To really get the best from the S.C.O.R.E. it needs to be more than a cerebral paper-and-pen exercise.  Instead, lay the timeline on the floor and mark out Causes, Symptoms, Outcomes and Effects as spaces along it. Resources should be somewhere off the timeline.

The model will have more impact if the explorer physically steps into each location as they investigate it. This helps to physically associate the person into the state and frame of mind of each component of the model, making it easier to access all the information at each stage.

By walking through the sequence from Causes, through Symptoms and Outcomes to Effects, the explorer will begin to condition in a metaphorical sequence of moving from ‘problem’ to ‘solution’. They can step off the timeline and gather what they need from the Resource location any time it feels right.

The ‘Dancing S.C.O.R.E. Format‘ developed by Judith DeLozier takes this principle even deeper into the kinaesthetic realm, inviting the client to adopt the posture and movement that feels characteristic of each stage. By moving repeatedly through the sequence of postures from problem to solution, the client begins to internalise the direction of change ‘in the muscle’.

A skilled NLP practitioner will be able to make the process more effective by anchoring the ‘positive’ stages (Resources, Outcomes and Effects) as appropriate. You could also use embedded suggestion and hypnotic tonality in your questions to help the client associate more fully into these stages.