THE
PRESUPPOSITIONS
OF NLP
NLP
PRACTITIONER
CERTIFICATE
THE PRESUPPOSITIONS OF NLP
NLP Presuppositions form the underlying beliefs and attitudes that
competent NLP Practitioners work by, and often even live their lives by. These
presuppositions are not rules or regulations; they are simply beneficial and
powerful beliefs to live by.
They're called ‘presuppositions’ because you pre-suppose them to be true, and
then you act as if they were. The following list of presuppositions provides us
with the core ideas that all other NLP based practices and models are built on.
Take a few minutes to read each presupposition and consider how you feel
about each one? Are they true for you or could they be? How do you respond to
each one?
PRESUPPOSITION 1) Unconditionally accept people. People are not their
behaviours, so, while we can reject a person's attitude or habits, we will never
dismiss a person.
As an evolving science, NLP seeks to help people understand and better
appreciate how their habits and self-defeating behaviours, are not cast in stone,
but rather, are choices that can be modified at any given moment in time.
PRESUPPOSITION 2) Behaviour and change are to be assessed regarding
context, and ecology.
All meaning is context dependent. It's very easy to take something that's been
said out of context and interpret it differently from its original meaning.
In NLP it's crucial that we evaluate behaviour and change in terms of who our
clients are capable of becoming, and also the impact it will have on the person’s
life overall.
PRESUPPOSITION 3) Often, if we experience resistance in a client, this will stem
from a lack of rapport or misunderstanding. (There are no clients who are
resistant by nature, but rather, only rigid communicators who are unwilling to
change. Wise communicators accept and embrace all forms of communication
that are presented to them.)
THE PRESUPPOSITIONS OF NLP
In NLP, maintaining rapport with our clients is absolutely critical. If we are not
actively maintaining rapport, we'll be less likely to ascertain the positive
outcomes that we are working towards. If we want to get better results through
our communications that what we're currently getting, it's crucial that we adapt
and adjust our approach. (If we always do what we've always done, we'll always
get what we've always got.)
PRESUPPOSITION 4) Appreciate other people's interpretation of the world.
If we desire to communicate well, it's important that we have a grounded
appreciation of someone else’s unique model of the world.
All people have alternative ways of interpreting and experiencing life (different
beliefs, values, filters, etc.). By understanding and respecting these differences
opposed to jumping to assumptions or judging, better trust based
communications will naturally occur.
PRESUPPOSITION 5) No-one intentionally screws up. All people all of the time
are doing the very best they can do, with the extent of the resources that they
have available to them.
Behaviour is fluid and not fixed. No-one sets out to intentionally mess up or fail.
While we may never fully appreciate other peoples motives, it's important to
assume, that a positive intent motivates people's every behaviour. In other words,
let us assume the very best of other people (regarding their intentions) rather
than assuming the worst.
PRESUPPOSITION 6) Calibrate on behaviour and don't try to read peoples minds.
The only visible information we have about another person is their behaviour.
Human behaviour is the only thing that we as NLP practitioners can observe.
Anything else would be mind reading. As it's impossible for us to enter another
person's mind physically, it's therefore critical that we become competent at
calibrating on behaviour.
THE PRESUPPOSITIONS OF NLP
PRESUPPOSITION 7) The map is not the territory.
People respond to their experiences and not to reality itself. We don't have
access to reality as it is, we do not know reality. We experience reality through
our senses, our filter systems, our beliefs - our own personal 'map' of reality. NLP
works by changing the 'maps' that are not working for the client.
PRESUPPOSITION 8) We each own our minds; therefore we each must own our
life outcomes.
Thought precedes our every action, behaviour, reaction, and response. It's
important we understand that before we commit to any course of action, the
course of action has first been considered inside of our minds.
If we can become more aware of our thought patterns and internal processes,
we can consequentially become more efficient at managing our responses and
behaviours.
PRESUPPOSITION 9) People have all the resources they need to be successful.
So, as NLP Practitioners, our goal is to help our clients become more aware of
their own potential and assist them to work towards their own desired outcomes
in life.
We all have the resources and ability to achieve all the things that we want in our
own lives. If it's possible for other people, it's possible for us.
In NLP we can use the process of modelling to elicit the strategies that another
person has used to achieve their desired life outcomes, which is something that
we will explore further later in the course.
THE PRESUPPOSITIONS OF NLP
PRESUPPOSITION 10) There is no such thing as failure, only feedback.
Do we learn from our mistakes? Of course; this is part of taking responsibility for
our actions and therefore owning our results (good or bad, desired or undesired).
We don't need to entertain the idea of putting a label on it. Our results are either
an opportunity to gain feedback or recognize our achievements.
PRESUPPOSITION 11) Empowerment comes via responsibility.
Maturity in life is less reflective of a persons age and more reflective of an
individual's willingness to assume full responsibility for his or her life. As a person
matures they become more decisive, consistent and strong and when
they know that they've taken full responsibility and are doing their very best,
confidence grows, and they feel empowered as a result.
PRESUPPOSITION 12) Having a choice is far better than not having a choice.
Always attempt to have a map that provides you with the widest number of
choices. Always aim to increase choice. The more choice you have, the more
free you are and the greater influence you have.
PRESUPPOSITION 13) People work perfectly.
No one is wrong or broken. We're all executing our strategies perfectly.
However, our strategies may be ineffective and poorly designed. Become aware
of how you and other people operate so that your strategy can be changed if
need be to something more desirable and useful.
THE PRESUPPOSITIONS OF NLP
PRESUPPOSITION 14) All actions have a purpose.
The actions we take are not random; we're always trying to achieve something,
although we might not be aware of what that actually is.
PRESUPPOSITION 15) The meaning of the communication is not just what you
intend, but also the response that you get.
The response might be different from what you wanted, but there is no such
thing as failure in communication, only responses and feedback. If you're not
getting the results you desire, change what you're doing. Start by taking
responsibility for the communication.
So, in summary, presuppositions, in general, are the central beliefs that provide
foundations to a system.
The presuppositions of NLP are the main assumptions that have guided the
ongoing development of NLP since its initial development by Richard Bandler
and John Grinder back in the 1970s. They are not necessarily true, but they
have historically proven to produce some beneficial results.
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