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| Anchors |
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'Anchors' are triggers that our minds associate with a particular response or state. They can be visual (i.e. things we see, either in reality or in our mind), auditory (things we hear) or kinaesthetic (things we feel). Some people have a fourth category called olfactory (things we smell) but for the sake of simplicity I'll include smells under 'kinaesthetic.' Anchors can occur naturally but they can also be set up deliberately. In Pavlov's famous experiment he discovered that if he rang a bell whenever he fed his dogs, after a while all he had to do was ring it and the animals would salivate without the presence of food. Here, the bell was an anchor that automatically created a state of hunger and anticipation. Everyday unconscious examples of anchors could be the way you feel when a loved one says your name, or you hear a certain song (e.g. many Americans feel strong emotions when they hear the US national anthem - as a supporter of Liverpool Football Club, the hairs on the back of my neck rise when I hear the song 'You'll Never Walk Alone', and as an ex-soldier, the same thing happens when I hear bagpipes because they remind me of military parades), smell a particular perfume or see your national flag. Who isn't mentally transported back to school by the smell of floor polish? Who doesn't instantly think of swimming pools when they smell chlorine? Who isn't on occasion reminded of a teenage holiday (or love) by an old song? Who doesn't smile upon hearing a baby laughing? Grab a pen and paper and write down examples of anchors that elicit emotional responses in you. Write down two that are visual, two that are auditory and two that are kinaesthetic. Once you have done this you will realise that you already have powerful unconscious anchors inside your mind that you didn't even know existed. The good news is, we can deliberately create some more to help you overcome your nervousness about speaking in public. Back to 'NLP & Public Speaking?'
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