S: (Smiles. Eyes shift up and slightly to the right. Face flushes slightly. Breathing slightly shallow and even.) Uh-Huh … (Tonality high pitched and somewhat melodic.)
A: (Gently squeezes S's left shoulder.) Okay … good… . Now did everyone see all of the changes in Jan's face … (Agreement from the audience.) Where did her eyes go?
Man: I didn't see.
A. (turns to Jan) Jan where did your eyes go when you were thinking of that experience?
S: Huh? … Ah (eyes up) … I don't remember…
A: (Laughs) Thank you Jan, you did that so well … did everyone see that? … In order to make sense of what I'm asking she had to reaccess some of that experience and her eyes went to the same place… . How about her breathing … Where was she breathing from?
Man: I couldn't really tell. I thought it was in the chest.
A: Yes, that's correct … Did everyone hear the shift in her tonality? (Agreement from the audience.) Even though you don't know anything about the verbal content of the experience Jan was just thinking of, you have a lot of information about what might have been going on. … I want to try another one now. (Walks over to the right side of the subject and whispers in her right ear.)
S: (Eyes shift down and to the left. Face drops. Lips tightens. Clenches teeth. Sighs slightly. Skin pales. Touches face with right hand.) … Mmmhmm … (Tonality low and breathy. Volume quiet.)
A: (Squeezes S's right shoulder.) … Okay, fine … Now you can all see and hear that this is probably a very different experience from the other one, right? (Agreement from the audience.)
A: Her eyes went down and to the left this time, and her breathing changed radically … What about her tonality?
Woman: A lot lower.
A: … Skin color?
Man: Paler.
A: That's right … As we were doing this, I was attempting to anchor her two experiences kinesthetically. So I want you to pay attention as I test these two anchors … (Turns to S) Now what do you experience when I do this? (Squeezes left shoulder.)
S: (Looks back and forth from her shoulder to A's face, as if confused.) Huh? … Ummmm … Well I feel your hand on my shoulder.
A: (Laughs) Okay (Removes hand) … Is there anyone here who thinks I've succeeded in anchoring that first experience? (No response.)
A: No … That's right … What would have happened if I had anchored it successfully?
Man: She would have thought of the experience again.
A: Right … And you would have been able to see and hear the same changes in her behavior that took place before. You need to use your sensory apparatus to check and make sure anchors are solid … So … what do I do now? … A lot of people might say, "Damn, anchoring doesn't work," or … (Laughter) … "Gee, I must have done something wrong" … but the best thing that I know to do when you test and find you haven't gotten the desired response yet is to operate again … Observe … (Whispers in S's left ear.)
S: (Smiles. Face flushes. Eyes shift up. Breathing eases.) Uh-huh … (Tonality high pitched and melodic.)
A: (Squeezes S's left shoulder.) Look familiar? (Laughter.) (Agreement from audience.)
A: And then … (Walks over to right side of S and whispers in her right ear.)
S: (Lips tighten. Color pales. Eyes shift down and to the left. Sighs) … Mmmmm … (Tonality low and breathy.)
A: (Squeezes S's right shoulder) … You should all be able to recognize that one. … As you could see, I simply repeated the process again. Now, what I'm going to do is test the anchors again … (Walks over to S's left side and squeezes her left shoulder.)
S: (Smiles. Face flushes slightly. Eyes shift up. Breathing shallows.)
A: What's happening?
S: I started to think of that experience. (Tonality high pitched.)
A: And now … (Walks over to S's right side and squeezes her right shoulder.)
S: (Eyes shift down and left. Lips tighten. Skin pales. Sighs.)
A: What's going on now?
S: I'm thinking of the other one. (Voice lower and slower tempo.)
A: Okay, it seems like the anchors are working now. But I'm going to test them a couple more times to make sure … (Squeezes S's left shoulder.) S: (Smiles. Eyes up. Etc.)
A: [To audience] This, by the way, will help reinforce the anchors. (Squeezes S's right shoulder.)
S: (Lips tighten. Eyes shift down and left, etc.)
A: Okay. (Squeezes S's left shoulder.)
S: (Smiles. Eyes up, etc.)
A: (Squeezes S's right shoulder.)
S: (Lips tighten. Eyes down and left, etc.)
A: [To S] What is your experience of all this?
S: It's amazing … it's like … the feelings just happen automatically when you touch me.
A: Okay, good … Now, would everyone agree that I've got these two experiences anchored to the touch? (Agreement from audience.)
A: All I really did was to use culturally established verbal anchors —that is, the words that I whispered — to elicit a response— which I checked and stored through my sensory experience. Then I established another anchor in a different system: kinesthetic as opposed to auditory…. The anchors didn't take at first, so I repeated the process until they did … We are, of course, doing all this on an overt and conscious level, because this is a demonstration; but it works just as well, often even more effectively, when the person doesn't know what's going on. You just keep pairing the anchor with the response … you'll be surprised how fast peoples' unconscious minds catch on… . Now … I want to show you how anchors can be established through other representational systems as well. Notice what happens when I do this. (Shifts tonality slightly higher, steps up in front of S and starts to reach for her left shoulder.) S: (Smiles, eyes up, etc.)
A: You'll notice that I never made actual contact with Jan, and yet my guess is that I anchored that first experience … [To Jan] Is that right?
S: (Smiles) Yes.
A: And now let's try this one (Lowers voice and slows tempo. Reaches for right shoulder.)
S: (Eyes down and left. Lips tighten, etc.)
A: As you can see, that one's anchored visually too. I never made contact, but she can see which one I'm indicating … In fact I'll bet I can anchor them just by doing this. (Raises pitch of voice and points to left shoulder.)
S: (Smiles. Eyes up. etc.)
A: You see, just like magic … (Laughter) … and now … (Shifts voice pitch lower and points to right shoulder). S: (Eyes down and left, lips tighten, etc.)
A: How about this (Looks at left shoulder)
S: (Smiles, eyes up, etc.)
A: And … (looks at right shoulder)
S: (Eyes down left, lips tighten, etc.)
A: I've got the experiences anchored kinesthetically and visually … and I've got another anchor. Does any one know what it is? (Raises pitch of voice.)
S: (Smiles. Looks up. etc.)
A: [To S] That's right. Your unconscious mind knows, at least … What if I start talking like this? (Lowers voice and slows tempo.)
S: (Eyes down and left. Lips tighten, etc.) I experience the other one.
A: You can anchor with the tone, pitch and tempo of your voice as well as verbally … Non–verbal anchoring can be extremely profound. Think about it for a minute … We anchor things all of the time with our tonal shifts, facial expressions, and gestures. A change in facial expression or a sigh can change the whole course of a conversation or negotiation. In fact probably more often than not the verbal portions of our communication are the least important or significant aspect of the interaction. It's how we say what we are saying and what we are doing while we say it that gives most of the meaning to the communication… . Are there any questions about anchors before I go on to demonstrate how to use them?