Chapter 4  Values and Criteria

The Structure of Meaning

Meaning has to do with the intention or significance of a message or experience. The term, from the Middle English menen (Old English maenan ), is akin to Old High German meinen, which meant "to have in mind." Thus, meaning relates to the inner representations or experiences that are associated with external cues and events.

NLP processes and models, such as those characterized by Sleight of Mouth, were developed to explore and discover "how" we symbolize, signify or represent experiential data, and how we interpret or give that data inner significance in our maps of the world—in other words, how we make "meaning." From the NLP perspective, meaning is a function of the relationship between "map and territory." Different maps of the world will produce different inner meanings for the same experiential territory. The same incident or experience in the external world will take on different meanings or significance to different individuals, or different cultures, depending on their internal maps. Having a lot of money, for instance, may be looked upon as "success" for some people, but a "risk" or a "burden" by others. As another example, belching, in an Arabic culture, typically signifies, "thanks for the satisfying meal." In other cultures, however, it may mean that the person is suffering from indigestion, is unmannered, or rude.

All animals have the ability to create codes and maps of the world and to give meaning to their experience of these maps. Meaning is the natural consequence of interpreting our experience. What meaning we make and how we make it is connected with the richness and flexibility of our internal representations of the world. A limited map of an experience will most likely produce a limited meaning. NLP emphasizes the importance of exploring different perspectives and levels of experience in order to create the possibility of discovering different potential meanings with respect to a situation or experience.

Because meaning is a function of our internal representations of our experience, altering those internal representations can alter the meaning an experience has for us. Sensory representations constitute the 'deep structure' of our language. Feeling "success" is a different experience than visualizing it or talking about it. Shifting the color, tone, intensity, amount of movement, etc., (the "submodality" qualities) of internal representations can also alter the meaning and impact of a particular experience.

Meaning is also greatly influenced by context . The same communication or behavior will take on different meanings in different contexts. We will respond differently if we see someone apparently shot or stabbed on the stage of a theater, than if we see the same behavior in the alley behind the theater. Thus, perception of context and contextual cues is an important aspect of the ability to make meaning of a message or event.

The mental frames we place around our perception of a situation, message, or event serves as a type of internally generated context for our experience. Perceiving a situation from a "problem frame," will focus our attention on certain aspects of that situation, and attach different meanings to events, than if we perceive the same situation from an "outcome frame" or a "feedback versus failure frame." Assumptions about the intent behind a behavior or communication also create a type of frame that influences the way in which they are interpreted. This is what makes the NLP processes of Framing and Reframing such powerful tools with which to transform the meaning of a situation or experience.

Another influence on meaning is the medium or channel through which a message or experience is received or perceived. A spoken word will trigger different types of meaning than a visual symbol, a touch or a smell. Media theorist Marshall McLuhan claimed that the medium through which a particular message was transmitted had more impact on how that message was received and interpreted than the message itself.

Thus, the way a person makes meaning of a communication is largely determined by the para-messages and meta messages that accompany that communication. Non verbal "meta messages" are like guides and markers on transmitted messages which tell us how to interpret a message in order to give it the appropriate meaning. The same words, said with different intonation and voice stress patterns, will take on different meaning (i.e., there is a difference between "No?", "No.", and "No! ").

One of the fundamental principles of NLP is that the meaning of a communication, to the receiver, is the response it elicits in that receiver, regardless of the intention of the communicator . There is a classic example of a medieval castle that was under siege by foreign troops. As the siege went on, the people within the castle began to run out of food. Determined not to give up, they decided to show their defiance by putting every last bit of their food in a basket and catapulting it over the wall at troops outside. When the foreign soldiers, who were also getting low on supplies, saw the food, they interpreted it to mean that the people in the castle had so much food that they were throwing it at the soldiers to taunt them. To the surprise of the people in the castle, the troops, who had become disheartened by their interpretation of the message, abruptly abandoned the siege and left.

Fundamentally, meaning is a product of our values and beliefs . It relates to the question, "Why?" The messages, events and experiences that we find most "meaningful" are those which are most connected to our core values (safety, survival, growth, etc.). Beliefs relating to cause-and-effect and the connection between perceived events and our values largely determine the meaning we give to those perceived events. Altering beliefs and values can immediately change the meaning of our life experiences. Sleight of Mouth Patterns operate to shift the meaning of events and experiences by updating or altering the values and beliefs associated with

them.

Values and Motivation

According to Webster's Dictionary, values are "principles, qualities or entities that are intrinsically valuable or desirable." The term "value" originally meant "the worth of something," chiefly in the economic sense of exchange value. The use of the term was broadened to include a more philosophic interpretation during the 19th century; under the influence of thinkers and philosophers such as Friedrich Nietzsche. These philosophers coined the term axiology (from the Greek axios , meaning "worthy") to describe the study of values.

Because they are associated with worth, meaning and desire, values are a primary source of motivation in people's lives. When people's values are met or matched, they feel a sense of satisfaction, harmony, or rapport. When their values are not met, people often feel dissatisfied, incongruent, or violated.

