Neuro Linguistic Programming

Chapter 17: Telling Tales to Reach the Unconscious: Stories, Fables, and Metaphors 275

On her marriage night, she entertained the king with a tale that hung in the

air unfinished at dawn. The king’s curiosity got the better of him awaiting the

completion of the tale and he spared her life – again and again and again – as

the thousand and one tales unfolded. And he broke the habit of killing his

new brides!

You too can build story loops into your storytelling skill set. This advanced

device can help with the stories you tell, whether in a presentation, training,

or social setting.

You begin one story and then before you complete it, you say ‘ah that

reminds me of.. .’, or ‘have I told you the one about.. .’. The stories hang

in the air, incomplete; people are left uncertain, wondering what happened

and how the story’s going to end. This technique enables you to keep the

audience’s attention and concentration as they try to create order out of the

confusion. You can build story loops naturally as you wander from subject

to subject. Be sure to close the stories off eventually, however, or you simply

end up annoying your audience.

And finally, sit back, relax, and enjoy another

story from the Sufi tradition

There was once a small boy who banged a

drum all day and loved every moment of it.

He wouldn’t be quiet, no matter what anyone

else said or did. Various people who called

themselves Sufis, and other well-wishers,

were called in by neighbours and asked to do

something about the child.

The first so-called Sufi told the boy that he

would, if he continued to make so much noise,

perforate his eardrums; this reasoning was

too advanced for the child, who was neither a

scientist nor a scholar. The second told him that

drum-beating was a sacred activity and should

be carried out only on special occasions. The

third offered the neighbours plugs for their ears;

the fourth gave the boy a book; the fifth gave

the neighbours books that described a method

of controlling anger through biofeedback; the

sixth gave the boy meditation exercises to make

him placid and explained that all reality was

imagination. Like all placebos, each of these

remedies worked for a short while, but none

worked for very long.

Eventually, a real Sufi came along. He looked

at the situation, handed the boy a hammer and

chisel, and said, ‘I wonder what’s inside the

drum?’