Hello everyone and welcome

James Woodworth

I’m an FE teacher and NLP practitioner, mentor & coach based in Cambridge, UK.…and I’m here this evening to…

…introduce you to NLP and how some of the strategies and techniques we use in NLP can be used positively in the classroom to:

• facilitate change; • promote learning, and;• improve achievement.

We will be concentrating, more specifically on:

• The specific language patterns you can use to get your learners to do exactly what you what, when you want it without compromising your integrity or the integrity of your learners;

• How to create positive change in your learners by giving them ways to instantly remove some of the barriers that are holding them back;

• How to save time by empowering your learners with the skills they need to manage their own behaviour.

My presentation will be in three parts:

1. What you teach is what you get – the NLP communication model

2. The Map is not the territory – using language to challenge limiting beliefs

3. Mindset and the NLP presupposition – ‘there is no such thing as failure.’

Okay, let’s get started…

Teaching Penguins to Fly:Unlocking Potential with NLP

Who says penguins can’t fly?

Marshall Rosenberg

Everything a human being does whether benign or hurtful is an attempt to meet their feelings and needs.

Asking the right kind of questions…

• How can we help our learners make better choices?

• What can we do to improve our learner’s self-perception?

• How can we facilitate positive, effective change?

• What can we do differently to motivate our learners?

What is NLP?

Neuro-Linguistic Programming

• Neuro (what we think)• Linguistic (what we say)• Programming (what we do)

What we think influences what we say which in turn effects the way we behave.

A good example of this is self-talk…

I'm rubbish at maths...

I've just been set a

problem involving

numbers...

I can't do this...

Why? because ...

I enjoy a challenge...

...and maths is a challenge for

me...

Um...I've just been set a problem involving

numbers but thats okay...

...why? ...because ...

Read the words in the triangle to yourself:

Abird in thethe bush

Count every ‘f’ in the text below:

FINISHED FILES ARE THE RESULT OF YEARS OF SCIENTI

FIC STUDY COMBINED WITH THE EXPERIENCE OF YEARS…

Have a look at the following paragraph:

47 F1R57 Y0U M19H7 H4V3 7H0U9HV Y0U 60ULDN’7 R34D 7HI5, 8U7 8Y N0W Y0U KN0W

Y0U 64N. 7H3 HUM4N M1ND 64N D0 3XTRA0RD1N4RY 7H1N95. 17 15 4M421N9 4ND

50 4R3 Y0U!

The learner says… The teacher replies saying …

My friend ignored me therefore she hates me…

Distortion So, everyone who ignores you hates you?Do you hate all the people you ignore?

I can’t get anything right…

Generalisation

What never? Can you think of something you did really well recently?Supposing you were able to get things right…?

I’m having a really bad day today…

Deletion Specifically what is it about today that is difficult for you?

When challenging a distortion say: ‘How do you know that…?’ When challenging a generalisation say: ‘Is this always the case…?’ When challenging a deletion say: ‘Tell me more about that…’

The learner says… The teacher responses by saying…

I’ve struggled with anger all my life. I can’t possible change now…

Rather than trying to change everything all at once, let’s look at just one small step you could take right now to make things better for you…

I’ve never been able to concentrate… I respect your ability to recognise a problem…

I can’t possibly do this… Suppose you were able to do this. How might things be different for you?

An exchange based on challenging limiting beliefs might look something like this:

Teacher: So, Tom what do you think the answer to the question might be?Tom: Um...I’m not sure. I don’t get it. Teacher: What specifically don’t you get Tom?Tom: The question. I don’t understand the question. I can’t do science.Teacher: I admire your honesty Tom. Being true to yourself is a real strength you know.Tom: Yeah, but science is hard work. I never do well in subjects that are hard. Teacher: Many of us will struggle from time to time with something we think we can’t do. Being aware of how difficult a task can be will allow you to anticipate what problems you may face in the future which in turn will enable you to prepare yourself for the task in hand.

‘Don’t panic! Don’t panic!’

Whatever you do – don’t think of a large

yellow fish riding a cute pink bicycle.

