What is NLP? by Elizabeth Pritchard

NLP stands for Neuro Linguistic Programming:

NEURO - the activity throughout your brain and your whole nervous system - what you think affects what your body does.

LINGUISTIC - words and how we use them; how we are affected by the words we use, how our perceptions are framed by the words we choose.

PROGRAMMING - the ability to understand how something works and to programme our behaviour to achieve the results we want.

Here are three definitions I like:

1. Coding patterns of excellence.
2. User manual for the brain.
3. The study of the structure of subjective experience.

NLP was developed in the early 1970s at the University of California in Santa Cruz, through a collaboration between John Grinder (Linguistics) and Richard Bandler (Mathematics). They studied Fritz Perls (Gestalt), Virginia Satir (Family Therapy) and Milton Erickson (Hypnotherapy). They modelled their language, physiology and mental processes, in order to identify processes which could be taught.

They were looking for ‘the difference that makes the difference’ between those people who are merely ‘good’ and those who are ‘excellent’.

NLP now covers: NLP Modelling, NLP Training and NLP Applications.

It can be very useful for:

· Understanding yourself
· Understanding others
· Improving communication
· Building and maintaining successful relationships
· Formulating effective strategies
· Negotiating
· Presenting yourself well
· Self-management
· Resolving conflict
· Getting into a good emotional state
· Learning leadership language
· Getting to the bottom of what is being said
· Management
· Compelling goal setting
· Making good decisions
· Personal change work

Elizabeth Pritchard of Zetetic has been working with NLP since 1986