NLP: Patterns of Gathering Information
One of the reasons for the popularity of neuro-linguistic programming was the emergence of order in the chaos of thought. Taking advantage of this, I decided to ennoble a small section of the psychological field, which is still abundantly overgrown with impassable weeds.
NLP is known to be about giving choice. I abide by this principle by proposing a set of information gathering patterns that vary in form and can be easily replicated by anyone for any content. All this makes my article - an article on NLP.
In one, I moved away from tradition - the patterns that are presented below are not the product of modeling by Einstein or Aristotle, but the result of describing my own approach to collecting information. But what does “own” mean for a person who has been practicing NLP every day for seven years? Even without a lunch break! This means that they, for the most part, include the techniques of Bandler, Grinder and company, as well as everything that has been learned from a variety of books and seminars on NLP, but it is no longer known from which ones. In any case, John Grinder's call to "create your own code or encode what has not yet been encoded" is embodied in reality (Patrick E.
Merlevede JohnGrinder`s
futurevisionforNLP. –1997).
How much do you agree that we all, regardless of our degree of training in psychology, collect information about the interlocutor? And
this is part of the natural communication process.
Initially, the following patterns were presented by me in the "School of the Young NLP Fighter" - this is an e-mail NLP course that I periodically teach on my site "NLP and the People" (
www.nlp-and.narod. ru) (Author's note: On the project is closed today).
They were a task called "Targeting Mirages", as the goal was to
test the quality of their observations of people and clarify erroneous interpretations by the
course participants . By interpretation, I here mean static knowledge about various aspects of the opponent's behavior, formed during communication (for example, about his intentions, mood, attitude) and not based on directly observable facts, but consciously or unconsciously generalized from them.
However, later I noticed that I myself use these patterns in a broader context - in creating conditions for opening people and observing them. I call this context
information gathering .
In effective communication, the
sequence "observation-interpretation-check" is included as a component. The whole process can be described in the form of a circle "observation - interpretation - observation - correction of interpretation - observation - correction of interpretation - ..." or a usual feedback loop.
John Grinder, for example, speaking about the
ineffectiveness of labeling people as “visual”, “audial”, etc., advises to check every 30 seconds whether the preferences of the interlocutor's representational systems persist (S. Collingwood, J. Collingwood.
Interview with Dr John Grinder, Inspiritive, 1996).
The patterns below are included in the interpretation adjustment step and create a favorable context for observation. The purpose of their use is to put the opponent in such conditions under which the meaning of his behavior would become more obvious to you. After you apply these patterns, your interlocutor will make the part of his thought map that you are exploring even clearer.
Thus, you catalyze the gathering of information,
forcing the opponent to provide you with new data to observe in the area that you yourself have chosen. That is, you are using the "observe - interpret - pattern - observe - interpret - pattern" strategy, and so on. round. Moreover, each time the interpretation becomes more and more accurate.
The entire
quality of the interpretation adjustment will depend on two more components:
- Your sensory sensitivity - the ability to notice as many observable aspects of a person's behavior as possible.
- The interpretation strategies you use are your ability to interpret observed behavior as accurately as possible.
The content of these components is not considered in this article.
It should be noted that the
circle of collecting information can be either realized by the observer himself, or realized only at some of its stages, or not at all. And if you are not aware of your actions in this area, it is only because you do not have the abilities that you can get by reading this article to the end.
Consciously or unconsciously, people collect a wide variety of information. Moreover, what the observer pays attention to in the interlocutor's behavior and how he interprets this behavior (the observer's insight) determines the overall effectiveness of communication. And here, too, the old, like a computer, the GIGO principle (garbage in - garbage out) works. The antidote to empty or poor quality information can be that you
use NLP techniques to observe . In any case, the description of methods of observation and the choice of information for observation is beyond the scope of this article.
I will only note that, in my opinion, in order to collect quality information, it is useful to pay attention to:
- The goals of the interlocutor (both in general in communicating with you, and in this particular conversation, in each issue under discussion).
- The mood of the interlocutor (including the influence of what you say on the change in his mood).
- The interlocutor's reactions to you - to you in general, to your specific actions, words, ideas, etc. Here it is also important, or even most important of all, to determine not only how the interlocutor reacts, but to determine whether this reaction is directed specifically at you, at what you have done or said, or if it refers to something unrelated to you (for example, his self-doubt, uncomfortable posture, recollection, etc.).
