The Elevate Formula

The Elevate Formula (EF) is a game-changing mindset and a persuasive way of speaking. It’s a secret weapon that will lift your confidence and performance, allowing you to thrive under pressure.

When you weave it into your language, it has a naturally inspiring effect. And you can use it to coach your clients to face tough times with poise and belief.

The EF is a thread that weaves through Identity, Edited Reality and all The 7 Skills. Our previous chapters discussed how it underpins Capability in the 7 Skills Identity Model. And how it underpins a High IDQ which makes people happier, healthier, and more successful than those with a low IDQ. (Part 1, Chapters 4 & 6).

Now let’s explore how you can adopt the Elevate Formula for yourself. We will cover how to detect the EF in someone’s speech, and how to use it to boost your confidence and resilience and to be naturally inspiring.

Let me give you an example. One day, I sat with friends in my health club, chatting over a coffee. A group of people had been playing tennis and were seated near us. They had left their tennis bags scattered on the floor around them.

Then, some people from an exercise class walked in, and, a few moments apart, the two women stumbled over the tennis bags.

Neither of them fell or was hurt, but both were surprised and let slip an off-the-cuff comment. The first woman blurted out;

“Oh, I’m sorry, I’m so stupid, I’m always doing things like this”.

When, a few moments later, the second woman stumbled, she cried out;

“What idiot left that there? I could’ve hurt myself.” 

The second person apologised for being so harsh when she’d regained her composure. But I’m sure you’ll remember why we are not interested in the correction. It was her first instinctive comment that came straight from her System 1. The thoughtful rephrasing comes from System 2.

What do you make of these two responses?

Take a few moments to compare the Explanatory Style of the two women to the Elevate Formula;

The Elevate Formula Filters

Can you see why Woman One is less resilient when stressed than Woman Two? She is likely to be less happy and confident as well.

In this way the Elevate Formula reveals how someone is creating their Edited Reality

The EF is a ‘tell’, revealing how we subliminally define setbacks or challenges, or our stance when we feel anxious and under pressure, and our Explanatory Style when we discuss adversity with others. In those times, we assess the problem through three filters;

1. Self / Other
2. Broad / Narrow 
3. Lasting / Fleeting

For example, this is the reality Woman One and Woman Two made of this stumble;

You’re Going To Hear The Elevate Formula Everywhere

Now you’re focusing on it, you’ll notice it all the time in everyday speech. And as you do, ask yourself what it reveals about the speaker.

For example, can you remember a time you’ve done something clumsy? Or maybe a family member, friend or colleague has done the same.

Maybe, banged an elbow, tripped up or dropped something? Or there was a setback at work or a small but costly accident like reversing a car into a post. What were the first words that popped out? As you or they described it later, what Explanatory style was used?

Here are some more examples. In each of them, option 1 is the Low IDQ response and option 2 is the High IDQ answer. Have a go at figuring out why each of the phrases I’ve listed would attract the Identity Quotient I’ve suggested for them;

You arrive at a show and remember you forgot to lock your front door.	1. Darn it. I’m getting old! 2. Well, I was in a rush.
You are drinking from a glass tumbler. You drop it and it shatters on the floor.	1. Why does this always happen to me? 2. Someone bumped into me!
A wasp flies into your room and buzzes around your head.	1. Darn, these things love stinging me. 2. If I keep still it’ll be gone in a minute.
You walk a dog for a friend when it runs off, out of sight, chasing a squirrel.	1. Oh no, I’ve lost my friend’s dog. 2. Crazy mut! It’ll be back in a minute or two.

As you think about one of your clumsy moments, in what style, High or Low IDQ, does your instinctive response fall? Try rephrasing your response so it fits the opposite style. Can you see how each position may make you feel differently about the incident?

An Inspirational Football Manager

The Elevate Formula crops up in everyone’s language all the time…

The way our System 1 uses the Elevate Formula comes out in our natural speech patterns. This is why I started to examine the language of sports stars and coaches.

I look for the cues in their words, which tell me which side of the Elevate Formula shapes their messages. It lifts the lid on how their minds work and how naturally inspiring (or otherwise) their language is.

One of my favourite passages came from a coach who had just taken over a struggling English Premier League Football (soccer) team. The season before, they were close to being relegated.

The opening game of the next season, his first in charge, was a near disaster. The opposition completely overran them. Somehow, they scraped a 1 – 1 draw.

