Effective C ommtuiication through Neurolingiiistics Tailoring presentations to suit individual needs is vital to suecessful training sessions. The tools of neurolinguistic programming ean put you in toueh with your audience and result in quicker learning.

By JOHN LUDWIG and DIANE MENENDEZ

An excel lent trainer is o n e w h o k n o w s not just what to say but

how to say it to a specif ic au-

d ience . Exper t t ra iners can tailor their

c o m m u n i c a t i o n to assist, not i m p e d e ,

o thers ' learning.

[During the 1970s , John G r i n d e r and

Richard Bandler investigated how trainers

i n f l u e n c e d o t h e r s . Us ing l inguis t ics ,

psychology and cyberne t i cs , t h e y de -

scr ibed the s t ra tegies and tact ics of p e o -

ple successfu l in selling, training a n d

facili tating persona l change . T h e resul ts

of their work , neurol inguis t ic p rog ram-

ming ( N L P ) desc r ibes how language,

nonverba l behavior and internal (or sub-

j e c t i v e ) e x p e r i e n c e i n f l u e n c e

c o m m u n i c a t i o n .

T h i s ar t icle desc r ibes t h r e e N L P

t e c h n i q u e s that t ra iners can use to tailor

their del ivery. Specifically, t ra iners can

p a c e their s t uden t s ' expe r i ence , tailor

their language to match trainees' represen-

tational s y s t e m s and use m e t a p h o r .

Facing he lps t ra iners easily ach ieve rap-

por t with s t u d e n t s and establ ish p r o d u c -

t i ve l e a r n i n g e n v i r o n m e n t s . U s i n g

representat ional sys tems, trainers identify

John Liuhvig and Diane MenendeS' are, respectively, president of Cotn-putrain, Inc., Palatine, Ohio anil staff manager for the sales and marketing educational center, AT&T Com-munications, Cincinnati, Ohio.

and m a t c h t ra inees ' learning scvles. T h e

use of me taphor ensures that trainees reap

the full benefi t of examples and analogies.

Facing to establish rapport

A feel ing of c o m f o r t b e t w e e n s tuden t

and teacher aids t he learning process . T h e

unders tand ing of new material may be dif-

ficult e n o u g h to ach ieve wi thout t he

p r e s e n c e of personal t ens ion . T r a i n e r s

w h o cons is ten t ly mainta in rappor t with

t ra inees will be be t t e r able to affect

learning.

R a p p o r t doesn ' t have to be acc identa l .

T r a i n e r s can establ ish it t h r o u g h pacing,

mi r ror ing ano ther ' s body p o s t u r e , facial

expres s ion , t o n e of voice, for e x a m p l e .

Mir ro r ing subt ly c o m m u n i c a t e s that a

t ra iner is t r u s twor thy b e c a u s e lie shares

t h e c o n c e r n s of his audience . By accen t -

uating similarities and minimizing distract-

ing d i f f e r ences b e t w e e n t ra iner and

t ra inee , pac ing p r o m o t e s l is tening and

u n d e r s t a n d i n g . Bandle r and G r i n d e r

desc r ibe pac ing as sensi t ivi ty to t h e par-

ticular ways in which others perce ive their

e x p e r i e n c e s .

O n e trainer's expe r i ence sheds light on

t h e use fu lness of pac ing . T h r o u g h words

and ges tu res s h e p a c e d her class's ap-

pa ren t t ens ion at the beg inn ing of a

t echn ica l course . She s ta ted tha t s h e

recognized that "many might feel ne rvous

abou t beg inn ing this difficult sub jec t . "

F u r t h e r she s u b d u e d her own e x u b e r a n t

s tyle until t he class was m o r e relaxed and

exhibi ted greater energy . Skillful t rainers

pace th rough s t a t e m e n t s tha t reflect t h e

cur ren t m o o d of their class. D u r i n g a par-

ticularly trying exe rc i se a t ra iner might

say, "F rom the looks of fat igue, you seem

to find this exerc ise difficult ." If t h e class

agrees , the trainer paced successfu l ly .

T h e result is that t h e class feels tha t t he

trainer is on their side. Pac ing and mirror ing help w h e n work-

ing one - to -one as well . W h e t h e r giving

f e e d b a c k a f t e r role p lays , c o a c h i n g

m a n a g e r s in skill d e v e l o p m e n t , or work -

ing with slower s tudents , trainers can con-

sciously mirror and pace . T h e y may

a s s u m e a pos tu re and an e m o t i o n a l t one

similar to that of t he pe r son they ' re

assist ing, and in do ing so, c o m m u n i c a t e

e m p a t h y and a t t en t iveness .

O t h e r oppor tun i t i e s for pac ing inc lude

m a t c h i n g the vo ice v o l u m e , ra te of

speech , and inflection of s tudents w h o ask

ques t i ons or m a k e c o m m e n t s dur ing

class. A trainer w h o normal ly s p e a k s

quickly and with s t rong inflection, for ex-

ample , can turn off s o m e o n e w h o s p e a k s

in a s low m o n o t o n e .

