NLP Discussed within two contexts: Business and Sports Coaching

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Copyright: Lorraine Warne – [email protected]

NLP Discussed within two contexts: Business and Sports Coaching Course Title: Diploma in Coaching/Thesis Date: September 2009

Name: Lorraine Warne Student No: D72275/LC Word Count: 8,603



Abstract

Traditionally the arena of sport has been connected to coaching and can be seen to embrace coaching methods to enhance excellence and increase performance for an athlete. Within the last ten years business has seen the effects of coaching within sport and has begun to embrace the notion of coaching. This is a more recent phenomenon for business and is being used more and more within the business environment to give a company or corporation a competitive edge against their competitors. For the client and the coach, coaching and learning are ongoing processes. What matters is how individuals equip themselves properly to evolve in the way that suits them best and keeps them in a happy, contented state. The effectiveness of the coaching process lies in the questions that are raised throughout the coaching session and using the appropriate NLP and coaching tool when required. As a coach it is important to ask the right questions and as a client it is important to answer the questions honestly and have total commitment to achieving their goal. For a coach, people are people and that the keys to motivating them and getting them to perform to their full potential are much the same as whether they’re playing sport, working in an office or wanting to succeed in any other setting.



Table of Contents

1 Introduction 4

2 How can NLP Techniques be used to Enhance Business Coaching? 6

3 How can NLP Techniques be used to Enhance Sports Coaching? 14

4 The Link between Sport and Business Coaching. 21

5 Conclusion 23

6 Bibliography 24



1 Introduction

There are two areas in which Neuro Linguistic Programming (NLP) techniques will be discussed and linked to coaching within this paper. The two areas chosen are sport and business. These are two different topics within coaching and it was for this reason the two areas were selected. How can NLP be an aid to two very different areas within coaching? This will be discussed within the text and real life examples will be given to demonstrate the effectiveness of the NLP tools used within certain situations.

Traditionally the arena of sport has been connected to coaching and can be seen to embrace coaching methods to enhance excellence and increase performance for an athlete. Within the last ten years business has seen the effects of coaching within sport and has begun to embrace the notion of coaching and is being used more and more within the business environment to give a company or corporation a competitive edge.

An appropriate way to discuss NLP as a coach is to ask a series of questions; for instance, what is NLP? Bavister & Vickers explains, that NLP for a client is, “A means of achieving more for themselves and being more fulfilled in their personal and professional lives.” 1 Working with a client and using the appropriate NLP tools can therefore help them to achieve their own personal excellence and full potential. A coach can work with a client using these techniques to enable a client to become the person they really want to be.

What do the letters NLP mean? The ‘neuro’ part is the way in which a client takes in and processes information about the world around them. The five senses of; sight, hearing, feeling, smell and taste are all used to process this information. Included in this is also the notion of self talk, (the conscious) where the voice of reason inside the client’s head may analyse situations. However, it is the unconscious part of the mind that is the processor, which produces a very personal map of every individual’s world. The mind can only process a minute amount of the information going on around them at one time (7+/-‐ chunks). However, every individual has a favoured way of taking in the information, which is known as the internal representational system and more technically known as; visual, auditory, kinaesthetic, olfactory, gustatory and auditory digital. An individual for instance may use kinaesthetic mostly to take in the details of the now. The information taken in at one time is also influenced by past experiences which are then distorted, deleted and generalised; which go on to influence the final picture. The understanding of these filters can highlight an insight into how different people experience their lives and why it can be so challenging for individuals, groups and cultures to get along.

The second part of the title is the ‘linguistic’ element, which is connected to the language system a client will use to verbally explain and relate to his/her map of the world. This

1 Bavister, S,. Vickers, A,. NLP. 2008. p2



element is seven percent of the communication a person relates to another. Thirty eight percent is how the client articulates the tonality of the words spoken and a staggering fifty-‐five percent of communication is transferred through body language; how the client uses gestures and postures, to code, organise and indicate meanings to another person or group. Gestures and postures create an overall impression to others and can indicate internally the state of the person. Lastly the ‘programming’ can be defined as a series of processes and a variety of techniques that can be applied to a client’s current situation to create a happier and more fulfilling way of being. The tools used enable a client to begin to experience life in a different way and is for them a personal voyage and process. Bavister & Vickers put forward that the common theme in all coaching relationships is that by following a process and applying the techniques from NLP, a client will evolve and reach a better place than from where they began.2

For the client and a coach, coaching and learning are an ongoing process. When there are new learning’s individuals can constantly evolve to fulfil their full potential. What matters is how individuals equip themselves properly to evolve in the way that suits them best and keeps them in a happy, contented state.3 The effectiveness of the coaching process lies in the questions that are raised throughout the coaching session and using the appropriate NLP tool when required. As a coach it is important to ask the right questions and as a client it is important that they answer the questions honestly and have total commitment to achieve their goal.

