from the subconscious. People switched on to this sense can appear to have almost
psychic insight into what is going on in the minds of the people around them.
On an NLP course that Linda attended, on one of the exercises she worked with a
gentleman from Italy. Although he could speak English quite well, he suggested
that as they had to tell an anecdotal story to each other he would tell his story in
his native language, Italian. Then Linda had to tell him what she thought his story
was about. To Linda's surprise she was able to establish what the main theme of
his story was, which was about his first date with his wife. This she was able to
do just from listening to the storyteller‟s tones of voice, his body language and his
facial expression.
Exercise. Spend more time observing people and listening to their voice patterns
and then play with mimicking the people you have observed. One easy way to
Remember the story that we told of novice martial arts students who became much improved
after learning how to drop into a semi hypnotic state, akin to The Zone.
Physical skills……..
Strategy Ten: Sporting skills

There are many sporting skills in which the athlete drops into a slightly altered
state of consciousness, often referred to as The Zone. Although the mental state is
slightly different for different sports, commonly, there is a distortion of time and a
distortion of space. For example, a boxer may see their opponent moving in slow
motion, or a golfer may experience the hole as nearer and larger than it really is.
As an illustration, with respect time distortion, most people have experienced such Top sports performers have learned how to enter into an altered state of consciousness,
within which their mental focus causes time to slow and space to distort.
distortion, when leaving a motorway and slowing down to enter a town or a city.
Suddenly, it feels as if your car is crawling along. This is because you are in a
state of mind in which your mind has actually speeded up…hence causing you to
experience the rest of the world in slow motion.
Learning to distort time and space, can be an effective way to enter into The Zone.
For instance, paratroopers running across narrow planks suspended in treetops
report that they experience the planks as very wide and secure. They therefore feel
no reason to be afraid. Your challenge will be to take this observation and find
ways to apply it. For example, if you need to hit a ball, it would be helpful if it
appeared to be moving slowly and had grown in size. If you have to hit a target, it
would be helpful if the target appeared bigger than it really is. Then you would be
unable to „miss‟. If you are in competition or combat, it would be useful if your
opponents appeared to have become „slowed‟.
Exercise. List and relive times in which time has distorted, avoiding any with
negative or upsetting connotations. Compare and contrast the experience of
normal and distorted time, in terms of sense modes and strategies. If the time
distortion is a useful one explore ways to quickly enter the distortion and also
ways of anchoring the distortion so that you can enter it at any time you feel it will
be useful.

Section Two – Disney is a well-known innovator, who laid the foundational strategies by
which the producers of modern media presentations plan their „stories‟. The
Entering the mind of a genius films produced by Disney studios under Disney‟s leadership are masterpieces
for their time and many are timeless classics.
Through the course of this second section, the intention is to use a summary of the  Tesla was a scientist, prolific in the latter part of the Nineteenth Century, yet
researches of NLP author Robert Dilts to help us to enter into the minds of six because of early Twentieth Century politics in America, he is little recognised
people, who are recognised as making unique contributions to our modern by the modern general public. To those who know a little of his history, Tesla
appreciation of how humans think. The six are Aristotle, Sherlock Holmes, is recognised on a par with Einstein, if not in a pre-eminent position, having
Mozart, Einstein, Disney, and Tesla. To be more precise about the contribution of designed over seven hundred patented technologies. Prior to the „disputed‟
each genius, into whose minds we will be peering: part of his life, Tesla developed the technology that led to alternating current
and designed the first American power generator, situated at Niagara Falls.
 Aristotle lived around 500 BC and laid the foundations for Modern Science.
Working long before World War One, Tesla envisaged wireless transmission
His approach to logical thinking and the philosophy of science is important to
of electrical power and a way to generate power via the Earth‟s magnetic field
understand for anyone who is engaged in any form of science or technology.
– a secret that many theorists believe he took to his grave in order to prevent
 Sherlock Holmes while being a fictional detective, authored by Arthur Conan the military development of „death rays‟. A number of modern technologists
Doyle, is a character based upon the analytical strategies of Doyle‟s mentor, revere Tesla and look to his work for inspiration. It is reputed by some that the
Dr Joseph Bell, who had a renowned ability to diagnose illness and to US government sequestered many of Tesla‟s most sophisticated devices at the
generate insight during forensic examination of a corpse. time of his death.
 Mozart is a renowned musician, who lived in the Eighteenth Century. Having introduced each of the figures, into whose minds we will be travelling, it
Mozart‟s approach to his work is worth analysing because his approach to is now time to begin our journey…
composition enabled him to complete the famous piece Don Giovanni in two
hours on the day of the performance. While there are a number of superficial
differences, the essence of Mozart‟s approach to composition is echoed in the
approach undertaken by Beethoven, Michael Jackson and Paul McCartney.
 Einstein is the most popularly recognised exponent of a visual form of
thinking that epitomises that used by a number of major scientists associated
with key advances in physics – and related sciences. For many commentators,
the image of Einstein is a Twentieth Century icon for „brilliance‟.
 Leonardo DaVinci was a pivotal figure in Renaissance Europe, who mixed
abilities as an artist and designer to create novel technologies. For those who
study history, DaVinci is the model „renaissance man‟, a person able to
straddle the worlds of science and art and apply the power of both worlds to
the challenges faced by those around him.
perspectives. We can simulate the use of Aristotle‟s timeline by