Additional language patterns:

• Double binds• Embedded commands• Tag Questions

Double Binds

Double binds are statements that appear to offer a choice when in fact no choice is available.

For example: ‘John, would you like to put your ‘phone away now or just before we start the first task which will be in a few moments from now?’

Embedded Commands

An embedded command is a message that is hidden or embedded in a sentence. Embedded commands work particularly well when the words that represent the command are emphasised.• ‘You may learn this easily now, or it may be a

challenge…that’s for you to decide.’• ‘You will be able to complete this assignment

quickly,’ • ‘You learn particularly well when you concentrate.’

Tags questions

Tag questions are added to the end of sentences to invite agreement. Tag questions are statements such as: Isn’t it? Couldn’t you? Can’t you? Haven’t you? One of the most powerful is ‘That’s right.’

Embedded commands and tag questions work particularly well together. They are particularly effective when they follow a number of statements which are factual – because the preceding statements are facts the learner on hearing the tag question cannot but agree.

The structure looks something like this:

An example may look something like this:

fact fact fact Embedded command

Tagquestion

It’s 10:30 in the morning

(fact)

we are going for a

break in half and hour

(fact)

You have all the resources you need

to complete this assignment

(fact)

So now would be a good time to finish your

work(embedded command)

Wouldn’t it?( tag question)

George Bernard Dantzig

Carol Dweck and Mindset

But before we go any further have a look at the statements below and decide whether you mostly agree or mostly disagree with the statements:

• Your intelligence is something very basic about you that you can’t change very much.

• You can learn new things, but you can’t really change how intelligent you are.

• No matter how much intelligence you have, you can always change it quite a bit.

• You can always substantially change how intelligent you are.

All these people were of course talented, but they also worked incredibly hard. The talent they had was just the start…

We should be happy to be in such company

‘If you don’t try – you can’t fail’

Homer Simpson

I’ve missed more than 9000 shots in my career. I’ve lost almost 300 games. 26 times I’ve been

trusted to take the game winning shot and missed. I’ve failed over and over and over again in my life and that is why I succeed Michael Jordan

There is no such thing as failure – only feedback...There are successes in life and opportunities to learn from ... but there is no such thing as failure.

Learn to fail or fail to learn

We are what we think. All that we are arises with our thoughts. With our thoughts we make the world. Buddha

‘I’ve come to the frightening conclusion that I am the decisive element in the classroom. It’s my personal approach that creates the climate; it’s my daily mood that makes the weather. As a teacher, I possess a tremendous power to make a child’s life miserable or joyous. I can be a tool of torture, or an instrument of inspiration. I can humiliate or humour, hurt or heal. In all situations, it’s my responses that decide, whether a crisis will be escalated or de-escalated and a child humanized or de-humanized.’

Haim Ginott Teacher and Child (1972)

So, can penguins fly? Yes, they can they just need to believe it’s possible. Oh, and

by the way…

…they can dance too!

There are numerous authors whose published works I have found beneficial, writers whose ideas inspired me as I planned this presentation. I owe them all a big thanks. Here are just a few whose works I recommend:

• Agnes, L. (2008). Change your life with NLP: The powerful way to make your whole life better. Edinburgh: Pearson Education.

• Dweck, C. (2006). Mindset: the New Psychology of Success. New Year: Ballantine Books.

• Hutchinson, D. M. (2011). How to be Confident with NLP: Powerful Techniques to Boost your Self-Confidence. Edinburgh: Pearson Education.

• McKenna, P. (2012). I Can Make You Smarter. London: Transworld Publishing.• Robbins, T. (1986). Unlimited Power: the New Power of Personal Achievement.

London: Simon and Schuster.• Robbins, T. (1991). Awaken the Giant Within: Take Immediate Control of Your

Mental, Emotional, Physical and Financial Destiny. London: Simon and Schuster.• Rosenberg, M. (2003). Nonviolent Communication: A Language og Life. Encinitas,

CA: PuddleDancer Press.• Churches, R. and Terry, R. (2007). NLP for Teachers: How to be a Highly Effective

Teacher. Carmarthen: Crown House Publishing.