How to Proceed - Your Modeling Project - NLP Master Practitioner Workbook

Your Modeling Project

C. How to Proceed

1. Contrast

Some kind of contrast will be extremely useful in helping you zero in on the crucial distinctions operating. Whenever possible make everything the same except the presence or absence of what you are modeling.

a. You can compare the same person before and after they made a change whether spontaneous or deliberate.

b. You can compare two recent experiences in the same person when they did, and didn't, have the skill or quality you are modeling.

c. You can compare two people, one of whom has it and the other doesn't.

2. Selecting a counterexample

If you are modeling a problem state, for example, you don't want to select any counterexample. You need a counterexample that has all the features described for the problem state except that the person's response is useful and life-affirming. This will be an immense help in disregarding all the elements in the two experiences that are the same, and are irrelevant to success/failure. However, later you may need to go back and identify other supporting elements that are necessary, but not sufficient, and since they were present in both experiences you disregarded them.

3. Characterizing the experience and its counterexample

What are the essential features of the states you are modeling? What over all strategy sequence does the person go through? Then chunk down to the smaller steps, and characterize them using any and all NLP distinctions and methodologies you have learned. Among the ones that are usually very useful are:

Rep. Systems Motivation Strategies (sequence) Attitude

T.O.T.E. (Test, Operate, Test, Exit), or Criteria

G.E.O. (Goal, Evidence, Operation) Attentional Shifts: self/ other Presuppositions/Beliefs Content / Context

Most of the distinctions a b o v e are pure process differences and do not contain

specific content. However, most real-world skills require knowledge of content. A geologist needs to know about rocks, chemistry, physics, etc., and a negotiator may need to know about corporate structure, contracts, interest rates, time to develop a product, etc. These content-area skills are essential for the good judgement required in carrying out the process distinctions in your modeling. These are often overlooked in the focus on process, and need to be included as a part of your modeling. For instance, an editor needs to know the letters of the alphabet, and how to read and speak the language involved. Even if it seems totally obvious to you, include required content areas in your modeling description.

5. Designing a Transition

When you have characterized the differences between the problem state and the desired state, this will usually suggest what changes are required to get from the problem state to the desired state. How can you design a sequence of changes to make the transition smooth, efficient, and effective? Keep in mind that a given set of

changes may be very difficult when made in one sequence, and very easy when done in a different order. If there are a number of shifts to be made, decide which will probably be easier or more comfortable to make first, and then experiment to find out the best sequence of these shifts. Modeling someone who spontaneously went through a transition successfully will provide one effective sequence, but there is no guarantee that it is an optimal sequence.

At this point you should have an outline of a model of how to achieve the desired outcome. It is probably missing some distinctions and there will be certain contexts where it won't work, but it will work in at least some cases.

6. Testing and Refining

Your Model Some refining can be done conceptually, but trying out the model with yourself and others is the best way to learn how it can be improved. By trying out your model with additional clients, you can discover additional useful features.

a. Congruency. Try out your model with yourself. What problems could occur?

How can you modify your process so these problems are excluded? Are all the positive functions of the problem state preserved? For example, if someone

feels comfortable while public speaking by negatively hallucinating the audience, this will interfere majorly with a lively, connected presentation. An alternative way of feeling comfortable will be much more useful. Are there any supporting elements, or processes, reframes or preframes, etc., that you can add that would make this process even more positive, attractive, and beneficial for the person?

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b. Streamlining. The process you modeled from the counterexample or exceptional model may have steps or aspects that are redundant or superfluous, and may even interfere with the desired outcome. Is there anything you can leave out, yet still get the desired results? Perhaps someone repeats a question inside, or shifts posture, etc., and this only delays the response.

c. Amplifying. How can you add to the process to make it more robust and enduring? This is best discovered by noticing exactly where the process fails with specific clients, and what you have to change to make it work. By building this into the process you can extend the range of successful applications. For instance, the phobia cure will not work well with some people because of postural anchors that prevent full dissociation. Perceptual position misalignment can also interfere. Adding these elements in, either as an earlier step in the process, or as "troubleshooting" followups can make the phobia cure work successfully with a much wider range of people. Sometimes the process can be amplified by changing the sequence of states, or by

changing the tempo of the sequence.

7. At this point it can be extremely useful to compare your model of an exceptional skill with:

a. Someone who is only moderately skilled, to gain more understanding of the relative contribution of individual components to the overall ability, and to highlight aspects that may interfere, or that were not obvious in your previous modeling.

b. Someone else who is also exceptionally skilled, to learn different ways to do a particular component of a process, and/or to learn additional supporting elements that your first model never learned- and that you can teach them to improve their performance even more. This potential improvement can be a useful incentive to offer a highly skilled person to interest him/her in

participating in your modeling project. Another incentive is that when you are successful, they will have an explicit model that they can teach to clients or associates, to their benefit.

c. Special cases. Some clients will need more than a small adjustment to deal with objections, concerns, problems, or unique aspects. Often you can simply

add a "standard" step that checks for ecology or reframes common objections, so that the model can be successfully applied to a wider range of clients without further modification. Refining could theoretically go on forever.

Typically when you have experience with 20 or 30 clients, you will have encountered most of the variations that exist.

One way to speed up this refining process is to meet with a group of people and run them all through the process at once, with explicit directions to please report any and all concerns, hesitations, objections, or difficulties to you so that you can learn about them and build solutions into your model. (A tape recorder will help you get all this information quickly, and you can review it all later.)

Modeling, is the basis for the continuing development and progress in any field. Physics began over 250 years ago; NLP only 25. It's a nice beginning, but so much more must lie ahead.

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In document NLP Master Practitioner Workbook (Page 172-176)