Recently, on social media, an NLP Practitioner asked a question about a client who reported having a phobia, and with whom he used the NLP Fast Phobia Cure, which may have partly worked, but it came back a few days later?
Structure of Humor, & Humorous 1-liner Jokes - NLP Article
Most jokes of the well-known "One-Liner" form come from taking a well-known, oft-heard cliche, and considering what ambiguities can be found within the sounds of the words, or what other meanings can be made from the words themselves.
And then once ambiguities are found, or other meanings are found, you then build up the joke around the punchline, in reverse, setting up the ambiguity. So I challenge you to do the same. It doesn't have to be "great," it only matters that you play with the exercise. Ambiguities breed mental flexibility and acuity, which helps in everything else we do.
For example, let's take:
"killing two birds with one stone"
"One stone" could also be heard as "one's tone."
And since I'm a bear for tonality... and irresistible voices... what if you make the ambiguity about bad tonality killing birds.
Maybe you caught another one in that last phrase, too... :)
OK, so let's see... if a guy with bad tonality speaks to birds in a pet shop and they die, that covers the "alternative" meaning of the phrase. How do I set it up so that the primary meaning is also covered?
(1st cut) How about:
A man whose voice annoyed all his friends was told to buy a pet bird that could imitate him, and give him some real-time vocal feedback. But he also was told that birds are sensitive to sound, so he went into a pet shop to find out if his voice could be improved by talking to birds, and to determine how sensitive birds might be to his grating voice. The pet store owner directed the man over to the bird cages, and upon listening to the man, two parrots went berserk, then promptly keeled over & died. "Wow," thought the owner... "that's really killing two birds with one's tone."
Now it's your turn. Come up with a better one for "killing two birds with one stone" (I'm sure they're out there)... or for another cliche!
Oh, also, watch out for those bad-tonality killing-birds.
In Roswell, GA, a few years back, I visited a pet store to pick up some dog food, for my neighbor. And there's a bird that they display in a cage outside this door of the store. It's parked when you enter, and it's trained to say "goodbye" and "come back soon" and "have a nice day" when you walk out this door. Makes for a great laugh. And it had pretty good tonality, too, for a bird.
[ Back to Top ] [ Back to Articles Index ]
Inbox Insights
- Knowledge Engineering (& Belief Craft) have evolved, into GeniusMapping™
- As of September 2020, we're in the process of moving from Tampa, Florida, to the Youngstown Ohio area. Currently, during the Coronavirus era, we're mostly focusing on Zoom-based Coaching, and aligning resources to run online courses.
- How "Civil Engineering" totally reframes the word "Stress," redefines the phrase "Stress Management," and leads us to embrace Stress!
- Many NLP Practitioners are more sloppy with their thinking patterns, than they'd like to admit, or... would even notice.
- Watch NLP Co-Founder Richard Bandler use NLP to eliminate Michael Strahan's phobic response to snakes -- in minutes (with Kelly Ripa bringing over a BIG snake at the end to test Michael's response). Spoiler alert: It worked ridiculously well.
- No matter what skill you want to learn, no matter what fears or concerns or hesitation you may have, there are and will always be a wide range of approaches, to learning that skill. It's important to keep that in mind when making learning choices.
- Many more famous people have been trained in Ericksonian (indirect) Hypnosis and NLP than you might guess. There are certainly far more who have strong interests here than have publically admitted so.
- On January 1, 2015, Jonathan Altfeld and 20 other co-authors released a digital book entitled "Creating Business Growth."
- What are the Four Stages of Learning?
- Mayra RiveraAttorney, Miami, FLAttended Course : NLP Practitioner Training
I recommend Jonathan's NLP Course to anyone who is interested in dramatically improving his or her rapport and communication skills. I am very impressed with Jonathan's quick and practical approach to the questions posed by his students. I have accepted the challenge to continue practicing these skills in the future, and strive to achieve Jonathan's elegance and mastery.