Aristotle completing a set of template sentences:
A voice from Ancient Greece, circa 500 BC, who helped shape the modern world by establishing the
first rudiments of science, and scientific method. Much modern science is rooted in the systems of
o AAAA because BBBB
philosophy and observation and logic that were established by Aristotle and his students. (e.g. I feel anxious because I worry I‟ll forget what to say)
o AAAA before BBBB
(e.g. I feel anxious before public speaking)
o AAAA after BBBB
(e.g. I feel anxious after seeing everyone looking at me)
o AAAA while BBBB
o AAAA whenever BBBB
o AAAA so that BBBB
o AAAA if BBBB
o AAAA although BBBB
o AAAA in the same way that BBBB
We then look at the template sentences and begin to pick out key
themes that we believe indicate the cause of the problem. We keep on
identifying causes until we feel that we have enough of a list and until
we feel the list is a good representation of the most important source
of the difficulty we are modelling.
(Picture of bust from http://www.utexas.edu/cola/depts/philosophy/specialprograms.html)
 OUTCOMES. Having identified a set of symptoms and underlying
The process causes, we imagine what we would like to have in place of our
problems. One of the ways in which people become stuck in their
Robert Dilts describes Aristotle‟s thinking strategy using the mnemonic SCORE. problems is that they forget to ever imagine a world without the
The mnemonic stands for Symptoms, Causes, Outcomes, Resources, and Effects. problem. Once we envisage the world as we would like it to be, the
The following explains each of these „headings‟ in more detail: solution often becomes more apparent. In terms of a VAK Model
 SYMPTOMS. According to Aristotle, the first step in defining a sequence, we need to envisage our ideal world, get a feel for the main
solution to a problem is to generate a strong visual image of the themes, verbalise those themes, look at the list and check that the
problem or issue to be investigated. You then look at the mind‟s eye verbal list ‘feels right’.
image you have generated and get a feel for the main features, the  RESOURCES. Now we know the situation we want, we can re-
symptoms. As you look at the image and feel what you feel, you then envisage the problem scenario and look at it to discern the resources
begin to internally verbalise and write down the symptoms, stopping we have available to us. For a fourth time, we visualise, get a feel,
every now and then to discern the accuracy of your description. If you verbalise, look at our list and check the list feels right, before
feel that something needs changing, change it and check again, using continuing.
your feelings. When you feel that the description is complete, you  EFFECTS. We imagine our ideal world and begin to consider the
move on to the next stage… implications of that world, using our now familiar cycle of: visualise,
 CAUSES. Aristotle had a different appreciation of time to our own, feel, verbalise, look, feel and move on to the next stage.
and using his unique perspective can lead to insights that would If we have noted the results of each of the preceding sections in tabular form, or in
otherwise not be available. Aristotle would imagine a timeline and the form of some kind of diagram, we can look at all the ideas we have collected
look at the problem being analysed from a number of different
and collated and see if one or more patterns (plans) of action emerge from the
work we have undertaken. We can then begin to note the ideas in verbal form, all
Sherlock Holmes
the time checking that what we are seeing and noting feels right. We thus end up The fictional character of Sherlock Holmes was based on a real life forensic scientist,
Dr John Bell, who, in the 1900s, did much to revolutionise the way that detection is now undertaken
with one or more plans that have emerged from a logical application of all three using powers of observation and deduction.
main sense modalities.
Sharpening the link between observation and intuition.

