1) NLP stands for Neuro-Linguistic Programming

- Neuro refers to the neurological pathways in the brain
- Linguistic refers to the primary way we, as humans, share experience
- Programming refers to ‘repeatable’ behaviours (generally of an unconscious origin)

2) NLP is about Subjective Human Experience

How individuals respond to the ‘reality’ that is ‘out there’, turn it into a reality which is ‘in here’ (pointing to my head) and relate to that experience is the primary interest of NL{

3) NLP was created by John Grinder and Richard Bandler

For the most part this is true, if an oversimplification. NLP refers to the set of tools and approaches defined and collated by Bandler and Grinder in the 1970’s which were directly influenced by behaviourist approaches to human learning; post-modern philosophical ideas like radical-constructivism and the Human Potential Movement.

Key in the development of early NLP ‘models’ were Milton Erickson, Virginia Satir and Fritz Perls whose technique and communication patterns were studied by Grinder, Bandler, Pucelik and others.

4) NLP is about Change

Change is the only constant in the universe. NLP is about supporting change within the individual, change in their behaviours and change in the way the relate to themselves and others. The various NLP tools and approaches support the individual in exploring how their beliefs, attitudes and attitudes drive their perceptions and responses to the world.

5) NLP is about ‘excellence’

NLP practitioners often talk about excellence and the notion of ‘modeling’ it. There is a presupposition that if one person can do something, finding out about HOW they do WHAT they do could be of benefit to others. By modeling communication patterns, behavioural responses and thought processes insights into effective and affective behaviours can be gained.

6) NLP makes broad sweeping generalisations

This is true in as far as the presuppositions which lie at the core of NLP are simply statements of possibility. They are ideas about the nature of perception, behaviour and the way the world works. They are linked by a question which seeks to discover “what would happen if this generalisation were true…?” or “what other choices would be possible if this were true?“

7 NLP is Solutions Focussed

NLP is not about the historical causes of a particular issue or challenge, it is about the current responses to it and the changes that could/can be made to reach/define a more desirable outcome. In this respect NLP challenges current attitudes and possible resistance to change and helps chart a course to a more resourceful future.

8 NLP is about questioning

One of the ‘key’ models in NLP is called the “Meta Model”. This is a framework which is used to connect what is being said by a person to the deeper meanings or truths not stated and the implied values and belief systems. What we say is a short hand version of what we could say or might want to say, feel or would like to feel, think or might want to think. An experienced NLP Practitioner will ask a series of questions, some playful some provoking a lot of thought. in order to connect the ‘words’ with the ‘internal experience’. In doing so the individual can explore the choices they make and the behaviours they adopt.

9 NLP is generative

NLP is always about creating choices and exploring those choices. There is the fundamental belief that the person with the greatest behavioural flexibility will perform better in a range of tasks, challenges and situations.

10 NLP is Holistic

NLP considers the link between Mind and Body; Emotions and Experience; Behaviours and Values. As such it recognises the importance of an individuals belief system. As an approach it will support the individual in questioning any limiting beliefs, behaviours and attitudes and defining empowering beliefs, values and attitudes.

NLP in the therapeutic context can help support people who have a range of behavioural challenges – these would include issues surrounding habits, phobias, self-confidence, inter-personal communication skills, dealing with emotions (anger management) and so forth.

NLP in the coaching context can support individuals, teams and organisations in managing and inspiring change. It helps define targets and goals and the behaviours required to meet those targets and goals.

NLP in the educational context is about teaching, learning, memory and thinking. It is about being able to ask questions, motivate learners and define outcomes.

NLP in the business context is about communicating values, messages and ideas to others in effective, relevant ways.

NLP is an attitude to life – a way of thinking about the world which encourages reflection, focus and action.

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Following on from our previous article, Reducing Stress – Key Success Factors, we will now look at practical ways in which you can reduce stress and anxiety, without recourse to drugs or other expensive and time consuming treatments.

These practical ways are based around NLP – Neuro Linguistic Programming – and we must first understand what this is.

Neuro Linguistic Programming is a collection of techniques that allow us to understand how our minds work, and apply this knowledge so that we can achieve greater success in life and make positive changes to better ourselves.

It is unsurprising therefore that NLP has its basis in Psychology. NLP was founded by John Grinder and Richard Bandler back in the 1970s. Working together, they found a way to turn excellent behaviour into a process. They then sought to teach that process to others, so that anyone can learn excellent behaviour. Their work is based upon their study of eminent experts in human behaviour, including Virginia Satir, Gregory Bateson, Milton Erickson and Fritz Perls.

Bandler and Grinder initially studied these eminent therapists and found them to be excellent communicators – they all generated amazing changes with their clients purely through their conversations and the clever use of their language with their clients. This is where Bandler and Grindler came up with the term Neuro Linguistic Programming:

Neuro – How we use our nervous system to experience the world around us. All the information that enters into our brain using our five senses of sight, sound, touch, smell and taste.