1998 - Andy PrestonSales Trainer, Outstanding Results, Manchester & LondonAttended Course : Linguistic Wizardry
What a fantastic 3-day event this is! Having been around the fringes of NLP for some time, after doing my Practitioner course, I was looking to further my skills without necessarily going the Master Practitioner route yet. I first met Jonathan Altfeld at an evening he ran in Manchester and heard about the Linguistic Wizadry course, and signed up immediately. Not only did the course look fantastic, but it was being held near Amsterdam - how could I refuse! In 3 days, I learnt more practical NLP (and how and where to apply it!) than with the vast majority of other trainings I've been to. I knew there were NLP trainers in the room, other Practitioners and people who'd not done Prac yet - and I was worried that the material would either be too complex for me to understand, or too simple (for the newbies). After the first hour, all those concerns melted away. Not only did Jonathan make the material simple, easy-to-understand and very practical, but the way he taught ensured everyone in the room (regardless of skill level) was getting massive value. I find I've achieved great command of metaphors, sensory language, storytelling, and much more - to list them here simply would not do the course justice! In my humble opinion this is by far the best value NLP course I've ever done, and having studied with some of the best NLP trainers in the world - I rate Jonathan in the top 1%.
http://www.outstanding-results.co.uk/2006 
Sara WisemanAuthor of “Writing the Divine,” “Your Psychic Child”, & “The Intuitive Path”, Portland, ORAttended Course : Speaking IngeniouslyVery few can do what Jonathan does! A true master teacher of NLP and inspired public speaking, he takes complex concepts and teaches them in a way so that you not only understand them intellectually, but absorb them at a deeper level. The result? What you’ve learned is there when you need it: with clients, for teaching and presenting, for speaking to audiences of all sizes. Highly recommended!
http://www.sarawiseman.com2011
Andy SmithTrainer of NLP & Appreciative Inquiry, Coaching Leaders, Manchester UK & FranceAttended Course : Belief Craft Seminar"I have attended separate KE & [SoM] trainings in the past, Belief Craft is definitely more than the sum of its parts. Doug's way of training [SoM] is the best I have found; for the first time I now feel I 'get' the "why" as well as the "how" of [SoM]. On my NLP Trainer's Training, [SoM] was one of the areas people had the least recall of - both the 'how' and also when and why you would ever use it. Previous trainings of [SoM] I have attended by other trainers have not sufficiently demonstrated... etc. Jonathan gets better every time he trains KE - awesomely powerful and complex concepts are rendered easy to learn and apply in the real world. I can't wait to start trying out this new material (Belief Craft and/or KE on its own) to benefit myself and my clients."
http://www.coachingleaders.co.uk/2005- Donna McGeorgeSpeaker, Facilitator, People with PEP,Hired Coaching : Personal Coaching
On the 2 occasions that you have coached me, I have experienced what I assumed to be metaphor sessions. I'm not totally conscious of the process or content of the sessions, yet the results I have had from both sessions are as follows: Session 1 - desired outcome - "get some focus and direction for moving forward given that I'd achieved a lot of what I set out to. What's next?". Whatever you did, my business increased by over 30% in revenues following the session. My focus changed, and I implemented the "Donna the Diva" project, which has resulted in my getting my mojo back, and being way more confident in my skin and clear about what I'm good at. This has also resulted in my "sacking" 2 clients that didn't fit my vision for myself, and for PEP. Again, I'm not sure that I'm consciously aware of what I was doing differently - all I know is that a shift happened, and the result was useful (to say the least). Session 2 - desired outcome - "I'm earning more money than I ever had, and I am swimming in debt - help?! ". Again, I know we talked about a bunch of strategies and I'm clear they also were metaphors. I think our session was about 8 weeks ago? Well, since then - I have cleared all my creditors, and have over $25K in a personal bank account (something that has NEVER happened before). Steve and I are currently shopping for property, and I'm no longer afraid to answer the phone for fear of speaking to a creditor. The physical manifestation of this is that I used to have a folder that was nearly 1.5 inches thick full of bills and accounts. It is currently about an eighth of an inch thick - and these are all less than 30 days. So - that's a pretty literal description of my results of working with you, and I am most grateful to you, and look forward to further coaching. I am happy for you to use any of the above. None of it is a secret - I tell anyone who cares to listen about the results I get following your sessions.
