Sleight of Mouth by Robert B Dilts

Sleight of Mouth by Robert B Dilts

Sleight of Mouth is about the magic of words and language. Language is one of the key representational systems from which we build our mental models of the world, and has a tremendous influence upon how we perceive and respond to the world around us.

As Sigmund Freud pointed out, Words and magic were in the beginning one and the same thing. The right words at the right time can be uplifting, changing the course of someone's life for the better; opening up new vistas and possibilities. Unfortunately, words can also confuse and limit us as easily as they can empower us. The wrong words at the wrong time can be hurtful and damaging.

Sleight of Mouth patterns come from the study of how language has been, and can be, used to make an impact on people's lives and emotions. This book represents over twenty years of study and practice with respect to the influence of language and its potential to change our lives. Author Robert Dilts (whose other works include Visionary Leadership Skills, Strategies of Genius, Dynamic Learning and Modeling With NLP) has examined the language patterns of people such as Socrates, Abraham Lincoln, Mahatma Gandhi, Adolph Hitler, Milton Erickson and Jesus of Nazareth. Sleight of Mouth patterns are made up of verbal categories and distinctions by which key beliefs can be established, shifted or transformed through language.

Generally, Sleight of Mouth patterns can be characterized as verbal reframes which influence beliefs, and the mental maps from which beliefs have been formed. These patterns provide a powerful tool for persuasion and conversational belief change. This book is about the power of words to be either helpful or harmful, the distinctions that determine the type of impact words will have, and the language patterns through which we can transform harmful statements into helpful ones.

Since the late 1970s, Robert Dilts has built a global reputation as a prominent behavioral skills trainer and business consultant. Robert has given coaching, consulting, and training to a wide range of individuals and organizations throughout the world as a significant developer and specialist in the subject of Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP). Robert invented the Success Factor ModelingTM ideas and approaches, and has written numerous books and articles on how to use them to improve leadership, creativity, communication, and team growth. He has given seminars and keynote addresses on coaching, leadership, organizational learning, and change management for The International Coaching Federation (ICF), HEC Paris, The United Nations, The European Forum for Quality Management, The World Health Organization, and The Milton H. Miller Foundation.

The Erickson Foundation, Harvard University, and the International University of Monaco are all members of the Erickson Foundation. Robert oversaw the development of Tools for Living, the behavior management component of Weight Watcher's International's present program, in 1997 and 1998. Robert spent more than fifteen years as an associate professor at the ISVOR Fiat School of Management, where he assisted in the development of programs in leadership, innovation, values, and systemic thinking. From 2001 until 2004, he was the chief scientist and Chairman of the Board of ISVOR DILTS Leadership Systems, a joint venture with ISVOR Fiat (the Fiat Group's corporate university) that provided significant organizations throughout the world with a variety of unique leadership development programs.

Robert was a co-founder of Dilts Strategy Group as well as the founder and CEO of Behavioral Engineering, a company that focused on learning methodologies and behavioral change in computer software and hardware. He is also a co-founder of the IAGC (International Association for Generative Change) alongside Dr. Stephen Gilligan. Robert graduated from the University of California, Santa Cruz, with a degree in behavioral technology.