NLP Glossary
D
DECISION
Having completed the process of deciding, which usually (sometimes wrongly) fixes the process in time.
DEEP STRUCTURE
The sensory maps (both conscious and subconscious) that people use to organize and guide their behavior.
DELETION
One of the three universals of human modeling; the process by which selected portions of the world are excluded from the representation created by the person modeling. Within language systems, deletion is a transformational process in which portions of the Deep Structure are removed and, therefore, do not appear in the Surface Structure representation.
DIGITAL
Having a discrete (on/off meaning, as opposed to Analogue which has shades of meaning.
DISSOCIATION
As in a memory, for example, looking at your body in the picture from the outside, so that you do not have the feelings you would have if you were actually there.
DISTORTION
One of the three universals of human modeling; the process by which the relationships which hold among the parts of the model are represented differently from the relationships which they are supposed to represent. One of the most common examples of distortion in modeling is the representation of a process by an event. Within language systems, this is called normalization.
DOVETAILING OUTCOMES
The process of fitting together different outcomes, optimizing solutions. The basis of win-win negotiations.
DOWN-TIME
As in having all sensory input channels turned inward so that there are no chunks of attention available for outward attention.
E
ECOLOGY
The study of the effects of individual actions on the larger system. In an individual, the study of the effects of individual components of therapy on the bigger picture of the whole individual. In all NLP processes an ecology check is incorporated assuring harmony.
ELICITATION
The act of discovery and detection of certain internal processes.
ENVIRONMENT
The external context in which our behavior takes place. Our environment is that which we perceive as being “outside” of us. It is not part of our behavior but is rather something we must react to.
EMBEDDED COMMANDS
This is when you mark out certain phrases that could stand on their own as commands, by changing your voice tone or by gesturing so that they don’t get it consciously, only unconsciously.
EYE ACCESSING CUES
Movements of the eyes in certain directions which indicate visual, auditory or kinesthetic thinking. Please note individual variance and that information readily available is not accessed and thus no detectable eye movement.
Vr – Visual remembered: (eyes up to the right) seeing images of things seen before, as they were. Questions that usually elicits this kind of processing include: “What colour are your mother’s eyes?” “What does your coat look like?”
Vc– Visual constructed: (eyes up to the left) imagining images of things never seen before, or seeing things different that they were. Questions to ask: “What would an orange hippopotamus with purple spots look like?”
Ar – Auditory remembered: (eyes to the right side) remembering sounds heard before. Ask,”What is the sound of your alarm clock?”
Ac – Auditory constructed: (eyes to the left side) hearing sounds never heard before. Ask,”What would the sound of clapping turning into the sound of birds singing sound like?”
Ad – Auditory digital: (eyes down to the right) Talking to oneself. Ask, “Recite the Pledge of Allegiance internally.”
K – Kinesthetic: (Eyes down to the left) Feeling emotions, tactile sensations (sense of touch), or proprioceptive feelings (feelings of muscle movement). Ask, “What does it feel like to be happy?” “What is the feeling of touching a pine cone?”
EPISTEMOLOGY
The study of how we know what we know.
F
FOUR TUPLE (OR 4-TUPLE)
A shorthand method used to notate the structure of any particular experience. The concept of the four tuple maintains that any experience must be composed of some combination of the four primary representational classes – <A,V,K,O- where A ~ auditory, V ~ visual, K ~ kinesthetic and 0 ~ olfactory/gustatory>.
FRAME
Set a context or way of perceiving something as in Outcome Frame, Rapport Frame, Backtrack Frame, Out Frame, etc.
FUTURE PACING
The process of mentally rehearsing oneself through some future situation in order to help ensure that the desired behavior will occur naturally and automatically.
G
GENERALIZATION
One of the three universals of human modeling; the process by which a specific experience comes to represent the entire category of which it is a member.
GESTALT
A collection of memories, where the memories are linked together or grouped together around a certain subject.
GUSTATORY
Relating to taste or the sense of taste.
H
HIERARCHY
An organization of things or ideas where the more important ideas are given a ranking based upon their importance.
I
IDENTITY
Our sense of who we are. Our sense of identity organizes our beliefs, capabilities, and behaviors into a single system.
IMPASSE
A smoke screen. When a person draws a blank or gets confused as you are working on an issue with them.
INCONGRUENCE
State of having reservations, not totally committed to an outcome, the ·internal conflict will be expressed in the person’s behavior.
INSTALLATION
The process of facilitating the acquisition of a new strategy or behavior. A new strategy may be installed through some combination of anchoring, accessing cues, metaphor, and future pacing.
INTEGRITY
Congruence and honesty. Personal integrity and ethical actions are necessary for a high level of NLP skills.
INTENTION
The purpose or desired outcome of any behavior.
INTROJECTS
Subconscious rules that control behavior.
INTUITION
Consistent judgements made by people (typically, without an explanation of how these judgements are made). Within language systems, the ability of native speakers of a language to make consistent judgements about the sentences of their language; for example, their ability to decide which sentence of words in their language are well-formed.
INTERNAL REPRESENTATION
Patterns of information we create and store in our minds in combinations of images, sounds, feelings, smells and tastes. The way we store and encode our memories.
J
K
KINESTHETIC
Relating to body sensations. In NLP the term kinesthetic is used to encompass all kinds of feelings including tactile, visceral, and emotional.