Exercise. An exercise that helps one practise the synthesis of visual acuity and
intuition is the lie-detector game. One person hides a coin behind their back. The
other person asks which hand the coin is in, and the holder of the coin has to
answer truthfully. After five goes, the holder of the coin has to answer falsely five
times. The idea is to calibrate their non-verbal signals. Now you play the game,
with the intent that the guesser continues to refine their understanding of the
holder‟s non-verbal signals associated with truth and lying.
(Picture of the actor Basil Rathbone from http://www.mindspring.com/~tjbayne4/photogl.htm)
The process
Like Aristotle, the character of Sherlock Holmes is described as using his mind to
combine different modes of thinking into a powerful and cohesive force. Unlike
Aristotle, Holmes places more emphasis on what we might call meta-cognition, in
essence a reflection on his thinking process that is used to provide direction to that
process.
 OBSERVATION. Holmes begins by visually searching the scene of the
crime (though he could just as easily be visually scanning the engine of a car, if he were a mechanic
seeking the cause of a malfunction). As he looks around, Holmes notes all the clues
(notable features) relating to environment and to behaviour. In our terms,
Holmes looks out, and relates what he sees to an internal image of what is
to be „normal‟ and notes instances that appear out of the ordinary.
 ASSUMPTIONS. Looking at the clues, Holmes begins to note cultural
and contextual assumptions that he can bring to bear in analysing the set
of clues that he has unearthed. He actively begins to visualise and note
down situations by which the clues might have arisen. For example, coal
dust and rough hands might lead to an assumption that the person is a coal
merchant. In this process, Holmes is not content to stop at one
assumption, but seeks to search for others and then assess which is the
most likely. With regard to the coal dust, other assumptions might be that
a householder has just taken delivery of a sack of coal or was in the Sharpening your imagination and meta-cognition
process of tending a fire. With all the possibilities before him, Homes Exercise. The following exercise will sharpen your meta-cognitive processes.
calculates which is the most likely, which means he generates an internal Take a controversial situation and imagine being on each side of the argument,
feeling associated with each and then assesses, which feels „right‟. (Recall and as you explore each side of the argument imagine the circumstances that have
that models of the minds of a number of math‟s prodigies indicate that complex mathematical
calculations are mediated by feeling, with the answer appearing to arise as if from no-where).
caused you to believe so fervently that you are „right‟.
 INFERENCES. Holmes uses his imagination to link the clues and the With each imagining, get a colleague to note down your descriptions of what you
assumptions into one or more plausible scenarios. Here again, we see are experiencing. While doing this, try to go beyond caricatures of each side, and
visualisation, followed by notation, followed by intuition. In the stories of aim to get into the mind of the person and into the logic that rules their behaviour.
Sherlock Holmes, time and again, Holmes sees things that others miss Step-back from the exercise (and affirm who you are) and look at the different
because he is not content with the obvious, but generates alternate theories points of view and the different „logic bubbles‟ and note down your observations
and possibilities that go beyond the immediate. Holmes explores every with regard each approach and each bubble. What are the logical implications of
angle of the situation until he feels that every angle has been covered. each side of the argument? And, How do those implications mesh with reality?
 DEDUCTION. Holmes now uses deduction to confirm or deny his Looking at your notes, reflect on your thinking process and identify any additional
inferences. He takes each theory and visualises what would be the work that needs to be completed, until you are sure that you feel you have been
outcome of that scenario if it were true. He can then note down the fair to both sides of the argument. Note down your reaction to different aspects of
outcomes and compare them with the facts of the case. For example, the process. What was easy? What was difficult? Why was it difficult? Reflect on
suppose that Holmes takes the assumption that the person is a coal what you have learned. Reflect on what you now think about the appropriate
merchant, and thinks back but remembers seeing no cart. He might then resolution to the issue. If you had a previous belief, has that belief changed? And
deduce that another possibility is more likely. He may recall seeing the if so, How?
door of the house open and a stack of coal already by the fire…Thus,
ultimately, Holmes will seek to dis-confirm all the inferences until only
one possibility (however unlikely) still remains.
 META-COGNITION. Holmes now scans back over his thinking, whether
mentally recorded or physically noted down, and seeks to ascertain that he
feels confident that everything has been considered and nothing has been
overlooked. As the preceding description suggests his visual scan is
followed by a kinesthetic check that all is now complete.
 CHECKING. Once written, Mozart would play the piece in his mind and note
Mozart whether there was a sufficient sense of „grandeur‟ and „spirit‟. If there was
A recognised child prodigy, Mozart was a prolific composer and more work to do, he would go back to a preceding step in the process. Notice
also recognised for the speed at which he could author a „masterpiece‟.
here, that concepts like grandeur and spirit are essentially kinesthetic. And
thus in the completion of a piece of music, Mozart is returning to his initial
inspiration for the new composition: his feelings.
Practicing Mozart’s approach

