The Reputation of NLP - Updated
18 May 2009 17:50 Filed in: NLP
I think NLP is a fantastic technology that can have a profoundly positive effect on the way we communicate as well as facilitating change. I also get very disappointed at the less than positive press it gets, but I’m not that surprised. Because of the press I would sometimes prefer not to use the term, but the advert ‘Mike has extensive experience in using the stuff he does to help people make changes’ isn’t the greatest of sales pitches 
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...I would say that the less positive press on NLP looks at two areas:
I cannot comment on the short courses as I have never done one, but I can share my experience:
So if you have no background in NLP and are not sure about it, what should you do ? The honest answer is I don’t know, but I can suggest a few things:
Mike
- Belief - a lot of practitioners over promise and under deliver, like the snake oil salesman in the westerns. As a result people doubt that NLP can help and don’t give it a go or a chance. NLP is a powerful technology when coupled with a skilled practitioner who has a focus on helping the client and the flexibility to work with the client rather than on them. That flexibility includes throwing NLP away and trying something else when it does not work for the client.
- Trust - the use of NLP to coerce people to buy things they don't really want is one nail in the coffin. The other is the raft of ever shorter training courses promising NLP mastery in 3 easy lessons 'where we download it all to you in trance......'. Like any technology the ecology of its use resides with the user, not the tool. So it can be used to help and to manipulate. It would be reasonable to say that you can manipulate almost everyone once if you want to.
I cannot comment on the short courses as I have never done one, but I can share my experience:
- my first practitioner took 6 months and I learnt some stuff and used it for a month, then reviewed it and learnt more stuff. All the way through I got to eat ‘the elephant’ of NLP in small bites. Six months wasn’t enough to unpack everything;
- my second practitioner was an eye opener and allowed me to observe the use of NLP in the delivery of the training. The chance to watch how other people learnt NLP without having to worry about the content was fantastic and I learnt as much again;
- my master practitioner took 7 months and took everything to the next level. I have always said that the main learning for me was how important the things I learnt on practitioner were. I only realised the other week (thanks Sean
) that the course moved me away from technique and procedures and into skills. My flexibility increased hugely (not in a bendy person way) as a result; - since then I have been using NLP on a daily basis and have noticed the skills becoming unconscious - I just tend to do stuff and notice afterwards why I did it.
So if you have no background in NLP and are not sure about it, what should you do ? The honest answer is I don’t know, but I can suggest a few things:
- I have seen some profound changes happen with NLP and have helped individuals make those changes, so I would really encourage you to give it a go. I believe that the combination of NLP, a great practitioner and some other stuff can help you make changes that you may not think are possible;
- Meet your coach before you decide to have a session with them and find out about them, their techniques and what they are about. You will get a feel for them and be able to see whether you want to work with them.
Mike