Psychoneuroimmunological, Narrative Goal Mapping applied to Communication.

 

Your personal, professional and organisational goals can be mapped out as a series of interactions. E.g. Create Marketing Materials, Create Contact List, Circulate Materials, Run Events, Follow up leads, Make Sales.

All of these activities are one or a combination of Learning, Communication and Organisational skills.

Your success in your endeavours relies on a balance of these skills and your inner game which is combination of your determination and self-worth.

 

Although your sense of determination is an intangible resource there is no doubt that it massively affects all your performance capabilities.

And of course, the more you see yourself achieve, the more your intangible resources are strengthened.

 

Now we are able to define our own intangible resources more clearly.

 

Starting with the advances in psychoneuroimmunology; we know that when we contemplate a thought, our body produces the corresponding cascade of hormones.

Think about kittens for 30 seconds and bathe in the endorphins of cuteness. Think about your favourite meal and you wouldn’t be surprised when your mouth starts watering.

Think about the fulfilment of your goals and see how long till you start to feel excited.

 

The profound affect this has on communication and learning has become evident through the description of Limbic Resonance. It’s what we call atmosphere, like you feel when you walk into a room where there’s a serious discussion going on. The same as when you arrive at a party, you can tell if it hasn’t quite kicked off yet.

It’s the biological description of rapport, charisma and group cohesion.

 

To visualise the power of these new insights, imagine you’re having a conversation that is critical to either your personal, professional or organisational goals.

First imagine that you’re either nervous or disinterested. How will this come across to the person you’re speaking with? How will it show in your body language and in your voice. Regardless of what you say, how much of your message will be influenced by the way you’re saying it?

Next, think of what this conversation would be like if no matter the outcome, you were heading off on holiday the next day.

It’s obvious that even though you could say the exact same things in both scenarios, these conversations would not go the same way.

 

There’s a reason that top athletes spend time mentally rehearsing. It’s so they can physically embody their own peak performance. The same applies for the fulfilment of your goals. When you spend time focused on the narrative picture of you enacting your goals, you literally become soaked in the hormones that power your determination. And this in turn enhances your communication, learning and performance.

 

So, when you’re mapping your goals, make sure that you include all your intangible resources, by immersing yourself in the outcome. Take time to bask in the aspects of your life that resonate with these outcomes, and know that what you focus on will multiply!