As an exploration of your own values, consider for a moment how you would respond to the following questions, "In general, what motivates you?" "What is most important to you?" "What moves you to action, or

'gets you out of bed in the morning?'" Some possible answers might be:

Success

Praise

Recognition

Responsibility

Pleasure

Love and Acceptance

Achievement Creativity

Values such as these greatly influence and direct the outcomes that we establish and the choices that we make. The goals that we set for ourselves are, in fact, the tangible expression of our values. A person who has a goal to "create an effective team," for instance, most likely values "working together with others." A person whose goal is to "increase profits" probably values "financial success." Similarly, a person who has a value of "stability" will set goals that are related to achieving stability in his or her personal or professional life. Such a person will seek different outcomes than a person who values "flexibility," for example. A person who values stability may be content with a 9 to 5 job that has consistent pay and involves well established tasks. A person who values flexibility, on the other hand, may try to find work involving a range of tasks and a variable time schedule.

A person's values will also shape how that individual "punctuates" or gives meaning to his or her perception of a particular situation. This determines which kinds of mental strategies a person selects to approach that situation and, ultimately, that person's actions in that situation. A person who values "safety," for example, will constantly evaluate a situation or activity from whether or not it harbors any potential "danger." A person who values "fun" will assess the same situation or activity seeking opportunities for humor or play.

Values, then, are the basis for motivation and persuasion, and serve as a powerful perceptual filter. When we can connect our future plans and goals to our core values and criteria, those goals become even more compelling. All Sleight of Mouth patterns revolve around using language in order to relate and link various aspects of our experience and maps of the world to core values.

Criteria and Judgment

In NLP, values are often equated with what are known as "criteria", but the two are not entirely synonymous. Values relate to what we desire and want. Criteria refer to the standards and evidences we apply in order to make decisions and judgments. The term comes from the Greek word krites , meaning "judge." Our criteria define and shape the types of desired states that we will seek, and determine the evidences we will use to evaluate our success and progress with respect to these desired states. For example, applying the criterion of "stability" to a product, organization or family, will lead to certain judgments and conclusions. Applying the criterion of "ability to adapt" may lead to different judgments and conclusions about the same product, organization or family.

Criteria are often associated with "values," but they are not synonymous. Criteria may be applied to any number of different levels of experience. We can have environmental criteria, behavioral criteria and intellectual criteria as well as emotionally based criteria. From this perspective, values are similar to what are called core criteria in NLP.

Values and core criteria are classic examples of "subjective" experience; in contrast with "facts" and observable actions, which represent "objectivity." Two individuals can claim to have the same values and yet act quite differently in similar situations. This is because, even though people may share similar values (like "success," "harmony," and "respect"), they may have very different forms of evidence for judging whether these criteria have been met or violated. This can be the source of either conflict or creative diversity.

One of the challenges in defining, teaching, debating, or even talking about values and criteria is that the language used to express them is often very general and 'non-sensory based'. Values and core criteria are expressed by words such as: "success," "safety," "love," "integrity," etc. These types of words, known as nominalizations in NLP, are notoriously "slippery." As labels, they tend to be much farther removed from any specific sensory experience than words like "chair," "run," "sit," "house," etc. This makes them much more susceptible to the processes of generalization, deletion and distortion. It is not uncommon for two individuals to claim to share the same values and yet act quite differently in similar situations, because their subjective definitions of the values vary so widely.

People, of course, also frequently operate from different values. One person, or group, may seek "stability" and "security" while another desires "growth" and "self development." Recognizing that people have different values and criteria is essential for resolving conflicts and managing diversity. Culture contact, mergers between organizations and transitions in a person's life often bring up issues related to differences in values and criteria.

The principles and patterns of Sleight of Mouth can be used to help resolve problems and issues relating to values and criteria in a number of ways:

1. "Chaining" criteria and values by redefining them

2. Chunking Down to define "criterial equivalences"

3. Chunking Up to identify and utilize "hierarchies" of values and criteria

Chaining Criteria and Values by Redefining Them

Situations often arise in which there seem to be differences in the core values or criteria of individuals or groups. A company, for example, may have a core value of "globalization." Some individuals within the company, however, may be driven by the criterion of "security." These types of seemingly fundamental differences can create conflict and dissension if not properly addressed in some way.

One way to deal with perceived conflicts in values is to use the Sleight of Mouth pattern of redefining in order to create a "chain" linking the different criteria. As an example, "globalization" can be easily reframed to "working together with diverse people." "Security" can be reframed to "the safety of being part of a group." In many ways, "working together with diverse people" and "being part of a group" are quite similar. Thus, the simple verbal reframes have closed the gap between the two seemingly incompatible criteria.

As another example, let's say a company has a highly valued criterion of "quality;" but a particular person or team within that company values "creativity." These two values might initially seem at odds with one another. "Quality," however, could be reframed as "continual improvement." "Creativity" could be reframed as "producing better alternatives." Again, the simple reframes help people to see the connection between the two seemingly disparate criteria.

Try this out yourself using the spaces provided below. Write two seemingly opposed criteria in the spaces titled Criterion #1 and Criterion #2. Then, reframe each criterion using a word or phrase that overlaps with the criterion but offers a different perspective. See if you can find reframes that "chain" the two initial criteria together in a way that make them more compatible.

One example might be:

Try finding reframes that help to chain the two criteria listed below: