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December 12, 2006

The NLP Presuppositions: The Map Is Not The Territory

Let’s continue with an explanation of the NLP Presuppositions that I started off with yesterday. Another great one, that needs some outline is “The Map Is Not The Territory”.

The Map Is Not The Territory

What does this mean?

Remember, a while back, I wrote that we as humans are not able consciously to take in or understand all the input that comes from the outside to us at any one point of time. Look, it has been said that there are 2 million bits of information coming toward us (cover, cover…) at any second. What happens inside our head is that we are scaling this down to about 134 KB – which is what is manageable for our conscius mind. The rest? Boom, gone, deleted, distorted and generalised, thus altered based on our values and beliefs, our memories, education, society, how we perceive time and so on and so on.

134 KB equals about 5-9 pieces of information. You don’t believe me? Well, how come that most people have to break up their handphone number into two or three segments? Or, how come, we often don’t remember more than 2-4 brands in any one product category? Or, how come we don’t feel the feeling of sitting on the chair? All the rest of the information is in our unconscious mind.

One more time: What does this mean?

It means, basically, that everybody is different – sure thing!! Different, because we all perceive and receive and operate on different levels of experience. Your childhood was different from mine, your beliefs, values, capabilities and behaviours are differently experienced than the ones that I carry with me – because we are different!!

Listen – we all experience the world differently. I will look out for different things than you. Like – a policeman looks at the road and observes if everything is in order. A real estate agent will look at the houses instead, to see, if there is a vacancy or will estimate the value of the property. A girl might look out for perfume, or window shopping, while my lovely boy will search any opportunity to play, or to see, if there is a picture of one of his superheroes around.

What does this mean to communication?

Let me give you an example from the old school of NLP and its work in therapy. Let’s assume that there is someone coming to an NLP practitioner claiming to be haunted by ghosts. A “normal person” might just say, look around, there is no ghost behind you, don’t you believe me? How can you believe in ghosts? There is no such thing!! What will happen? The one claiming there is a ghost will reject the coach or therapist! Because he feels misunderstood. For him, in his map of the world, the ghost is true!

Someone who says that the map is not the territory will first assume that the other person is right – in their map of the world!! There is a ghost. What is he or she then doing? He is accepting that the other person’s experience as true. Because, only when we assume that the other person is correct in his or her statement will we be able to change a perception. Only when I understand, by ignoring my own world and the perception of it will I be able to create the rapport with the other person that I need to have to change or help someone else. It is not about supporting someone who is “mad” or “sick” or “doesn’t get it”. It is about really attempting to see the world from soneone else’s eyes.

Another, simple example, one more - How often has it happen to you that someone says to you – “you just don’t understand me.” Because your map is different from mine. How would it be to have people tell you – “you fully understand me? I can speak to you openly and that is why I can change?” Wah – what great difference.

That is what NLP means when we say – “The Map is not the Territory.” A fine belief to have.

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The NLP Presuppositions are a very important part of the training in January 2007 and there will be exercises around it. Interested in the brochure and what this training is all about? Want to learn more? Send a mail to NLP At AsiaMindDynamics.com.


Posted by Andreas at December 12, 2006 02:21 PM

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