WHAT IS NEURO-LINGUISTIC PROGRAMMING?

Pure Neuro Lingusitic Programming (NLP) is based on the early original work of its co-creators, John Grinder and Richard Bandler, together with the contributing work of their early colleagues - Frank Pucelik, Leslie Cameron Bandler, Judith de Lozier, Steve Gilligan, David Gordon, Robert Dilts, Steve and Connierae Andreas and Christina Hall to mention a few.

Perhaps the most succinct method of defining the broad body of skills and insights contained within NLP is to expand on the words used within the name. Neuro - explores the relationship and interaction between our body and our minds. Linguistic – how we communicate and are communicated with both verbally and non-verbally. Programming – refers to the patterns and codes with which we live out our lives through our reactions, behaviours, emotions and habits.

The purpose of NLP is to study, describe and transfer models of human excellence. As a meta-discipline it focuses on the discovery and coding of those patterns of human behaviour which distinguish excellent performance from average performance in any human endeavour. It is these distinguishing patterns which combine to form the practical, reliable and learnable techniques and methodologies called NLP.

Using these patterns it is possible to replicate an expert’s intuitive application of their skill or their unique formula for achieving excellence. This replication can transfer from one discipline or skill set to another unrelated discipline or skill set. (i.e. transferring skills sets from say the performing arts to say a business application) Replication can also be successfully applied from applications within disciplines - such as from one successful company to another.

Importantly NLP also allows people to adapt the skills of others who they recognise as role models in their area of expertise. These people have excelled through naturally created patterns of excellence and repeated and refined them with consistent positive results. NLP allows people to define and contextualise the strategies, techniques and physiology used by their role-models to achieve excellence.

NLP also provides the master keys to give people the capacity to understand, control and if necessary change what it is that defines them as a person such as their thinking, reactions, emotions, beliefs, habits and even their identity and destiny.

Others’ descriptions and observations about NLP

“NLP is the study of the structure of subjective experience.” Dr. John Grinder and Richard Bandler (1980).

“NLP is an accelerated learning strategy for the detection and utilization of patterns in the world". Judith DeLozier and John Grinder (1987)

“NLP is a about an attitude and a methodology which leaves behind a trail of techniques. “ Richard Bandler

“We think of NLP as a field that explores the patterns and organisation of effective human intuition.” Chris Collingwood & Jules Collingwood. (2001).

“Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP) is a meta discipline which focuses on the discovery and coding of patterns which distinguish the most capable of practitioners of some particular discipline (managerial practice, medical practice, sports, therapy…) from the average practitioner. These distinguishing patterns are the substance of NLP.” Dr John Grinder

“NLP could be the most important synthesis of knowledge about human communications to emerge since the sixties.” Science Digest

“NLP offers the potential for making changes without the usual agony that accompanies these phenomena' and that it 'allows for increasing options, flexibility, creativity and therefore greater freedom of action than most of us know.” Training and Development Journal

History of NLP

In the early 1970 a student of mathematics (Richard Bandler) and a linguistics professor (Dr John Grinder) at the University of California at Santa Cruz joined forces to model the high-level therapy skills of Fritz Perls and Virginia Satir. After enjoying immediate and powerful results from this initial modelling, they then set out to model the hypnotic skills of Milton Erickson.

Within 2 years they produced the first books on NLP titled, The Structure of Magic (volume 1 and 2) and The Patterns of the Hypnotic Language of Erickson (volume 1 and 2). Soon afterwards Robert Dilts (junior) was commissioned to write the first scholarly book of NLP which he entitled Neuro-Linguistic Programming (volume 1). This book set forth NLP as a model and detailed the key features of the model.

Their early colleagues, Frank Pucelik, Leslie Cameron Bandler, Judith de Lozier, Steve Gilligan, David Gordon, Steve and Connierae Andreas, Christina Hall and others also contributed much original research, developing new ways of thinking about human behaviour and new patterns of interventions and contributing many of the classic NLP text books. This work in understanding the patterns of the mind continues with the work of such people as Tony Robbins, Tad James, Wyatt Woodsmall and Marvin Oka and Jonathon Altfeld.

NLP has grown out of and has been influenced by General Semantics (Korzybski), Anthropology and Cybernetics (Bateson), Transformational Grammar (Noam Chomsky), Reframing (Watzalawick), Family Systems (Virginia Satir), Gestalt Therapy (Perls) and Medical Hypnosis (Milton Erickson).

There are over 1000 educational books on subject matter ranging from specialist NLP matters, psychology, sales, negotiation, management, parenting and accelerated learning. Dr John Grinder’s and Richard Bandler’s work is also the subject matter of well over 1000 NLP public seminars per year. Around the globe more than 20,000 people per year are learning applications of NLP. This momentum and popular acceptance into a vast number of disciplines constitutes a body of knowledge which is constantly being enhanced, expanded and developed.

Today NLP technology is found in all aspects of human endeavour including Business and Management, Marketing and Advertising, Performance Arts and Sports, Consulting, Coaching and Counselling, Health Sciences and Education. It is an acknowledged and widely practice discipline in behavioural science, psychology and performance development.

It is a body of works which elicits within its students an attitude which often allows them to experience a wild and wonderful passion for exploration, experimentation and innovation.