Richard Bandler - Trance–formations. Neuro–Linguistic Programming™ and the Structure of Hypnosis

7) Future–Pacing. If you get total verification at the unconscious level that your partner is willing to accept the new response and use it, then without even knowing what the problem is, tell her to go into, a fantasy of being in the situation where she would be most apt to respond with the pattern of behavior that she doesn't like, and surprise herself delightfully by trying out the new behavior. Have her unconscious mind notify you either "yes" it's working or "no" it isn't. If there is any way in which the new choice doesn't work or has harmful side effect?, have her unconscious give you a "no"signal, and then havener' go back to generate more choices. I'd like you to spend about twenty; minutes doing this, so that you can take what you did previously and bring it to a conclusion..

(1) Set up yes/no signals with the unconscious.

(2) Identify a pattern of behavior to be changed. Ask her unconscious to select some behavior, X, that it doesn't like. Ask it to pick something that it thinks is of utmost and vital importance to her well–being. Have it give you a "yes" signal when it has identified one.

(3) Separate positive function from behavior.

(a) Ask her unconscious mind to turn the yes/ no signals over to the part of her that makes her do X. Either ask that part to give you a "yes" signal, or a "yes" and a "no" signal simultaneously, when that has occurred.

(b) Ask "Are you willing to allow her conscious mind to know what it is of value that occurs when she does X?" If "yes," say "Go ahead and let her know, and when you've done that, give me a 'yes' signal." If "no," proceed.

(4) Create new alternatives.

(a) Ask that part if it would be willing to go into the person's creative resources and get new ways to accomplish this positive function other than X. (The part is under no obligation to accept or use these choices, only to find them.)

(b) When you get a "yes," tell it to go ahead, and give you a "yes" signal when it has ten new choices.

(5) . Evaluate new alternatives.

(a) Ask that part to evaluate each new choice in terms of whether, unconsciously it believes the choice is at least as immediate, effective and available as X. Each time the part identifies one that it believes is, have it give you a "yes" signal.

(b) If you get less than three, recycle to step (4) and get more choices.

(6) Select one alternative.

(a) Ask the part to select the new way it considers the most satisfying and available in achieving the positive function, and to give you a "yes" signal when it has selected.

(b) Ask the unconscious part if it would be responsible for using this new choice for three weeks to evaluate its effectiveness.

(7) Future–Pace. Ask her unconscious go into a fantasy of trying out the new behaviors in the appropriate context. Have her unconscious notify you either "yes" it's working or "no" it isn't. If there

is any way in which the new choice doesn't work or has harmful side effects, recycle to step (4) and create new choices.

Those of you who already know the reframing procedure in Frogs into Princes will notice that the procedure we're offering you today has slightly different steps and a slightly different order. The basic technique is the same, and you will accomplish the same things when you use it.

The generalization that underlies the re–framing technique is that when things aren't the way you want them to be, you can change them. Find out the purpose that you are trying to achieve, the outcome you arc working towards, and then generate more choices. That is a worthwhile learning no matter what you're doing, and every inch you get closer to it wilt be in your best interest,

When theripists work with clients and the therapist notices that a procedure is not working. it simply is an indication for her to vary her behavior. As I walked around the room this afternoon, I noticed that some of you forgot to control the tempo of your voice, and you kept bringing people out of trance instead of putting them in. One man in the back of the room was doing beautifully until his voice begun to rise. As his voice went up slowly in pilch, his partner kept coming out of trance and trying to force herself back in—the mark of an overly cooperative client. It has been my experience that all clients are really very cooperative if they are prodded with the right stimulus.

Once had a client who came in and sat down said "Nothing ever works with me. There's nothing you can do that will ever work and I know this already." And I said "All right, I'm going to do something that will make you stay in that chair." I opened my desk drawer and took out a piece of paper. I wrote on it, and folded up the piece of paper. Then I looked at him and said "Now, you feel so heavy you feel compelled to stay in that chair, and everything you try to do will be in vain, because every motion you make will keep you in that chair." The guy immediately stood straight up. I opened the piece of paper and showed it to him. The paper said "You are standing now."

"There was nothing profoundly important about what I did. However, it convinced him that I could make him do things. In his case, that was very useful, That's very rare. Most people don't need to be convinced of that. If you create a contest in which whatever response you want from a client is appropriate, it will occur naturally.

A funny thing happened years ago. 1 had a student who failed at everything. He was a compulsive failer. I soon discovered that if I defined a particular success as the most likely failure, he could go in and succeed with people, and then come out and say "Well, it didn't work." His client would change, and the student would never notice it! I would tell him that the most likely way to fail with this person was to have X happen. I made sure X was a change that would be very useful to the client. He would work with the client and "fail" every time with precision. He succeeded consistently at failing in exactly the way that I specified.

Any rigidity in behavior allows you to do things like that. The ones I'm describing are outlandish rigidities. But if you think about your clients, most of their rigidities are fairly outlandish, too. It is only a question of establishing a context in which their natural responses are the ones that will lead them where they want to go.

There's an old gestalt technique to use when the client says "There's no way in the world that I can think of anything that would be helpful." You look at her and say "You're right. You could never do it. You are an absolute failure; you could never think of anything that would be helpful, not even the smallest thing." Typically she will then respond "Well, there is this one little thing." That's part of the natural polarity response of many people.

Some people, however, will respond in the opposite way. I once saw a gestalt therapist work with a client who said "I don't know what to do." The gestalt therapist said "Well, guess." The person said "I don't know. I'm a lousy guesser." And the therapist said "You can never guess anything that's appropriate." The client's face began to droop and she looked pathetic. If you use that gestalt technique with someone who responds congruently, you will only convince her that she is a failure. If you notice her response, you can utilize it to lead her where she wants to go. So you need to notice what kind of response you are getting, and vary your behavior in order to get the response you want.

When you do reframing using nonverbal yes/ no signals, you don't need to worry what response you get, because it doesn't matter whether you get a "yes" or a "no" response. Whatever response you get on any step of reframing simply tells you what to do next. If you tell her to get new choices, and she gets them but the choices are not good enough, that only means she needs to go back and get more.