One of my favorite presentations is something called “How to Establish Elegant Rapport through Elegant Communication.” It is based on Neuro Linguistic Programming (NLP).
NLP basically divides the human communication universe into three types:
- Visual
- Auditory
- Kinesthetic
There is much more to NLP, but that being said, one of the basic tenets that NLP teaches is the setting of “anchors.”
Here is the clinical definition of anchoring:
Anytime a person is in an intense state (full body, congruent emotional state) and a specific stimulus (V or A or K) is consistently applied simultaneously, then the two (the stimulus and the state) become neurologically linked.
Linking mind and body to desks
This mind-body continuum, or link, is important. If your recruiters are in a funk, then you can assume that the funk and their physical surroundings (including their desks) have become neurologically linked in their subconscious mind.
So how do you break that link? You physically move that recruiter to a new location in your office, and strive to anchor more positive behavior with that new location.
A reminder here: If a recruiter is doing really well, do NOT relocate that person. He or she has most likely established positive anchors with their current physical surroundings, and you want those anchors to grow and to flourish.
But with the recruiter in a funk, completed action is required. Jeff Kaye of Next Level Exchange poses the question, “If five frogs are on a log and three decide to jump off, how many frogs remain on the log?”
The answer: five. While three had decided to jump off, they hadn’t done it yet. Completed action is necessary for a decision to be finalized.
As Max Evans said in The White Shadow, “A decision without action was only another delusion.”
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Bob Marshall of TBMG International, founder of The Marshall Plan, has an extensive background in the recruiting industry as a recruiter, manager, vice president, president, consultant, and trainer. In 2016, Marshall is celebrating his 36th year in the recruiting business. He can be reached at bob@themarshallplan.org or at 770.898.5550. Marshall’s website is www.themarshallplan.org.