Sensory based descriptions
Sensory based descriptions - what exactly do we mean by that?
Always remember that confusion precedes understanding.
Probably the best way to explain what is meant by the phrase sensory based descriptions is with a small illustrative exercise.
Take a good look at the guy on the left. In fact, if you want to get a really good look at him click on the image for a larger view.
Now, before you scroll down and read the rest of this page, take a pen and paper and write down a description of the guy in the image above. You don't need to write a huge essay, three or four clear descriptive points should do the trick.
Once you've written your description you can go ahead and scroll down to read the rest of the exercise.
Here are some things you could have written to describe the picture above:-
The man looks angry, as if he's pointing at somebody or something and shouting at them.
He looks scary, as if he's really annoyed.
Now, whilst the picture could lead us to believe that some of these things are true, can we be certain? The answer is no and in fact what we are doing is what's described in NLP as a mind read i.e. we've looked at the picture and made certain judgements without knowing the truth.
Other mind reads about this picture could be that the guy is passionately singing opera, or that he's cheering his favourite football team as they score a goal!
A sensory based description of this image would include only those things which we can verify with our own senses such as:-
His mouth is wide open. His teeth and tongue are visible. There is tension in the skin beneath his eyes and on the bridge of his nose. The skin at the outer edges of his eyes is wrinkled. His left arm is raised. His left hand forms a fist with the index finger pointing towards us.