Exercise. The following is an exercise devised by Pulitzer award-winning
composer Michael Colgrass so that children can quickly learn to compose in a
manner similar to Mozart. Using his „method‟, Colgrass has taught children as
young as seven to compose their own work in under an hour. To use this process:
 Get a whiteboard, or similar presentational tool. Mark the board as
follows. Indicate that the left of the board is the start and the right of
the board is the end. Thus, progress left to right can be considered to
be a timeline. Then mark the top of the board as high notes and the
bottom of the board as low notes. Thus, the range from top to bottom
(Picture of Mozart from: http://www.nmhu.edu/communicationarts/Music/MUSPAGE/MUSPAGE.HTM) represents pitch.
 Start with a feeling for the sort of piece you want.
The process
 Begin to generate sounds that you associate with the feeling and
Unsurprisingly, given that Mozart was working with a different category of place them on the board. Remember it is a white board, so you can
„problem‟ he also engaged in a different set of thought processes. Unexpectedly, always move sounds around at a later time. Find your own visual to
given that Mozart was a musician, the sense modalities with which he engaged remind you of the „shape‟ of the sound, for example a ticking sound
with the most were kinesthetic. In the case of Mozart, kinesthetics are used to might be lots of small dots. If you want you can also put letters that
prime the creative process in the following ways: are evocative of the sound, for example wayyyhayeeeeee.
 LIGHT EXERCISE. Mozart would go for a walk or go for a pleasurable ride,  Once you have annotated the board, decide what instruments will
and begin to become aware of feelings welling up from within. He would then play which sounds.
imagine sounds that fitted with those feelings. Notice, however, that the prime
 Refine everything, to ensure good style.
driving modality here is feeling and that the sounds selected by Mozart had to
„feel right‟.  Now, one-person moves their finger from left to right and the other
composer(s) play what they have written (using either voice or
 CLUSTERING. Having generated a number of feelings and sounds that instruments). When what you hear feels right, you have finished,
intrigued him, Mozart would begin to cluster the sounds and note what kinds otherwise go back and do some editing.
of instruments might be used to re-produce those sounds. He might also edit
the work according to a particular genre of music or for a particular audience.
 NOTATING. Taking the key themes and components generated during the
course of his walk or ride, Mozart would begin to note down ideas in a visual
format on a timeline. Given that Mozart was composing for an orchestra, the
visual timeline enabled him to represent and imagine the contribution of many
individuals within the overall composition.
Einstein‟s approach to science is to start with a succinct verbal description of the

