Jonathan Altfeld – Metaphor Machine

Jonathan Altfeld here. I’ve been training NLP since 1997. And around 2001, my students in the USA, UK & Australia began to ask me how I came up with all the metaphorical stories I have. How do I seem to magically come up with new metaphors to address situations presented to me, real-time? So I modeled my own process, my own cognitive method, and found I used a specific method for creating metaphor, that I was then able to teach.

Thus, for the past ~7 years, I’ve been training some of my seminar students to use my unique method of creating effective metaphor on-the-fly. This process was one of my most privately held techniques.

When taught, it always generated gasps, light bulbs of discovery, & massive excitement! Students always explained to me afterwards that my process “finally took what they’d previously thought of as just an art, and made it a reproduceable process.”

My students know I usually reserve my best material for those select customers who come to my live seminars. That will always remain true. However, I’ve taught this particular technique quite a bit over recent years, and I’ve shifted my more developmental creative focus on to other things recently, so I think it’s time more people benefited from my metaphor-generation method.

Besides which, if I don’t release it soon, we’re going to face an ever-growing epidemic of poorly-trained, unskilled, and uncreative NLP practitioners & hypnotherapists. Why? Because…

Most people trained in NLP (and other personal change disciplines) are bloody awful at creating great metaphors.

The problem, as I see it, is that with the ever-shortening nature of NLP certification trainings in today’s marketplace, NLP students learn that at the core of the “Milton Model” was a set of skills known simply as “Patterns in metaphor.” I don’t know of a single NLP course out there that anyone has applauded as being “good” at teaching the skill of coming up with artful and effective metaphor. Most would tell you to find a situation that is similar to the current situation, and describe the similar situation rather than the current situation.

That’s not effectively metaphorical, that’s just patronizing.

Great Influencers use metaphor elegantly to paint vivid pictures of possibilities, create new options, open alternative pathways to the future. It’s a skill most would describe as “opaque.” Impossible to master. Books have been written on generating metaphor, because most trainings aren’t remotely sufficient to help students develop this skill (even though, arguably, they should have been!).

But what has been lacking all this time, and what seems to separate great speakers or coaches from not-so-great speakers or coaches… is a simple process for creating useful metaphor that is as consistent as it is simple.

Finally, Anyone Can Generate Powerful, Effective, Creative metaphor, Anytime, Anywhere.

If you’re reading this page, then you may already want to learn how to:

• Rapidly Find Relevant metaphor to inform any Problem Situation… (in such a way that never induces resistance!)
• Creatively Enable New Options in other people who can’t see past their own stuck decisions (and have them thoughtfully imagine all kinds of new options!)
• Dramatically Impress Clients, Vendors, Prospects, & Friends (and be so impressed with your creative mind they keep coming back for more!)
• Free Yourself from Having to Address “Issues” Head-On (and find ways to critique or head off unwanted results, entirely indirectly, without inviting blame or causing irritation!)

Here’s what’s taught in “the metaphor Machine” CD-Set:

CD 1: ASSEMBLING THE COMPONENTS

In the First CD, I teach all the nuts & bolts & piecemeal cognitive shifts required to make the “metaphor Machine” work. You’ll likely really need this primer on mental “Chunking” & perspective shifts.

You’ll also learn about making “Lateral Leaps” in cognitive awareness. And you’ll learn about the distinctions between Isomorphic metaphor (the patronizing type) and Homomorphic metaphor, which is what I train you how to generate in this CD-set. Finally you’re treated to one run-through of the metaphor Machine, quickly, at the end of CD One.

CD 2: KICKING THE MACHINE INTO GEAR

Once you’ve got all the small chunk skills in place, CD 2 walks you through the using the metaphor Machine process with 5 different specific situations. I hand-hold you through the thinking process of beginning with the presented situation, and then taking a series of cognitive shifting steps… ultimately ending up with a potentially great metaphorical context, and then speaking creatively from there, about the original situation. You get 5 complete & thorough (contextually-different) examples of how to use the metaphor Machine. More than enough to help you generalize the skillset.

This CD is going to ‘knock your socks off’ at first… and then once you more thoroughly understand how it’s done… you’ll begin to appreciate how useful it truly is for embellishing your ability to think creatively and metaphorically. This is a highly prized skillset, and now it’s yours to own, if you’re willing to invest a bit of time into the learning process.

These aren’t for just anyone…

The material in these CDs will be useful to communicators with any level of background in NLP, hypnosis, changework or coaching. Usually reserved only for the most skilled of Practitioners, anyone can learn how to do this.

However. These CDs are not what I would call casual easy listening. To own this skill, you really have to listen closely. You have to spend time thinking deeply about the material. This would be great material for riding a stationary bike, but terrible material for driving.

In short, if you aren’t able to invest the time & attention in learning this skill, don’t waste your time & money on this CD-set. It’s the kind of recording which demands your involvement. Invest your time & attention, then commit to practicing the material, and you can easily acquire this skill. Play them 100 times in the background, invest no time in practice, and I highly doubt you’ll absorb the skill.

So I’m inviting purchases only from those of you who can invest the time & attention to really study the process I teach on the CDs.

More courses from the same author: Jonathan Altfeld