- The attitude of the interlocutor to what he says (sure - not sure of the words; honest - not honest; frank - closed; the topic is interesting or not, etc.).
- If a person talks about people, touches on some topics - you can determine his attitude towards these people and topics;
- Congruence of the interlocutor.
- Consistency between:
a) individual movements of the interlocutor.
b) Signals from the right and left half of the body.
c) Representative systems (for example, between visual and audio signals).
d) Analog and digital information:
- The meaning of what a person says and what his body or part of the body is showing at this time.
- The meaning of what a person says and how he says it.
This list, of course, does not exhaust
all areas of observation and, following the NLP prescriptions, it is more useful to pay attention to what the feedback from the opponent indicates to you and your goals in interaction with him.
In any case, it is not out of place to remember that “for practice, the information that changes more quickly or on which we can influence” is of the greatest importance (V. Birkenbil. The language of intonation, facial expressions, gestures. -SPb .: Peter Press, 1997) ...
That is, reactions that occur in large numbers right in front of you, during your communication with another person, are of particular value.
Having chosen, consciously or unconsciously,
what exactly you want to know about the interlocutor , you begin to observe him. The techniques that this article focuses on apply as soon as you determine that you have made an interpretation in relation to the interlocutor. Once you have applied the pattern, and immediately, as soon as the interlocutor begins to react to it, you need to carefully observe the reaction.
Interpretation
As you observe, note all your interpretations. In this concept I include
everything that you cannot directly observe. For example, a slight flushing of the face or a slow nod of the head is an observation (sensory-based information), and an embarrassed face or a distant nod of the head is
an interpretation.... “He looks embarrassed” or “She doesn't pay much attention to me” is an even bigger interpretation as it interprets many other interpretations. In this step, notice all your conclusions - all your interpretations. You can practice separately by simply observing the person and noticing to yourself exactly what you see. And during this you can say to yourself: this is an observation or an interpretation (for example, "he smoothly moves his elbow" is an observation; "he squints slightly" is an observation; "he is calm" is an interpretation, " etc.).
Applying a pattern
Once you find an interpretation that needs testing and refinement, you apply one of the following patterns.
Interpretation defined
Apply pattern
Information collection patterns:
Direct question
You can find out the point of view of the interlocutor in the area in which you have an interpretation, without giving him the interpretation itself. That is, you ask the question as if you don't even know what the answer might be.
For example:
Interpretation: The interviewee said something to interest me.
Check: I wonder why you are saying this?
Interpretation: She doesn't like what I suggested.
Check: Well, how do you feel about my proposal?
It is surprising that
such a simple approach is powerful , especially in an open and trusting relationship.
2) The
question of interpretation
You ask the interlocutor directly if your interpretation is correct, giving out its content. That is, in essence, you are asking if you understood it correctly.
For example:
Interpretation: Theinterviewee said something to interest me.
Check: Do you want to interest me in this?
Do you want to interest me in this? Did I understand correctly?
Did I understand correctly that you want to interest me in this?
Interpretation: She doesn't like what I suggested.
Check: Don't you like it?
Do you not like it or I somehow misunderstood you?
Does this not suit you or did I misunderstand you?
3) Comment
You pronounce your interpretation as a description of the interlocutor's behavior.
3.1) "Confident" comment
You don't ask him if the interpretation is correct, but you report it very confidently, as if it is an obvious fact to you. You need to observe the interlocutor from the moment when he first realizes the meaning of what you said.
For example:
Interpretation: The interviewee said something to interest me.
Check: So you want to interest me in this.
I understand that you want me to be interested in this, but ...
Interpretation: She doesn't like what I suggested.
Check: I understand you don't like this.
Well, you don't like this, so I ...
OK OK. I can see that you don't like it.
3.2) Interrogative comment
In this case,
you make it clear to the interlocutor that, on the contrary,
you are not sure of your conclusions , but you do not ask about it in the form. This statement turns into a question your apparent uncertainty and pause after uttering the phrase. You also need to observe the interlocutor from the moment when he first realizes the meaning of what you said.
For example:
Interpretation: The interviewee said something to interest me.
Check: It feels like you want to interest me in this. (Pause)
Interpretation: She doesn't like what I suggested.
