Spelling, Anxiety Strategies
Everything we do requires a strategy - from picking up the
car keys to eating a meal.
Spelling requires a strategy as well, and as one might expect,
some strategies work better than others. In the English
language, there are so many exceptions to the maze of
spelling rules that it is difficult to spell phonetically (auditorily).
Even the word "phonetics" isn't spelled phonetically!
The problem is that many people learned to "sound out" words
phonetically. This leads to many spelling errors and if there is
negative reinforcement to boot, it can lead to bad feelings as
well. "Sounding out" words is still taught in most spelling classes.
Fortunately, there are spelling strategies that are not only more
accurate but easy to learn. The NLP Spelling Strategy involves
visualizing each word in a certain way - the way that's best for
the individual (not for the teacher) - and recognizing when the
word is being visualized correctly. Many people are amazed
when they not only can spell words they didn't think they knew
how to spell, they can spell them both forwards and backwards!
"So why do I (or my child) need an NLP Practitioner to improve
spelling? What about a tutor?" Tutors serve a very important
role, helping people drill, memorize, and understand the "rules"
of spelling and grammar. However, drilling and memorizing
using a strategy that is not optimal can compound the problem,
which then requires more drilling, and so on. With NLP, we have a
model of how the mind works that lets us teach someone a
better strategy. Usually, after practicing the new strategy a
few times, learning and memorization become easier, making
the time spent drilling or tutoring much more effective. Children's
grades often improve dramatically after just a few sessions.
Anxiety is the result of a different strategy, usually the result of
an unconscious image that results in the feeling of fear. Since
the image is in the unconscious mind, we aren't aware of it.
When the image is brought to consciousness via a gentle
NLP questioning strategy, it can often be transformed using an
NLP technique called the Swish pattern into something much
more useful. The Swish pattern works because the mind is always
moving, always seeking a direction. Whenever it is shown a
direction that works better than what it was doing before, the
mind always chooses the more useful direction. The NLP Swish
pattern is an effective process for giving the mind a new direction
and overcoming anxiety.
You can learn more about both the NLP Spelling Strategy and
the Swish pattern in "Heart of the Mind" (Andreas and Andreas);
check the bibliography for information on where to obtain this
and other NLP books.
Contact Phil Mandel, tel. (503) 887-0889, to schedule your
free consultation and find out if the NLP Spelling Strategy, the
Swish pattern or other NLP procedures and techniques are
right for you.
