A few week’s ago, I was speaking at the London NLP Conference on the topic “It’s Time to Put the ‘L’ Back Into NLP”. It was a full house, & as I stood at the front of the room looking at a group whose combined NLP experience would number in the hundreds (or even thousands) of years, I asked myself “Why have all these people been drawn to this talk? What’s so great about language?” Last weekend I got a clue.
I was watching a fascinating DVD of uber-wordsmith, NLP Meta-Master Trainer Chris Hall, who said “Rudyard Kipling is quoted as saying ‘Words are, of course, the most powerful drug used by mankind’”
As Chris went on to describe & demonstrate the incredible power of language, I found the quote coming back to me again & again.
Language is like a drug
Kipling’s quote really resonated with me, so I started to think more deeply about his metaphor: language is a powerful drug. And I started to ask myself “What qualities does language share with drugs?” Here are some of the qualities of some of the drugs I thought about:
Some drugs:
· have the power to alter people’s perceptions, & even their beliefs about themselves & the world they inhabit
· can trigger powerful emotional responses, ranging from fear to excitement, from revulsion to desire.
· have the power to heal or destroy.
· confer power on whoever can control them, & power over whoever needs them.
· can comfort & soothe.
· can stimulate the imagination, & even cause hallucinations
· can stimulate & even intoxicate people
· And of course, some drugs are highly addictive, with life-damaging consequences.
Could words & language really share all these qualities? Let’s have a look:
Perceptions & Beliefs
It’s clear that language & words can alter perceptions. In fact, as you sit here reading these words, your perceptions are being altered in a variety of ways. Kipling’s assertion that “words are a drug” may have had a powerful impact on your perception of the power of words. It may even have taken you into a ‘trancelike’ state as you evaluated the metaphor and engaged in the creative act of considering it for yourself.
Whether the quote itself had an impact for you or not is irrelevant. What’s relevant is that, in order to make sense of the words you’re reading, you’re going through a process of interpretation, translating the symbols on this page into sounds in your mind (a process called subvocalisation - unless you’re a speedreader & have eliminated that step) & then translating those sounds into images, feelings, smells, tastes & other sounds in your mind.
For example, reading the word “rhinocerous” is likely to generate very clear pictures, sounds & feelings in your mind. The words “healing”, “joy” or “prosperity” may not result in images that are quite so clear, but the process is taking place just the same.
When I was in California training with Chris Hall this summer (on her brilliant “Language Intensive” programme) she was talking about Milton Erickson, who said that he chose his words carefully, because the words he used would influence his clients’ lives today, & twenty years from today.
Today & twenty years from today
Erickson was a powerful hypnotist, but we’ve all been in the company of incredibly powerful hypnotists. When we were little children, every person we came into contact with was a hypnotist, making suggestions to us about who we are, what we’re capable of, & the nature of the world we live in. Parents, teachers, family & friends: well-meaning adults who were hypnotising us into a view of ourselves & reality. Many of the things we learned as children went on to shape our beliefs, & to shape our perceptions of reality. The words used 20, 40, 60 years ago will have some kind of influence today, depending on the degree to which you’ve already taken control of your inner mental landscape, & are now shaping your own beliefs, values etc.
Of course, each of us are on the receiving end (to a greater or lesser extent) of a multitude of hypnotists on a daily basis, some of whom have very specific goals for you, & some of whom are doing it by accident:
· Politicians
· Marketers
· Employers
· Medical professionals
· Work colleagues
· Friends & family
· People who write NLP Tips
· Etc
The words these people use will, to some extent, shape you perceptions & beliefs. One of the things you can do when you hear certain messages is ask clarifying questions in your own mind. Here are some questions you can ask yourself:
· Who says? According to whom?
· How do they know?
· Are they getting paid to say that?
· What conclusions am I ’supposed to’ I draw from this, & do I accept those?
For instance, one of the UK newspapers leads with a headline today that say “We’ve had some warm days, but now Britain faces a deadly winter warn weather experts”.
Who says? According to whom?
Well, the headline says that it’s according to “weather experts”, & I assume it is. But which weather experts? And what’s their agenda? I’m not suggesting that all weather experts are in pay of some global conspiracy, but it’s a fact of modern life that there are experts available who express the full range of opinions on a given issue (you can bet that, right now, there are weather experts somewhere saying it’s going to be a warm winter, but that doesn’t make for a very exciting front page.)
How do they know?
How do they know? Weather prediction is a very tough game. Of course, some predictions have greater accuracy than others, & some bodies of knowledge make for more accurate predictions than the weather prediction business, but… How do they know? I’m making various claims in this newsletter, but you could always ask “How does Jamie know?” It’s a great question, & very useful for testing assumptions.
Are they getting paid to say that?
Frank Zappa famously taught his children to ask this whenever the encountered an expert. Newspapers get ‘paid’ for an exciting front page with increased sales. While I’m not suggesting that they manufacture stories, the decision about which story gets headlined on the front page, & which stories don’t even get in the paper is based on what’s going to sell papers. If an expert’s being paid to tell you something, that influences their credibility. For instance, I’ve written lots of copy saying what a brilliant NLP Trainer Chris Hall is (and she is!) but I’m sponsoring her NLP Trainer Training in the UK in 2007, so I will be rewarded in business terms when people come on the training - on one level, I’m being paid to say that. Does that mean that what I’m saying isn’t true? No. Fortunately, I’ve also got a quote from Richard Bandler describing Chris Hall as “the person who has probably taught me more about NLP…and who continues to prove there is no end to this field.” And he definitely wasn’t getting paid to say that!
What conclusions am I ’supposed to’ I draw from this, & do I accept those?
There are presuppositions & implications in every statement, that reflect the ‘frame’ of the person or institution making the statement. For example, in the headline, “We’ve had some warm days, but now Britain faces a deadly winter warn weather experts”:
· We’ve had some warm days, but don’t let that lull you into a false sense of security
· It’s not a cold winter, it’s a deadly winter, so be afraid
· Experts are saying this, so it must be true
· We decide how you’re supposed to respond to this sort of thing (it’s deadly!)
· We are the news media, & we decide what is news & what isn’t
I’ve lived in Britain for 20 years. So far, I’ve been able to predict that it’s usually bloody cold here in the winter! I expect it will be the same this year.
If words are like drugs, then it pays to be able to use & dispense them with skill, precision & wisdom. The world’s leading expert on NLP & language, Chris Hall PhD, is delivering NLP Trainer Training with Salad starting in February. Places are limited, so book right away by clicking here or ring the Salad booking hotline on 0845 650 1045.
To massively increase your ability to dispense words with skill, precision & wisdom, take advantage of our better-than-half-price offer on Salad language cards by clicking here
Next week, we’ll look at some of the other ways that words are like drugs, & what you can do to ensure you have a good time with them. Have a fantastic week!
See you next week!
Best wishes
Jamie
Jamie Smart
director of training
jamie@saladltd.co.uk
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