Questions

[Paulie]

I am new to NLP and have finished a book called "Presenting Magically". I have a few questions in regards to what I have learned. When mirroring someone,(subject is facing me) if they have their hand in their left pocket and thier head slightly tilted to the right, do I place my hand in my right or left pocket and which way do I tilt my head right or left?? Also, embedded commands (p.74) can someone please go into depth a little more on this subject? Another area that I need more clarity and understanding is analog marking. When is it used, how is it used and for what purpose. I really appreciate the help!!

[skip]

Paulie,

Mirroring is just that, a mirror image, so to speak. However if you mirror a lot, it will soon become apparent to the other person consciously, and result in losing rapport, rather than building rapport. No one likes to be mimicked. So you can disguise the mirroring. You might tap your foot, in time to their body sway, or eye blink, even as you are timing their breathing with yours. That way some things are exactly mirrored, others are marked out differently. Sometimes mirroring in this way is called analog marking, but there is also another meaning, for analog marking.

Embedded commands are where you issue commands to the unconscious while talking in normal conversation as far as the other person is concerned.

You could be saying, "With hypnosis you can lightly go into trance, or you may go deeply into trance." Seems a simple enough sentence doesn’t it. But if you mark out (analog marking) specific phrases in the sentence it has a very different meaning to the unconscious.

"With hypnosis you can lightly ... go into trance ... or you can ... go deeply into trance."

Now one of the most elegant ways to analog mark is using voice inflection. The English language doesn’t depend on voice inflection for meaning much, and as such we don’t perceive inflection changes consciously. So you could deliver the above sentence, changing your tone of voice, so that the embedded commands are marked out, for the unconscious to hear differently, from the rest of the conversation. In practicing this, you can write out pages of conversation, that includes embedded commands, and highlight them, so that you know when to emphasize them in speaking. Just as they will stand out like headlights on the page, they will stand out to the recipient’s unconscious mind. But they wont be noticed consciously. Enough practice with this, and your conversation will always be sprinkled liberally with embedded commands, and you will notice that you are putting everyone into trance without effort.

The embedded commands can also be marked out, with a gesture, a look, a head tilt, darn near anything. This marking out of the embedded commands, is also called analog marking.

One of the most elegant methods for this is something Milton Erickson used to do. He would be speaking with a client, and he would say, "Now sometimes Ill be talking to your conscious mind, (with his head turned slightly to the right) and other times Ill be talking to your unconscious mind (with his head turned slightly to the left). The unconscious recognizes that instruction, and for the rest of the conversation, anything said with the head turned slightly to the left is understood to be a specific suggestion for the unconscious. Using this technique you can do a lot of direct suggestion to the unconscious without the conscious mind either being aware or being in a formal trance.

[Paulie]

I greatly appreciate your help Skip and thank you for the detailed reply!:) Your reply has helped me understand those concepts to a greater degree. Hats off to you!

[Charons Friend]

I greatly appreciate your help Skip and thank you for the detailed reply!:) Your reply has helped me understand those concepts to a greater degree. Hats off to you!

Who da man?

Skip da man!

Yo!

[j0hnny#]

Nice exposition skip. Was thinking though that the embedded commands might best be delivered on a downward inflection (as this is the way commands are delivered in ordinary affairs). Also I heard from an NLP Audio Book I was listening to that delivering them on the off beat of the rhythm of your conversational dialogue has a better effect (they go in better - if you like...). So if you tap to the rhythm of your conversational dialogue :) (1, 2, 3, 4.... - obviously you could look like a bit of a pleb if you are doing this while doing it 'for real' heh, heh, heh, heh....) the embedded command would go in on e.g. 3.5 (for better effect) - haven't experimented with this so don't know how effective it is.... just thought I'd pitch it in .... Thanks though, nice method for practicing and accumulating ability to deliver natural embedded commands (writing them down and practicing technique, can see that that would work well)..,.

Nice 1
j#

[skip]

Yes Johnny,

Downward inflection indicates instruction, upward indicates question.

AND many places do suggest that you use the 'off beat' to analogue mark embedded commands.

So you are absolutely correct.

And there is much more as well.

Since Paulie is a beginner, I didnt figure it would be in his/her interest to overwhelm with the entire symphony. An assumption on my part, that doing so would only lead to frustration. Instead I intended to offer a bite sized chunk, that Paulie could digest consciously, because this is, in part, a conscious medium.

As Paulie has success with this, perhaps a desire will develop to learn more.

cheers,

skip

[j0hnny#]

Yeh, ok no problem.... fair enough... Still this would be a good thread (IMHuO :) ) to develop a discussion on embedded commands (in particular after your fine exposition). Having read a whole book - I'd say Paulie is more expert than me.... heh, heh.... :D Not sure if charons friend's post was trying to take the pxss - maybe it put off Paulie? Anyway, maybe I can hijack the thread he started and ask - what other stuff would be of value to learn about embedded commands - (maybe others will be inclined to contribute (lots of people have viewed this thread, i think) also Paulie is, no doubt, smart enough to pick the stuff up... and as for being overwhelmed - that seems to me an opportunity to find stuff out (especially if the overwhelmed person has a keen interest), i.e. opportunity to understand - so if you doing that then you is doing a good job...:D (or on me at least)

I think it probably takes more effort to actually apply NLP teachings than to learn them, especially when the exposition of a principle is delivered with clarity and an experienced perspective....

Thanks. If you like, it would be good to hear what other stuff (even a bite sized chunk) there is to emedded commands ...

Cheers

j#