Last week, I attended an advanced Presentation Workshop. We were to give a presentation while the group acted as our audience. At times, "the audience" asked questions. Some of the questions surprised me. I did not think they had a specific relationship to my presentation. I realized, after reflection, the audience received a different central point than what I intended.

Basic ABCs of Intentions: ambiguity, beliefs, and contradictions

Regardless of our intention, there may be more than one answer. Think of all those "Yeah, but…" and "What if…" times. Ambiguity, beliefs, and contradictions exist everywhere, in spite of our desire for clarity.

They can be caused by thoughts and feelings, unresolved emotions, ignored life lessons, outdated information, or by external forces wanting us to not change, change, or believe they way they do.

The intention for my presentation was: To give a concise, ten-minute presentation on my topic. However clear and positive my intention was to me, the presentation ran smack into several well-entrenched beliefs of some audience members…

Attention to Intention

Premise: We cannot change anyone but ourselves. No matter how positive our intention, it may be misunderstood. There is an NLP saying that goes: "The response you got is the message you sent." Meaning, it isn’t your intention behind what you said that matters, it is how it is received that matters…

To reduce ambiguity, beliefs and contradictions consider that an intention must have three things for it to possibly succeed. They are:

1. Take some time to clear about what you want. Make sure to state it in the positive. A statement of what you want, not what you don’t want. The unconscious mind does not recognize negatives. Example, as I tell you not to think of the pink elephant, what are you thinking of, right now?
2. It must be completely controlled by you. I did not have control over the audience reaction. An intention to get someone to behave differently is not controlled by you. It won’t work.
3. If your intention is of the "global proportion", pare it down into manageable "nuggets." As you create these "nuggets" make a note of specific, sensory based "markers". What will you see, hear, and feel, when you complete each "nugget"? After completing each nugget, give your self a little Hi-Five celebration to keep you motivated. That’s it for today.

Have a great day in whatever your adventure.

To Life! To Success!