Check: I thought you didn't like it (Pause)
4) Meta comment
In the case of a meta-comment, you tell the interlocutor only your observations, on the basis of which the interpretation was made. The action of such a comment, which encourages the interlocutor to react, also intensifies the pause after its uttering.
For example:
Interpretation: The interviewee said something to interest me.
Check: You follow my reaction to my words so closely and describe everything so vividly. (Pause)
Interpretation: She doesn't like what I suggested.
Check: You were so tense when I said that. (Pause)
5) Passive reaction
I cannot but express my reverent attitude towards such an elegant way of collecting information and influencing people. I began to use it often and consciously after the seminars with the famous Russian NLP trainer Mark Palchik.
Interestingly,
passive behavior has an equally strong , and often more powerful
effect on people than active behavior. As Vera Birkenbil noted, it is based on the fact that “most people begin to speak when you become silent,” or, in another way and more generally, on the fact that “your stay in the passive Yin energy leads to the transition of the interlocutor into active energy Yang "(not literally M. Palchik).
In this particular case, you shut up and go into a state of complete "
uptime " (full concentration on what is observed around you) immediately after you have made an interpretation based on some manifestations in the interlocutor's behavior.
For example:
Interpretation: The interviewee said something to interest me.
Check: He has already finished his fiery speech and is waiting for your reaction, and you are silent until the interlocutor has to speak again himself. During silence, you can both non-verbally express extreme attention to what the interlocutor has to say, and be absolutely "indifferent" to him.
Interpretation: She doesn't like what I suggested.
Check: After making an offer, wait for a verbal reaction. If this reaction is not enough, keep silent until she speaks again).
As a matter of fact, it may be your turn to speak, but you act as if "the ball is still in the interlocutor's half of the field."
6) Adjustment
Adjustment tactics can also be used to test your interpretations. It is especially useful when you assume that the interlocutor has a certain belief (for example, the interpretation "Apparently he thinks that everyone wants to cheat him") or you assume what attitude the interlocutor has towards something (for example, the interpretation: " Perhaps he thinks: “Spartak” is bullshit, here is “Dynamo” !!! That's right! ”) Or to someone (eg. Interpretation:“ Apparently, he treats the gardeners well ”).
The bottom line is that
you yourself begin to express his point of view and follow his reaction . If your behavior does not cause protest, in addition to confirming your interpretation, you will also improve your relationship with the interlocutor.
For example:
Interpretation: Apparently he thinks everyone wants to cheat him.
Check: You know, by and large, it seems to me that no one in this world can be trusted. Here's an example. I went to the bakery yesterday ... and so on.
Interpretation: Perhaps he thinks "Spartak" - bullshit, here - "Dynamo" !!! It's true!
Check: Do you know what I think? To be honest, Spartak is not really what they make of it! Remember at least their last match with Torpedo and at the Cup with Galatasaray ...
Interpretation: Apparently he treats gardeners well.
Check: You just said about cherries, and I remembered so clearly. Do you know? My grandfather was a gardener. I came to him in the summer. And I live in Siberia. And I was fascinated by his work. Well this is Heaven on Earth. Eh, we would grow apricots! I got up in the morning and into the garden ...
7) Verb return
This method can be used when the interlocutor himself talks about his inner state, but you interpret his state in a different way. The method consists in repeating the verb from the interlocutor's phrase in an interrogative form.
For example:
Interlocutor's message: I am confident in my words.
Interpretation: He is deceiving himself and is not really sure.
Check: Are you sure? (pause)
Interlocutor's message: I think I'll do it.
Interpretation: Nope. It won't.
Check: Will you do it? (pause) or do you think? (pause)
Frames for patterns
In NLP, a
frame or frame metaphorically describes the possibility of placing any content within it. Depending on which frame you choose, the overall impression of the picture changes. One of the most famous frames in NLP is the as-if frame. You can behave in any way, as long as you behave "as if".
When you need to learn from someone's skill, one of the steps is to imagine that you are acting as if you are the person with the skill you need. If a person says to NLPer: "I don't know," then the latter has the opportunity to answer: "Imagine that you already know this." That's all the introduction to framework science for today.
Just as you can perform any behavior, independent of its content, as if, you can insert in the boxes below, those interpretation test patterns where you reveal the content of your interpretation.