Linguistic – How we use language and other non-verbal communication systems to interpret this information – pictures (is it focussed and clear or hazy), sounds (is it a loud or quiet noise), touch (does it feel rough or smooth), smell (does it smell fresh as a daisy or is it an odour of decay), taste (does it taste too salty or too sweet).

Programming – Once we have interpreted all this information, we run programmes (often unconsciously) to get things done. We are not aware that we are running them; they are just part of our routine. For example, brushing our teeth twice a day, or washing our face, or our daily drive in to work. Using all the information in our mind we can find out what is in that programme. If there’s something that needs changing we can do so. For example if you can write presentations easily but get anxious about standing up and actually presenting, or you find it easy to talk to your boss informally but get nervous when you ask for a promotion or pay rise, or you play sports excellently for fun but always lose in competitions, NLP can help.

NLP teaches you how to change your unwanted actions into excellent actions and behaviours, so instead of feeling anxious about having to lead the client presentation and how you might mess this up, your behaviour would be to feel excited and motivated about how well you will be able to lead the client presentation.

NLP is formed around the concept that all behaviour is rooted in the unconscious mind. The unconscious mind is the bit of the brain that is always functioning, and runs all our necessary programmes, even though we are not aware of this, like making sure we keep breathing when we are sleeping.

The unconscious mind stores all our memories, processes all our experiences, filters everything we feel, hear, see, taste and smell, and it attaches emotion to everything we do.

NLP shows us how to access our unconscious minds, and also provides techniques for making changes at the unconscious level. Because the change is unconscious, it is easier, faster and more permanent.

Consider this example – A few years ago I was standing in my friend’s garden with her, her husband and her two year old son, who was playing at her feet. A large cat suddenly jumped onto her garden wall. She screamed and grabbed her son. He instantly picked up on her fear and started crying. The cat stayed immobile on the wall. Her husband, annoyed that she had taught their son to be frightened of cats, took him from her, and tried to show him that the cat was friendly, but his son was terrified, even though the cat had not attacked anyone. He had learned, in an instant, to be afraid of cats.

Anxiety is a learnt behaviour. The brain does not differentiate between a wanted or unwanted behaviour. It just does things to get results. So, where you have learnt to feel anxious in a situation, you can unlearn that too.

You can also learn positive behaviours instantly. If you change your hair style and everyone tells you how great it looks, you automatically style it that way more often.

Every time you have a moment of realisation like this, your brain makes a new connection and you are learning.

And it is in this ability to use NLP techniques to unlearn unwanted behaviour, and learn desired behaviour, that one solution to anxiety lays.

Look out for the next article in this series shortly.

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The examples are then utilized to produce strategies for quickly altering thoughts, beliefs, and conducts that you might not want or require any longer, or even be aware of. The 2 individuals generally accredited with formulating NLP are Richard Bandler and John Grinder. Bandler was a psychological science student at the University of CA at Santa Cruz in 1970, when he connected with a group led by Grinder, then a affiliate professor of linguistics at the school.

The 2 men got to be acquaintances and started out working together, both molded by the Family Therapy work of Virginia Satir, Fritz Perls’ Gestalt Therapy, and Milton H. Erickson’s work. Bandler used his backdrop in math and computers and Grinder utilized his linguistics cognition to discover patterns and create models.

Both Bandler and Grinder were imprinted with the apparently sorcerers effect that therapists like Satir and Erickson had on their customers, and needed to see if they may break it down to a scientific level, so it may be more easily procreated by anybody, including conversational hypnosis.

Other like-minded individuals got together with Bandler and Grinder, and several of the techniques that are still utilized nowadays were built up, including anchoring, standardization, reframing, representational systems, and assorted personal behavioral change techniques as we; as conversational hypnosis.

Throughout the former seventies, Bandler and Grinder worked at fresh themes and tries out while giving workshops and authoring books. The Structure of Magic, Volumes one and two, Patterns of the Hypnotic Techniques of Milton H. Erickson, Volumes One and two, and Frogs Into Princes were all brought out during the subsequent 5 years.

A lot of these books are chiefly addressed to therapists needing to use hypnosis in their work, however anybody concerned in the subject will discover valuable data there.

By the early eighties Bandler and Grinder had each formulated their own themes about hypnosis and had parted company, each to go forward on his own. A few find that approximately this time hypnosis and NLP lost some of its initial creativeness and went in a temporary falling off, turning into more of a ceremonious band aid New Age therapy, commercialized to individuals with lots of revenue who desired second results.

There was more or less bickering among different sects over who “owned” NLP and conversational hypnosis and who advanced the “real” version. As time went by, NLP and conversational hypnosis grew in fame and acquired many different chains, till its present status as a kind of “open source” system, without any fundamental expert or single owner. This anarchical spirit contributes to its originative vim now.

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