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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

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