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Eric Weil Premium Member
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Eye Pattern
Hello all

I'm fairly new to this forum and this is my first post. I did my NLP Practitioner a few years ago in Australia and used the aquired knowledge mainly to improve the communication with my business partners and relatives...

Something happened a few days ago I never experienced before. I was meeting one of my customer for the first time, and while trying to find out - based on his eye pattern while posing questions - if he's more of an auditory or visual person, I noticed that he constantly looked to his auditory right (my left) when talking or before answering questions. Even when I asked him questions about the past, which he should have been getting from his left recall side (my right), his eyes moved into the construct side.

I automatically assumed that he had a reverse eye pattern (i.e. construct on his left / recall on his right), but was surprised though that no matter what he was speaking about, that required recalling or constructing, he always carried on moving his eyes to the one side (his right)...

As additional info: He was right handed and we sat alone in the meeting room. There was no eyecatcher behind me or somewhere in the room that could constantly have attracted his look...

My question to you the experts in this matter: What would you assume or deduct from his eye pattern in such a situation?

Thank you very much for your feedback

regards

Eric
This post was modified on 04 May 2010 at 02:37 pm.
- 04 May 2010, 2:30 pm
Eric Weil wrote: > Hello all > > I'm fairly new to this forum and this is my first post. I did my NLP > Practitioner a few years ago in Australia and used the aquired > knowledge mainly to improve the communication with my business > partners and relatives... > > Something happened a few days ago I never experienced before. I was > meeting one of my customer for the first time, and while trying to > find out - based on his eye pattern while posing questions - if he's > more of an auditory or visual person, I noticed that he constantly > looked to his auditory right (my left) when talking or before > answering questions. Even when I asked him questions about the past, > which he should have been getting from his left recall side (my > right), his eyes moved into the construct side. > > I automatically assumed that he had a reverse eye pattern (i.e. > construct on his left / recall on his right), but was surprised > though that no matter what he was speaking about, that required > recalling or constructing, he always carried on moving his eyes to > the one side (his right)... > > As additional info: He was right handed and we sat alone in the > meeting room. There was no eyecatcher behind me or somewhere in the > room that could constantly have attracted his look... > > My question to you the experts in this matter: What would you assume > or deduct from his eye pattern in such a situation? > > Thank you very much for your feedback > > regards > > Eric
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Dr. Nico Rose Premium Member Group moderator
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Re^2: Eye Pattern
My question is:

Do you really, really believe in the validity of the eye movement hypothesis?

I know it´s part of "classical NLP" - but I don´t buy into it as much as I used to. I´ve had too many times where it simply didn´t work out.

If I use it at all nowadays - I intensely doublecheck with other cues such as breathing, body posture, language patterns etc.

Maybe it´s time for some "theory revision"?

Best regards,

Nico
This post was modified on 04 May 2010 at 08:10 pm.
- 04 May 2010, 8:01 pm
Dr. Nico Rose wrote: > My question is: > > Do you really, really believe in the validity of the eye movement > hypothesis? > > I know it´s part of "classical NLP" - but I don´t buy into it as much > as I used to. I´ve had too many times where it simply didn´t work out. > > If I use it at all nowadays - I intensely doublecheck with other cues > such as breathing, body posture, language patterns etc. > > Maybe it´s time for some "theory revision"? > > Best regards, > > Nico
Eric Weil Premium Member
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Re^2: Eye Pattern
i would deduct that he is avoiding (subconsciously) images in the past that caused a certain amount of trauma
interesting point I must admit. What about the fact that he doesn't seem to differentiate between construct and recall? What's your opinion?

@Nico

Thanks for your counter question. At that point though, I'd rather be interested in your interpretation of the specific situation, albeit some cues you also use to consider are missing, than to yet generalise the subject ...
This post was modified on 04 May 2010 at 10:13 pm.
- 04 May 2010, 10:09 pm
Eric Weil wrote: > > i would deduct that he is avoiding (subconsciously) images in the > > past that caused a certain amount of trauma > > interesting point I must admit. What about the fact that he doesn't > seem to differentiate between construct and recall? What's your > opinion? > > @Nico > > Thanks for your counter question. At that point though, I'd rather be > interested in your interpretation of the specific situation, albeit > some cues you also use to consider are missing, than to yet > generalise the subject ...
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Dr. Nico Rose Premium Member Group moderator
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Re^3: Eye Pattern
Dear Eric,

Thanks for your counter question. At that point though, I'd rather be interested in your interpretation of the specific situation, albeit some cues you also use to consider are missing, than to yet generalise the subject ...
my (or at least one of) my interpretations is implicitly included in my previous statement:

It could very well just mean nothing at all - apart from, let´s say, this person likes to point the eyes in a specific direction while thinking.

In the "Model of NLP", we´re so used to interpreting every tiny bit of another person´s behavior, that sometimes we forget to think the "unthinkable": it could pretty much just be random behavior.

But staying within the world of NLP, I could very well subscribe to Ray´s interpretation.

What I´ve also encountered a couple of times, is kind of the opposite of what Ray proposes (although so far, I´ve found this with regards to images only):

It could be he´s not avoiding seeing or hearing something, but rather hearing/seeing something specific all the time (unconsciously).

