d. Perhaps the most frequently used approach in eliciting a person's strategy for a particular behavior is to ask him or her direct questions about that behavior. The questions we ask will trigger representations and strategies from the individual's personal history.

For instance, if you want to elicit a person's motivation strategy, ask, "Has there ever been a time when you were really motivated to do something?" or "When was the last time you were really motivated?" Similarly, if you wish to elicit someone's creative strategy, simply ask, "What is it like when you are exceptionally creative?" or "Have you ever been in a situation where you were very creative?" As people answer these questions they will access, through transderivational search, the steps of the strategy in question.

Thus, to access someone's strategy for the behavioral outcome "X", you would simply ask questions such as:

"Can you tell me about a time when you were able to X?"

"What is it like to X?"

"Can you X?"

"How do you X?"

"Have you ever X?"

"When were you best able to X?"

"How would you know if you could X?"

"What do you need to do to X?"

"What happens as you X?"

"When was the last time you X?"

If you want to elicit a strategy to serve as a resource to help someone develop more choices about a particular behavioral difficulty, you may also want to ask questions like, "Has there ever been a time when you didn't X?" Then, find out what was different about their strategies and experience at that time as compared to the person's ongoing experience. Referring to the three–point process we presented earlier

will provide a strong format within which to structure a specific procedure for elicitation in each individual case. If, for example, someone tells you, "I just can't seem to do my work right, or get it in on time… ." (present state), you can elicit a strategy to be used as a resource by asking, "Has there ever been a time when you were able to complete your work satisfactorily and comfortably by the appropriate deadline?" As the individual accesses and recounts this experience, s/he will also access and demonstrate a strategy useful in obtaining the outcome desired at this point in time.

Meta Strategy 1

If someone wants to embark on a new behavioral voyage, a voyage for which no reference strategies are available from their personal history, you can still access resources for them to make the launching process easier and more efficient by asking such questions as, "Have you ever encountered an unfamiliar situation and surprised yourself with how easily you were able to learn what you needed to know to operate effectively in those circumstances?" Again, as the individual remembers and recounts the reference experience s/he will go back through the strategy that led to that outcome.

Because strategies themselves are purely formal, they will be equally applicable no matter what the content of the ongoing situation is. Creativity, motivation, remembering, decision and belief strategies can be plugged in as resources for any given context. An individual will be able to utilize a creativity strategy, for instance, no matter what situation is encountered.

Meta Strategy 2

Another resource strategy that we typically elicit is what we call "uptime." Uptime is when all of our external channels are fully open and operational, allowing us to respond easily and immediately to any appropriate external cues. To elicit this resource the programmer might ask something like, "Has there ever been a time when you had all of your full resources and potential as a person, were vibrant and alert, and able to respond appropriately to anything in your ongoing environment?"

This capacity for immediately eliciting resources to help people overcome difficulties or problems, or to help them change, grow and expand their potentials, is integral to NLP. Our presupposition is that everyone already has all the resources and abilities they need to accomplish any task or to handle any situation (by virtue of the fact that we all have access to all of our representational systems — barring severe organic damage). It is simply a matter of eliciting the sequences and reference experiences appropriate to each task or situation. If we could model and incorporate Einstein's strategies, we would in essence be able to do the same things he could do.

The process of eliciting resources in terms of reference experiences and strategies is equally applicable in working with families, groups and organizations. If a couple, for instance, is experiencing difficulties in communication and decision making and is fighting and arguing you can access resources for them by asking if there was ever a time when they were able to communicate comfortably and effectively, and arrive at a decision that was agreeable to both of them. They will begin eliciting reference experiences and strategies for themselves as a couple, and for each of them individually, in which they are able to achieve the outcome that they now desire.

For organizations and political groups caught up in bickering, infighting and disagreements, the same procedure will work with equal force. When the right questions are asked, people will describe and demonstrate the very resources they need to achieve the outcome they desire. These patterns apply as powerfully in complex scenarios involving negotiation, arbitration, cross–examination and team building as they do in educational and therapeutic contexts. If a group of people wants to work together efficiently and effectively, ask them — first individually and then as a group — "Have you accomplished that outcome in the past? What would it be like if you accomplished it now? How would you know if you accomplished it now?" They will give you the strategies you need to help them achieve this outcome. If an individual is uncomfortable working with or in front of a particular group of people, ask the person, "Has there ever been a time when you were able to work with or in front of a group and were still able to be comfortable?" If the individual has no reference experience, ask them, "What would it be like if you could do it?" or "What would have to happen in order for you to be comfortable in that situation?" They will tell you the resources they need.

3.2 Unpacking the Strategy.

Once you have elicited the strategy that you wish to model, modify or utilize, you will need to unpack it and chunk it into the appropriate sequence of steps required to achieve the outcome.

As we previously mentioned, clients will go through the steps of the strategy as they access the experience in question. Internal processes often work very rapidly, however, especially those which have achieved the status of an unconscious TOTE. The client may go through a very complex sequence of representational systems in a matter of seconds. In order to be able to identify each step explicitly you will have to be able to do one of two things: (1) Increase your abilities to observe rapid and minute behavioral changes, or (2) Slow the process down so that it is easier to follow.

We strongly urge you to choose the first of these two options. Increasing your observational skills will make your work and your life much more rewarding and effective. In fact this is absolutely required for you to become a proficient neurolinguistic programmer. There is no substitute for clean active sensory channels.

As you begin to practice these skills, however, you will need to slow the individual's processes down at first, in order to be able to detect and retain the information that you will need. This can be done simply by asking questions like, "What happened first that allowed you to be creative in that situation?" or "What do you do first when you motivate yourself?" or "What's the first step you take when you make a decision?" The purpose of these questions is, of course, to establish the beginning of the strategy. As a general rule, you will want to find the intitial external stimulus that triggers the strategy (which from then on may involve both internal and external components of experience). So if an individual says something like, "Well I just begin to feel motivated," you will want to ask questions such as, "What happens just before that?"