2 Bavister. S,. Vickers, A,. NLP. 2008. p13 3 Bavister, S,. Vickers, A,. NLP. 2008. p13



2 How can NLP Techniques be used to Enhance Business Coaching?

NLP has a very strong practical focus and due to this it is now being embraced by business. Best selling books such as ‘Awaken the Power Within’ and ‘Unlimited Power’ by Anthony Robbins brought to the public’s attention a way of increasing personal performance, which could enhance successful enterprises. NLP concepts and processes now form the backbone of many company training programmes and because of the practical focus on finding what is useful and then putting it into action can enable individuals and teams to achieve their peak performance in diverse areas such as; sales, communication, new product development, management and coaching.4 Leimon, Moscovici & McMahon put forward, that a linguistic technique such as the ‘meta model’ has replaced the traditional Business Coaching question of ‘Why?’ with ‘For what purpose?’ This question is more valuable as it enables a client to go deeper into the unconscious level when finding the right answer for themselves, rather than replying with an easier response from a much more obvious cognitive one. 5

Having knowledge of thinking patterns, thinking styles and how people access information can be extremely useful within business. Indeed, using NLP techniques and understanding the processes can be of great use when working with other people. Knowing why a person prefers to think in a ‘big picture’ rather than a ‘detailed’ way, or perhaps when an idea is discussed within a meeting; knowing why an individual will work on the success of the idea while others focus on why the idea may fail. NLP explains these differences as ‘Meta Programmes’, or our unconscious filters, which helps us deal with the huge amount of sensory based information in the external environment. Bavister & Vickers define Meta Programs as the “Approach we take to issues we come across; they filter the types of things we let into our internal world and what we allow out.”6

There are many types of Meta Programmes and it is possible to detect them by listening to what a client will say. Meta Programmes have distinctive patterns and are context specific. Therefore the patterns used by a client will vary to their particular circumstances; whether a client is at work, out with friends or at home with the family. Every individual will have a different value and belief within a different area of their life. In this particular instance business coaching will be the focus, however it is important to understand not only the professional side of a client’s life, but also the personal side, so that the client can get the right balance and enjoy life to the full. For example a client may want an increase in salary so that they can fund more holidays a year or afford to pay off a higher mortgage. The new challenge of a change in position in the same company may stimulate the client, or they may find the thought of the promotion quite stressful. If the new position is stimulating then the increase in the salary will be a positive happening, but if the change becomes stressful, then

4 Bavister, S,. Vickers, A,. NLP. 2008. p8 5 Leimon, A,. Moscovici, F,. McMahon, G. 2005: p39 6Bavister, S,. Vickers, A,. NLP. 2008. p48



this may be damaging to their mental or physical health if not addressed. When a client begins something new, different skills need to be transferred into a different situation and positive states need to be maintained by the client to be able to achieve the success they want for their future.

As a coach it is important to work with clients if necessary to alter negative behaviour patterns which can dominate an individual’s behaviour in certain situations. Bavister & Vickers describe this as being a “bit like a default setting on a computer program”.7 As a coach it is important to have an open mind and not put a client’s behaviour in any pigeon-‐holes, but to highlight patterns that are used on a regular basis across a wide range of contexts. These patterns can be defined for groups of employees as well as for organisations. Knowing and understanding Meta Programs can develop self-‐awareness, which can be applied in many ways in a work situation. For example;

• The knowledge of Meta programs can improve rapport between two or more people. The client will be able to recognize other people’s thinking patterns and will allow the client to match language and communicate more effectively.

• Can increase influencing skills by presenting ideas to other work partners in a way they will understand and are likely to buy into.

• Will also help within recruitment when interviewing candidates for new vacancies so that they fit the company ethos – basically they don’t end up with round pegs in square holes. 8

For business groups or individuals gaining knowledge of another’s individual Meta program or model of the world and understanding the values and belief filters can highlight an insight into how different people experience their lives and why it can be so difficult for individuals, groups and cultures to get along. Therefore this will help a person to deal with what they may think of as difficult people to work with.

Phil Hayes puts forward that a useful way of thinking about Meta Patterns is also to think about bi-‐polar situations such as;

• Future orientation past orientation

• Focus on what is right focus on what is wrong

• Focus on the past focus on the future

• Assumption of plenty assumption of scarcity

7 Bavister, S,. Vickers, A,. NLP. 2008. p.48 8 Bavister, S,. Vickers, A,. NLP. 2008. p.49



• Towards what is wanted away from what is not wanted

• Can do can’t do

• Proactive reactive

• Focus on similarity focus on difference9

The above relates to change and a coach can focus on these factors when a client is experiencing change within a business situation. For instance when a client experiences promotion, is made redundant, or wants a change of career. For the above areas to be effective the concepts need to be put into context by linking the above with the life circumstances of the client, for example; the client’s environment, behaviour, capabilities, values and beliefs, identity and at times spiritual purpose need to be examined. How can the bi-‐polar Meta programmes be linked with context to achieve success within a coaching session?

Phil Hayes offers examples of questions to use within the above areas. A typical question targeted for the home, workspace and travel (the environment) would be; “At the environmental level, what are you seeking to move away from and what are you seeking to move towards?” 10 This question will help the client to think about the balance of work and home, the amount of travel they want or don’t want and whether they want to work as a team rather than working alone.

To investigate the kinds of work task and methods of working the client wishes in the future a typical question in the behavioural area would be; “At the behavioural level, what are you seeking to move away from and what are you seeking to move towards?”11 This question aids the client to think about the kind of activities they really want to be focussing on in the future. For instance moving ‘away’ from operational management and ‘towards’ more strategic thinking.

The client’s skill and use of other talents can be elicited by asking them about the skills or talents they are hoping to make more use of; “What skills are now redundant and what new skills would be useful to learn and use in the future?”12 This would enable the client to discover what they want to move towards in terms of their personal growth, learning and development.

Investigating the realms of significant meaning, purpose and structure is very important and eliciting a client’s values and belief system gives an insight to the client’s own map of the

9 Hayes, P,. NLP Coaching. 2006:p94 10 Hayes, P,. NLP Coaching. 2006:p94 11 Hayes, P,. NLP Coaching. 2006:p94 12 Hayes, P,. NLP Coaching. 2006:p94



world. Phil Hayes states that a typical questions such as; “What core values are you moving towards in your life and career? Which are becoming less important? What beliefs about yourself are really important to move towards? And what old beliefs are you looking to leave behind?”13 These questions can help the client realise their motivation strategies. A benefit of looking at values and beliefs in this way, is that is helps give a sense of dynamic development rather than abstract forces and the client can then actively organise and develop components within their own lives.

The client at times may need to dig quite deep to find out just who they are. Therefore questions can be asked such as; “What kind of person are you hoping to become? What do you see as your core, defining personal mission in life?”14 These questions create a great deal of thought and really focus the client of the heart of their being.

Lastly the area of spirituality and purpose of life can be investigated if needed. Typical questions such as “How does your mission fit into the wider world? Or how does it connect with the bigger system you are part of and what kind of connection are you moving towards?”15 The last two areas are big, high impact questions and these kinds of questions should be asked in a sensitive way and only when full rapport between the coach and the client has been established.

To motivate and enable the client to be successful it is important to investigate if the client is moving towards or moving away from their goal. In NLP it is important to gain knowledge of the client’s strategies so that the client can move towards a positive area rather than moving away from a negative area. For example if a client is moving away from poverty instead of moving towards wealth the client’s motivation will fall once the goal has been reached of moving away from poverty. In this example it would be important to have a goal, which moves towards a set amount of financial wealth and for the client to realise this.

It is vital that the coaching takes place in a relaxed atmosphere, through general conversation style, where the coach and the client are in rapport; otherwise the coaching effectiveness is greatly diminished. Therefore it is very important that the coach has prepared the questions and the format of the coaching session before hand, which will enable the coach to slip in the appropriate questions within the conversation, so the client is free to dwell on the meaning and the exploration of the questions asked.

A real life example of using some of the questions is demonstrated below and highlights how useful these questions can be when working with a client. This client had made it to the top of his profession, from a very humble beginning in Glasgow. He was brought up in a very tough district in Glasgow (environment) where he had learned to survive by being

13Hayes, P,. NLP Coaching. 2006: p95 14 Hayes, P,. NLP Coaching. 2006: p95 15 Hayes, P,. NLP Coaching. 2006: p95



streetwise and protected himself by using physical and verbal aggression (behaviour.) He at times at work and in his private life lashed out when it was not appropriate. The problem was solved once his background had been obtained and in this particular instance other models of ‘toughness,’ which did not require verbal or physical aggressive body language, were discussed. The client realised he could use these instead. His learning was that it was possible to be tough but in a non-‐aggressive way. Life improved for him both in his professional and private life. This had a ripple effect on the people around him in a very positive way. All this was elicited due to a focussed, prepared set of questions discussed around a variety of areas in his life.16

Another NLP technique to help and understand relationships is a process described as the ‘Meta Mirror Technique’ or ‘Perceptual Positions’. This technique was adapted from the tradition of what is known as the ‘Two Chair Work’ in Gestalt therapy. Phil Hayes explains that it is a very powerful, quick and effective way to bring change to a client who has identified a relationship that they wish to improve in some way. The relationship doesn’t need to necessarily be problematic and can help a client get the very best out of their most cherished relationships.

