Words That Change Minds: Mastering the Language of Influence 2nd edition (Paperback)

~ Shelle Rose Charvet (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback: 221 pages
• Publisher: Kendall/Hunt Publishing Company; 2 edition (May 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0787234796
• ISBN-13: 978-0787234799
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (24 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #81,094 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

112 of 120 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Way ahead of the "experts", June 10, 2002

By	Karl (England, Great Britain) - See all my reviews

Only last year (2001), two members of the Harvard University Graduate School of Education brought out a book snappily entitled "How the Way We Talk can Change the Way we Work". It's an excellent book but it was a little strange to see it referred to by some critics as "new", and an example of "breakthrough thinking".

Why?

Because although the two books are not addressing *exactly* the same area, Ms Charvet's "Words that Change Minds", first published in 1996, can readily be seen as a precursor to the later book.

Although it is usually referred to in connection with Rodger Bailey's LAB Profile work, this book is in fact based on a subset of the "meta programs", or mental filters, first identified by Leslie Lebeau (formerly Leslie Cameron-Bandler).

What makes this book so valuable is that instead of simply describing the meta programs on a purely theoretical level (as many previous authors had done), Ms Charvet places each one in a very practical context. She tells us not only the basics of each meta program but also such practical details as:

- what questions to use to elicit a person's position on any of the meta programs discussed
- how to identify what meta program positions are best suited to a given job
- and how to frame a job or product advert so that it "speaks to" the optimum audience

There is also a wealth of anecdotes from real life that illustrate the meta programs at work - like why the US was never comfortable as members of UNESCO, why a single word undermined one of IBM's big advertising campaigns, and why a Jewish mother may recommend chicken soup because "it couldn't hurt".

And on top of all that, the book is written in an enthusiastic, flowing style that makes reading it both easy and enjoyable.

Highly recommended for *anyone* who wants to understand the practicalities of how language works.

90 of 96 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Best guide to meta-programs available, July 30, 1999

By	Andy Smith "NLP trainer - practicaleq.com" (Manchester, United Kingdom) - See all my reviews

This book presents meta-programs (the content-free filters we use to make up our model of the world) in a simple, understandable and highly readable way. It's based on the Language and Behaviour (LAB) Profile developed by Rodger Bailey - a simplification of the original 60 (!) meta-programs down to 14, along with the questions you can use to elicit them. This is a kind of psychometric test, although as people may have different meta-programs in different contexts, and they may change over time, it's not about pigeonholing people. Shelle also tells you the kind of language to use to reach particular kinds of people - useful in sales, negotiation, motivation and deciding who to hire for a particular job. The book is chatty with a good sense of humour. As an NLP trainer I recommend it!

56 of 61 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars It's subtle but powerful, April 3, 2004

By	Joseph Judge (Harrisburg, PA USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

As a teacher of business writing, I do not recommend this book to all my students; I only recommend it to the ones who are serious and want to take that extra step. I tell them that this is a book that shows you how to pay close attention to the words you use, whether speaking or writing, so that you maximize the impact you have on the specific person you are communicating with.

I applied some of the concepts in the book to a case study in a writing workshop I teach. Students are fascinated by it. They often say things like, "I can't believe something so subtle could be that powerful," and, "I wish I had known about this when I had so much trouble getting my previous boss to even listen to me."

The theories in the book result from research in neuro-linguistic programming. They use fancy concepts such as profiles, filters, and meta programs. But the author translates it all in a way that makes it easy to understand. And she gives hundreds of examples of how you can apply it to situations at work where you need people to listen to you, understand you, and even agree with you.

If you work in human resources, this book is especially valuable because the author provides many examples of assessing how people think. This can be used to match people to the right jobs and to help them improve their interpersonal communications.

I rated this book 5 stars because I think it is superior in all categories for a specialized communications textbook: powerful ideas, insightful author, meticulous exposition, and reasonable price.