Perceptual Positions - gaining new insights and understanding

Perceptual Positions

Take and understand different point of view

Your perception of any experience depends on the position from where you perceive it. There is never just one way to look at something – there are always different perspectives, meanings, and perceptions, depending on who, why and how is looking.

Perceptual Positions, example of perceptions: cylinder, circle

Taking different perceptual positions enables you to step out of what you are currently experiencing and gather new information by seeing things from a different perspective.

Perceptual Positions, example of perceptions: 6 or 9

Taking different perceptual positions helps you gain new understanding through seeing things from different perspectives. "He who knows only his own side of the case, knows little of that," said John Stuart Mill.

Same Reality, Different Perceptions

SWOT Analysis of Novelty

Example of Completely Different Perceptions

"The bird thinks it is an act of kindness to give the fish a lift in the air." ~ Rabindranath Tagore

Another Example of Completely Different Perceptions

Senator Lindsey Graham stated on Fox News that Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, who was captured by the US in January 2026, could be safe in Turkey, but he's in jail in New York – President Trump actually offered him a "way out."

From U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham's perspective, Venezuelan President Maduro is a loser, but from the perspective of unyielding fighters, Maduro is a hero and a victor, choosing not personal safety but the independence and prestige of his country.

Different Perceptual Positions Can Help You:

▪ improve rapport

▪ check out the possible results of choices and actions before acting on them

▪ understand where others are coming from in negotiations, conflicts, or disagreements

▪ reconnect with your own feelings and needs

You can also check out how your own words and behavior may be impacting on other people, and how they may be feeling about you and your actions. This new knowledge will help you make the necessary changes in your behavior and thus achieve desired outcomes.

Perceptions

Selective Perceptions

Marketing is a Battle of Perceptions

Assessment of Business Ideas

4×2 Perceptual Positions

6 Thinking Hats

SWOT Analysis

Weighted Guiding Principles (WGP)

See the whole elephant

Remember the parable "The Six Blind Men and the Elephant"? In it, each of the blind men touched a part of the elephant and then commented on what the elephant looked like. By combining all their opinions, we can form a more complete picture of what an elephant really is.

Six Blind Men and the Elephant - example of different perceptions

Disney Creativity Strategy

Walt Disney was true genius at turning fantasies into reality.
Disney Creativity Strategy involves three perceptual positions working in coordination with one another: ① Visual imagery, ② Kinesthetic feelings, and ③ Re-viewing the story in memory... More

4 NLP Perceptual Positions

Self: you are in your own body, looking out through your own eyes, seeing things from your point of view

Other: step into your prospect's shoes, imagine what it's like to be him or her, look at the world through his or her eyes

Observer: take a concerned observer's view of events in which you are involved, access the view or comments of your 'wiser self'

We: the viewpoint from the perspective of the system as a whole.

Explore Your Relationships

Explore the relationship from the other person's point of view. Imagine how they experience your behavior. What sort of label would they put on it? How do they feel? Shake off that emotional state before continuing... More

Knowing People

Mental Maps

Harmonious Relationships

Rapport

"If I were a client"

Charles Schwab, the founder of the US leading discounted stock brokerage company, has talked about his effort to assume the perspective of his customer. "I am like a chief. I like to taste the food. If it tastes bad, I don't serve it. I'm constantly monitoring what we do, and I'm always looking for better ways we can provide financial services, ways that would make me happy if I were a client."

Passion for Customers

Customer Care

Customer Value

Customer-driven Innovation

Customer Experience Management

Slides

People Skills

Notes