“The crux of the technique sits elegantly at the heart of the principles of both coaching and NLP; it is directly focused on helping someone access their resourcefulness and, in so doing, to effect desired change.”17

The principle is that to change someone else, first you have to change yourself. Therefore the onus of responsibility for change in a relationship is on the clients themselves. This is also linked to the cause and effect tool. If a client is in ‘cause’; they take responsibility for their life and actions, whereas if a client is on the’ effect side’, the client will blame other people or other things when situations were not as they expected. When using this tool, it would be important for the coach to make sure the client is in ‘cause’, rather than ‘effect,’ for the smooth success of the technique. The format is described in detail below; 18

Step 1 x client (A) x other person (B)

X coach (C)

The coach would ask the client to imagine the ‘other person’ sitting in an actual chair opposite them. The client needs to create a complete visual image of them. Questions by the coach would be asked such as: What is the name of the person opposite? (Client will know they can use a pseudonym) How do they feel when you look at x? (It is important when the answer is given to makes sure they answer with a feeling and not just what they

16 Hayes, P,. NLP Coaching. 2006: p95 17 Hayes, P,. NLP Coaching. 2006:p54 18 Hayes, P,. NLP Coaching. 2006: p55/60



are thinking.) Then the coach reflects back to the client the actual words they have chosen, as this allows the client to reflect on what they have said and helps the coach clarify these are indeed the right feelings they have.

Step 2 x client (A) x client but looking through opp. persons eyes (B)

x coach (C)

The coach needs to ask the client to stand up, shake off that particular state of mind and feeling. They now need to sit in the opposite chair as above facing where they once sat. Once they sit down as shown above, they now need to think about being in the other person’s body and seeing themselves through the other person’s eyes. As before ask the client to create a very strong image and ask questions such as: As X, when you look back at yourself, how would you, as X, feel? Again the response must be from feelings and not just thinking. Three to five feelings are normally typical. This begins to allow the client to gain an insight into what they need to do to improve the relationship and allows the client to develop empathy for the other person, resulting in the new insight. At this point the client may need reassurance that there is no mind reading going on, but by moving to the point of the second person’s position they will have gained empathy and bring to the forefront intuitive thoughts and feelings about how the other person might be experiencing the relationship.

Stage 3 x client (A) x other person (B)

X client (D) x coach (C)

Next take the client to position D where he can see the two empty chairs where he had been sitting earlier. This is where the client gets the benefit of seeing the situation in two perspectives and by asking questions, the coach can help the client consolidate the learning. Questions by the coach should be asked such as;

• How does the relationship strike you from this position?

• What do you want from the relationship?

• What will happen if nothing changes?

• What advice would you offer, from this position, to the ‘you’ sat in the first chair?



Here the coach may see some physical changes because of the new learning. The coach must use sensory acuity to make a mental note of how the client is doing. The client may become more relaxed: their voice may become more confident: breathing may change and become less rapid.

Stage 4

X client (A) x opposite person (B)

X client (D)

X client (E) x coach (C)

Get the client to shake out their state and explain that this is the last part of the exercise. Now the client needs to be taken to position E, where they can clearly see the two previous versions of themselves. It’s very important that the client visualizes themselves and then questions need to be asked such as: What resources does the detached ‘you’ have that the ‘you’ currently engaged in the relationship needs? The client can use the new learning from the earlier stages now to answer that question in a clear and concise way.

Hayes states that at a minimum the client will notice the positive effect of the detachment itself and how it allows them to take a clearer more focused view, less crowded with emotions. 19

All emotions are stored in the unconscious and in NLP terms when the client looks at the situation and see themselves within the picture; this allows the client to become dissociated with the happening; hence the emotions are now less powerful from the unconscious. Dissociated and associated techniques play an important part in many of the tools used in NLP. To further develop the model when discussing feelings, the coach could use the client’s preferred internal representational system when linguistically explaining what they need to do. An experience occurred within the first business coaching session from the manager of a web design company whereby when feelings were discussed the client could not understand the instructions, because they had been verbalised in a kinaesthetic way. However when I changed the verbalisation to visual imagery to explain the directives, success ensued. Therefore the learning was that even though feelings were being discussed, instructions still needed to be given using, in this case, visual language. Therefore

19Hayes, P,. NLP Coaching. 2006: p59



it is important to communicate in the client’s own representational system to ensure complete understanding of the instructions by the client.

There are so many tools, which can be used by coaches to aid the full potential of a client within business. To name a few examples: anchoring to increase motivation, self esteem and confidence; parts Integration to allow the client to have a congruent belief such as self belief; enhance communication by increasing sensory acuity and rapport skills; the five step sales process to increase sales; the five principles of success to increase achievement, and lastly sub-‐modality changes to make positive state changes and to aid the way a client may act in any business situation. There are many more, related with value and belief changes as well as spiritual links. In fact the beauty of this area is that a coach never stops learning new techniques to put into their own toolbox and work with a client to help them reach their full potential in the business arena, which has a ripple effect on the other areas of their life. NLP is such a flexible concept that it can cover very diverse contexts. With different contexts in mind; how different can sport’s coaching be compared to business coaching? The second part of this essay will now discuss NLP in a sports arena.



