NLP At Work : The Difference That Makes the Difference in Business

model. We all have strategies for how we learn, for how we make
decisions, for how we buy, for how we motivate ourselves... The
list is endless. So if we want to influence ourselves or others, we
can only do so if we use the relevant strategy. If you are already
good at influencing and you have never come across the
concept of modeling, then you probably do this unconsciously.
However, we cannot leave these skills to chance and intuition—
we need to be masters of our trade. The more skillful and
respectful influencers know how to detect the strategy of the
person with whom they are dealing and how to use that strategy
to adapt their communication to suit the individual.
For example, if you want to help someone make a decision
and you have learned that their strategy for decision making
involves them creating an internal image, then asking
themselves a question in order to get an internal feeling that
lets them know the decision, you can adjust the way you
summarize your discussion with them. To match their strategy
you can say, "Imagine the scenario in the future (you might be
more specific here if it is appropriate) (Visual construct), and
ask yourself how is this going to make a difference to you (Aid),
and you will sense that this is the decision that fits for you (Ki).”
At the end of Chapter 20 I describe a very elegant use of a
learning strategy by Robert Dilts (one of the leading creative
developers of the use of NLP) to help a boy who had been
described as learning disabled spell complex words and
regain his belief in his ability to learn. If you are a manager you
need to know the strategies of the people who work for you to
enable them to reach their true potential. If you are a parent
you need to know the learning strategies of your children to
help them be the individuals they are meant to be. If you are
a salesperson you need to know the buying strategies of your
customers. If you are a member of a team you need to know the
motivational strategies of your fellow team members. There
really is no end to the contexts in which this is important in
your dealings with others.
This also applies to yourself. If you want to write you need
to know your best writing strategy. If you want to motivate
yourself you need to know your motivation strategy. I have just
received an email from someone who uses NLP to help himself
improve the quality of his life after being diagnosed with

We need to be masters of our

trade

There is no end to the

contexts in which this is

important

STRATEGIES FOR SUCCESSFUL LIVING 179