I admit to a prejudice: I don't like weighty loose-leaf compendia that offer 1,001 activities for training people in some vitally important skill. For years, I had a stack of such manuals sitting on my shelf, yet I never found a single activity that I wanted to use.

But my resistance has crumbled. I have now implemented my first suggestion from a new Gower compendium that offers 30 ways of applying neuro-linguistic programming (NLP) techniques to business activities. And I have taken on board others for future use.

As you started reading, did you think I was going to write a negative review? Were you surprised to find that, in fact, I am impressed with the product and have found it useful? What I was actually doing was adapting a point made in Activity 8, which explains how to convey a message that contains both good and bad news so that listeners attend to its positive aspect.

No doubt we have all received feedback in which the positive early points are quickly negated by the inevitable "but". In giving feedback, you may have got into the habit of replacing "but" with "and", so that the message's two aspects are given equal emphasis. But when you want the lasting impression to be good news, then put it after the "but".

Obvious? Maybe. But the point is that the manner in which we use language and frame our communications inevitably influences our audience. If we want to determine this influence, then it pays to be aware of what these linguistic constructions are.

When we can draw on a repertoire of techniques to to suit an occasion, we enhance communication. The manual offers five other activities on different aspects of influencing with words, a skill that will make a genuine difference to the way people work together.

There are also exercises to elicit values, to formulate visions, to unlock people's potential and more. What struck me was how much more I learnt than when I had read books on these topics. This is due to background notes and to the material passing my "reality test" - would I use it? From the perspective of both trainer and trainee, the answer is yes. The material is accessible, well laid out and the language jargon-free, reflecting a deliberate effort to allow non-trainers to use the resource on a self-help basis.

Using NLP techniques is a skill, and so needs practice. Some aspects will be more readily integrated into people's habitual behaviour than others, and some follow-up reinforcement will be helpful. Certain exercises produce a useful end in themselves - such as the articulation of values. No matter what the outcome, I am convinced that they will be effective. Coaches, facilitators and trainers will find their own behaviour changing as they plan how to teach the skills and techniques to others.