3 How can NLP Techniques be used to Enhance Sports Coaching

As committed and driven sports people there are times when assistance is needed to increase either a performance issue or attain consistency to maintain an excellent performance. At least 60% of the optimum act of an athlete’s performance is mental and that the ‘feeling of their heads being in the wrong place’ is very common. This has a direct affect on an athletes training or even worse their competing. At times it is this invisible barrier that the athlete can’t seem to break though. They can see it, nearly touch it, but something is stopping them from reaching it and working through it.20 An NLP coach would work with the client to help them break through their own invisible barriers by using a variety of NLP tools. Depending on the client’s values and beliefs; which distort, delete and generalise past experiences. Work would be completed so that anything holding them back in achieving their goals would be rectified. As in business an individual’s own ‘map of their world’ plays an important part to future success and this applies to a sporting context too.

Sport gives a wonderful example of the NLP notion of how we all have our unique map of the world. For example anyone who watches a sporting event knows that opposing fans will see a game very differently. Each person will witness the same game yet will live a different experience. Sports reporters will have their own opinion of what worked and what didn’t for the same game. This continues into the changing rooms between the players and managers who will discuss key incidents afterwards. For instance a penalty incident will be seen and described very differently by individuals linked with the game. How is it that everyone knows the truth? “Rather than create an esoteric debate on the nature of truth, Bandler & Grinder took the view that it was the usefulness of something, not the perfect definition of truth that was important.” 21 Therefore every individual’s map of the world is the right one for them, unless it holds them back and the pattern of behaviour is a negative one to their growth or happiness, rather than a positive one. No individual needs to keep the old pattern of values and beliefs if it is not working for them now or in the future.

Sports Coach Brian Mac states that communication skills are at the heart of sports coaching. Successful coaches need to be able to effectively share meaningful information with athletes. Coaches want to motivate the athletes they work with and give them information that will allow them to train effectively and improve performance. It is communication from the coach to the athlete that initiates the correct actions. This means that the athlete not only needs to receive the information from the coach but also needs to understand and accept it. Therefore Mac puts forward a set of questions that a coach must ask themselves before he parts with the information;

1. Do I have the athlete’s attention?

20NLP Sport Practitioner Course, 2009. [online] 21 Garratt, T,. Sporting Excellence, Optimising Sports Performance Using NLP. 2008. p6



2. Am I explaining myself in an easily understood manner?

3. Has the athlete understood?

4. Does the athlete believe what I am telling him/her?

5. Does the athlete accept what I am saying?22

The above questions would be a good start. All of the above questions would be answered easily if the coach has been introduced to NLP communication skills. Excellent sensory acuity is needed by the coach to increase his/her observation skills and aid in the observation of the minute changes their athlete may make from moment to moment and comprehend the meaning of any changes which may occur within their athletes. There are several signs to observe changes within an athlete such as: when the skin colour changes from light to dark; the tone of the muscles changing from symmetrical to not symmetrical; the breathing may change from fast to slow or high to low; the lower lip size may have lines or be very smooth. This is due to the increase in blood flow to the lips. Lastly the eyes may become focused or defocused or the pupil dilation may become more dilated or less dilated. This can also be linked to business whereby sensory acuity skills are needed for a manager to be effective for their company and communicate ideas to all of the work force.

A coach needs to have excellent rapport skills. They may not be aware of this and it is important to establish rapport with any person, at any moment in time. Over fifty-‐five percent of rapport is physiology and the areas to look more closely at are; posture, gesture, facial expression, blinking and breathing. Therefore non-‐verbal messages are an important part of communication. Brian Mac explains that at first it may appear that face-‐to-‐face communication consists of taking it in turns to speak. While the coach is speaking, the athlete is expected to listen and wait patiently until the coach finishes. However, because words are only seven percent and tonality thirty-‐eight percent, the most important part is the body language. Mac puts forward people resort to a variety of non-‐verbal behaviour to maintain a smooth flow of communication, such as; nodding of heads, smiles, frowns, bodily contact, eye movements, laughter and other body postures. His conclusion is that coaches should:

1. Develop verbal and non-‐verbal communication skills.

2. Ensure that they provide positive feedback during coaching sessions.

3. Give all athletes in their training group’s equal attention.

4. Communicate as appropriate to your athlete’s thinking and learning styles.

22 Sports Coach, 2009. [online]



5. Ensure that they not only talk to their athletes but also listen to them as well.23

Logical, common sense advice is given within the five points. Number four can also be obtained through NLP in the way that the coach can learn about the internal representational systems that athletes use to input and process new information. There are four particularly important systems in which one of them is normally dominant. The representational systems are identical to the business internal representational systems such as; visual, auditory, kinaesthetic and auditory digital. As discussed within business it is through our senses that we take in the surroundings of a particular moment in time.

