Seminar 7

Neurolinguistic programming: basic notions and models

1. Comment on NLP: general characteristics of the approach, NLP models,
rapport and matching, perceptual positions.
2. Look at the sentences below. How are these sentences interpreted in NLP?
That doesn't ring a bell with me.
I can't grasp it at all.
I need a different perspective on that.
Suddenly it's crystal clear.
We're all singing from the same hymn sheet.
She knows how to push his buttons.
Which of these statements would you use? What sense should be activated to get a
better response from you? What are the other verbal explications of this peculiarity?
3. Comment on reframing and its types. Then read the text below:
When we label things by assigning a word to them, we fix them and to a certain extent we also fix
our attitude to them. The classic example is that when we call something a 'problem', we tend to
approach it in a certain way. If we call the same situation a 'challenge', we might approach it
differently. In this case, you're not just influencing other people, you're influencing your own
attitudes - a very good place to start. After all, nothing is intrinsically a problem, it's just a set of
circumstances. What one person perceives as the end of the world, another might view as an
adventure; or to give an other example, an infidel is described in 'The Devils Dictionary' by
Ambrose Bierce in 1911 as: 'In New York, one who does not believe in the Christian religion; in
Constantinople, one who does'.
Recall the situations when you used reframing in order to cope with a certain
situation (if ever) or give other examples when reframing may be applied. (In fact,
reframing is based on the notion of relativity. Think of several examples of the
relative).
4. Read the pairs below and think what changes together with the
morphological properties:
He's a trouble maker He is making trouble
I don't get any respect around here - People are not respecting me
The students don't have enough knowledge The students are currently lacking knowledge
What morphological characteristics would make the world a better place? Think of
other examples of this phenomenon.
5. All experienced parents know that it's totally counterproductive to say to a
young child, 'Don't go near the water.' It is much more effective to say something
like, 'Come and see if you can balance on this rail here. I'll hold your hand if you
like.' Children aren't necessarily being naughty when they 'disobey' negative
instructions. It's just that they have to work out for themselves what parents do want,
and by that time there might well have been an automatic response to the actual
words parents have said. How, for example, might you rephrase the following by
saying to children what you do want them to do?
Don't fidget.
Don't look.
 Don't talk.
Don't be late.
Don't try too hard.
6. Read the following statements and comment on their faultiness from the
point of view of NLP:
I don't understand
Nobody loves me.
I never know what's going on.
I'm always late.
I can't
Replace the inappropriate parts with more constructive ones.
7. The attitude to NLP in academic circles is extremely controversial. Learn
more about the opponents arguments and get ready to discuss their validity.