Glossary

The ways we tune our bodies by breathing, posture, gesture and eye movements to think in certain ways.

The art and skill of translating the inner game into outer manifestation.

Continuously variable between limits, like degrees on a volume knob or dimmer switch. Many sub-modalities vary in an analogue fashion.

Any stimulus that evokes a response. Anchors can change our state.

The process of associating one thing with another. Anchors can happen naturally or be set up on purpose.

Using the imagination to explore the consequences of thoughts or actions as if they had occurred.

Inside an experience, seeing through your own eyes, hearing through your ears, feeling with your senses.

Seeing, hearing and emotionally feeling from inside an experience. Association is contrasted to dissociation.

Any facet or factor with an attractive force within a system. In neuro-semantics, an attractor is anything that we value or find meaningful.

To do with the sense of hearing.

The art and skill of inviting one to wake up to new possibilities, visions or values as part of a compelling future.

One's normal and habitual state of mind.

Any activity or thought that one engages in. Behavior is also a Neurological Level.

A generalization we make about ourselves, others and the world, along with the principles we operate by. Beliefs are a Neurological Level.

The way we communicate with our body, not including words or sounds. Postures, gestures, facial expressions, appearance, and accessing cues are components of body language.

An intentional movement, sound, command, or distraction to change an emotional state.

To accurately recognize another person's state by reading non-verbal signals, such as breathing, blinking, skin color and tone, heart rate, etc.

Accurately recognizing another person's state by reading non-verbal signals, such as breathing, blinking, skin color and tone, heart rate, etc.

A successful strategy for carrying out a task. A skill. Capabilities are one of the Neurological Levels.

Sequencing a series of states.

The art and skill of questioning one's map of reality in order to shed light on aspects of that map that are not working.

A person who welcomes and seeks change in contrast to someone who dreads or is resistant to change.

To change one's perception by questioning up or down a level. The Meta Model chunks down by asking more specific questions. The Milton Model chunks up by asking more general questions. Chunking sideways uses "what else" to gather more information at a given level.

A professional modality distinct from consulting, training, counseling or mentoring. A coach facilitates a client's potential in pursuit of the client's own outcomes.

Thoughts, information processing, and the way we represent experience in our minds.

A linguistic distinction wherein someone makes relates two statements to mean the same thing, e.g. "She is late, so she doesn't care."

Alignment of beliefs, values, skills and actions. Being in rapport with oneself or as an organization.

Anything in present moment awareness.

An expert in a particular field or subject matter, giving professional advise in that domain.

The specifics and details of an experience. Answers questions such as what, when, where, who and why. Contrasts with process, structure and context.

The setting, frame or process in which experiences occur, which provides meaning to the experience.

Matching another's body language with a different but similar type of movement. E.g. nodding in time with their speaking rhythm.

The complete linguistic form of the statement from which the Surface Structure (what Is actually said) is derived. In general it is the invisible structure which gives rise to a particular visible form.

Omitting a portion of one's experience in language or thought.

Varying between states in a binary fashion. On or off. Digital sub-modalities vary between extremes, such as black and white, as opposed to shades of gray.

Experiencing, seeing, or hearing an experience from outside oneself.

Being outside an experience. Experiencing as a disaffected observer. Contrasts with association.

Changing one's experience or making it different in some way. Changing the meaning of one's experience to be consistent with one's beliefs or perceptions.

Being In a light trance with your attention focused inwards on your own state.

An exploration of the overall consequences of your thoughts and actions in the total network of relationships in which you are integrated.

Drawing out what is important through rapport and questioning skills.

A command inside a longer sentence.

The where and when of our experiences, including whom we are with. Environment is one of the Neurological Levels.

The study of how we know what we know. NLP is one epistemological discipline from the point of how experience is coded in our neurology.

Movement of the eyes in certain directions, which for most people indicate visual, auditory or kinesthetic neurological processing.

Perceiving the world only from one's own point of view. Being in touch with one's own inner reality.

Having many choices of thought and behavior towards an outcome. One of the pillars of NLP.

A method of hypnotic induction (Vogt's fractionation method) where the subject is partially relaxed then roused and asked to recount the experience. Then the hypnosis continues again, with the therapist feeding back the recounted experience and leading the patient still deeper. The cycle of arousal and relaxation continues until the subject achieves the desired depth.

Process of rehearsing a future experience before it happens. One of the key processes for ensuring the permanence of an outcome, and a component of most NLP interventions.

The process of using a few prototypical experiences to neurologically classify all experience.

Memories connected neurologically with similar emotions.

To do with the sense of taste.

A very relaxed and suggestible state where one's consciousness is turned inward, and free association and learning can occur on a subconscious level.

One's self image or self concept. Who you understand yourself to be. Identity is one of the Neurological Levels.

Perceiving a timeline where the past is behind, and the future is in front, with the "now" is presently experienced in the body.

State of being out of rapport with oneself, experiencing an internal conflict as expressed in one's behavior. Incongruence may be expressed sequentially or simultaneously.

The process of leading oneself or another into trance.

Process for putting a new mental strategy in place inside the mind-body so that it operates automatically. Achieved through NLP processes of anchoring, leverage, metaphors, reframing, future pacing, etc.

Talking to oneself.