Garratt states that in sport many people use NLP techniques already, without having heard of NLP itself. They have found something useful and they can use easily with very quick results, with no need to understand the concepts and jargon of NLP.24 However, I disagree with Garratt’s opinion and feel that knowing the theory of NLP can only enhance the success for a manager and coaches whom aid the success of a team.

Mental warm ups are essential for any athlete. Garratt explains that Sally Gunnell talks of giving off positive vibes and pushing down negatives. She was so focussed and ready when she won the World Championship in 1993 that she didn’t know she had won due to her intense focus, which she describes as having tunnel-‐vision.25 Captured within the phrase ‘mental warm-‐up’ is a whole host of terms, such as; visualising, mental rehearsal, cognitive rehearsal, correct practice and having a winning self-‐direction.26 The key to the mental warm-‐up process is the ability to visualise or create images. A particular sound can also convey important information to the brain; for instance when playing tennis the sound of the tennis ball hitting the middle of a racquet makes a unique sound. The feel of the racquet when holding it correctly is evident to the sports person. Swimmers will sometimes talk about feeling just right in the water. This can be linked to good business practice, when preparing for a meeting or presentation. A mental warm up puts a client in the right mental positive state to achieve success.

A different example of mental ability can be seen when Garratt describes the experience of an American soldier, Colonel George Hall, when he was held prisoner in Vietnam for several years. He was mostly in solitary confinement in an extremely small cell. Under these terrible conditions he kept his sanity by playing a round of golf once a day in his mind. Before being sent to Vietnam he had a handicap of four. Five-‐and-‐a-‐half-‐years later due to his mental training when incarcerated, even though he was in a weakened physical condition he immediately played to his original handicap. He put this tremendous feat down to mentally playing everyday over that period and knowing every blade of grass,

23 Sports Coach, 2009. [online] 24 Garratt, T,. Sporting Excellence, Optimising Sports Performance Using NLP. 2008. p8 25 Garratt, T,. Sporting Excellence, Optimising Sports Performance Using NLP. 2008. p15 26Garratt, T,. Sporting Excellence, Optimising Sports Performance Using NLP. 2008. p17



bunker and every shot he had ever played. Garratt highlights that “This illustrates the key point that provided mental practice is made as real as possible and sustained over a sufficient period, it becomes generative.” 27 In this instance mental practice kept his mental state relatively healthy in the circumstances and as a result of this had a positive effect on his golf handicap. However, mental warm-‐ups in normal life conditions are not intended to be a substitute for actual physical preparation. Therefore physical and mental preparation compliment, each other so that the athlete can play and perform at their optimum ability.

Positive affirmations based on the five senses of; seeing, hearing, feeling, smelling and tasting can also be used for increasing positive thinking. Garratt states that chanting the below sentences can enhance confidence:

I know I am performing great because

• I (whatever you see)

• I (whatever you hear)

• I (whatever you feel, including sensations, muscles, tactile responses)

• I (whatever you taste)

• I (whatever you smell)

Once this has been completed the athlete now makes up his own sentence, following the same pattern; I am confident because............ I know this because.....28 This is also extremely successful within business. Five weeks ago one of my business clients had low confidence; amongst using a variety of NLP techniques such as confidence anchoring, they designed their own affirmation. The positive personal sentence was spoken out loud by them at least once a day over four weeks. The transformation was incredible only after two weeks. They were becoming their affirmation. This highlights the importance of positive self-‐belief to business, sport and personal success.

When a coach wants an athlete to duplicate someone else’s excellent model of success, they need to develop strategies for success by knowing the internal representational system of the athlete and the individual they want to copy is also a useful tool to use during coaching. Strategies can come in many guises. For instance having prior knowledge of how your opponent works, or modelling a champion’s behaviour and then using the information that you need and adding it to your own style. In NLP there are techniques for establishing the hows of the human process. Modelling is a good example; studying strategies that

27 Garratt, T,. Sporting Excellence, Optimising Sports Performance Using NLP. 2008.pix 28 Garratt, T,. Sporting Excellence, Optimising Sports Performance Using NLP. 2008.p51



various successful people employ to gain success, often without them even being consciously aware of them.

Garratt puts forward that there are three important components;

1. The beliefs that support that behaviour

2. The physiology of the behaviour

3. The strategies that support the behaviour29

How is eliciting the strategies achieved? Garratt explains that there are seven steps to success. These are;

1. Identify the specific behaviour, e.g. taking a penalty, serving an ace, holing a putt.

2. Get the sportsperson to actually do the behaviour. If this is not possible, get them to go back in time to when they were successfully carrying out the behaviour and get them totally into the state of doing it, in an associated way.

