An anchor is an NLP tool used to create a positive state. We respond to anchors all the time, certain foods will make you lick your lips, or the smell of a particular perfume will remind you of your first date, or you once got drunk on whiskey and now every time you smell whiskey. your stomach flips. Our memories are stored as associations with our senses.
The anchor concept comes from Pavlov. Do you remember Pavlov’s dogs? In NLP we call what Pavlov did anchoring.
What Pavlov did with his dogs was ring a bell and show the dogs food. He rang the bell and showed them the food. Then he rang the bell and the dogs salivated as if they had just seen food. The bell (the sound) was actually an anchor. What he had done is put an anchor for the dogs. The brain is very good at associating feelings with situations. The brain can attach feelings of terror in a second, we know!
Skilled filmmakers also use anchoring to induce suspense in the audience. Think about your own psychological changes that occurred when you heard the fast-paced soundtrack in the moments before each of the huge killer shark’s appearances in the movie ‘Jaws.’ Did your heartbeat increase? Did you have to see the shark, or was the thunderous music enough to start sliding to the edge of your seat?
Sportsmen and women will frequently use anchors to stimulate a desired state (of confidence, control, calm, etc.) that will help them in their game. Anchors can be images, sounds or keywords, or touch/pressure applied to a part of your body; They can be internal or external.
Creating an Effective Anchor
o Make sure that the state (emotion) is accessed fully and intensely.
o Get the client to associate with the state.
o Get the client to see what he was seeing, by evoking the memory that triggered the state, for this he has to be totally associated with the memory.
o Listening to what you were listening to, again you have to be completely associated with memory.
o Feeling what they were feeling.
anchor moment
o Start the anchor just before you reach the top of the experience.
o The most vital part of the process is detecting where and when the state is at its peak. The anchor should be set just before the peak of this state. Be sure to set the anchor here or you will anchor a state of decline. Time it correctly; you will have anchored a state that is still on a slope.
To create an effective anchor, the client must be fully associated with the required state.
working out
Try this exercise on yourself to instantly build self-confidence:
Think of a time when you were totally confident, you felt powerful. As those feelings return to you, they will peak and subside. Say the word trust at a particular pitch, volume, and tempo to set the anchor and begin to clench your fist. Repeat this and then try it by saying in the same tone and rhythm the word trust and fire your fist. If you’ve done well, you should feel those same emotions welling up. Isn’t it simple?
Timing is crucial, shoot the anchors before the spike and drop them before the spike descends.
Anchors can be visual, auditory, or kinesthetic.
You can use visual anchors to anchor the artful state. You can use external or internal anchors. For example, you could wear a piece of jewelry to anchor calm and relaxation. The external anchor always has to be there for you to use. You may find it soothing and calming to look at a certain photograph, but unless you can carry it with you, it is of limited use. However, you can use an internal image of the photograph or image to anchor your witty sentiment.
visual anchors
Most visual anchors are internal. Some examples of visual anchors are:
or Symbols. For example, you could use a circle as a symbol of being calm and relaxed and anchor it to your state.
o People, such as a trusted friend or family member.
o Various objects and landscapes can be used as anchors to be calm and relaxed. For example, you could imagine:
-A waterfall
-A flower
auditory anchors
You can use a sound as an anchor. Like visual anchors, sounds can be internal or external. You can use an internal voice as an anchor. For example, you could anchor the phrase “calm and relaxed” or you could hum.
Do you remember how you felt as a child when you heard the sound of the ice cream truck?
Kinesthetic Anchors.
o Imagine a comforting hand on your shoulder
o Imagine being comforted like a child, a loving hug from a parent
o Squeezing the second finger and thumb together
o Touching on the back of the hand
Visual, kinesthetic and auditory anchors
You could combine the anchors entirely, perhaps imagining a loving embrace from a father, while smelling his perfume and listening to his comforting words, while squeezing your thumb and forefinger together. Or was it that relaxing vacation with the sound of the ocean, the smell of sea air, and the warm breeze on your skin?
set an anchor
Ask the client to recall a specific time when they felt safe. You don’t want to pick just any old trustworthy keepsake. Pick a memory of a time when you felt extremely safe?
After remembering a specific moment that they were very confident about, you need to have them re-experience that event completely.
Make them really visualize that time.
Ask them to see what they saw and make the colors brighter, ask them to hear what they heard and turn up the volume, ask them to feel any of the feelings/emotions they felt, take themselves back to that place of extreme trust in their minds. Feel it, see it and hear it as if it were happening right now.
As you re-experience the feelings, examine them and then intensify them.
Now the most vital part of the process is detecting where and when the state is at its PEAK. The anchor should be set just before the peak of this state. Be sure to set the anchor here or you will anchor a state of decline. If you time it correctly, you will have anchored a state that is still tilted.
The best anchors to use are the kinesthetic ones. Using visual, auditory, and kinesthetic elements together will make the anchor much more effective. Try to use all three if possible. I call this anchor coupling’. When placing a kinesthetic anchor, you do not want to place it in an area that is frequently touched. I usually place the anchor on the client’s elbow. (I recommend holding it for five seconds) then release it after the peak of the state.
When you complete all of these steps, you should break the state. I suggest going through the anchoring process with your eyes closed. Then breaking the state will be easier just by having them open their eyes and think of something else. Shake it off, so to speak.
