I was introduced to NLP, just a few years after I had graduated from University, I was only 23 years old at the time. As a young student I still remember how it was first presented to me, but was in no way prepared for the wonderful way it would influence my life. My instructor defined NLP to me as a set of tools I could use to mould the way I lived. He said “All you need to understand my friends are some core principles around NLP, and then you just apply a few techniques to get the results you want”. I was thoroughly mesmerized by the way he simplified the subject and his conviction in its efficacy. One day, he told us a story of a pupil of his that had some questions about how to take a client into an altered state by simply conversing with her, as some of the greatest hypnotists would do. The student asked “Is it really possible for us to have that effect on another person?” “Wouldn’t they be aware of our intentions and attempt to resist such a suggestion or embedded command?”

This was his reply. “It’s difficult for any of you to grasp a hidden message consciously when the embedded command is subtle and creatively placed within a story. The greatest hypnotists were also some of the greatest story tellers. The key you need to understand is that there is a system to embedding suggestions, and stories are one of the best ways to express an idea without really speaking about the ‘idea’ directly. Stories that are laden with metaphor such as fables have underlying lessons that you get a clear picture of through the context of the story. When the story is told in an animated way that evokes the emotions of your listener, a shift in state occurs. A simple example is when you transition from the state of confusion to curiosity when someone interesting is speaking. Almost all of you would agree that curiosity is a much more desirable state to be in than confusion. If curiosity weren’t enough, perhaps excitement would be what you would want to feel. It is actually quite natural for you to transition from one state to another and then to any other positive state you wish.

To further enhance the results you get, you can implement nested loops within the stories you tell. Some think this is a tricky skill to master, but like anything else a little practice will take you a long way. If you are assisting someone in moving from a problem state to a solution state consider nesting a story within a story. It’s really a pretty simple process. Once you’ve begun telling your first story you just leave it open and create a space for your second story to be introduced. From the second story, the third story begins, and with each story an embedded message is creatively woven into the language. Once the third story is closed, the second story is closed and then finally the first story is closed. As you move through each story you are guiding your client from one state into the next and they are grasping on to every word you say.

Creating nested loops by using stories will improve your skills as an NLP practitioner. The best way to get your stories to connect with your audience is to practice with an audience and gauge their response. Professional speakers often practice their speeches in front of a mirror or will videotape themselves to get a better feel for their delivery. But as most performers know, the difficult part is getting the audience to react in the way you want them to. One of the most difficult responses to evoke from a person is laughter. Stand up comics have one the toughest jobs on the planet, but when they’ve mastered their skill, the results can be incredible.

We have a fascination with being entertained and as a society we are addicted to the feelings evoked by emotionally moving performances. This is one of the reasons that the movie industry is so big, and why some develop a near obsessive relationship with their favorite actors. The actor, musician, and comic have the ability to communicate on an emotional level with their audience. When you rehearse your stories with the intention of stimulating your audience they will have a greater impact on your clients. As you continue to do this regularly, you will create stories that you will be comfortable with using often. You will be able to adapt these stories to fit the needs of each client you deal with and assist them in bringing about a dramatic change in their lives. It will be an incredibly rewarding experience for you both.”

After hearing our instructor’s reply, this student was immediately convinced that he could effectively create nested loops and so began to apply his newfound knowledge to his clients. “The results were amazing, and it was simpler than I thought,” he revealed to our instructor. Upon hearing this story in class we were quite taken aback. There was a noticeable feeling among us that this could not be achievable so easily and that we could not create this level of influence in the people we worked with. Our instructor was not one to leave us unsettled and proved to us that the doubt was a figment of our imagination. He suggested that we change our state of mind to one of curiosity instead, and we did. Before long, our class, myself included, had developed the confidence to practice NLP and the art of nested loops in conversation. It became so unconscious that it became a part of everything we did, including the way we spoke and wrote, and the way we interacted with our clients. So go ahead and give it your best. Tell a story within a story and as my instructor would say, “You’ve got nothing to lose but doubt!”