3. Identify the very first thing they are aware of as they are reliving the experience.

4. Find out specifically what they see, hear, feel etc.

5. Identify the second thing they are aware of as they are reliving the behaviour.

6. Find out specifically what they see, hear, feel etc.

7. Repeat for each specific part of the behaviour until you have worked out their total strategy.30

This can then be analysed into two different types of modelling by splitting up the physical and mental areas of coaching. Garratt describes the structural process of modelling when covering the physical aspects of another athlete’s performance. The physiological areas can be analysed and the best bits used for modelling.

• Choose a good role model.

• Make sure that when you are modelling them they are doing it right (even the greats have an off-‐day.)

• Get a picture locked in your head of them performing perfectly (the use of video is obviously helpful here), make sure that you can reproduce their perfect performance in your mind’s eye.

29 Garratt, T,. Sporting Excellence, Optimising Sports Performance Using NLP. 2008. p81 30 Garratt, T,. Sporting Excellence, Optimising Sports Performance Using NLP. 2008. p82



• See yourself carrying out the skill/performance in exactly the same way as the role model.

• Step inside the picture (become associated) and be more aware of how it looks, sounds, feels, smells and tastes to perform perfectly.

• Practice this five or six times a day.31

The second part covers the belief strategies of the athlete, the client wants to model. Garratt describes the key steps in detail below;

• Break the sports performance down into its key elements.

• Break it down into even smaller chunks if required.

• Observe the process (possibly using a video) and interview the sportsperson to establish their; beliefs, values, attitudes and thought patterns.32

The mental element of sport is extremely important. One Daily Mail reporter acknowledges this fact when they stated in 1998 when they were commentating on the England Cricket Tour of Australia, “As far as I am concerned, the Ashes will be won or lost in the mind.”33

As with business the NLP states of ‘association and dissociation’ play a role for emotional states. Garratt discusses that this is an important tool when preparing mental warm up activities or thinking about past events. For example if an athlete had a poor performance in the past or a bad result, one way of reflecting would be in a dissociated state. Therefore the emotions would be easier to handle. This will allow a more objective analysis to take place. However, if a more in tune feeling needs to be achieved then an associated state would be more useful. Being able to be fully aware of your body and in control of yourself will, at the moment when the peak performance is required, give an athlete the edge to perform at his maximum level. 34

An example of how to do this Garratt puts forward is to;

1. Create an image of yourself performing all or a specific part of your sport to a very high standard. This needs to be done in a dissociated state.

2. Watch yourself carry out the sport, or the specific part of it you wish to develop. Get used to watching yourself, observing what you are doing well, having key points for attention.

31 Garratt, T,. Sporting Excellence, Optimising Sports Performance Using NLP. 2008. p81 32 Garratt, T,. Sporting Excellence, Optimising Sports Performance Using NLP. 2008. p83 33 Garratt, T,. Sporting Excellence, Optimising Sports Performance Using NLP. 2008. p83 34 Garratt, T,. Sporting Excellence, Optimising Sports Performance Using NLP. 2008. p20



3. At a point when it feels appropriate stepping into yourself and become fully associated. Turn on all the internal representations and see what you see, feel what you feel and hear what you hear. A certain smell or taste in the mouth may also be present.35

This needs careful explanation by the coach to the athlete and this is a quick effective strategy to get the athlete into the right frame of mind.

Self-‐confidence is an important issue for both amateurs and professionals. Garratt gives an example of this when explaining about Lee Chapman’s (an ex-‐footballer’S) experience when playing for Arsenal. When he had been at Leeds earlier he was the leagues top scorer. He describes his positive experience at that time in Leeds as ‘Time standing still, the goal was very large and there was no thought of failure.’36 One way in which NLP can help this is by using the anchoring process and using past experiences where confidence was high and transferring these states into improving the sports performance. This tool can also be transferred to business. For instance one previous business client discussed the confidence they had once had when they used to play in a band in front of large audiences. This feeling of confidence was transferred to a business setting rather than a social setting and was ready to be used when needed before a business presentation or board meeting. The same positive state can also be transferred to a sports setting. The NLP tool of anchoring can be used to help an athlete reach a highly productive state just before the game or performance. This allows an athlete to create a peak moment at important times within a game. This is done by drawing together all the resources you require at a particular moment in time – ‘like bringing a kettle to the boil.’ An example of this could be used within football on a penalty shoot out for instance, or in rugby match when a player takes a penalty kick. Garratt discusses an effective example of anchoring for a squash player whose anchor consisted of seeing the image of the T, using the word ‘control’ and putting his right hand to his left knee before the game began. No one around him knew what he was doing and so was able to build upon his anchor game after game.37

