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Figuring Out People: Reading People Using Meta-Programs
Building on the NLP model of personally and meta programmes, this text focuses not on what people are but how they function.
292 pages, Paperback
First published December 1, 2006
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
October 3, 2007
Figuring People Out came out the same year (1997) as Hall and Bodenhamer's book Mind-Lines and suffers all of the same flaws. Some of this review is verbatim from my review of Mind-Lines, but it applies.
Figuring People Out is Hall and Bodenhamer's presentation of Metaprograms, the NLP concept that people have an idiosyncratic predilection to sort for certain types of information in certain contexts. When the book came out there was only one, hard-to-find book on the subject (by Leslie Cameron Bandler) and most people had to learn the material entirely from course notes or take a class. Shortly after, Shelle Rose Charvet's Words that Change Minds book and tape set would alter that completely.
But Figuring People Out is the only book to give the Hall & Bodenhamer treatment to Metaprograms. The "Hall & Bodenhamer treatment" of an NLP topic is to reduce it to extremely small pieces (whether that is useful or not), re-organize and rename those pieces so they are recognizably different from how other NLP books teach them, and then claim to have invented something new and powerful.
They also write in "e-prime," a style of writing briefly popular in the 80s human potential movement where passive voice is eliminated. Reading a lot of e-prime can be tiring and it certainly sounds unnatural.
Figuring People Out doesn't suffer from much of the horrible layout and typography that Mind Lines does, fortunately. It is actually usable as a reference book. But it goes even further overboard on the small-chunk detail that isn't either useful or entertaining.
The authors' real interest in the material is in how many metaprograms the can list: how many possible unconscious sortings they can invent. This is a rainy-day game: you can keep going forever, and they have clearly tried. After a short while the reader realizes that they have delved into distinctions that only matter because the authors want them to. It could have been a useful way to teach the reader to detect which distinctions are useful in a given context, rather than rely on a list, but it goes on so long that clearly the authors like making lists.
I like making lists, too. I'm a small-chunk person. Analysis is fabulous. But Hall and Bodenhamer use reductive analysis as a substitute for pedagogy. Combined with their academic style, their self-congratulatory tone, and the circumlocutions of e-prime, it guarantees that Figuring People Out will be useful to no one.
Figuring People Out is Hall and Bodenhamer's presentation of Metaprograms, the NLP concept that people have an idiosyncratic predilection to sort for certain types of information in certain contexts. When the book came out there was only one, hard-to-find book on the subject (by Leslie Cameron Bandler) and most people had to learn the material entirely from course notes or take a class. Shortly after, Shelle Rose Charvet's Words that Change Minds book and tape set would alter that completely.
But Figuring People Out is the only book to give the Hall & Bodenhamer treatment to Metaprograms. The "Hall & Bodenhamer treatment" of an NLP topic is to reduce it to extremely small pieces (whether that is useful or not), re-organize and rename those pieces so they are recognizably different from how other NLP books teach them, and then claim to have invented something new and powerful.
They also write in "e-prime," a style of writing briefly popular in the 80s human potential movement where passive voice is eliminated. Reading a lot of e-prime can be tiring and it certainly sounds unnatural.
Figuring People Out doesn't suffer from much of the horrible layout and typography that Mind Lines does, fortunately. It is actually usable as a reference book. But it goes even further overboard on the small-chunk detail that isn't either useful or entertaining.
The authors' real interest in the material is in how many metaprograms the can list: how many possible unconscious sortings they can invent. This is a rainy-day game: you can keep going forever, and they have clearly tried. After a short while the reader realizes that they have delved into distinctions that only matter because the authors want them to. It could have been a useful way to teach the reader to detect which distinctions are useful in a given context, rather than rely on a list, but it goes on so long that clearly the authors like making lists.
I like making lists, too. I'm a small-chunk person. Analysis is fabulous. But Hall and Bodenhamer use reductive analysis as a substitute for pedagogy. Combined with their academic style, their self-congratulatory tone, and the circumlocutions of e-prime, it guarantees that Figuring People Out will be useful to no one.
