One of the first key skills in NLP is language. Every magician
knows that one of the most powerful elements in magic is presentation,
and the key to this is communication. Communication can be
verbal and non-verbal - the words we say, the way we say them
and our physiology.
For example. take a great illusionist who wants to build
up the mystery of thrusting swords through a box containing
their assistant. If the swords are simply shoved through the
box without any build up, the audience may be left mildly
entertained, however if the effect is built up by describing
and illustrating the possible dangers and how many great magicians
have lost their lives in the process, the audience is left
remembering the effect for years.
This could be built up through the use of words prior to
the effect, and also the physiology and presentation during
the effect, for example the difficulty in pushing the blades
into the box. What is key here are the things that are presupposed
in the magician's communication. All communication contains
presuppositions - just read a newspaper to get a good idea
about this. For example, I was once going away on holiday
to the USA and there had been an article in the paper about
a British tourist being shot in Florida. As soon as my mother
saw this article I was getting phone calls about being careful
because of the dangers in America. The way many stories are
presented in the papers lead people to think in certain ways
- for example that the world is full of crime, however in
reality there are probably as many dangers in the UK as in
the USA and there are far more people who have safe enjoyable
holidays, however they don't make good stories. The focus
on certain angles of a story can suggest to people that things
are a certain way when there may be many other explanations.
In illusion, telling of how performers in the past have met
their end through performing a certain effect does not directly
say to the audience that it is dangerous, however it contains
presuppositions of this fact which can be incredibly powerful.
NLP has several important models of language and explores
using presuppositions and suggestion. It also explores the
meta-model which is how to get very precise with language,
and also the Milton Model, which is the hypnotic use of language
- great for performance and politics! |