Tactile sensations and internal feelings, including remembered sensations, emotions and sense of balance.

The representational system one uses to access stored information. E.g. a picture of a childhood acquaintance will evoke many memories of past times together.

Causing another person to follow your behavior, based on having established rapport.

Each individual's unique representation of the world, constructed of their individual perceptions and experiences, filtered by their beliefs.

Adopting parts of another's behavior, skills, beliefs or values to intentionally enhance rapport.

A framework out of which something develops. Literally means "womb".

The skill to resolve a dispute between other parties.

A language model based on universal modelling principles. A set of language patterns and questions that link one's language with one's experience.

Mental and perceptual programs that that govern attention, filtering, and prioritization of stimuli in our inner and outer awareness.

State about a state, e.g. anger about cowardice, joy in revenge, indifference about empowerment.

Indirect communication by story or figure of speech, implying a comparison. In NLP a metaphor includes similies, stories, parables and allegories.

Named after Milton Erickson. The inverse of the Meta Model. Using artfully vague language patterns to pace another person's experience and access unconscious resources.

Presuming to know the intentions or inner state of another person without stating whereby one came by that knowledge.

Using patterns of behavior different from the other person to deliberately redirect, interrupt or bring an end to an interpersonal interaction.

A mode of operating in the world, revealed in linguistics in connection with another verb, such as "have to ___", "want to ___", "must ___", or "supposed to ___".

The process of discerning the sequence of ideas and behavior that enables another person to accomplish a task. Modelling is the basis of all NLP. What one person can do can be modelled by others.

The wisdom of having different points of view surrounding an event, consisting of all of First Person, Second Person and Third Person perspectives.

The study of excellence, or modelling how individuals structure their experience and the study of the structures of subjective experience.

Hierarchal levels of experience consisting of: Environment, Behavior, Capability, Beliefs, Identity, and Spirituality. These levels interface with each other, and we experience different levels in different contexts.

Linguistic term for turning a verb into an abstract noun. E.g. relating is nominalized as "the relationship", turning the process into a subject or an object.

To do with the sense of smell.

A specific, sensory-based, desired goal. One knows what one will see, hear and feel once the outcome is achieved.

Gaining and maintaining rapport with another person over time, by meeting them in their model of the reality.

NLP intervention whereby conflicting parts of one's personality are brought into alignment through chunking up to a common purpose or intention

Used in Milton model language, words that sound the same but the difference is "plane to sea".

Compulsive and inappropriate reframing, or reframing without regard for context.

The positive purpose underpinning any action or belief.

What we assert or predicate about a subject. In NLP: sensory-based words that indicate the use of a representational system.

The Representational System typically used by an individual to consciously thing and organize his or her experience.

Ideas or beliefs that are presupposed, or taken for granted and acted upon.

A relationship of trust and and responsiveness with oneself and others.

Different sensory channels whereby external information is re-presented internally.

Flexibility in thinking, emoting, speaking, behaving. The law of requisite variety implies that the person with the most flexibility of behavior controls the action.

Anything that can help one achieve an outcome. E.g. Physiology, states, thoughts, beliefs, strategies, experiences, people, events, possessions, places, stories, etc.

Shorthand for Representational System.

Experiencing the world from another's point of view and so understanding their reality to some extent.

Modelling one's own states of excellence as resources.

The constant talk in one's head.

The process of learning to make finer and more useful distinctions from the sensory information one gets from the world.

Using subtle word patterns to tactfully shift the frame of reference of a subject. E.g. in response to "you are terrible", "yes, but I'm great where it counts!"

The level of experience where one is most oneself, and one feels most connected with others. Spirituality is one of the Neurological Levels.

The sum of one's thoughts, feelings, emotions, physical and mental energy.

Repeatable sequences of thought and behavior, which consistently produce a particular outcome.

Fine distinctions we make within each representational system. The qualities of our internal representations. The smallest building blocks of our thoughts and experiences.

The visible form of thought patterns derived from the deep structure by deletion, distortion and generalization. Deep Structure is manifested as surface structure by the words that are actually spoken.

An ambiguous sentence with a verb ending in "ing" (a gerund), which can be either an adjective or a verb. For example: Leading people can be interesting.

Perceiving the world from the viewpoint of a detached observer.

A subjective line that connects one's past with one's future, running through one's present moment awareness. The way we store pictures, sounds and feelings about the past, present and future.

A mode of NLP intervention that emphasizes associating into problems in the past or future, and then dissociating from those problems before the problems in the past, or after the problems in the future.

A flow chart model consisting of Test, Operate, Test, Exit. NLP uses representational Systems in conjunction with TOTE to monitor progress toward the desired outcome.

An altered state resulting in a temporary fixed, narrow and inward focus of attention.

Making meaning of general words by searching one's own experience.

Everything not currently in one's present moment awareness.

Nouns that do not clearly state who or what they refer to. E.g. they, or those who.

Verbs that are not clear or have the adverb deleted. E.g. "think" or "do".

In a state with your attention focused outwards.

Shorthand for Visual, Auditory and Kinesthetic representational systems.

A thing that is important to you. A guiding priority.

One's sense of balance.

To do with the sense of sight. A major sensory modality in NLP.

An outcome that is specific, achievable and verifiable.