March 5, 2011
Michael Hall is my favorite Author He is Brilliant and I use all His books in My coaching and training practice
July 6, 2021
On basic level this is topic that should be taught to everyone, at least in it's simplest form - "people think differently from each other, here are 10 main ways how." As simple as that could be of great help to everyone, to avoid ages old "You are not like me, so you are wrong."
I have a colleague who is quite opposite in most ways - I see opportunities, he sees risks, I value everything from my own perspective, he values everybody's opinions. And I was guilty as hell, thinking of him as of "indecisive, pessimistic * * *." Well. Now I can accept that that is the way he operates - and actually to use this to listen to his insights about possible issues not with thin patience, but with genuine interest, knowing that he sees what I'll most likely miss.
I'd like to address two main criticisms I see in other reviews - that this book teaches manipulation and it's length.
Regarding first, it's very well addressed in the book itself - it's up to the reader to use these new people reading skills in responsible way. And sure, practically everything can be used in moral or amoral way - a burger can feed someone or make him fat, a dog will kill a child or save a drowning one, and beer will help you socialize and relax and make you fat and anti-social.
Length seems to be well validated issue, as at one point, I think around program #30 they start to repeat and reference older ones a lot. That is why 4 stars.
I have a colleague who is quite opposite in most ways - I see opportunities, he sees risks, I value everything from my own perspective, he values everybody's opinions. And I was guilty as hell, thinking of him as of "indecisive, pessimistic * * *." Well. Now I can accept that that is the way he operates - and actually to use this to listen to his insights about possible issues not with thin patience, but with genuine interest, knowing that he sees what I'll most likely miss.
I'd like to address two main criticisms I see in other reviews - that this book teaches manipulation and it's length.
Regarding first, it's very well addressed in the book itself - it's up to the reader to use these new people reading skills in responsible way. And sure, practically everything can be used in moral or amoral way - a burger can feed someone or make him fat, a dog will kill a child or save a drowning one, and beer will help you socialize and relax and make you fat and anti-social.
Length seems to be well validated issue, as at one point, I think around program #30 they start to repeat and reference older ones a lot. That is why 4 stars.
January 4, 2008
I love this book for what it is, a nearly encyclopaedic reference source of metaprogram models. The book begins with a concise discussion of metaprograms and the criteria that were used to select the 55 chosen for inclusion in the book. Hall and Bodenhamer exercised all of their talents in this book, neatly deconstructing and profiling the extensive list of metaprograms. Other 'candidate' metaprograms are discussed at the end of the book, leaving open the door for another edition or a companion book at a (much) later time.
The main problem that I have found with this book is not with the content itself, but rather in how it was positioned from a marketing perspective. Many people I know have come to this book expecting it to be a primer on metaprograms, their identification and use. I strongly discourage people from this expectation. The book is written in an grammatical variant of English known as E-Prime. Within the context of a reference publication, this is an excellent choice. Taken as an instructional tool, however, this book can be an understably awkward and circumlocutious read, especially for those who haven't become comfortable with the dynamics of E-Prime.
For my tastes and needs, however, Figuring Out People fit the bill. It provides a useful taxonomy for understanding metaprograms, especially for the well-versed NLP practitioner. It is well organized and respectably comprehensive as of its publishing date. I recommend it for anyone who is seeking to expand their knowledge of metaprograms.
The main problem that I have found with this book is not with the content itself, but rather in how it was positioned from a marketing perspective. Many people I know have come to this book expecting it to be a primer on metaprograms, their identification and use. I strongly discourage people from this expectation. The book is written in an grammatical variant of English known as E-Prime. Within the context of a reference publication, this is an excellent choice. Taken as an instructional tool, however, this book can be an understably awkward and circumlocutious read, especially for those who haven't become comfortable with the dynamics of E-Prime.
For my tastes and needs, however, Figuring Out People fit the bill. It provides a useful taxonomy for understanding metaprograms, especially for the well-versed NLP practitioner. It is well organized and respectably comprehensive as of its publishing date. I recommend it for anyone who is seeking to expand their knowledge of metaprograms.
September 28, 2015
This book could explain why misunderstanding and conflicts happen in life. The rule of 20/80 where 20% are the information from the outside and 80% of information from the inside…. Explains why some people ignore listening to out words and input sometimes.
Good Meta Programs reference.
Good Meta Programs reference.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews