The Presuppositions of NLP are a collection of beliefs that the founders Bandler, Grinder, and their early collaborators observed in great communicators and change agents. The original basis of NLP was “Modelling” with the belief that “I can model anyone” however have you tried to model someone who is so good at something that they can’t explain or demonstrate how they or what they actually do it is left to the “modeller” to try and work out the gaps in thinking. Say you wanted to model Jesus, we’ll it would be an uphill struggle as Jesus isn’t available ot meet up at local Costa Coffee and explain how he could walk on water or heal the sick.
The founding fathers of NLP formalized ideas “Of what needs to be in place in order to…”into a set of principles to guide NLP practice, helping people become more effective in personal development, therapy, coaching, and communication.
Before we deep dive into NLP, in my experience understanding the pre-suppositions of NLP is a good starting point, which once understood will allow one to steer through books and courses on NLP by being able to find and use what is useful.
The pre-suppositions of NLP
The first four are around Experience & Perception
The map is not the territory.
People respond according to their map of the world.
We experience the world through our senses.
The meaning of your communication is the response you get.
The map is not the territory.
This foundational NLP presupposition emphasizes that our internal representation of the world (the “map”) is not the world itself (the “territory”). Next Time you pop into a restaurant take a look at the menu and after ordering from the menu you will begin to realise that the actual food is nothing what so ever like the menu. This is life I went out with Ms India or so I thought, but she had facial hair others somewhat unfairly called it a beard. I never saw the beard (in my defence she had great hairy nipples)
We experience life through a filter made up of our beliefs, values, memories, and perceptions. This filter colours how we interpret reality. NLP teaches that by understanding our maps, and those of your clients, we can better navigate relationships, resolve misunderstandings, and facilitate change. For instance, two people can have drastically different opinions about the same event because they each see it through their unique maps.
By accepting that maps are subjective, this is a key perceptual shift. You have to accept that you are no longer the subject of the universe! rather the universe is the subject and how we use our senses gives us the interpretation of what life is. We allow space for empathy, curiosity, and personal growth. It also invites us to update or expand our maps to create richer and more useful understandings of the world.
(Check out Pre Supp 2 Blog)
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