Einstein problem or issue and to then find visual metaphors for that problem or issue. In
One of the icons of Twentieth Century science, Einstein laid the theoretical foundation for nuclear other words, Einstein would seek to find a commonplace situation to which even
physics, and also the foundations for our modern understanding, vis-à-vis the interaction of
gravitational forces between planets, leading to the foundation for future space travel the most abstract problem could be described in terms of everyday situations. The
human brain has evolved for millennia, to enable us to deal with practical day-to-
day problems. By re-conceiving abstract issues in terms of familiar day-to-day
situations, it is easier for our brains to leverage a solution to any of the problems
that we face. For example, when considering what happens at the speed of light,
Einstein imagined what would happen if he were sitting on a light beam, trying to
look at himself in a mirror. Then he switched perspective and imagined himself as
an observer, sitting on an asteroid, watching himself sitting on the light beam and
looking in the mirror.
During the process of generating new metaphors and allegories by which to
simplify complex and abstract problems, Einstein would regularly check his
feelings and gauge whether he believed he was heading in a productive direction –
or whether he felt it was time to generate a new set of visual metaphors.
In short, we see in Einstein the exact opposite mental processes that were
deployed by Aristotle and Sherlock Holmes (alias Dr Bell). While Aristotle and
Holmes work from pictures to words, Einstein progresses from words to pictures.
Importantly, our interest in noting the contrast between these three figures of
(Portrait from http://ise.stanford.edu/class/psych221/99/emkwok/) genius is that we can see how the adoption of different cognitive strategies led to
very different kinds of achievement. Aristotle is known for developing word-
Overview based and logical descriptions of both physical and mental processes. Holmes is
The thought processes of Einstein emphasise the importance of imagination and known for having an eloquent grasp of language and spotting the detail in the
the free play of ideas. Unlike Holmes and Aristotle, Einstein was not concerned world around him, and recognising the meaning of those details. Einstein is
with „defining things‟. Indeed Einstein‟s belief was that definition is only of value remembered for generating a fresh perspective and providing the foundational
from one perspective, the perspective of the person writing the definition. Hence, metaphors for new advances in physics and mathematics. Three very different
as far as Einstein was concerned, definitions are for technologists working on minds and three very different reputations.
specific problems. And not for scientists.
Finding the right picture for the ‘job’
What was of interest to Einstein was to discern the broad principles underlying
various physical phenomena and problems. His interest was in the bigger picture, Exercise. The following is an exercise designed to encourage you to use
by which later more defined models may be derived. As a result, in later life metaphors and visual images as a way to solve problems. Identify a problem or an
Einstein tended to work with a team of people. He would provide the overview issue, and begin to generate a number of visual, or otherwise imaginary,
and they would fill in the details, rather as if Einstein drew the outline of a metaphors that might be used to think of the problem from a fresh perspective and
painting by numbers picture, while his team coloured in the edges so that a thus lead to an innovative solution. Describe the images and metaphors and get a
recognisable picture was formed. To give another metaphor, it was as if Einstein feel for which, if any, have given you an insight that you might not otherwise have
were completing a jigsaw, his interest would be in completing the outer frame – had.
and he would happily leave others to fill in the rest of the picture.
When solving technical problems, DaVinci would imagine and then list the
DaVinci criteria for success. He would then imagine the main components of machines
about which he knew and imagine re-combining or altering those components in
One of the instigators of The Renaissance, an artist-scientist, who contributed
to the new forms of thinking that led to the transformation of Europe from Medieval different ways. He would then imagine using the new machine and get a feeling
Thinking to the kind of cognitive strategies that characterise the modern world. for the degree to which the machine would meet the list of criteria he had
A man ahead of his time, he drew sketches of technologies that did not come into existence previously prepared. If he believed he had been successful, he would sketch the
for a further four hundred years, for example his preliminary sketch for the design of a helicopter.
machine and write some explanatory notes alongside the sketch. For example,
looking at a wide river, DaVinci would envisage a mixture of structures that might
