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

The question presupposes the

answer

When we coach others we need to be very clear about whose

emotions we are dealing with.

To develop someone’s confidence in themselves and

therefore in their ability to draw on their own resources, I want

to reward and confirm any opportunity when they are

indicating that this is what they are doing. So if someone has

the structure of the answer in their question, then my role as a

coach is to reinforce that.

Examples of questions in which the answer presupposed is

“Yes”:

❏ Do you think I should take the job I have been offered in

this new company?

❏ Do you think I can find the confidence to do this?

❏ Should I really reconsider that decision?

❏ Am I being very direct in the way I am saying this?

This last question invites direct feedback—”Yes.” And yet I have

witnessed many coaches seeking to reassure in response to a

question like this, rather than confirming the truth that the

questioners already know within themselves—and of course

giving and receiving feedback, which is the subject of Chapter 19.

In Chapter 11 I introduced the TOTE (Test➔Operate➔

Test➔Exit). This is a flowchart for mapping the strategies we use

to get ourselves from our present state to a future desired state.

On my bike I have a mini computer that can track the speed, the

average speed, the distance covered, the top speed, and more.

One of the measures is cadence or pedaling speed, the rate at

which I am turning the pedals. Learning to manage cadence is

one of the ways in which skilled cyclists develop their racing

ability. The faster they can turn the pedals, the more efficiently

they can use their energy. I aim for a cadence of 90 so as I cycle

I watch the feedback on how I am doing. If the cadence drops

below that then I change my pedaling speed. If I am unable to

increase my speed then I change down to a lower gear until I

356 NLP AT WORK

Finding our inner resources