In order to truly empathise with others we need to temporarily let go of our own perspectives and beliefs and ‘try on’ another person’s model of the world. This is the number one presupposition of NLP Communication (Neuro-Linguistic Programming), which if you know anything about NLP, is powerful stuff.
If you don’t know about NLP, the principles which form the foundation of NLP have been modelled from key people who consistently produced superb results, as well as from systems theory and natural laws. We know these as “The Presuppositions of NLP”.
NLP’s number 1 presupposition is… Have respect for the other person’s model of the world:
💜 It is not your responsibility to change their model of the world through an attempt to convince them of yours.
💜 Step into their world, respect their model and be present.
💜 When you build rapport with them, they will like you because you remind them of themselves, and then you will be able to influence them.
Being present is the first step – witnessing their model of the world without judgment of it being different to yours.
Engaging empathy to experience the world from their point of view is the second step. Try it on. Step into their shoes and really understand what it feels like to be them.
Practice this with people who are vastly different from you. Being agile in this way allows us to experience the world differently and to build deeper relationships with our fellow human beings. Plus, we always learn something valuable for ourselves by looking at things from someone else’s perspective.