Frame "from counterinterpretation (from the opposite)"
Milton Erickson had such situations when women approached him, but their husbands also had to be present at the consultation. Husbands flatly refused to go to a psychologist. What was he doing? He simply told his patients about their husbands. Moreover,
he said things about them that were clearly not true.
The wives, as he expected, told everything at home and at the second or third meeting their husbands appeared, who were eager for the triumph of truth and wanted to find out who this doctor was talking complete nonsense.
This example is a classic example of ideally NLPer goal-oriented behavior.
This is my conviction! Very often, people are so hungry for the truth that they react extremely hotly when they are misunderstood or "as if" misunderstood. Very often in such cases, they are ready to give out their point of view on a platter. This Achilles' heel is softer the more firm the person's belief system and the more straightforward he is.
The framework “from counterinterpretation” in relation to verification methods involves two steps:
a) Revealing counter-interpretation (the opposite meaning of your interpretation).
b) Direct application of the verification method, already based on counter-interpretation.
Methods can be applied:
- The question of interpretation.
- "Confident" comment.
- Interrogative comment.
- Meta comment.
- Adjustment.
Example 1. Based on method 3.1 "Confident" comment.
Using the trend described above, you can make your “confident” comment exactly the opposite of your interpretation. By the way, this is why the word "confident" in the name of the verification method is taken in quotes, in fact, you are not sure in either case, you only speak as if you are sure (by the way, the frame "as if").
So here's an example of a supposedly false "sure" comment:
Interpretation: The interviewee said something to interest me.
Counter-interpretation: The interlocutor does not care whether I am interested in it or not.
Check: So you don't care what I think about this.
I understand that you don't care how I feel about it, but ...
Interpretation: She doesn't like what I suggested
Counter-interpretation: She likes my suggestion.
Check: I understand you like it.
Well, you like it, so I ...
Yeah. I can see that you like it.
Example 2. Based on the "Tuning" method.
It's not hard to guess that if your interpretation is correct, then using counterinterpretation in combination with the "tune-up" method will turn this method upside down. Essentially, a tune will become either tune or no tune. Applying this method with this framework is perhaps the most dramatic change in the method itself.
But, in my opinion, it
will allow you to achieve the greatest results in the extraction of information, as it will often lead to a dispute.
Here is
the truth serum. In a dispute, the truth (the truth of the interlocutor) rushes with a powerful pressure. The dispute is accompanied often by fervor. Deliberately used to gather information, a dispute is a context that allows you to use the advantage of a person with flexible beliefs in communication to persuade the opponent's more bony beliefs.
Serum of truth or "as if" serum of truth, put YOU. The serum of truth is your conscious position against the opinion of the interlocutor, despite what you actually think about it. This is just a trick. Nothing more.
For example:
Interpretation: Apparently he thinks everyone wants to cheat him.
Counter-interpretation: You can trust people.
Verification: It seems to me that you can rely on almost any person. How many times have I been, for example, in unfamiliar cities and when I had to ask for help from other people ... Why are there business trips, in life, at every step ...
Interpretation: Perhaps he thinks "Spartak" - bullshit, here - "Dynamo" !!! It's true!
Counter-interpretation: I am a fan of Spartak.
Check: In "Spartachi" they gave a fire last week! No matter how hard they try to pour over them. Spartak is Spartak! They have a midfield ...
Parting words to those who are going to insert pictures into this frame. The use of the “from the opposite” frame may be inappropriate in some cases. This is especially true of the "Tuning" method.
In NLP, adjusting to beliefs , that is, showing that your point of view corresponds to the point of view of the interlocutor, is one of the main components in building a trusting relationship with the interlocutor. If your goal is to build a relationship with a person, it will often not be the best choice to show your difference or "as if" different (for him it will be the same) from him.
Moreover, if the belief that you question is very significant for the interlocutor. Although there are those who like to be "opened his eyes", who just love to argue or he likes people who disagree with him and are able to express their disagreement. Some will call this "honesty" and consider you a "reliable" person. And then ... your tune will turn back into tune. It is not that simple. Forward to experiments !!!
Box "Summarizing Interpretation (Up Divided)"
This is another trick. If the purpose of using the previous frame is to provoke the interlocutor to disclose information, that is, bringing in activity, tension, Yang energy, then the purpose of using the “generalization” frame, on the contrary, is to soften the receipt of information, highlight your detached role, Yin energy.