http://www.peoplewithpep.com.au/2007 - Peter FreethLondon, UKAttended Course : Belief Craft MP3 Set
Less than 5 hours after the end of Jonathan's KE course in London I'm visualising extensive and complex belief systems hidden within language - and keeping up a 'full time' conversation at the same time. Why is this useful? In the past I may have gotten to a strategy and thought 'I'm done' whereas now I hear and see the whole complex structure. Key decision points and` behaviours are emerging which are many times more complete, powerful and elegant than anything I would have arrived at previously through standard 'strategy elicitation'. Before today, I knew people who I thought were complex, now I know that they're no more complex than anyone else, they just hide their beliefs better. This means that I know that I can now choose to work with everybody rather than just the 'easy people'. I am now creating subtle and elegant interventions without thinking about it and I know how much that is going to benefit me more and more over time. And I had a great time too!
2003 - UstahiKosovoBought Audio : Knowledge Engineering
My life is really getting even more interesting, just now I finished listening one more piece of puzzle I've been missing - how to track beliefs. My belief about beliefs is that they're life itself. So why not learn everything about them? If you want a precise model of how to do it and get to know people's circuits then Knowledge Engineering is the course to study and put in immediate use. I'm soon going to become Telecoms/Computers engineer and Jonathans experience as AI expert really got me in a new world of possibilites. I'm thinking about how to use it in all the directions in my life. As a guaranteed side benefit from the course is also opening your ears and listening to what people tell you. I'm really finding this a true must skill one should have. I'd like to thank Jonathan for his way of putting the model and for his genuine interest in his customers.
2002 - Michael ChristonNLP Trainer & Entrepreneur, Edinburgh, ScotlandAttended Course : Linguistic Wizardry
Linguistic Wizardry is a 3-day course which can be attended by non-NLP, Practitioners, Master Practitioners and Trainers... and all will enjoy and learn from the experience. Not only does Jonathan demonstrate an incredible understanding and proficiency in linguistics but presents/trains in a very entertaining and effective manner. As a trainer of NLP I still enjoy attending training (there is always something to be learnt) - on such occasions I have a professional interest in what outcomes are achieved by the trainer. It is on this point that Jonathan stands out a mile in comparison to many trainers in the field of NLP... EVERYONE in the room dramatically improved their skill level. In my experience I have never come across such success... and I have trained with many 'great' names. As for the content - This course is not an indepth exploration of the Meta Model or Milton Model, though there are a few references through the three days. Instead this programme quite rightly concentrates on the basis and delivery of communication with specific emphasis on state and sensory acuity. Hence - If you were wondering why your 'theoretical' or academic understanding of language has not achieved the desired practical results - THIS IS THE COURSE FOR YOU. Jonathan is amazing and definitely deserves to be considered as one of the best NLP trainers in the world. And interestingly - he is without ego or arrogance and is (for me) one of the easiest trainers to chat with I have ever met. If you have not already done so - TRAIN WITH JONATHAN and discover just how much further you can take your NLP skills.
2007 - Howard WolfMiami, FLAttended Course : Persuasion Summit
PTPS was absolutely the best training in persuasion I've ever experienced. Chris' skills in NLP and persuasion are a compilation of the best of Richard Bandler, Kenrick Cleveland, & Michael Hall, all combined. Chris has evolved these techniques, enhanced them, and repackaged persuasion for the new millenium. Chris has tested his techniques thousands of times through the thousands of telemarketers he's managed over the years. This seminar will go down in the annuls of NLP history.
2001 - Brian TracySpeaker, Author, World-Renowned Business Expert, Brian Tracy International,Bought Audio : Finding Your Irresistible Voice
"This is a wonderful program that will give you a powerful, authoritative voice. It can change your life."
http://briantracy.com/2000