This is the transcription and reflection on Robert Dilts' Strategies of Genius.
Perception of Clusters of Details ---> Behavioral Observations + Environmental Observations ---> Inferences ---> Combinations of inferences ---> Conclusions
Cultural Assumptions & Facts are matched up with the observations to draw inferences, then the inferences are "compiled" to generate conclusions.
Why is Holmes Strategy so useful to learn?
Well, for one, Sherlock Holmes (although fictional) is the greatest observational-deducer probably ever to exist in our imaginations or out of it. The fact that he's fictional does not prevent his techniques from being genuine, applicable, and highly useful. The observational-deducing strategies used by Sherlock Holmes seriously fall in the category of something expansively NLP because it increases the options you have in life. You can (and will) draw these truthful, accurate conclusions seemingly from thin air. Yes, that is impressive and makes for a great trick, but also for your own awareness and heightened observational skills this is extremely potent. It's so valuabl eto understand how we go from submodality observations and asking the who, what, how, where, when (and sometiems why) questions to arrive at the causes and behavioral conditions and capabilities behind what we see. Wolves are notably more intelligent than dogs because of their 30% increased intelligence and heightened "observational learning". Observational learning means that they'll figure out how the cage they're in works, and can quickly escape than anything without observational learning. Similarly, learning and Applying Holmes meta-strategy for drawing deductive conclusions from heightened observations frees you and expands your life MUCH more than the person who does not use this strategy. Ultimately, by using and applying Holmes' filtering and questing and tying up observations with cultural assumptions, imaginations, and facts to reach inferecnes and then conclusions from the summation and formulaic equations of those inferences, you truly will lead a more liberated, more full, more complete life than someone who does not use these strategies. So learn on! :D
The fusion of cultural assumption & Fact with the observation is key and often the overlooked step.
If you see someone lightly hesitantly putting his hand on a woman's shoulder (observation), it's likely it's their first date (inference) because if they had gone on many dates, there likely would be no hesitation (cultural assumption)!
NLP Concepts utilized in Holmes' Strategy
Submodalities -- specifically visual acuity has been massively heightened and he ties in visual representation system observations with assumptions and facts to quickly create inferences
Logical Levels -- Holmes rapidly cycles through the logicals to quickly create awareness of how, who, what, when, where, and why someone did capabilities, identity, behaviors, environmental clues, and motives. So a strategy to add complexity and more detail to the Holmes' Meta Strategy for Observations to Conclusions (HMSO).
Applying Holmes' Strategy!
You can discover all those W-H questions by looking for corresponding clues, causes, conditions, and motives.
Environmental Clues answers ----> Where and When
Behavioral (or Antecedent) Causes ----------> What answers
Capabilities Conditions -----------> How answers
Beliefs & Values/Motives -----------> Why answers (Typically not investigated because of the psychological nature...and obscured concept).
Inference calls you to "imagine which behavior, environmental, capability, or belief CAUSES created the clues in those areas that you observe". In other words, if you see someone wearing a dress with a slight notch in their shoe, you'd create inferences and ask "what beliefs and capabilities does a person hold or have" to generate that environmental clue etc.
"Life is a great chain, the nature of which is known whenever we are shown a single link of it." -- Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (Sherlock Holmes)
Examples
Example could be someone where's a nice dress antecedent cause, they're eager to impress. Behavioral Cause.
So just cycling through the Environmental, Behavioral, Beliefs/Motives, will inspire you to process in the W-H questions leading to logical level mostly-accurate inferences and conclusions about person!
Getting caught up in the "why" the beliefs and motives of a person can be useful at times, but usually is irrelevant. On certain levels, cognitive processes can be inferred from clues.
Exercises
Making the Magic of HMSO Holme's deduction-observation process a reality. Observe someone and try to deduce their profession.
Great trigger questions:
Right handed or left-handed?
Eye-correction?
Tan or not (do they work outside)?
Married or not? (Left-hand ring finger has ring?)
Where has the person been recently?
What's their nationality?
Professional tendencies: For example would a doctor walk differently than a technician or an actor or a farmer?
How might the different professional activities a person engages in effect their clothing?
Holmes reminds us "Singularity is almost an Invariable clue". So if someone has only one shirt cuff that's wrinkled, that's likely a clue that maybe they work at a desk and rest their elbow on the desk or frequently curl up only one shirt cuff. What profession would do that? Maybe a restaurant host who occasionally had to deal with priming an oily boiler or something. The key is look for individual asymetrical clues, those usual indicate something unique!
Plug in those answers and observational environmental clues to cultural assumptions, imaginations, personal memory, and context.
For the longest time I used to bombard my conscious mind with hundreds and thousands of these observational, environmental details. However, I never took the next two steps and drew inferences and deductions. So the environmental details was overwhelming. Drawing the conclusions from the deductions and inferences (which are from the observations) gives you the nice 1-4 "highly-probably" observational estimations instead of hundreds of seemingly (even though they're all connected pointing to 1-4 conclusions) disconnected observational details. In short, if you choose to observe many environmental, behavioral, or capable clues, be prepared to go all the way and make inferences from those observations, and then conclusions from those inferences. Otherwise you'll feel overwhelmed with a jumble of observations. So "to observe and fully reach conclusions from those inferences from observations" or "to not observe". Not observing is fine, and observing and following-through to inference and conclusion is fine and dandy, but simply observing details?? That's a recipe for quick overwhelm.
So I encourage you to practice these skills. And enjoy the discovery, excitement, and ease of using your visual (and auditory) acuity to draw seemingly astonishingly accurate conclusions from the "erroneously labeled" visual trifles:D Nothing is trivial!!!!!!
"Sir Arthur Conan Doyle -- “It has long been an axiom of mine that the little things are infinitely the most important. To a great mind, nothing is little”(Sherlock Holmes, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s fictitious deductive genius creation whose entire method is “founded upon the observation of trifles”).
For calibration and detecting deceit
For detecting deceit and calibration use the 1/2-second rule! Any micro-expression response that occurs within 1/2 second of a question usually has been unmeditated and thus is likely truthful. Anything longer than a 1/2 second the person can/will change! :D Gotta have quick observation skills. Thus, the truthful micro-expression response (and thus the most accurate observation) occurs immediately after the question! And your partner may already know with what word(s) you'll end a question so you must start observing (the 1/2 second) immediately once they understand the question (not necessarily after you've completed saying the question)! A lot of timing!
Asking unique and/or complex questions means the partner will have to direct their attention to the question which means there will be more of a window for an answer that was not meditated upon! So complex or unique questions extends that 1/2 second response sometimes for a more honest answer.
Another great question is a meta-question: questions about what they just said: "Should I believe you?" Often times someone will react to their own answers in different way because of the amount of self-consciousness involved.
