NLP (Neuro-Linguistic Programming):What is NLP?

What is NLP?

In simple terms my definition of Neuro-Linguistic Programming is the exploration of how we communicate, think and change with the aim of replicating and improving great performance in any context.

NLP training is an exploration of these attributes using both conscious and unconscious processes that leads to increased communication skills, confidence, motivation and success and is directly related to increasing our ability to influence and persuade. It is also effective in overcoming blocks or barriers caused by a lack of these skills.

This can lead not only to personal and business success but also increased personal choice and freedom.

Other related NLP descriptions include:

• Learning to use our brains
• The study of subjective experience, and what can be predicted from it
• The study of human excellence
• The study of programming your brain
• The study of what and how things work

What are the practical applications of NLP?

Applications include:

• Improve what you already do now
• Business skills like improved leadership, coaching, sales, influence and managing change
• Help with personal challenges like smoking, drinking, weight, 'inappropriate' fears
• Seduction and relationships
• Entertainment (like Derren Brown and Paul McKenna)
• Generative Change - Achieving what's important for you in life

 What are the benefits of taking NLP further?

Practitioner certification is designed to improve communication skills (with yourself and others), thinking and change skills that will have a positive impact on your personal and business life.

Our particular Master Practitioner certification is designed to improve your business life and will have a positive impact on your personal life. Through your choice of three modules from coaching, sales, leadership, presentation, change management and hypnotic influence, you select your own route to Master level improvements.

While there are many good NLP trainers, we suggest that if you undertake any NLP training, that is accredited by either one of the co-founders of NLP, Richard Bandler or John Grinder. They have both continued to make significant advances and developments in NLP over the last 30 years - not all trainers have kept up to date. Some people are still training NLP as it was trained 30 years ago - despite what Bandler and Grinder now say.

Exploring NLP is an experiential process and therefore book and theoretical learning beforehand can be as much of a hindrance as help - An NLP taster or NLP Training can give you that experiential experience after which reading can be exceptionally useful for reinforcing the experiential learning.

Understanding NLP, in the traditional sense, is NOT a requisite to being effective at it. Practice is!

NLP Training isn't for everybody, but it's potential (for you) is such that most people owe it to themselves to find out if it's right for them.

However if you are unable or don't want to attend a training we have a recommended selection of books.

What does learning about NLP require of me?

Achieving success with NLP is easy provided that you are prepared to demonstrate a degree of personal courage, honesty and commitment.

Can you explain what the letters NLP stand for?

 Co Founder Richard Bandler and John La Valle explain Neuro-Linguistic Programming as:

Neuro:

The Nervous System through which experience is received and processed through the five senses.

Linguistic:

Language and nonverbal communication systems through which neural representations are coded, ordered and give meaning.

Programming:

The ability to organise or communication and neurological systems to achieve specific desired results.

What else:

Three further building blocks are:

Attitude:

What is the best physical and emotional state to accomplish a task? What are the most appropriate beliefs to have about yourself and your client? We explore which states and beliefs produce the best results in different contexts.

Modelling:

When you want to be the very best at something, find out what people that are already successful are doing to achieve those results. It starts by asking good questions and moves on to learning a little bit like we did as children...without letting our intellect interfere with our learning!

Techniques:

A positive attitude and a passion for modelling will result in many new techniques, techniques are a way of transferring what you've learnt to others. People practicing NLP have produced many useful techniques to help others to reach their objectives and overcome 'blocks' where appropriate.

However the 'spirit' of NLP is as much about attitude and modelling as techniques.

Wikipedia: Another Description of NLP

Wikipedia comes up with a more detailed explanation, which you might find useful from a historical perspective:

"Neuro-linguistic programming is an applied system based on the subjective study of language, communication and change. It was co-founded by Richard Bandler and linguist John Grinder in the 1970s as a method of personal development.

They developed a set of practices and techniques based on modeling successful psychotherapists of the time. However, its application was not limited to psychotherapy, rather they attended to the communication patterns that could be applied generally. Its theoretical foundations borrowed from a range of disciplines, including various psychological fields, linguistics, cognitive science and occupational therapy.

The psychotherapists included Fritz Pearls - he coined the term Gestalt Therapy, Virginia Satir - known for her approach to family therapy and Milton Erickson - an American psychiatrist specializing in medical hypnosis and family therapy.

NLP and its many variants are taught through seminars, workshops, books and audio programs. The field is loosely spread and resistant to a single comprehensive definition. There is also a great deal of difference between the depth and breadth of training and standards."

For more see NLP in Wikipedia. Wikipedia has some useful NLP resources.

Michael 20th March 2010