stories


Once upon a time…! 2

In this weeks Friday guest post, Frederique Murphy would like to tell us a story and discusses metaphors.

Once upon a time…!

By Frederique Murphy

I’ve been very much looking forward to writing this blog post and as I could see the date, fast approaching, I had decided to be open and only decide on what I was going to write about this week! I knew (that is a decision made on faith) that something would inspire me 😉

And, of course, here I am, I believe I have found the perfect topic to write about and I am delighted to share this post with you as I know that these words “Once upon a time…!” are key when working with your clients.

You see, earlier on this week, I participated in my first ever marathon. And, while I could write a post (which, by the way, I will more than likely do!) about running a marathon and the dozens of business parallels that exist, I’d like to look at the bigger picture and write about how you, as a coach or a coach-to-be, can use stories and metaphors during your sessions with your clients.

Stories and metaphors are phenomenally powerful and when used appropriately and with a clear outcome in mind, there are simply brilliant to help your client with whatever it is you are helping them with.

So, Once upon a time…!

And then, what, why and how, you may ask!

Let’s start at the beginning and define what we are looking at:

Story is a common term for a description of a sequence of events, or a statement regarding the facts pertinent to a situation in question. (Wikipedia)

A metaphor is a figure of speech that constructs an analogy between two things or ideas; the analogy is conveyed by the use of a metaphorical word in place of some other word. (Wikipedia)

The reason why I love using stories and metaphors with my clients is 2-fold.

On one hand, using stories and metaphors, during your sessions can help you, help your clients change, shift, transform, facilitate, expand, take action; all of these impacting their states, awareness, attitudes, beliefs, decisions, and behaviours; so, VERY powerful, right?

On the other hand, it makes you unique 😉 Now, what I mean by that, is while telling stories and metaphors will not make you unique in itself, by you telling your own stories and your own metaphors is unique. You and only you can draw from your own real-life stories and leverage these in your coaching practice and no one out there can utilise these events, and situations with the same power. Your past experiences make you unique and as a coach, you can leverage these events and situations and use them when working with your clients.

Personally, I like to create my metaphors on real-life stories. While there are books given you stories and metaphors you can use, I prefer to use my own stories and create my own metaphors as I feel that it creates a stronger experience for both the coach and the client.

Remember, feelings are powerful, and whatever state you want your client to be in, the faster way to induce that state is to be in it yourself; i.e., when I’ll explain that amazing feeling of crossing that finish line, after I ran, jogged and walked for 26.2 miles / 42 kilometres, I can guarantee you that I know I will be in that state, and my client will be there with me.

So, when you are with a client, and you suddenly feel that this is what you need, you can draw, very naturally, from your own experiences and help your clients get where they want to be.

Here are a couple of things to consider when creating your metaphors:

  • what are the states you want to induce in your client?
  • what are the themes you want to leverage with your client?
  • what are the key messages you want your client to take onboard?
  • what is it that you want your client to feel and then do as a result?

And, while telling your stories and metaphors:

  • use a variety of tones,
  • use sensory language (hear, feel, see, touch, taste, smell),
  • use humour (where appropriate!),

and, enjoy!

So, there you have it 😉

Most importantly, have fun and enjoy the process. Think back of your stories, think of the states, themes, key messages and go for it, trust your gut-feeling, you will know which story, which metaphor to use to help your client.

…And they lived happily ever after!

About the Author/Further Resources

Frederique Murphy

Combining her business expertise, having been a business consultant for over 10 years, working on multi-millions programmes around the world and running a successful 6-figure business (she hit that figure within 9-months in business and then doubled it within the following 6 months!) and her mind expertise, being an international licensed NLP Master Practitioner & NLP Mind Coach, Frederique has developed the “Mountain Moving Mindset” programme, where she empowers business owners, entrepreneurs and solo-preneurs to master their mindset, so that they can move mountains and bring their businesses to the next level!

She shares her M3 programme through her mentoring & coaching packages, published articles, blog, newsletters, and live events, where she passionately teaches and uniquely transfers the same skills, attitudes and systems that work for her to the business owners ready to reach new heights!