1. What is important about stories, and metaphors in communication? When someone studies the great communicators, past and present, they all use metaphors and analogies to illustrate their points.
Metaphors compare things that are less understandable to familiar things. They create new meanings, make complex ideas understandable, motivate interest, and influence ideas. They create images that people can understand rather than literal words

2. What is the difference between a story, metaphor, and an analogy? A simple story conveys a description of something. A metaphor communicates two or more levels of meaning. Using metaphors can deliver directly to the unconscious.

3. How do individual words represent our experience as metaphors? George Lakoff and Mark Johnson in their book, Metaphors We Live By state, that metaphor is pervasive in everyday life not just in language by also by thought and action. This is the concept system. It is metaphorical in nature. Our concepts structure how we perceive the world around us. Much of our language is metaphors. So we cannot get along by language alone. How we experience our everyday life is metaphorical. Communication is war. Communication is dance. Love is a journey, time is money, love is madness

4. As one of the most important and overlooked skills in communication, how can we get better at using them in everyday interactions as well as speeches? Listen to how you use words to describe things in your world. Listen to how others use words to describe their world. Look at situations – what are they like in unrelated areas? Be more intentional about listening to others. Deeper insight into people. Linking abstract ideas to concrete

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How do we break patterns?

Outcome, outcome, outcome

Remember, that in the NLP model, all experience has structure. When you explore and change the structure, your experience changes, the perception, meaning, and feeling. NLP creates specific changes rather than random, trial-and-error changes. It changes things by adding resources, not taking away anything.

Our experience and patterns are organized on a hierarchy of neurology from Environment, Behavior, Capability, Belief/Value, Identity, and Spiritual. Each level organizes the level underneath it. Changes at a higher level will change something underneath it but not necessarily the other way around. It is important to understand what logical level a change needs to take place for the change to be effective and long-lasting. The neuro-levels are important because they are part of a unified field that includes yourself, others' observer positions, and past present, and future. Patterns can be caused at a behavioral level, cap, belief, or identity. Interestingly, people are aware of the patterns they run (or not) but not aware of what causes them. Changing the cause at the root of the problem will create lasting change and have the change in all three primary channels.

6-step reframing behaviors, internal dialog, nail-biting, etc can be changed with parts negotiation unless it is on a higher logical level. the lower the level, the more immediate the results, and the higher, the longer the integration because it is unconscious. Anchoring can also change our states, and give us choices, and as a result, a pattern can change. If it works for a while and then comes back, you probably need a change at a higher logical level.

How do we change our beliefs?

Be aware that most people cannot do their own belief work because beliefs are submerged in our unconscious mind. It takes someone excellent at recognizing patterns, calibration, and asking questions to discover limiting beliefs.

The first step is knowing what belief to change. This is challenging since beliefs run in packs and are slippery, according to Robert Dilts. They are mostly unconscious, in systems with a core belief that is young and hidden. One approach is to look at the behavior and ask, what do I believe to do this? What do I see hear and feel? What happens just before I start the behavior? Understand what it does for us, the positive intent and the goal of the intention, what are counterexamples to the belief, and finally, what behavior I want to do and what would I have to believe to do that behavior. And then, of course, belief statements are simple, they are beliefs, not behaviors, and have no ecological downsides.

How do we communicate most effectively?

Simply by speaking to another’s understanding. We communicate the way we understand words. So people who are like us, understand us and people not like us don’t. It limits the number of people we can connect with and promotes a lot of misunderstanding and miscommunication.

The more we are like a person the more the understanding.

The skills to engage for excellence in communication: perceptual positions, calibration, sensory awareness, rapport (m and p) and to influence, and lead. Ask questions (curiosity), state management, and control over your own internal dialogue.

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This is a Podcast Short. It addresses the cycle of ups and downs that some people experience when building a business or learning something new. In the podcast, I tackle some of the challenges by using NLP session flow from creating a well-formed outcome to what to look for when modeling a mentor. I talk about the complexities of modeling, optimum strategies for success, the factors of genius, belief changes, and the Unified Field in NLP.

The short version:
· Outcome first! In all three primary channels.

· At what logical level does the change need to take place? Remember that behaviors are usually not behavioral issues but come from a lack of capability and limiting beliefs.

· If working in the land of beliefs – what is the behavior telling you? What would they have to believe to do the behaviors? What is the positive intention of the beliefs, both old and new? Is it a belief in capability or identity

· Future pace in all three primary channels.

· Changes, especially in belief/identity issues, are through-time processes.

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