Pay a t tent ion not only to how the class

asks a ques t ion , but b e c o m e aware of t he

vocabulary they use . If the class is fond of

a particular analogy, use it yoursel f .

For practice, try to pace individuals dur-

ing p h o n e calls and social occasions. Prac-

tice pac ing dur ing bus iness mee t ings and

individual sess ions with t ra inees . Begin

s imply , ma tch ing o n e aspec t at a t i m e

(voice tone or rate, for example) . T h e n in-

c rease your reper to i re (body pos i t ion ,

breathing) as mirror ing b e c o m e s easy and

natural . Finally, p a c e t h e m o o d and style

of a g roup .

Representational systems

Learn ing t akes p lace wi th our five

senses and the image-producing faculty of

imaginat ion. T h r o u g h t he se channe l s (or

" representa t ional" channe l s for Bandler

and Gr inder ) we t a k e in and p rocess in-

fo rma t ion and expe r i ences . Yet, m o s t of

us rely more heavily on only o n e or two

senses . W h e n c o n v e y i n g n e w informa-

t ion, t ra iners mus t k e e p in mind tha t

s tuden ts each may have a different pa t te rn

of prefer red channels . By ma tch ing a stu-

den t ' s or class's r ep resen ta t iona l s y s t e m ,

trainers are able to focus on particular lear-

ning pa t t e rns and c o m m u n i c a t e wi th

grea te r success .

Prefer red channe l s—or p re fe r red se-

q u e n c e s of channe l s—can he lp or h inde r

learners, depend ing on t h e task they face.

Since each trainer generally prefers to use

T r a i n i n g and D e v e l o p m e n t Journal , March 1985

one channel more than the others , his or her delivery may neglect to incorporate the pictures, sounds or exper iences that will support learning in other sys tems. In this case, trainers act like an insensitive farmer scat ter ing seeds on the ground,

allowing new shoots , if they appear at all, to fend for themselves. Successful trainers act like caring gardners w h o know that each plant needs specific amoun t s of sun and wate r to f lourish. T h e e x p e r t

trainer—like the expert gardner—ensures that a nuturing environment is provided

for each charge. T h e r e are three basic types of learners.

Some are visual learners. They may have difficulty comprehend ing new material if the trainer only lectures. Visual represen-

tations (charts, graphs, or lists of key words) are more effective m o d e s of presenta t ion. Auditory learners prefer sounds . T h e y may like to learn through lectures, group discussions, audiotapes , etc. However , they may not learn well when asked to read or learn through abstract graphs or flow charts.

Tac t i le or kinesthet ic learners learn best when they can connect new informa-tion to their physical actions or feelings. An engineering mathemat ics trainer dis-covered that one of her engineers learned

to read electrical flow diagrams by imagin-ing himself in a bobsled, careening

what you mean," he is giving his trainer an oppor tuni ty to pace. Recognizing John's emphasis on image, the trainer can answer by creating a mental picture for the class. In lieu of verbal explanations trainers should make use of b lackboards or overheads to m a k e points clearly.

A trainee's pos ture , e y e m o v e m e n t , breathing and other behavior can help you determine the type of learner your trainee is. A visual learner may hold his head up and focus his eyes above others 'ga/ .e. His

breathing is of ten rapid and from the chest , with voice pitch high and speech rapid. A learner w h o prefers tactile chan-nels is quite the opposite. His eyes are fix-ed below others ' gaze with his head and shoulders down . His voice low and speech slow, he keeps his head and

shoulders down. Head tilted to o n e side, the auditory learner holds his gaze even with others ' and has a varied pat tern of breathing, voice pitch and pace.

P reven t ing communica t ion and learn-ing problems is easier than cur ing t h e m . Tra ine r s who know that ma tch ing repre-sentational sys tems ease confus ion and e n h a n c e learning can offer all th ree types

of s tudents a way of unders tanding the material p resen ted .

T h e r e are sources available for practic-ing this technique . Obse rve another trainer and record the language you hear.

Trainers w h o consistently maintain rapport with trainees will be better able to affect learning

through the channels of the diagram. Trainers can assist kinesthetic learners by

providing opportuni t ies to practice or demons t r a t e learning through roleplay. d e m o n s t r a t i o n , or o t h e r s p a t i a l representat ions .

T h e r e are ways to determine a trainee's preferred channel through, for example , the language they use. W h e n trainees say, "it sounds like. . ." or "that's not ringing any bells" they are using the auditory channel . T h e visual channel is d e m o n -strated by words like, "It's not clear to me," or "I just don't see what you mean." T a e t i l e / k i n e s t h e t i c c h a n n e l s a r e manifested by such phrases as, "I don't have a handle on it" and "I feel 1 finally can

grasp this.". By listening when quest ions are asked,

trainers can identify the channel t ra inees use and then answer with a same-channel

46 response . W h e n John says, "1 don't see

I Determine whether the trainer is teaching to all representat ional sys tems. N o t e the language of t rainees ' ques t i ons and trainer's answers . D o they match?

Watch and record the language used during television interviews. Obse rve

other clues to rapport: Are body postures matched? D o the voice tones and pace match? How do the mood of the interview and the exis tence of rapport relate?

