Translating the FLIP method to German
How to overcome nuances in language when translating a method
Almost one week ago I participated in an integration call for The Leadership Academy by Andra Stefanescu . In this call she presented us her variation of the FLIP method from NLP devised by Drs. Tad & Ariana James. It is a directed (i.e. leading) technique for questioning for a specific result.
How does it work?
Here are the instructions for Andras version to try it yourself. First get a piece of paper and fold it in half on the long edge and draw a line in the middle.
Add the following questions to the top half (Number 1-4):
What is the problem?
What caused this problem?
How have you failed to resolve this?
How can you overcome the solution to your problem?
Then write FLIP.
On the bottom half, write the other four questions (Number 4-8):
What would you like to change?
When will you stop it from being a limitation?
How many ways do you know you’ve solved this?
As we speak, you know you are changing and seeing things differently?
Please be aware that the questions are intentionally written in a way that can cause mental friction at first - this is intended.
Now fold the paper and start with the first four questions. Once completed, FLIP the page to focus on the bottom half instead.
Lost in translation
If you are a native german speaker, you might notice that the questions are not translatable 1:1 into German. That is why I would like to share some ideas and discussion on their translation process.
1. What is the Problem?
Direct translation:
Was ist das Problem?
2. What created the problem?
This question is quite tricky due to the nuanced meaning of "to create" which can either be a godly act or something that just emerges on the way, like a traffic jam that just happened as too many cars enter the highway. I am leaning towards the second option here.
A good translation might be:
What contributed to the problem?
Was hat zu dem Problem beigetragen?
A more systematic approach would be to ask for the ingredients:
Which factors contributed to the problem?
Welche Faktoren haben zu dem Problem beigetragen?
3. How have you failed to resolve this?
The aim of this question seems to be that the other person should take responsibility for their inaction or inability (e.g. I am the victim of these circumstances!) and shift the mindset towards achieving agency (I have the steering wheel and I can do something about it).
The literal translation would be:
Wie hast du versagt, dies zu lösen?
Due to the harshness of "versagt" this comes with some accusation. The confrontation is intended, but it might trigger a strong defense.
In which way did you prevent a solution?
Auf welche Weise hast du eine Lösung verhindert?
This focuses much more on conscious or subconscious blockage / sabotage and on describing one's actions. It is still confronting, but with less resistance and aims at the Agency.
4. How can you overcome the solution to your problem?
The confusing structure of this sentence aims at breaking the logic thinking process and reaching the subconscious. In Karate, you do not aim for the stone brick, but focus on the area behind in order to break through. So I assume that the intention of this question is to break through the problem and the solution by aiming behind the solution.
As I said in the call, don't aim just for the target (the solution) but for the area behind it.
So I am going for a quite literal translation here:
Wie kannst du die Lösung für dein Problem überwinden?
Otherwise translations for overcome could be: bewältigen (cope), meistern (Master), besiegen, bezwingen
Wie kannst du die Lösung für dein Problem bewältigen? (Less friction in here)
Wie kannst du die Lösung für dein Problem meistern?
Wie kannst du die Lösung für dein Problem besiegen?
Wie kannst du die Lösung für dein Problem bezwingen? (I like this one, too. What do you think?)
Another good variation could be:
How can you break through the solution to your problem?
Wie kannst du die Lösung für dein Problem durchbrechen?
The intentional confusion is still there (usually you break through the problem, not the solution), but this question leans more towards the agency of the other person. It comes with a bit of logic thanks to the metaphor of braking through (like in Kung fu) the solution.
FLIP (Umdrehen)
5. What would you like to change?
The best translation I came up with is
Was möchtest du gerne verändern?
I chose verändern instead of ändern and also added the "Gerne" as a positive orientation of the question similar to "like" in the original.
However as pointed out there also could be a Clean Language alternative:
And if all this, what would you like to have happen (now)?
Und wenn dies alles, was möchtest Du (jetzt) gerne, das(s) geschieht?
This summarizes everything we learned about the problem so far, allows the other person to let go of the problem and shifts the focus towards the remedy or even the outcome.
If the other person responds with a remedy instead of an outcome, proceed with the PRO model by asking
and then what happens?
und was geschieht dann?
This allows the other person to shift their attention from a remedy (a screwdriver) to the outcome (hanging a family picture to the wall). You can even spend some time modeling with Clean Language here if you want (and the other person has given consent).
6. And when will you stop it from being a limitation?
Again there is some friction in here.
Und wann wirst du aufhören, dies als Einschränkung zu betrachten?
The beautiful nuance here is the use of the word "dies" for "it". It could basically mean anything in the problem, remedy or even solution space, making this an open question. I believe that this is also the intent of using "it" instead of "the problem". This is pretty similar to the intention of using “dies” in Clean Language and Clean Space.
The use of "betrachten" as in viewing (instead of sein / being) makes it clear that the limitation is subjective to the perception and not an objective fact. This helps promoting the agency to change the situation.
7. In how many ways will you know that you resolved this?
The term "many ways" means that there is no finite number of ways, but still the ways are countable (countably infinite).
A direct translatiom would be:
Auf wie viele Weisen wirst du wissen, dass du dies gelöst hast?
But this does not feel right. A better approach would be saying
Auf welche Art und Weise wirst du wissen, dass du das Problem gelöst hast?
This would translate to "In which different ways will you know that you solved the problem?" It implies there are many and that I can list them without making the question too weird.
For bonus points you can follow up with a question borrowed from Clean Setup by Judy Rees:
And what will you see or hear (when it is like that)?
Und was wirst du sehen oder hören (wenn es so ist wie dies)?
This makes the results more tangible and undeniably. If I can hear a person saying "wow you found sleeping tea helpful" there is clear evidence which I cannot deny - that I found a solution to my Tired but Wired state. Again it might be helpful to model this a bit by asking
And whereabouts is that [X]?
Und wo ist dieses [X]?
And what kind of [X] is that [X]?
Und was für eine Art von X ist dieses X?
And is there anything else about [X]?
Und ist da noch etwas über [X]
8. You know that as we speak, you are changing and you will see things differently?
While one could say this is a commanding, suggestive presupposition used by NLP, the effect on me is more an invitation for reflection on the process I went through with the previous questions and that some change already happened.
This is why I would choose the following as final question:
Are you aware that you are changing through this conversation and will see things differently?
Ist dir bewusst, dass du dich durch dieses Gespräch veränderst und die Dinge anders sehen wirst?
Summary
Here are the eight questions in German, with added Clean Language variants and additons:
Was ist das Problem?
Was hat zu dem Problem beigetragen?
Auf welche Weise hast du eine Lösung verhindert?
Wie kannst du die Lösung für dein Problem überwinden?
Was möchtest du gerne verändern?
Und wenn dies alles, was möchtest Du (jetzt) gerne, das(s) geschieht?
und was geschieht dann? (for remedy → outcome)
Auf welche Art und Weise wirst du wissen, dass du das Problem gelöst hast
Und was wirst du sehen oder hören?
Und wann wirst du aufhören, dies als Einschränkung zu betrachten?
Ist dir bewusst, dass du dich durch dieses Gespräch veränderst und die Dinge anders sehen wirst?
As you can see it is incredibly difficult to capture the original meaning of the nuances while translating to another language. While my approach is a good first step, further testing and refinement is certainly necessary by comparing the effects on clients in both English and German.
If you have any suggestions how these questions can be improved, please just let me know in the comments!
Thank you for mentioning me and happy you find interesting this method!