Patterns of thinking to help help us understand and communicate with others better

Greg Fisher follows-up his February Blog (3 Top Tips to help you influence change and break down resistance.  ) with a review to help recognise patterns of thinking and the primary processing systems which may help us understand and communicate with others better.

In my last blog we looked at Representational (Rep) Systems and how they can help us to understand how a person 'ticks' in order to allow us to build rapport and communicate with them more effectively to achieve our ultimate aim in the context of this blog – influencing change and breaking down resistance to it. 

In this blog we will look at a fascinating phenomenon called Eye acuity. This takes the theory of Rep systems one step further. NLP uses Eye Acuity to help recognise patterns of thinking and the primary processing systems involved to trigger the thinking patterns – the Rep systems.

A persons eye positions whilst in thought or when talking can offer a great insight as to how they're thinking and what part of their mind they are connecting to. Looking upwards and to the left would mean they are recalling a visual memory (ask someone to picture their favourite school teacher). Whereas looking up to the right would mean they are likely to be constructing a visual image (ask someone to picture the same teacher with a green hair)..!!

Have a look at the image below but be aware this is from your viewpoint, looking at someone else.

Although the patterns above are those most commonly found, there are exceptions. Some people have the patterns reversed (typical in, but not exclusive to, many left-handed people), others have a mixture. There are also some cultures where this pattern is not the norm. Bearing in mind the NLP presupposition that 'Everyone lives in their own unique model of the world', you might encounter different patterns.

Learning to read eye-accessing cues will not make you a mind reader but will give you a clue to the way the other person is thinking. A skilled NLP practitioner will notice the sequencing of eye patterns. For example, before answering a question someone might always follow the pattern 'up left, across right, down right'. This suggests that they are remembering a picture, putting together some sound or words, and checking that the idea feels OK. By communicating ideas in the same sequence you will probably gain strong rapport with this person.

Look out for my blog next month where we will briefly cover another fascinating area of NLP to help you influence change and break down resistance to it.

ps. If the recent winter weather conditions are making you feel 'down' – LOOK UP! This helps release endorphins and dopamine that help cheer you up.   

Greg Fisher

March 2013

Greg will be offering the third part of this series on NLP in April. If you are interested in finding out more about Individual and Team communication and how tools like NLP can be used to support change in behaviours please offer feedback via email or Linked-In.

Tim Rogers

Founder ciChange

timrogers@ciChange.org

http://www.linkedin.com/groups/CI-Change-4301853

ciChange seminar and networking events for 2013 sponsored by Total Solutions Group http://www.tsgi.co/