The players went back to the dressing rooms, dejected. They doubted whether they were good enough to compete in that league. But the manager’s reaction surprised and inspired them. For example, talking to the press after the match, he said;

I thought our effort was fantastic. They [the opposition] are up and running at the moment. They had some European games pre-season, so they’re much fitter than us. So when we get fitter, we’ll be OK. And I thought when we had possession of the ball we played very well. We had some decent chances in the game, and we were always a threat

Did you detect the Elevate Formula in this passage?

How are the EF filters woven into his words? Please take a few moments to think it through;

1. Self / Other
2. Broad / Narrow 
3. Lasting / Fleeting

Here’s my take on the power of his words

When he implied they were unfit, he framed the team’s poor form as ‘Fleeting’. A lack of fitness is temporary, something they could quickly put right. This also implies that the problem is ‘Narrow’, i.e. it is contained to when a lack of fitness makes the difference. And when they are fit, the problem doesn’t exist.

The coach suggested that the team’s Identity (Self) was one to admire. Namely, “excellent effort”; “played very well”; “always a threat with the ball.” These are ‘Broad’ and ‘Lasting’ SQAs.

These words and phrases removed doubt from the players’ minds. They began to think they were ‘good enough’ to be in the league. They ‘belonged’ and no longer felt down. They believed their peers should respect them.

With this Explanatory Style, he lifted his team. He had the same players who had been struggling the season before. But he took them on an unbeaten run that set a record for the club. The same players who were so feeble in the previous season finished this one only a few places off the top of the league.

The Importance of Hope

There is something else in an EF Explanatory Style I’d like to highlight. The coach’s words inspired the players with a vital emotion, ‘hope’. Hope is a sensation made from confident feelings about the immediate or long-term future. From hope arises self-belief, optimism, and a motivation to succeed, no matter the hurdles faced.

Real-Life Inspiration at its Best!

In this speech, the coach has used the Elevate Formula to inspire. Inspirational language involves describing challenges as fleeting and our strengths as lasting. And those strengths have to be framed as ‘capable enough’ to be safe, to belong and earn respect.

And that’s precisely what the coach did with his words. He changed the team’s Identity from ‘strugglers’ to ‘winners’. He gave them hope and moved them from the identity model’s right-hand side (see below) to the left.

With the Elevate Formula, you can inspire your client to feel the weight of a pressure moment lift. Your leadership will fire confidence, create momentum and drive success.

What’s Truth Got To Do With It?

I was presenting the 7 Skills at a University famous for the sporting achievements of its students. The audience was made up of coaches for various teams and athletes. 

I was running through the template for writing an inspiring speech when suddenly, one of the coaches asked me;

“What if this isn’t true? What if my players just aren’t good enough?”

I could have given a very long answer to his question. Instead, I simply said I wasn’t interested in the “truth”. I was only interested in “credibility”.

I asked him if his “inspiring” speech to his players was to say, 

“Look, we all know your rubbish. Just go out there and try not to get too depressed.”

If they’re not very good, how does the truth help them? How does it lift them, build their self-esteem and prepare them to face life with confidence and a sense of purpose?

And who says they’re not good enough? The top coaches get more out of their players than others. They inspire and lift them to produce at a level no one thought was possible.

And for that, you need credibility. To empower and motivate, you need to sound believable. When you lead, coach and inspire people to thrive in adversity, give me credibility over “truth” any time.

Inspirational Criticism

Using the Elevate Formula structure can be helpful and even inspiring when giving criticism. The Formula involves framing the behaviour that needs improvement as, Other, Narrow and Fleeting, while highlighting the person’s strengths as Self, Broad, Lasting. And encouraging them to use those strengths to improve in the future.

With this approach, criticism will bring about change, while boosting the person’s confidence and self-esteem.

The Bickering Team

I was brought in to work with a struggling football team. The players were constantly bickering and criticising each other on the field. Their trash talk was very harsh, and they were destroying each other on the pitch. Not surprisingly, it was affecting their performance. 

The manager had tried to improve their attitude, but nothing had changed. The players were argumentative and difficult to work with, but I knew Rapport would fix this.

So I played on their spikey energy and questioned whether their good reputations were deserved. This triggered a lively exchange from which I built Rapport and uncovered their SQAs. It took no more than 15 minutes to get them into a Rapport state in which I could work with them.

