NLP Core Principles & Techniques 4 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: The NLP technique of 'collapsing anchors' is used to:
- Build a new positive anchor from scratch
- Neutralize a negative state by simultaneously firing a positive anchor (Correct answer)
- Transfer a resourceful state to a future context
- Identify the sequence of a complex equivalent
Correct answer: Neutralize a negative state by simultaneously firing a positive anchor
Collapsing anchors involves simultaneously triggering a negative anchor and a strong positive anchor so they integrate and neutralize the negative state.
Question 2: In NLP, 'chunking up' means:
- Breaking a concept into smaller, more specific parts
- Moving to a higher level of abstraction to find broader categories or purpose (Correct answer)
- Adding more behavioral detail to a plan
- Linking a behavior to a specific context
Correct answer: Moving to a higher level of abstraction to find broader categories or purpose
Chunking up moves from specific details toward broader categories, purposes, or values — useful for finding common ground or higher-level agreement.
Question 3: A client believes 'I must be perfect or I am worthless.' An NLP coach recognizing a limiting belief would FIRST:
- Argue logically against the belief
- Identify the positive intention behind the belief before working to update it (Correct answer)
- Immediately apply the belief change pattern
- Ignore the belief and focus only on behaviors
Correct answer: Identify the positive intention behind the belief before working to update it
NLP presupposes every behavior has a positive intention; uncovering what the limiting belief is trying to protect or achieve is a prerequisite for ecological change.
Question 4: Which representational system does the eye-accessing cue of 'looking up and to the left' classically indicate (for a right-handed person)?
- Visually constructed images
- Visually remembered images (Correct answer)
- Auditory digital self-talk
- Kinesthetic feelings
Correct answer: Visually remembered images
According to classic NLP eye-accessing cue models, up and to the left (from the observer's view) typically indicates visual recall of remembered images.
Question 5: The NLP 'well-formed outcome' criteria require that a goal must be:
- Stated in the negative, measurable, and set by the coach
- Stated positively, self-initiated, and verifiable through sensory evidence (Correct answer)
- Approved by a third party, time-bound, and financially measurable
- Written in first person and reviewed weekly
Correct answer: Stated positively, self-initiated, and verifiable through sensory evidence
A well-formed outcome in NLP must be stated in the positive, within the client's control, and evidenced by what the client will see, hear, and feel when achieved.
Question 6: In NLP, the 'as-if' frame is used to:
- Help a client dissociate from a traumatic memory
- Enable a client to think, feel, and act as if a desired outcome has already occurred (Correct answer)
- Challenge the presuppositions in a client's language
- Establish a kinesthetic anchor for confidence
Correct answer: Enable a client to think, feel, and act as if a desired outcome has already occurred
The as-if frame invites clients to temporarily adopt the perspective of a desired future state or identity to access new possibilities and resources.
Question 7: What does the NLP term 'congruence' mean in the context of coaching?
- Having rapport with the client
- All parts of a person's communication (verbal, tonal, and body language) align (Correct answer)
- Successfully setting a well-formed outcome
- Matching the client's representational system
Correct answer: All parts of a person's communication (verbal, tonal, and body language) align
Congruence in NLP means a person's words, tonality, and physiology all send the same message, indicating internal alignment and authenticity.
NLP Core Principles & Techniques 4
The NLP technique of 'collapsing anchors' is used to: