Surely many of you know the statement: if you cannot change the situation, change your attitude towards it. Of course, in the event of some global personal catastrophe, this approach may not save you, but in many everyday situations it will help save a lot of nerves. This technique is called reframing.

Reframing is a term that came to us from NLP; it comes from the English verb to reframe. Frame is a frame, and to reframe is to place a picture or photograph in a new frame. To better understand what reframing is, let's look at an example from the well-known series of books about Harry Potter.

In the third book, Professor Lupine taught the children how to deal with a boggart, a creature that embodied man's worst fear. To overcome a boggart, it was necessary to “turn the monster into a laughing stock” - to present your fear in a funny and harmless way. Let's say one of the students imagined the stern Professor Snape dressed as his grandmother. This is how reframing works: seeing your fear in a different light, a person stops being afraid.

By the way, reframing is actually used to combat various kinds of phobias (although it does not guarantee a lasting effect if the phobia is deep and neglected). But the fight against phobias is not the only area of ​​application; reframing can be used in almost any life situation. Its essence is that everything has its positive aspects, you just need to be able to see them and take advantage of them.

Reframing is traditionally divided into two main types: context reframing and content reframing. In case of reframing the context This means that in different situations the same event can be both useful and harmful. If we change the context (“but it could have been worse”), we will change the attitude towards the event. Content reframing- this is a shift in semantic emphasis, in this case we change the attitude directly, changing not the context, but our own perception.

In NLP there is a more formal version of this technique - six step reframing, a step-by-step process consisting, as the name suggests, of six sequential steps. But we will not delve into such jungle, but talk about five main ways to reframe that can be used in everyday life.

Reframing by context. We change the perception of an object (event) by comparing it with another. Let's say you bought yourself a phone - not the most sophisticated, but in general, not bad. And we met our friend Vasya, also with a new phone - cool and expensive. And your phone, compared to his, begins to seem bad to you. And if you meet your friend Petya with an old phone that can only make calls and send SMS, your phone will begin to seem better to you. Of course, the example is rather crude, but the main idea is clear: you need to think not about what could be better, but about what could be worse.

Showing the other side. In many situations, we are accustomed to thinking in stereotypes, which determine our negative perception. But we know that every coin has two sides. In almost every situation that seems negative, there is something positive. Let's say you have to get up early every morning to take the subway to work because you don't have a car. But at the same time you save on gasoline and don’t get stuck in traffic jams.

Reframing using the word “but”. This method of reframing is the simplest: for every disadvantage you need to find an advantage. Let's say you were late for work because you were delayed at the passport office, but you have solved all your problems with documents, and you no longer have to stand in line, ask for time off from work and be nervous. But in this case it is better to avoid standard formulations: they usually seem unconvincing because they are used too often, inappropriately and inappropriately.

Reframing with Connotations. Almost every word has a connotation - an emotional connotation, an evaluative component. It is the connotation that distinguishes many synonyms. One word may have a positive connotation, while its synonym may have a negative connotation. For example, the word “donkey” can be associated with stupidity and stubbornness, and its synonym “donkey” can be associated with a willingness to work hard. Reframing with connotations involves replacing words with negative connotations with more positive language. Let's say, the word “will have to” be replaced with “should” (you must agree, debt is not as depressing as hopelessness and coercion).

Reframing with the word “or”. This technique is based on contrast. If we have to do something unpleasant, we need to find an even more unpleasant alternative for it. The hero of one of Robert Asprin’s books said: “Let’s try this: you shake my hand or I’ll rip your heart out.” This is how reframing works in this case: we will choose the lesser of two evils and understand that in fact it is not such an evil.

Certainly, reframing is not a panacea for all occasions, but in many situations it can be very, very useful.

I want to preface the section on reframing with some anecdotes and a well-known psychological trick that may give you some ideas about what reframing is, although some of these stories may be a little confusing.

• The wife says to her husband: “I have two news - good and bad. First, I’m leaving you.” “Which one is bad?” - asks the husband.
• Once upon a time there lived two twin brothers. One was an incorrigible optimist, and the other a hopeless pessimist. The parents decided to balance their perception of the world: for Christmas they put a luxurious toy horse under the Christmas tree, and for the other they put a pile of manure. And then the morning came. The pessimist finds his horse and says: “Well, it’s not real again...” The optimist: “But mine is alive! She just ran away."
• The game of being an evil and a good policeman, when the first one scares and threatens, and the second one pretends to protect the culprit and takes his side. In contrast, one of them begins to be trusted, because against the backdrop of the “evil one” he no longer seems dangerous, although in another situation any policeman would be perceived as a source of danger.

Now let's get serious.

Reframing is a technique that allows you to change your point of view, and therefore the perception of an event or object. The term itself is derived from the English word /gate(frame), i.e. the technique is initially based on changing the frame, environment, due to which the perception itself changes.

As a tool, reframing can be applied in several ways, we will look at five of them.

Reframing by context

This reframing option is based on comparing one object with others, due to which its perception changes. The following experiment was performed many times: the experimental group was shown a geometric figure, next to it there was a larger copy of it. The control group saw the same figure, but on a separate sheet of paper. Both groups had to eyeball its size. At the same time, the level of technical readiness in both groups was the same. Most people who viewed the figure next to a larger one rated its size as smaller compared to participants in the control group. Thus, we see that by choosing a certain series for comparison, we can change the perception of the interlocutor.

Let's do a little experiment. Two situations are described below. I ask you to honestly answer the questions that summarize them. Then you can decide for yourself whether this technique works.

Situation 1. Imagine that you were walking down the street and dropped your wallet, which contained $300, a passport, a driver's license, checks from your last business trip for which you had to account for the advance you received, and some small items. Will you be upset? (Here I ask you to give an answer.) After a sleepless night, during which you imagined all the problems: you need to restore documents, you will have to travel by metro, an important business trip may be canceled because you don’t have a passport, etc., you go downstairs up the stairs and in the mailbox you find your wallet with your passport, license, checks (there are still noble people, they took care of you!), but without 300 dollars (noble, but the temptation is great). Will you be happy? (Again, please answer as honestly as possible.) I think you're happy.

Situation 2. Now let's imagine the situation a little differently: you were walking down the street and dropped $300 from your pocket. Will you be upset or happy? I think you'll be upset.

Returning to sales, reframing by context can be appropriate and effective in many situations:

• Comparison not with a “cheaper”, but with a more “expensive” or comparable competitor in terms of pricing. Any other series favorable for comparison is appropriate (there may be quality, service and other characteristics).
• Offering initially more stringent terms or higher prices in order to be able to offer concessions later on that will create an impression of positivity compared to what was before.
• The method of “disadvantages” - the client is named and positioned as a disadvantage to a certain insignificant characteristic of a product or service, after which they are presented with an important advantage, which, against the background of this small defect, “will sparkle with all the colors of the rainbow.”
• When demonstrating a product (you can remember the experiment with figures).

Showing the other side

Most of us are at the mercy of stereotypes that are difficult to fight. As a child, I learned about this game: you need to ask a person to answer questions in one word as quickly as possible. And the questions were: a famous poet, a fruit, a part of a face. So, eight out of ten named such a series (by the way, you can check with what you yourself would answer) - Pushkin, apple, nose. Thus, most people think in stereotypes.

There are also many common stereotypes in business that it is important to be able to destroy with the help of reframing. Before I name some of them and ask you to practice as usual, here are funny examples of this type of reframing:

• Need to wash? - You will be clean and neat / The skin dries.
• Do you dress fashionably? - You make a spectacular impression / The same as everyone else.
• The same as everyone else? - People around you will respond positively to you / You are standard, devoid of individuality.
• Small stature - Comfortable to fit in any aircraft, even the AN-24 / You are hard to see during a public presentation.

And this can continue ad infinitum.

s®- TASK 1

Reframe by showing the other side for the following situations:

• No discounts.
• There is a deferred payment, but the goods are not issued for sale.
• The products are very expensive, there are few buyers in the region.
• There are no recommendations from Russian users (complex equipment, pharmacy).

Reframing using “ZATO”

This is perhaps the simplest method of reframing from a technical point of view: it is similar to weighing or compensating for some disadvantage with a significant advantage. Its standard formulation is “expensive, but high quality.” Advice: when reframing, try to avoid patterns that are no longer perceived normally (this is one of the well-known psychological patterns: from too frequent repetition where necessary and not necessary, words lose their power of persuasiveness and become an “empty sound”). It’s better to carefully think about what advantages we can counter with the disadvantages, and present them using “ZATO”:

• The mobile phone is large (traditionally perceived as a minus), BUT there is a large display and convenient buttons.
• The price is high, BUT the package is complete and you can immediately get everything you need.
• You pay more up front, BUT you save in the end (for example, if you compare a subscription to a newspaper or magazine with a retail purchase).

C3> TASK 2

Reframe using ZATO. You can imagine what might outweigh the disadvantages that are listed here:

• Work on prepayment.
• No additional accessories included.
• The monitor is too small.
• This product is not advertised at all (from the end consumer).
• This product is not advertised at all (from the outside)

• Delivery takes too long.
• Overly complex technology (end user).
• The same (intermediary).
• The product is not “promoted” (intermediary).
• None of my friends have used the product.

Reframing using connotations [evaluative components of a word)

From school years, I want to believe, we remember that words contain meaning and evaluation, that is, one name can have different emotional connotations. A classic example is “our” intelligence officer and “their” spy. If we conduct a focus group and interview a hundred people on the street, asking them to name associations with the words “scout” and “spy,” then we will most likely receive diametrically opposed answers: the scout will turn out to be a valiant hero, he will be “ours,” but the spy will turn out to be vile, sneaky, cunning and hostile. This is how a different attitude to the fact is formed, although, having opened the explanatory dictionary, you will see that both a “scout” and a “spy” are a person who collects secret information about his enemy, perhaps behind the lines of this very enemy. Thus, we see how a word can shape perception and attitude towards the phenomenon or fact itself.

Case Study

The client purchased a technical device (for example, a mobile phone, computer, or something similar). During operation, the device broke down. The customer, rightly indignant, comes to the store where he made the purchase to make a claim. In response to the complaint, the seller states that the client will have to obtain a conclusion from the service center, after which he will be able to change his purchase or return the money.

With& TASK 3

There are only three options (as many as three options!) to choose from: commitment and agreement/you will have to and you can/the problem and the issue that we can discuss. Thus, always try to choose wording that allows us to form the perception of the client that is most beneficial to us.

Working in contrast when using an alternative question (OR]

Here I would like to once again recall an episode from the old Soviet film “Foundling”, in which the heroine Faina Ranevskaya utters the phrase that has become a classic: “Mulya, don’t irritate me!” This heroine, wanting to convince a lost girl to go with them to the dacha, frames the question like this: “Girl, what do you want - to go to the dacha with us or to have your head torn off here?” In other words, a trip to the dacha itself may not be so attractive, but compared to a severed head, perhaps it’s still worth thinking about...

Thus, the last reframing option we offer is working on contrast, a technique that allows you to emphasize exactly what the client should pay attention to first of all.

se- TASK 4

• Do you prefer to overpay for advertising or pay the real price?
• -

We looked at several options for using such an effective technique as reframing in negotiations and sales. All you have to do is look at the answers to the tasks at the end of the chapter. And now a few words regarding the socio-philosophical aspect, which, as you noticed, is not typical for this pragmatic book.

Reframing allows you to improve your internal psychological comfort and the atmosphere around you, as well as improve the quality of your life, for example:

• A not very pleasant event happened in my life. How can I benefit from this in the future? What are two or three advantages to this situation?
• When I meet a new person, I try to find two or three things that I like about him.
• It is also important to try to look at stereotypes from a new angle.

Reframing is useful not only as an effective technique for answering doubts and objections, but also as a successful method of preventing them. Therefore, try to create for yourself as many reframing options as possible that will help you avoid wasting time when dealing with doubts. Although you can look at this from a different point of view (again with the help of reframing): more doubts - more training - more confidence in your own abilities and qualifications.

T Answers to tasks

EXERCISE 1. Reframe by showing the other side for the following situations:

The “high price” objection from the end consumer.

A prestigious price that confirms the level of the product.