I knew I was never going to be able to stop them from criticising each other. So I talked to them about how to infuse the Elevate Formula in their trash talk.

This meant that when a player made an error, rather than just rubbishing their teammate, I asked them to frame their verbals around what they knew the player was capable of. They seemed to like this idea.

Early on in the next game, the first mistake was made. A midfielder misplaced a pass and turned the ball over to the opposition. I was fascinated at how his teammates would react.

I didn’t have to wait, almost immediately the Centre Back pointed at him and shouted;

“You t**t, what a stupid f****ng pass. You’re a f****ng magician with the ball, stop giving it away and do some f****ng magic”.

And so it went on. The game was a unique lesson in aggressive, foul-mouthed, EF-style positivity.

Although one of my most bizarre jobs, it was also very satisfying. The team turned around their season and went on an unbeaten run into the new year, by which time they were second in the league.

Any criticism, rebuke or feedback can be turned into a powerful message with the Elevate Formula.

Elevate Formula and Realisation

Have you noticed the link with Realisation from Skill 2 Manage Your State? Realisation is based on the Elevate Formula. When we imagine a ‘happy ending’ and all that we’ll see, hear, feel etc., you fulfil all the parts of the High IDQ side of the Elevate Formula. This is why it works so well at pointing our sifting and sorting towards hope and success. This is another example of how intertwined The 7 Skills are.

Here’s A Summary: I’ll Keep it Short

Language is a Lens into the Subconscious

The Elevate Formula is both a state of mind and an inspirational language template. In times of stress, we assess the difficulty through three filters;

1. Self / Other
2. Broad / Narrow 
3. Lasting / Fleeting

Our language ripples out from our Identity. It is our lens into the subconscious mind.

When we use the EF to decode someone’s language, we can:

• Assess how confident they are feeling. Those who see challenges as fleeting and external have a higher sense of Capability.

When we use it in our language, we can:

• Reframe challenges to boost confidence in our abilities. Describing setbacks as narrow and short-lived makes them feel more manageable. 

And as Teachers, Parents, Coaches and Leaders, we can:

• Inspire others by highlighting their strengths as lasting and wide-reaching. This builds belief in their Capability to overcome obstacles., which gives them hope and optimism. You can even make a rollicking or a rebuke inspiring.

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  Take The Quiz For This Chapter

  Are you ready to put your knowledge of the Elevate Formula to the test?

  Take the quiz for this chapter now and gauge your grasp of this game-changing mindset and persuasive way of speaking.

  Quickly assess your ability to reframe challenges, uplift confidence, and infuse hope.

  Quiz for skill 5

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  Where are We on The 7 Skills Journey?

  We’ve already learned the three skills, often called “IMP”, that help us stay focused and calm, even under pressure. They help us build strong and magnetic relationships with other people.

  We also talked about “Reveal Persuasion Pathways”, with which we uncover what motivates ourselves and others on a deeper level.

  In this Chapter, we looked at how “Elevate Formula”, language inspires ourselves and others to feel confident and strong.

  And now, Skill 6, Stay in Accord and Skill 7, Speechcraft, will give us simple language patterns to persuade and inspire.

  With these skills, we’ll learn how to discreetly slip advice into our client’s System 1, bypassing any reluctance to accept our empowering messages.

  And I’ll show you a template for writing deeply inspiring speeches.

  In this way, Skills 6 & 7 enable us to ethically shape our client’s Edited Reality and lift their confidence and performance when they most need to be at their best.

  But first…

  Isn’t it Time to Get Back to Eddard and Jacqui?

  Yes, it is because…

  Eddard used IMP, Reveal Persuasion Pathways, and The Elevate Formula. And he used the language tips from Skills 6 & 7, and all together, these Skills helped him save Jacqui’s and her children’s lives. So let’s catch up with them and then follow their story as it takes us through Skills 6 & 7.

  Up Next: How Eddard saved The Day Click here.

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  Previous Chapter

  Index

  Glossary of Terms

  References with Summary

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  References:

  • Optimism and Pessimism Are Associated with Brain Dopamine D2 Receptor Levels in Healthy Adults, Psychiatry Research: Neuroimaging: K.M. Healy, M.G. Dougherty, S.C. Strigo, and S.N. Hamann of the University of California, San Diego.
  • Learned Optimism, Martin P Seligman, Ph.D.: Vintage 2006