The map is not the territory

by Joanna on February 10, 2007

“The map is not the territory” is one of the presuppositions of NLP.

The words we use are not the event or the item they represent. Although the words we use to describe an event are chosen to represent it, the words themselves are not the event itself. We create our own version of reality – our map – based on past experiences, beliefs and memories.

People respond to their ‘map’ of reality, not to reality itself. How people make sense of the world around them is through their senses and from their own personal experience; this means that each individual’s
perception of an event is different. Another key presupposition is respect for the other person’s model – their map – of the world.

NLP can be described as the art of changing our maps to create more choices.

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