The same, but from the side of the intermediary.

This product will give you the opportunity to attract more affluent buyers and earn more.

No discounts.

The price is lower than that of competitors / We do not force clients to bargain / We give you the opportunity to get optimal conditions from the very beginning.

There is a deferred payment, but the goods are not issued for sale.

The product has a confirmed sales history, so you do not need to play it safe.

The products are expensive and there are few buyers in the region.

This is an elite product that will help you, on the one hand, attract the most solvent clients, and on the other hand, it will eliminate the need for large labor costs for your sellers, which are inevitable when working with mass buyers.

The products are cheap and not prestigious.

This product will allow you to attract customers without any extra effort.

The product has a short shelf life.

We take the quality of the product seriously, so we put an expiration date on the packaging, during which the product retains all its properties as much as possible.

More expensive than products from another manufacturer (but longer service life).

You can save by repurchasing later.

More expensive than a competitive product, but by using this product you can save on another.

You save on... (business specifics). Agree, the savings as a whole are important, not just the price of a unit of goods.

Therefore, we came to exactly the one who can authoritatively give such recommendations, because everyone listens to your opinion.

TASK 2. Reframe using ZATO. You can fantasize what might outweigh the disadvantages that are listed here:

• Work on prepayment- But you save working capital and earn more.
• No additional accessories included- But you buy only what you have chosen yourself and what you really need.
• Monitor is too small- But higher image clarity and space saving.
• This product is not advertised at all (from the end consumer)- But you don’t overpay for advertising.
• This product is not advertised at all (by the reseller)- But the market share...
• Delivery takes too long- But you get exactly the equipment that you need.
• Overly complex technology (end user)- But there are many opportunities.

Same (intermediary)- But the consumer perceives it as the most modern and advanced.

• The product is not “promoted” (intermediary)- But you can be the first and not waste money on competition.
• None of my friends have used- But you can make a decision on your own and surprise them.

TASK 3. Reframe the “call” for a trip to the service center so that it sounds positive.

You will have the opportunity to quickly resolve the issue and receive qualified service from the manufacturer’s certified service center. You will be able to choose either a qualified repair or a refund based on an official conclusion.

TASK 4. Determine what idea this reframing option allows you to optimally convey to the client:

Tell me, is the price of the product as such or how much you can earn on it (for the intermediary) important to you?

Profit is more important, a high price with good demand is only an advantage.

Would you prefer that I give a short deadline or a real one that will actually be respected (by both the end consumer and the intermediary)?

Is it worth insisting on conditions that are not realistically feasible?

Would you like to get real savings or just the appearance of them (both the end consumer and the intermediary)?

Makes you think about the real benefits compared to imaginary advertising gimmicks.

Allows you to convince the buyer to purchase a product that was not intensively advertised.

You would like your purchase to be relevant for you for a long time (fashionable, prestigious, practical - depending on the product) or so that you will soon have to spend money on an advanced product again?

It suggests that you should buy a more expensive option now rather than think about buying again soon (this is not true for all products, but for those that quickly become obsolete or go out of fashion).

Would you like to be able to grow with the market without additional investment or compete at higher costs (for the intermediary)?

Makes you think about the feasibility of entering the market with a new product.

Would you like to get higher gross margins from new prestigious brands or work with popular mass brands with minimal margins (for the intermediary)?

See previous answer plus exclusive for argument.

Would you like to receive a product at the lowest price or also a reliable partnership that gives you confidence for the future (for the intermediary)?

It makes you think about receiving a large package of services and guarantees, but you will have to work with an expensive product.

Is it only the price that is important to you, or also the satisfaction (loyalty) of your customers (for the intermediary)?

Makes you think that you should take into account the level of not only prices, but also quality.

Read: 2,631

I’ll say right away that the topic is long and interesting. Why long? Because it not only includes the answer to the question: what is reframing, but also teaches how to handle and live with it correctly. Understanding the term stimulates interest in the essence, and then you just want to change your life for the better and learn to see the glass half full rather than empty.

I think there will be not just one, but several articles on the topic of reframing.

What is reframing

To put the term into simple words, it is the ability to look at situations and problems “from the other side.”

