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What is NLP?

© Sheila Cohill

In the mid-1970s, two men named Richard Bandler and John Grinder invented what is now called Neuro-Linguistic Programming, or NLP. Back then, Bandler, a computer scientist and Gestalt therapist, and Grinder, a linguist, studied how some successful therapists were able to help the people that they counseled.

From their studies, the team was able to determine certain patterns in language and behavior that could be taught to others, who were also then able to achieve successful results.

Since then, NLP has grown, through the help of many contributors, into a therapeutic and self-help tool involving various techniques and concepts.

NLP gets its name from three distinct notions:

• Neuro, a prefix that indicates a relation to the brain and nervous system
  
• Linguistic, an adjective indicating a relation to language
  
• and Programming, a root term referring to the design, plan, or code of a program.

By putting these three notions together, you should see that NLP involves using language (both verbal and nonverbal) to program the nervous system. Although that's a fair explanation of the term, it is inadequate, because NLP is much more than that.

It is more like a technology in which behavior can be changed through the appropriate use of language and those techniques and concepts mentioned earlier.

For example, one NLP technique is called the swish pattern. It involves using imagined pictures (internal, nonverbal, visual language) and verbal sounds (external auditory language) to create a change in behavior.

Another concept in NLP is building rapport quickly through the use of appropriate verbal language as well as body (nonverbal) language.

NLP is a fascinating tool, and it has helped countless numbers of people to make positive changes in their lives.

Tony Robbins is probably the most well known advocate of NLP. It has worked for him and others who have followed his guidance.

But there are many NLP practitioners throughout the world, whose training and experience help thousands of people make the desired changes in their lives.

Many people are introduced to NLP by reading books about the subject. Some of these people might decide to seek the aid of a practitioner. Some might decide to apply NLP techniques in a seminar setting, where the interaction with other people and with a qualified trainer really help them learn to use NLP. Others might decide after several different seminars to seek out practitioner training. Practitioners might decide to become trainers.

NLP offers many opportunities for personal growth and development.

For more information, see the Personal Development topic's NLP links.