provide for a robust bridge. This is rather like the sort of thinking that is required
on many team-building tasks where people are provided with a number of items of
kit and asked to use those items to get from one side of an obstacle course to
another.
Exercise. This is an exercise designed to enhance your appreciation of perspective
and your ability to rotate objects in your imagination. Look at some pictures of
simple objects, imagine the object rotated and draw it. Once you have practiced
the basic idea, begin to look at real objects and either draw or verbally describe
what they would look like from a different perspective. As you complete this
exercise, reflect on what you found easy and what you found challenging.
Exercise. This exercise seeks to encourage you to engage with DaVinci‟s model
of problem solving and to reflect on the successes and challenges you face in
(Portrait from http://www.windows.ucar.edu/tour/link=/art_and_music/people_art_archive.ht) applying his model of problem solving in your life. To complete the exercise, take
random objects / things that you see in the world and wonder how you could
Overview combine those objects / things to generate a new product that would have mass
From his work, it is clear that Leonardo DaVinci had an amazing ability to market appeal. Have fun with the exercise. You may or may not make a million
visualise, and in particular, to look at an object or an image and discern the key pounds as an entrepreneur, but you should design some weird and wonderful
components. Whereas Aristotle then took the visual and began to use that visual „machines‟ any of which might give rise to more practical ideas.
image as the basis for verbal definition, DaVinci kept with the visual sub-
modality, seeking to refine his visual perception of the object being studied.
DaVinci would imagine looking at the object from different perspectives, one of
the by-products of this unique style of problem solving was that he brought into
existence the concept of perspective painting, which was to revolutionise
mathematics (by giving rise to the concept of grid location), philosophy (because grid co-
ordinates gave rise to the concept of objective description, not dependent upon
God) and science (because objective description led to the development of many
new inventions, particularly those related to the need for Italian City States to
defend themselves in uncertain times).
Caricatures and photographs of Disney at work show him hunched over a table, in
Disney a classic foetal position indicative of kinesthetic mental processes. While in this
overall kinesthetic position, with his body, we see Disney‟s head and eyes looking
up in classic visualisation pose. Whether Disney started with feeling, like Mozart,
and then generated visuals, or whether he started with visuals and generated
feeling is not certain. However, what is certain is that both kinesthetic and visual
processes were intimately intertwined and fed off of one another.
From Disney‟s descriptions of his work, it appears that having started as a
dreamer and set a direction towards which to work, Disney would become a
realist and make a list of all the practical things that needed to happen to realise
the dream. He would then switch to the role of critic, imagining himself at a future
time, with the dream actualised – and question whether all the work needed was
worth the effort.
Exercise. This exercise encourages you to engage in Disney‟s process of dreamer-
reality-critic. To do this, imagine a dream that takes you into the most perfect life
you can imagine for yourself. Having described your dream, work out what you
would need to do to actualise that dream. Finally, use your kinesthetics to decide
if any or all the plan is „worth it‟ – and make any alterations you feel are
appropriate.
Exercise. The second exercise concerns Disney‟s most famous and practical
invention, in his role as realist, the storyboard. Using a storyboard, a full story is
(Headshot from http://www.highschooljournalism.org/teachers/eternal.htm)
split into a number of individual scenes, which are then split into actions, which
Overview are then split into individual movements, which then tell the animators exactly
what work needs to be completed. The film industry uses a similar process to plan
Disney‟s method of thinking was so powerful and effective that it has become the feature films; and each year sees an increasing number of other fields of
de facto method used by most of the media industry, as well as by many in other endeavour adopting and adapting the process. For example, companies working in
fields of human endeavour. As with so many of the previous thinking processes the fields of marketing and PR.
and strategies described, Disney would begin his creative thinking by generating a
To get started with a storyboard, complete the following five steps:
visual image - a vision, or as many call it, a dream. As the creative process
 Get an overall feeling of what it is you want to communicate.
became more structured and taught to others, the technique became known by
many as imagineering.  Generate some visuals that might associate to your feeling.
 Visually imagine a trailer or advert for a completed film that describes the
Imagineering came to represent the focused application of imagination in a overall story arc.
structured and disciplined environment. It involved a mix of visuals and feeling –  Begin to sketch your overall story arc on small pieces of paper that are then
hence it is no surprise that Disney‟s films have such a feel-good factor associated pasted on a larger board. Use light glue so that as more detail is added to the
with them. Again, we see in the final product produced by Disney studios, echoes story, each piece of paper can be moved around.
of the thought processes used to develop those products, and clear contrasts to the  As you look at the evolving story arc, get a feel for aspects that need to be
intellectual property of Aristotle, Holmes and Mozart, as reviewed previously. elaborated, and for alterations that need to be made for the progression of the
story and engagement of an audience.
 Critique your work and make any necessary alterations.
Exercises. The following exercises pull together some of the principles with
Tesla which we played in earlier chapters, with the intention of enabling you to replicate
Tesla was the developer of alternating current, and was a physicist and visionary ahead of his time. some of Tesla‟s ability to run a computer-aided design program in his mind:
Indeed, some argue Tesla is still ahead of our time.
Below is pictured a Tesla coil that generates flashes of electric discharge, akin to lightening.  Adjust your body posture to make visual imagery easier, shoulder back like a
jazz saxophonist and eyes looking up to the left or to the right.
 Identify some reference points to which you can refer. Think back to times
when you have imagined vivid images or re-live times of great positive
emotion in your life. Anytime your images begin to get faint, skip back to one
of these „reference points‟. Also, as you look at your reference points notice if
there is any pattern or patterns. For example, when you seek to create a new
image, do you: look in the same area of space, were you waving your hands in
a particular way, were you sitting or lying or walking, do you look for a
similar amount of colour and movement? Taking a few minutes identify some
‘reference points’ gives you a strong resource and provides an opportunity
for you to calibrate what it is that you already do well – so you can do it more
often.
 Chunking. Some people like to start with details and build up to the big
picture, others like to start with the big picture and work towards the details.
Play with your ability to visualise. Begin by thinking of an overall scenario,
and then zoom in onto the detail. Then, begin with a small aspect of an image
and zoom out, so that you can see the original image within a larger context.
(Portrait from http://hep.ucsb.edu/people/hnn/physicists.html, Tesla coil from  Reduce interference. If other senses are causing interference play with your
http://www.mtu.edu/studenthandbook/studentlife.html)
experience and find ways to minimise that interference. For example, if you
have too much verbal chatter in your mind, practise focusing on images from
Tesla was reputed to be able to visualise so effectively that he had a well-equipped other senses. Your conscious mind can only cope with a limited amount of
virtual laboratory in his mind and only used his real laboratory to check the tasks at a time. If you keep it busy focusing on a specific sense mode, it will
findings of his mental models. In effect, Tesla had the mental equivalent to a not have the capacity to be conjuring internal chatter.
modern computer-aided design program. For example, in one experiment to test  Encourage overlap with other senses. Try linking visualisation with other
his abilities, Tesla was asked to work out the wear on an engine after a certain senses. For example, if you find it easy to conjure kinesthetic images, move
number of hours use. After running his mind experiment, while colleagues ran around a bit or wave your hands. Or if you find it easy to conjure images of
physical experiments, the two results were within hundredths of a millimetre of music, add a sound track. Play! Do whatever you can to make your visual
one another. Thus, while competitors, such as Thomas Edison, claimed that images more vivid and detailed.
invention was 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration, for Tesla the ratio was
 Be realistic. Set realistic goals. If you have never previously experienced an
reversed and the main reason that we remember Edison rather than Tesla has more
ability to conjure vivid and detailed pictures in your mind, set out to catch an
to do with political shenanigans than either‟s ability or contribution to science.
ephemeral image and work toward making it more „concrete‟. Unrealistic
But remember that Tesla‟s abilities were not innate. While he undoubtedly had an
expectations lead to failure and self-criticism. Relax and everything will begin
inborn capacity to visualise easily, he still took time to develop and nurture that
to fall into place.
ability. So, with this in mind…
Section Three – Eliciting Strategies

Become observant!
Remember that kids learn by observing, mimicking and testing.
You are never too old to do the same.
Watch experts, so you can elicit their strategies.
Use the strategies you have noted, so that you, yourself, can perform more effectively.
It‟s great to be able to make use of strategies modelled by other people. But Make use of your observations of the cognitive strategies of others
consider how much more impressive it would be if we learn and practise eliciting to help you communicate your thoughts with greater clarity.
strategies for ourselves. Then, we can either teach those strategies to others, or we
can use those strategies to enable us to perform skills that we wish to emulate, or
we can use our knowledge of cognitive strategies to help us communicate more
clearly to those around us.
For example…
Recently, we were helping pitch a project bid to the representatives of a certain
government department. The department had previously rejected a written bid on
the basis that it did not meet the funding criteria. However, after an appeal they
decided that perhaps there was more to the idea than they had realised, so a
meeting was arranged .
For the first fifteen minutes, the meeting was like wading through treacle. While
the representatives to whom we were speaking were polite, they would clearly
have preferred to be elsewhere. Thus, realising that things were not going well,
we were casting around in our minds for a way in which to unlock the situation.
At that point, Pete said, “the real difficulty here is that we are trying to
communicate to you a concept that needs to be experienced to be properly
understood” and we told a (true) story of how the best chemistry students do well
because they intuitively visualise. We then reflected on the fact that few chemistry
courses teach visualisation as part of their curriculum.
In reaction to our story, the meeting livened up because one of the technical
consultants then suddenly „understood‟ what we had being trying to communicate
about our design for a new accelerated learning technology. And once he became
engaged in conversation about our ideas, we were very quickly able to find out
that the man‟s background was in electronics and that his strategy for creating
new circuit boards was essentially visual. We were then able to use that piece of
information and re-frame the description of our accelerated learning technology in
terms of how it would have helped him get better marks in his work at college.
The result was that the government representatives became keen for us to submit a
new proposal and were very helpful in detailing the form that the proposal should
take. And all because we were able to reframe our ideas in a form which were
congruent with the modalities of thought favoured by the individuals to whom we
were pitching our ideas.
So…how do you begin… Experts in any field of activity do most of their thinking at a subconscious level.
Hence the reason it is so difficult to program a computer to replicate human expertise.
Our advice in this respect is for you to ensure that you have completed all the (Pictures: TOP,
exercises presented in preceding chapters of this book. You will then have a COG was designed as n experiment into aspects of human common sense,
while BOTTOM,
wealth of theoretical knowledge and practical experience related to NLP Kismet is a robot designed to experiment with aspects of emotional expression).
modelling techniques. More importantly, you will have garnered a willingness to
be curious and to experiment with the basic principles of NLP, as described in our
text.
Recall back to previous chapters where we noted that it is important for an
interviewer to realise that much of the skill of an expert is automated and
unconscious (to the expert). If you work on the basis that an expert only has a dim
understanding of how they achieve good results, then you will not be far wrong.
And you can learn to hold on lightly to the verbalisation and rationalisation for the
way in which your experts believe that they make decisions. Instead, you will
focus in upon observing what experts do, and how they do it, so that you can
begin to unpick the emotional states, cognitive strategies, and mental imagery that
underpins „success‟, as distinct from the emotional states, cognitive strategies, and
mental imagery associated with those who are less successful in the profession
you are studying.
To illustrate how much we are often unaware of our own non verbal behaviours,
Pete was in a workshop, teaching people how to read eye movements, and was
being helped by a chap who had volunteered to be a demonstration subject. Every
time Pete asked a specific question, his eyes flicked to the right and then back to
centre, a fact that everyone in the room could see and agreed was happening.
However, as far as the demonstration subject was concerned, he was absolutely
sure his eyes had always been looking forward. At one point it was clear that my
„helper‟ was even trying to force his eyes to stay looking „forward‟ – yet, they still
flicked to the side! Fortunately, despite a stubborn streak in insisting his eyes were
not moving, my „helper‟ had a strong sense of humour and was able to laugh at
the funny side of the situation.
Exercise. Work in threes, taking it in turn to play the parts of interviewer,
interviewee and observer. Having assigned roles (and reviewed your knowledge
of rapport skills), the interviewer encourages the interviewee to re-live a time in
which they performed a skill they know well. Noting both word usage and body
language, the interviewer begins to elicit the key sensory modes associated with
good performance and also begins to elicit the sequencing of those sensory modes.
Once you have three skills, teach those skills to one another.
Aim high.
Conclusions
We began this chapter with a brief résumé of NLP modelling and why it might be
of interest to you. We then progressed into a description of a range of „off-the-
peg‟ cognitive strategies with which you can play and practise in the days, weeks
and months to come. This led into a more detailed description and discussion of
some individuals who are recognised as having the status of a genius, in the annals
of history. And again you were presented with exercises with which you can
experiment. Finally, we closed with an exhortation for you to use our discussion
of the cognitive strategies of others as the basis for taking the time to observe the
people around you. With the intention that you will observe the cognitive
strengths and weaknesses of those you observe, so that you can work to re-enforce
the strengths and underpin the weaknesses. Remembering that if you properly
focus your mind, you should expect to get at least twice the results with half the
effort, in the years to come. It may take a while for you to reach this desired state,
but be encouraged, because the journey is an interesting and intriguing one on
which to embark.
 Two years, as a UI/UX Designer, conceiving and authoring resources to facilitate

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

03 Strategies For Genius

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

Chapter Three, at a glance

Remember: many people describe NLP as the “science of success”.

Complex multiplication Division

Strategy Six: Art Strategies

Moving from creativity to construction

Games which require the application of logic

Science and Technology……..

Strategy Eight: Science and Technology

begin this process is to become a mimic of famous people that appear on

Strategy Nine: Learning Foreign Languages

Strategy Ten: Sporting skills

perspectives. We can simulate the use of Aristotle‟s timeline by

Sharpening the link between observation and intuition.

(Picture of the actor Basil Rathbone from http://www.mindspring.com/~tjbayne4/photogl.htm)

Practicing Mozart’s approach

Einstein‟s approach to science is to start with a succinct verbal description of the

Section Three – Eliciting Strategies

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

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