If we go into translations and exact meanings, we get the following breakdown:

• to reframe - place a painting or photograph in a new frame.

That is, for a familiar picture you just need to change the frame, and it will take on a different look.

The term "reframing" first appeared in NLP, but today it can be found anywhere.

For example, the standard funnel for store salespeople includes handling objections.

“Yes, there are no discounts on our products, but we work at supplier prices and offer the lowest price for products in the city.” This is reframing.

Reframing is also actively used by psychotherapists and coaches, teaching them to see the positive behind the negative and the important among the mediocre.

Types of reframing

It is customary to divide:

• Context reframing. This is exactly a look at the situation from the outside. Code phrase: “it could have been worse.” Shifting the context to the positive changes the perception of the entire situation.
• Content reframing. Here everything becomes more interesting, since the assessment of a situation or problem changes when semantic accents shift. The work is carried out not with the context, but with one’s own perception.

Reframing can occur as “merging” or “uncoupling.” Understanding is hidden in the terms themselves.

"Disconnection"- This is the fragmentation of a situation or problem into individual elements. The problem of “everything is bad” must be divided into “what exactly is bad.” There may be options: health, finances, children, husband, parents, work, acquaintances, vacation, etc. When “what exactly is bad” is clarified, you can already consider the problem itself and look for its solution.

"An association" accordingly, it is worked out in the opposite way - with access to a higher, sometimes even abstract level of information. You know, this is their series of “spin a bad situation to the very end,” and then either be horrified and let go, or see a solution. Also included in the unification is avoidance of the personal. Forums can be a good example here. When a person shares a problem with them, a very common answer is “this happened to me too.” This helps to switch from a personal perception to a complex and abstract one and see the solution to the problem.

In the next article I will talk in more detail about the types of reframing. With examples.

No event in itself is either good or bad; everything is determined by a person’s life situation, his tasks, desires and circumstances.

Three hairs on your head is not enough. And three hairs in soup is too many...

By looking at the situation differently, you can see other facets in it, and someday the problem will turn into a trifle, someday into a creative task or into new opportunities. Reframing is a “change of frame” when looking at a situation that worries a person, offering a different way of understanding what is happening. The task of rethinking in the style of reframing is to find either a more adequate or a more optimal view of what is happening.

Parting is a loss, but it is also an opportunity to create new relationships. Or, as the famous song puts it, “If a friend left for someone else, it’s not clear who was lucky!”

Reframing is one of the popular tools in the work of coaches, consultant psychologists and psychotherapists. It does not always make sense to work with the problem that is most disturbing to a person; sometimes it is more appropriate to work with the attitude towards the problem. Change your perspective, focus your attention on other aspects, and you will change the meaning of the situation. Change the meaning of a situation and you will change the feelings associated with it. Consequently, your behavior will change: you will have a choice. NLP has developed a 6-step reframing technique used to work with addictions, anxiety and psychosomatics.

The power of psychotherapy and the psychological approach in general is the ability to change your attitude towards what is happening without changing anything in real circumstances. "Let's work on your problem!" in the language of a psychotherapist, it can mean “Let's think about how we can look at this problem differently. Maybe this is not only a problem, but also an opportunity? And in general, is everything okay?”

A man came to see one psychotherapist and complained about his wife, saying that she was too picky. “This is simply impossible!!! - he shouted. - When we go shopping with her, she can spend the whole day trying on and going through things, but never buying anything! At the same time, I stand and wait for her to buy at least something. Even to choose washing powder, she must carefully think through and check everything...” After listening to this story, the psychotherapist said: “So can you imagine - out of all the men in the world, she chose you!” - An example from the book by A. Pligin and A. Gerasimov “Guide to the NLP Practitioner Course.”

But this often turns out to be a weakness of the psychological approach, avoidance of solving real problems and a passion for “rethinking” where real treatment or a real change in life circumstances is required. Probably everyone remembers the popular joke: “I went to a psychoanalyst for two years about enuresis. - Well, how was it cured? - No, the enuresis did not go away, but now I’m proud of it!” Probably, in case of enuresis, you don’t need reframing, but consult a good doctor.