This frame is a special case of the application of the process of generalization (generalization) described in the transformational grammar of N. Chomsky and in the NLP meta-model.
The bottom line is that we
generalize the interpretation from a particular case , which we see on the example of the interlocutor, into a statement about laws (relationships between people, our world, social, etc.). That is, we are not talking about a specific person, but we are talking about people. We are not talking about the fact that a person, for example, is cheerful and ready to talk to us (interpretation), we are talking about the fact that “funny people usually easily make contact with other people”. Here, words indicating generalization are “people”, “usually” and “with other people”.
Where did they come from: "funny people" is your generalized interlocutor who is cheerful; “Other people” is just you, just bloated to the whole of humanity, and “usually” it is just a moment here and now, where you and your interlocutor are, but this moment will stretch over almost the entire time continuum. So in the end, from the fact that you and your interlocutor were, and the latter was cheerful and it seemed to you that you would have a good talk now, it turned out that "all funny people usually should get along easily with other people . " And this is already a rule, statement or ... belief.
Why should we elevate interpretation to universal laws in the context of testing interpretations? If you declare some of your convictions, without declaring its belonging to you (ie not “I believe that all women are bitches!”, But “All women are bitches!”), Then you turn the conversation to another level - from a discussion of current behavior to something abstract and at the same time related to the current situation.
If the other person disagrees with this, they are likely to say, “I don't think so. In fact, women - ... "And off we go - about women ... and not about who thinks what. Why, in turn, is such a translation needed? For example, you say:" What are you doing, Vasya , in nature? "or instead:" When one person hits another in the face, he humiliates the latter! "How much softer is the second? And here Vasya will have to lay out whether he wanted to humiliate you by breaking your nose, or beat you for nothing to do, or even vice versa out of respect for you.
And no transition to personalities!
When people talk about truths, traditions, rules, laws, etc., they can reveal themselves much more strongly than when they talk directly about themselves, since they believe that practically the whole world also thinks with them.
Read the newspaper Two. Almost all of the letters there are stories from their own lives. But they write there about husbands and wives, men and women, childless and single, and very rarely about themselves (s) in the singular. If we are talking about rules, laws and truths, any more or less experienced NLPer understands that we are never talking about rules, laws and truths - we are talking only about the personal history of the person HIMSELF.
Applying the generalize interpretation framework involves two steps:
Derivation of a generalization of interpretation. This, as a rule, will require a broader context of interaction with the interlocutor, that is, the combination of interpretation with other interpretations or observations.
Application of the method based on a generalized interpretation.
- Methods can be applied:
- The question of interpretation.
- "Confident" comment.
- Interrogative comment.
- Adjustment.
Example Based on the Interrogative Comment Method
Interpretation: The interviewee said something to interest me.
Generalization of the interpretation: To generalize the interpretation, a broader context of the conversation may be needed, for example, here it may be:
a) If a person likes something, he always wants someone to share this interest with him.
b) When people describe something so vividly, they want us to be interested in it.
Check: It seems to me that if a person likes something, he always wants someone to share this interest with him. (Pause).
When people describe something so vividly, I get the feeling that they want to interest. (Pause)
Interpretation: She doesn't like what I suggested.
Generalization of interpretation:
a) Girls do not like it when men offer them something.
b) People don't like being asked to do something they don't like.
Check: It seems to me that girls usually do not like it when a man offers them something. (Pause)
Yes. (sigh

) People don't like being asked to do something that is contrary to their beliefs. (Pause)
This frame, perhaps,
requires more experience , creativity and focus. The main trap is that you yourself may not notice how you will climb the bastions of your own convictions and, defending them, you will furiously pour tar on the enemy's head. When you come to your senses for a second in the heat of battle, remember that on your side are not beliefs, but "as if" beliefs, and that it is this fact that allows you to flexibly manage communication.
As you apply this framework, remember that your generalized interpretation is, in fact, of no value, since you know that you yourself created it and it is artificial to the limit. Remember, your goal is to test the original interpretation. Checking through generalization is just a trick. Nothing more.
Observation
It is necessary to observe the interlocutor as soon as he begins to react to the pattern you applied.