What is NLP?

Let’s start at the beginning

NLP began with a question. What makes the difference between those people who are world class in their field and those who never quite make it? This was the question that really perplexed the developers of NLP. In the mid 1970’s Richard Bandler and John Grinder set out to study what they believed to be excellent behaviour in others, especially in the field of therapy. They noted that particular therapists achieved outstanding results with their clients although they all used different methods. The first therapists they studied were gestalt therapist Fritz Perls, family therapist Virginia Satir, and Hypnotherapist Milton Eriksson MD. By closely studying and modelling these therapists Bandler and Grinder discovered that they could determine what another person did internally to produce excellent results and behaviour externally, and then were able to install that behaviour in themselves.

What they developed became known as Neuro Linguistic Programming. NLP is a set of comprehensive tools for the study of human experience. These tools include advanced communication, psychology, language, modeling excellence in others, strategic thinking and planning, personal growth and development.

Here’s the technical definition

Neuro:
Our nervous system and our mind, through which we process our external experiences. We process these experiences through our five senses - Visual (seeing), auditory (hearing), kinaesthetic (feeling), olfactory (smell) and gustatory (taste).

Linguistic:
Our language (including non verbal language) and words that we use, and their effect on our minds and our motivation. For example, do you focus on what you want to achieve in life or on what you don’t want to achieve?

Programming:
The programmes, patterns of behaviour and strategies that we run that drive the way we behave, our performance and ultimately our results.

So what does this really mean?

There are many ways in which NLP can have an impact on your life.

In personal development, NLP enables us to eliminate limiting beliefs that we have installed in ourselves throughout our lives and to learn how to change negative self talk into positive empowering thought processes. We discover how to set goals that we really achieve and we find out how to use NLP to rid ourselves of those unwanted states and behaviours that have held us back from becoming the best we can be.

In business, we use NLP to improve our communication and influencing skills beyond recognition. We can recognise what it takes to give effective presentations, conduct successful meetings, negotiate and gain control of difficult situations and learn how to make that important sale.

In therapy, we use NLP to assist our clients to make dramatic, fast and lasting changes. NLP enables us to effectively deal with phobias, unwanted states of mind, negative thoughts and low self-esteem.

In education, we use NLP to understand processes for getting our message across effortlessly in different classroom situations and to discover ways of helping others to learn much faster.

With NLP you can learn how to be in charge of your state, create the perfect relationship, achieve success in career and business, make more money, increase motivation and communicate effectively to produce the kind of results you want. One of the best things about NLP is that it has been designed to be learned easily and can be applied into any professional or personal situation.

In other words, NLP is about self-discovery and exploration with the objective of developing our values, beliefs and goals towards peak performance.