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Chapter 8
Figure 8-1. This illustration shows
what you see when looking at
another person.
POSITIVE DESCRIPTIVE STATEMENTS
The NLP tool of using positive descriptive statements is a very useful tool in communicating
with patients. A positive descriptive statement is a statement describing the behavior that you want
the patient to do, rather than the behavior that you don’t want. For example, if you tell a child,
"don’t spill the milk," he or she first has to visualize spilling the milk in order to "not" spill it. If I
tell an adult, "don’t cross your legs" as a hip precaution, he or she first has to visualize crossing his
or her legs in order to "not" cross them. The health care practitioner might want to say "keep your
legs parallel" or "keep your feet pointing straight ahead" so that the person can visualize only the
outcome that you are recommending.
When working with children, elderly patients, or patients who are easily confused, the use of
positive descriptive statements can make a big difference in the patient’s understanding of your
directions. When writing home programs for patients, using positive descriptive statements can
be extremely helpful in assisting the patient to understand the exercise you want him or her to
practice.