35 Garratt, T,. Sporting Excellence, Optimising Sports Performance Using NLP. 2008. p21 36 Garratt, T,. Sporting Excellence, Optimising Sports Performance Using NLP. 2008. p45 37 Garratt, T,. Sporting Excellence, Optimising Sports Performance Using NLP. 2008. p36



4 The Link between Sport and Business Coaching.

As stated above there can be seen many links between sports coaching and business coaching. B. Parcells when discussing motivational issues within coaching, states that “People are people and that the keys to motivating them and getting them to perform to their full potential are pretty much the same whether they’re playing on a football field or working in an office.”38

How can football be linked with business? Bolchover & Brady quotes Bill Parcells a NLP practitioner and discuses how Parcells believes that business at the turn of the twenty-‐first century began making the journey football had taken many years ago. It’s the realization of the importance of the manager. Performance within business is now being analysed and scrutinised just as football and other forms of team sports have always been. In any team sport, including football a good manager is easy to identify because the team constantly achieves good results. Now growing external pressures within business are forcing internal company operations to become increasingly professional, so that management success can be more measurable and the knock on positive effect is that a good manager is now more obvious. Business is now becoming more visible to scrutiny, just as football always has.39

It can be seen that managing a football team replicates the problems of a corporate management in a global environment. For example Chelsea in 2000 was managed by an Italian, coached by an English man and had team players from France, England, Italy, Spain, Uruguay, Romania, Brazil, Finland, Norway and Nigeria. This is a very cultural diverse environment, which was put under the spot light by the media. Due to this kind of media attention, one slip from a player or players can cost a manager their job. What football provides is a model of corporate management where only the best practice succeeds.

For example, one lesson that football can provide to business is when ex players become new football managers. They have to learn right at the beginning that their job, instead of playing on the field is now taken up by the process of winning. Bolchover & Brady state that;

“Their job is to design the playing pattern (the process) and direct the players (managers) to implement the pattern. The co-‐ordinators must then observe and the performance (give feedback), assess the performance, redesign the process – and improve or remove players (last resort making redundancies in a company.) Only that way can teams (organisations) continue to improve.” 40

38 Bolchover, D,. Brady, C,. The 90-‐Minute Manager. 2002: p1 39 Bolchover, D,. Brady, C,. The 90-‐Minute Manager. 2002: p1 40 Bolchover, D,. Brady, C,. The 90-‐Minute Manager. 2002: p13



It’s the responsibility of the head coach (Chairman) to implement the values and culture around which the other members working within the business merge for direction. Coaching is about the performance of the client in whatever context they are in at the present time. The process is not normally watched; it’s normally the result that counts.



5 Conclusion

Many different ways of using NLP techniques have been discussed throughout the thesis in the context of Sport and Business Coaching. NLP has many valuable tools that can be drawn upon to use for increasing a client’s full potential and happiness; in not just business but in a sporting environment as well. As discussed in the latter part of the thesis it is not a new notion to link sport and business coaching together. Interestingly the same tools can be transferred to both business and sport, even though the context is different. It can be seen that the same issues of motivation, self-‐esteem, confidence, the need for excellent communication skills to understand another individual and to be aware that every person has a different map of the world; is important for the success of any individual in any context. From past experience when coaching, the success in one area of a client’s life has a positive ripple effect on all the other areas of their world.

A variety of tools have also been discussed within this thesis such as; meta processing to discover if the client is moving towards or away from a value or belief, anchoring to increase confidence and motivation, positive modelling so that the client can take the best parts and integrate them into their performance; whether the performance be in business or a sporting environment. Increasing communication skills, by gaining knowledge of sensory acuity and rapport skills are important attributes for any individual in life, in any context. The exciting thing is that a coach will never stop learning new tools within NLP which will enable them to work with clients, so that an individual will be able to reach their full potential; in not only the business and sports arena but any other context a client wants to grow in.

Many examples have been given in both business and sport explaining the importance of applying NLP within coaching and the effects this has on a client. The most dramatic example was from Garratt and the experience of the American soldier. For the soldier, to have mentally visualised playing a round of golf everyday, to help his mental well being and then not to have even dropped in his handicap when playing his first game in five years, was astonishing. This demonstrates the power of the unconscious. One of the prime directives of the unconscious mind is to maintain good mental health. It is in the unconscious where the emotions are stored; therefore NLP techniques can be used within coaching, so that a coach can work with a client to help ultimately obtain happiness and a fulfilment in life for the client.



Bibliography

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Garratt, T,. 2008. Sporting Excellence; Optimising Sports Performance Using NLP. Carmarthen: Crown House Publishing.

Hayes, P,. 2006. NLP Coaching. Maidenhead: OUP

Leimon, A,. Moscovici, F,. McMahon, G,. 2005. Essential Business Coaching. Hove: Routledge.

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NLP Discussed within two contexts: Business and Sports Coaching

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