NLP Techniques: ModellingBeyond a Mentor
by Laura Interval
“Modelling” is just the NLP fancy word for copying. Well, sort of. NLP teaches that if one person can do something it is possible for anyone to do it. If you want to learn a skill, learn to blow glass for example, you need only to model the best glass blower. With this technique, you will reach his skill level, and even beyond perhaps, in less time than it took him. You will be blowing glass at his level and able to teach others, in no time. Well, this sounds fantastic. At first glance, it sounds an awful like choosing and studying a mentor, right? It is. But, the study goes far beyond merely observation and interviewing. Modelling asks you to become your subject. Not only to ask him questions and observe, but to “shadow him” as he (or her, of course) is engaged in the skill. You copy the model’s behavior and physiology (what they do), belief system and values (why they do it) and the way they think (how they do it). During this time, you operate on an unconscious level of mimicking. You don’t ask “why” or “how”. You just do. You don’t allow your rational side to come in and try to figure it out. You just copy everything the glass blower is doing. Get his physiology - his posture, his motions, his pace of his body. His psychology - his expressions, his emotions, his motivations for doing it. And the actual skill - the techniques, processes, and use of tools. By doing this, you will “feel” how to do the skill. You will have a greater understanding of how your mentor achieves the great level that he does. It requires imagination, a willingness to be an actor, and an abandoning of your own logic and reason. But, if you can “step into the model’s shoes” so to speak, you will learn the part of his process that he may be unable to teach. Often people do not have the conscious capacity to understand what they do and how they do it, and therefore cannot teach the student what it takes to achieve the level of success they have achieved. They may be able to teach the skill, but not what it takes to rise above mediocrity and reach a level of excellence. With modelling, you can discover the elements of what the expert is doing that he is unaware of. Follow these five steps: Choose your model – find a model of excellence in your chosen field. Someone who stands out, who has achieved a level of greatness. Make sure it is someone you can spend time with while they work. This does not work with written word or video, you must be present while they are engaged in their skill. Spend time with them – “shadow them”. Stay open, internally silent and relaxed as you mimic them. Don’t judge or question. Let yourself get lost in becoming them. Listen, match and mimic. Accomplish the skill – continue to model your subject until you have accomplished the skill in your unconscious state. Continue to practice the skill as a “shadow” until you have achieved the level of excellence a few times. Just because you do it once while you are modelling, does not mean you will be able to do it again on your own. You are unconsciously assimilating the skills. Continue to model until you feel confident you will be able to achieve the same achievement in the same time frame. Analyze the steps – now that you have achieved the same skill level, break down the steps of how your model does it. Analyze each step and write them down. This is your “model code”. NOTE: Because everyone has an individual style, confirm that each step is right for you. Eliminate anything that does not add to your path of achieving the skill. (You may have to add it back in if you are unsuccessful later!) But, if it seems unimportant to you, release it. Pay it forward – NLP encourages teaching the skill. Because you now have a method, a code of your model, you have the tools to teach others how to achieve excellence as well. The above example is referred to as “skill modelling”. Of course, there may be genetic factors (such as height, for example if you’re modelling a basketball player) that may stand in your way of reaching your desired excellence. However, this technique is valuable in all aspects of achievement. If you strive for your own business, for example, model someone who went from working at McDonald’s to owning his or her own chain. Follow them, be them, and find out what drives them to achieve. NLP practitioners have also used this technique to change “problem behavior” by modeling someone to learn what motivates them to act a certain way. Once the modeled behavior has been coded, it can be changed for the better. OK… so, maybe not everyone can be Einstein. But, NLP says that everyone can separate the know-how from the person and learn the skill at the same level of excellence. Once you have the model code, all you will need is practice and determination. This is definitely a promise worth trying out.
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