What is NLP?

by Peta Heskell

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It's a question that can have as many replies as the number of people who answer it. Here are some definitions. When you have read them you may begin to ask yourself what does NLP mean to you?

NLP is the art and science of re-working/and applying outstanding results derived from the investigation and analysis of the behaviour of top performers in different fields.

NLP is an ever-increasing assortment of dynamic and interactive technologies and models through which the skilled practitioner can conjure up multi-dimensional magic from everyday human experience. The tools of NLP can be used alone or combined with other disciplines to create an infinite variety of applications.

NLP is a philosophical and psychological tool for personal change.

NLP is a powerful potion of attitude, awareness, language and action that can be used to facilitate evolutionary, quick, covert and lasting changes in oneself and others.

NLP is a way of questioning that allows you to uncover missing, hidden or unconscious information, so that you can understand a communication more fully and influence people while maintaining your integrity and respecting theirs.

NLP is a model for behaviours such as coaching skills, leading by example and open, authentic communication that builds and maintains trust, commitment and responsibility between employees.

NLP is.........

Which description turns you on?

When Turner painted a landscape he created magic from everyday artists' materials. Those of us who are not geniuses of Turner's ilk could probably knock up a painting using similar materials, yet it is unlikely that our creation would stir the hearts of humans and fetch millions at a Sotheby's auction. Why? What is the difference that makes a difference?

What did Turner have that allowed him to create that special, unique magic? As a true artist, Turner possessed a deeply honed sensory awareness. He was at one with his ingredients and he knew instinctively how to mix and match them in a way that translated for the outside world his internal images, sounds and feelings. Each time Turner observed the world around him, stirred his paints and put brush to canvas he created something magical, unique and of the moment. Whatever the field of creativity, it takes an expert to produce that special magic.

What can NLP do for me?

NLP is an elegant art form that is also a scientific programming construct of human experience.

The methodologies, tools and models of NLP can, with the right attitude and in expert hands, be used to define or refine organisational maps, organise, analyse and utilise the multi-layered structure of collective ideas, facilitate learning, resolve conflict, enhance communication and fashion unique prototypes from which to develop extraordinary individual and corporate success.

The range of applications that can be created is as unlimited as the client's commitment to the achievement of supremacy, and the programmer's ability to utilise their mastery of language, neurology and programming skills to design a landscape for successful and evolutionary change.

When you are skilled in one area, for example as a Shiatsu masseuse, you can, like my friend Leona, blend NLP to give more than a massage but a true experience. Now she teaches Shiatsu, but as she says, she's adding in lots of other stuff, at an unconscious level. People can take the skills of NLP, and blend them with their own unique abilities, in my case flirting!, and create something new and wonderful.

Beware of trainers who claim to produce successful solutions by applying a rigid set of NLP techniques in a step-by-step manner. They will be ineffective. You will waste your money and you will suffer. The wise and canny purchaser authenticates a work of art before signing the cheque.

Richard Bandler, the original developer of NLP, describes it thus:

"NLP is an attitude characterised by the sense of curiosity and adventure and a desire to learn the skills to be able to find out what kinds of communication influences somebody and to look at life as a rare and unprecedented opportunity to learn.

NLP is a methodology based on the overall operational presupposition that all behaviour has a structure and that structure can be modelled, learned, taught and changed [re-programmed].

NLP has evolved as an innovative technology enabling the practitioner to organise information and perceptions in ways that allow them to achieve results that were once inconceivable"

NLP is not what it was yesterday and tomorrow it will not be what it is today. It is a constantly evolving aesthetic science. Choosing a Society-licensed NLP professional to work with you will ensure that you are on the receiving end of the latest developments in this technology. Making that choice will enable you to move at phenomenal speed beyond these changing times into a future of eternal hope, endless possibilities and immensely rich landscapes.

Now ask yourself what can NLP do for me?

NLP is the technology of which I am a licensed trainer. It is the technology I use to facilitate my workshops along with my experience as a therapist, and workshops facilitator for 14 years. Make sure you train with people who know what they are doing - beware of amateur housewives ...!

About the Author

Peta Heskell is the Director of the Flirting Academy which runs classes