I don´t know about the context you´re talking about, but if he were a coaching client of mine, I would directly adress this behavior in order to get some verbal feedback on that. Often, people don´t explicitly "know" they are "looking" at something. But when I purposely direct their attention to it and ask them what they "are seeing", it suddenly becomes very clear - and then I/we can work with it.

Best regards,

Nico
This post was modified on 05 May 2010 at 12:02 am.
- 04 May 2010, 10:40 pm
Dr. Nico Rose wrote: > Dear Eric, > > > Thanks for your counter question. At that point though, I'd rather be > > interested in your interpretation of the specific situation, albeit > > some cues you also use to consider are missing, than to yet > > generalise the subject ... > > my (or at least one of) my interpretations is implicitly included in > my previous statement: > > It could very well just mean nothing at all - apart from, let´s say, > this person likes to point the eyes in a specific direction while > thinking. > > In the "Model of NLP", we´re so used to interpreting every tiny bit > of another person´s behavior, that sometimes we forget to think the > "unthinkable": it could pretty much just be random behavior. > > But staying within the world of NLP, I could very well subscribe to > Ray´s interpretation. > > What I´ve also encountered a couple of times, is kind of the opposite > of what Ray proposes (although so far, I´ve found this with regards > to images only): > > It could be he´s not avoiding seeing or hearing something, but rather > hearing/seeing something specific all the time (unconsciously). > > I don´t know about the context you´re talking about, but if he were a > coaching client of mine, I would directly adress this behavior in > order to get some verbal feedback on that. Often, people don´t > explicitly "know" they are "looking" at something. But when I > purposely direct their attention to it and ask them what they "are > seeing", it suddenly becomes very clear - and then I/we can work with > it. > > Best regards, > > Nico
Paul Boag
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Re^4: Eye Pattern
Hi

Lets just look at basic NLP principles here,

The look to talk rule.
Primary and lead representational preferences. Eye patterns per say are fine in a therapeutic environment and there are more than one way to find someone's preference. Ie was your customer using or showing signs of a synaesthesia pattern. Lets not forget the presupposition, perception is projection. After all if the eyes don't help listen to the predicates. In NLP there is no hard and fast rules, the signs we calibrate are indications, indications that there is something going on and until we have permission we will not know until we ask. Just to close again not just in NLP a general piece of advise if something is not working change it. As Einstein said "How do you fix a problem with the same thinking that created it in the first place"

Sorry have a good day.
This post was modified on 14 Jun 2010 at 06:18 pm.
- 14 Jun 2010, 09:11 am
Paul Boag wrote: > Hi > > Lets just look at basic NLP principles here, > > The look to talk rule. > Primary and lead representational preferences. Eye patterns per say > are fine in a therapeutic environment and there are more than one way > to find someone's preference. Ie was your customer using or showing > signs of a synaesthesia pattern. Lets not forget the presupposition, > perception is projection. After all if the eyes don't help listen to > the predicates. In NLP there is no hard and fast rules, the signs we > calibrate are indications, indications that there is something going > on and until we have permission we will not know until we ask. Just > to close again not just in NLP a general piece of advise if something > is not working change it. As Einstein said "How do you fix a problem > with the same thinking that created it in the first place" > > Sorry have a good day.
Nico Appel
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Re^5: Eye Pattern
Hi Eric,

you say the person went to auditory constructed before and while answering?
You also said, it didn't matter wether or not he had to access past memories?
Ok, my guess (and it can only be a guess based on your description) is this:
He is rehearsing his utterances. Some people do that and with some it is pretty obvious from observing their accessing cues. Now, it might be that he checks images before that, but that would be very fast and then rehearsing (meaning pre-listening to his answer inside his head) takes some more time, so it is much easier to see than a short little glance at a picture.
Especially if the situation has a certain tension to it, like a sales situation or an interview, this can easily be the case.
You probably won't be able to check that, but it would be interesting to find out, wether the person showed the same pattern when in a private and comfortable situation where he is relaxed and not worrying about saying something wrong. But then again, it might be just the same. Maybe he "learned" that it's better to think before you speak.

Warm regards

Nico
- 28 Jun 2010, 5:18 pm
Nico Appel wrote: > Hi Eric, > > you say the person went to auditory constructed before and while > answering? > You also said, it didn't matter wether or not he had to access past > memories? > Ok, my guess (and it can only be a guess based on your description) > is this: > He is rehearsing his utterances. Some people do that and with some it > is pretty obvious from observing their accessing cues. Now, it might > be that he checks images before that, but that would be very fast and > then rehearsing (meaning pre-listening to his answer inside his head) > takes some more time, so it is much easier to see than a short little > glance at a picture. > Especially if the situation has a certain tension to it, like a sales > situation or an interview, this can easily be the case. > You probably won't be able to check that, but it would be interesting > to find out, wether the person showed the same pattern when in a > private and comfortable situation where he is relaxed and not > worrying about saying something wrong. But then again, it might be > just the same. Maybe he "learned" that it's better to think before > you speak. > > Warm regards > > Nico

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Eye Pattern

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