While a t tending a party try to identify couples who are and are not in rapport . Record di f ferences in language and nonverbal behavior.

Metaphor

Charismat ic speakers o f ten use stories to emphas ize key points or to teach by suggesting radier than stat ing meaning. Stories like these are metaphors , symbolic representa t ions of ideas and concep ts .

According to Andrew Or tony , meta-phors are necessary to learning, not just nice. Learners will consider the value, relevance, and coherence of new informa-

tion by compar ing it to their past ex-per ience. Metaphors help them under-stand what's unfamiliar by allowing a com-parison with what is already known. Because trainees fill in details f rom their personal exper ience , me taphor s can b e c o m e helpful to each individual's learning.

For example , a s tuden t in a microcom-puter course had difficulty grasping the connect ion be tween her enter ing com-mands and the information displayed on the screen. T h e trainer compared Janet 's current difficulty with the compute r to that of a child learning to ride a bicycle, an experience Janet likely would have

had. T h r o u g h this me t apho r , Janet revisited a t ime when a now-easy skill was

difficult, a skill that required coordinating her body m o v e m e n t s and directing them toward an envisioned goal. In his story, the trainer emphasized that the child was self-confident as she practiced connect ing the feeling of balance and movement with see ing where s h e was going. T h e metaphor was appropr ia te because the structure of the learning matched her pre-sent problem. It emphasized that her cur-rent difficulty would be ove rcome with pract ice , as it was in her own bicycle-riding experience.

T o make the metaphor work, the trainer did not merely suggest that bicy-cle riding was analogous. Instead, he carefully included details of a child's exper ience.

By painting "word pictures" that incor-pora te all representat ional sys tems,

the trainer gave the exper ience height-ened impact. Janet imaginatively saw, heard and felt the child's exper ience and unconsciously extended it to her situation. T h e benefi t , according to exper ts , is that if we imaginatively can expe r i ence s o m e t h i n g new and c o m p a r e it to someth ing known, we are more likely to be prepared for the real exper ience .

Metaphors , stories and analogies work because they are links to what trainees already know. T h e y are natural learning strategies. N e w learning is coupled to old,

and new information is examined in the light of old beliefs and values. Metaphors help trainees by calling at tention to the

value of new ways of doing and thinking. Four steps can be taken to practice us-

ing metaphors :

• Cons ider the trainee's difficulty with a particular task and determine its structure.

T r a i n i n g and D e v e l o p m e n t Journal , March 1985

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D e c i d e wha t s e q u e n c e of e v e n t s or

behavior is necessary to c o m m u n i c a t e the

point , the beliefs or a t t i tudes that t rainees

need to hold, and the e n v i r o n m e n t in

which learning is success fu l .

• Ana lyse the d i f f e r ence b e t w e e n the

des i red pa t t e rn and t h e o n e exis t ing. For

the c o m p u t e r crainee t h e d i f fe rence was

prac t ice , A s an adul t , Janet was not con-

v inced tha t she could learn, e v e n with

prac t ice .

• Imagine an e x p e r i e n c e c o m m o n to

your t ra inees that shares t h e s a m e pat-

t e rns as t h e t a sk t hey are learning.

Elaborate on the details of that exper ience

to m a t c h t h e key par t s of what is des i red .

C r e a t e and wri te a s tory rich in visual,

audi tory and tacti le detai l .

• Prac t ice telling the s tory, using your

voice and nonverba l behavior to e m -

phas ize critical learning poin ts .

T w o valuable resources for trainers who

want to use m e t a p h o r skillfully are David

G o r d o n ' s 'therapeutic Metaphors and

Sidney Rosen's My Voice Will Go With You.

G o r d o n descr ibes how to analyze t h e

s t ruc ture of a des i red goal and c rea te an

a p p r o p r i a t e m e t a p h o r whi le R o s e n

p re sen t s many of the " teaching tales" told

by Mil ton Er i ckson .

Achieving rapport with trainees, match-

ing t he i r c h a n n e l s t y l e a n d u s i n g

m e t a p h o r s are th ree tools that neuro-

linguistic p r o g r a m m i n g can offer trainers.

Pract icing t hem will improve the trainer's

e f f e c t i v e n e s s a n d i n c r e a s e r e s u l t s .

S u i d e n t s , b e c a u s e p r e sen t a t i ons have

b e e n tailored specifically for t h e m , will be

m o r e at ease and willing to learn.

Bibliography Bandler, R., & Grinder, J. (1975, 1976). The

structure of magic: vols. I rind II. Palo Alto, Calif.: Science and Behavior Books

Gordon, I ) . (1978). Therapeutic metaphors. Cupertino, Calif.: Meta Publications.

Ortony, A. (l"375, Winter). Why metaphors are necessary and not just nice. Educational theory, 45-5,5.

Paivio, A. (1971). Imagery and verba!processes. New York: Holt, Rinehart & Winston.

Rosen,S.(Ed.). My voice will go with you: The teaching tales of Milton H. Erickson. New York: WAV. Norton.

B

Training and Development Journal, March 1985