When NLP is ‘not’ very smart
NLP… in Plain English? I began using NLP nearly 40 years ago. And in the early days much of the NLP jargon just about beat me – I really couldn’t make sense of it. Take, for instance, “The meaning of your communication is the response you get”. Now this one had me baffled for years!…
Read More90% is good enough!
Perfectionism: a recipe for endless dissatisfaction The perfectionist wants everything they do to be perfect. Flawless. Beyond criticism… The perfectionist is never satisfied with their results. Whatever they achieve they quickly decide they could have done better – and should have done better, in fact. They do not have an ‘it’s good enough – let’s…
Read MoreYou’re just perfect – or not!
You’re just perfect! We look at the “falling into and out of love” pattern on our NLP Core Skills course. It goes like this: We meet someone we like Get to know them better And, as a result, begin to fall in love with them This creates a filtering process in which we recognise more…
Read MoreNLP and Mental Filters: Now you don’t see it – now you do!
The branch was in the way There’s a lot of rubble to get rid of so I ordered a skip from the local company. We’d used them a few times before but this time they said they wouldn’t be able to negotiate the narrow corner because their new lorry was higher and wider and a…
Read MoreBeware of what you get used to
Living on auto pilot On our NLP courses we also explore a number of ‘non-NLP’ concepts. And we then use NLP to ‘model’, or unpack and examine, these because They are valuable life tools Using NLP to figure out how they work demonstrates that there’s a lot more to NLP than a few techniques. 10% New…
Read MoreIf you always do what you’ve always done….
If you always do what you’ve always done you always get what you’ve always got This is a saying which we use a lot in NLP: “if you always do what you’ve always done you always get what you’ve always got.” By the way, the slogan is not exclusive to NLP. It’s one of the ways…
Read MoreIs NLP just ‘a technique’?
‘The NLP Technique’ I’m amazed at the number of individuals, websites and blogs which describe NLP or Neuro-Linguistic Programming as a set of techniques or, even worse and from a recent national newspaper headline in which NLP is described as ‘a technique’! Over 40 years ago, back in the early to mid 70’s, Richard Bandler,…
Read MoreWeasel Words – do they mean it? Do you mean it?
Those cop-out or weasel words In NLP we aim to be very thorough in how we communicate with people – and, especially, in how we understand them. Because we want to get both their surface message and their underlying or real messages – it’s the difference, sometimes, between what a person says and what they…
Read MoreTiredness and the 10% New Challenge
Mind, mood and our ‘energy levels’ It’s amazing how powerfully our moods can impact our vitality. And how our gloomy or negative moods can quickly blend into one another to become our attitude. And how this attitude soon affects our physical feelings – and in particular our vitality or ‘energy levels’. It’s because mind and…
Read MoreHow to remember names – 2 Steps
“Sorry, I’ve forgotten your name!” That was me. Speaking to Jacqui yesterday! I’d just met her. At the time we were house-hunting and she, as an estate agent, had arrived to show us around the house-for-sale. She had introduced herself less than a minute earlier. She had even given me her business card – which…
Read MorePut yourself, and others, at ease – with your eyes
Those really awkward conversations… Have you ever been in one of those awkward situations where – you feel tense, – the other person is tense and, as the stilted conversation continues, – things become more and more tense and uncomfortable for both of you? This ‘conversational tension’ was the bane of my life in my early days as…
Read MorePetty People in the workplace
Petty People at work Petty People like to divide and conquer – to play the ‘enemies and allies’ game. In their eyes, you’re either with them or against them. Side with them and life is fine. Disagree with them and they’ll aim to make life miserable for you. With Petty People you’re either with them…
Read MoreHow to have a ‘negative attitude’
How we create our moods Here in England it’s almost a national pastime, complaining about the weather, that is. Shakespeare said that nothing was good or bad – thinking made it so! And 800 years ago Wumen Huikai’s had a view about our attitude towards the weather… In spring, hundreds of flowers In autumn, a…
Read MoreNLP and Rapport: the risky NLP body language method!
How not to create rapport: mirroring One traditional, and risky, way of using NLP to create rapport is by matching a person’s body language. In NLP we call this process matching or ‘mirroring’ So if I use mirroring to get into rapport with you I could match your behaviour in one or more ways. I…
Read MoreWhich is your ‘favourite’ stress mode?
The ‘Satir Stress Modes’ Virginia Satir identified that we move into one or more of 4 modes of behaviour and reaction when under pressure – we blame others, or placate them, or distract their attention, or become cool/cold and super-reasonable. The Blamer: in Blamer mode we find fault with anyone and everyone – except…
Read MoreAttitude, work and TGIF
We can choose our attitude… Fed up with your job? In a dead end with no immediate way out? We can’t all have Instagram Lives, all of the time! But we can always be in charge of how we deal with the life we have. We can always be in charge ofour attitude towards what’s…
Read MoreConversation Hijackers
Spot the conversation hijack! It’s become a morning sporting event; spot the hijack! One of our local radio stations has a presenter who is a master of the conversation hijack. He can turn any topic around to himself in seconds: conversation with the weather or traffic or business support team, interview with a guest, or…
Read MoreWhat to do when you’re put on the spot!
Those ‘Rabbit in the headlights’ moments What to do when you’re ‘put on the spot’ The ‘Rabbit in the Headlights’ moments Most of us have been there from time to time. Some of us find ourselves there all-too-frequently. You’re put on the spot – you’re suddenly challenged. Or accused. Or questioned. Or required to explain…
Read MoreHow to free yourself from an old habit
How to free yourself from a ‘bad habit’ A bad habit is just a means to an end. It’s a way of having certain feelings. Or avoiding other feelings. Or both. It’s a way of managing your mood – and we looked at this in Part 1 of this article “Bad Habits do a good…
Read MoreBad Habits Do a Good Job
Bad habits usually do a good job! Many of us spend a lot of time trying to get rid of bad habits. It works like this. You decide a long-held habit is ‘bad’ and no longer acceptable – a habit such as smoking, putting things off, eating/snacking, retail therapy, or talking too much. Then the…
Read MoreNo Rapport? No Relationship!
Thanks for that introduction! I can’t remember, right now, who introduced me to the NLP expert, but one day we’ll meet again… 🙂 The expert was very into the ‘personal power school of NLP’. My knuckles ached for a little while once I managed to extricate my hand from the handshake. I noticed, while doing…
Read More6 ways to practice (or practise) your NLP skills
In developing your NLP skill the old saying ‘I hear and I forget. I see and I remember. I do and I understand’ applies. Actually, when it comes to skill, as opposed to mere knowledge about NLP, this piece of wisdom from Confucius is incomplete. We need to add “… I practice and I become skilled”. Because it’s not enough to just do it once and decide you understand – you have to keep doing it until it becomes an automatic (or unconscious) part of your behaviour.
Read MoreWorrying: Mental Rehearsal for Failure
Worry: Mental Rehearsal for failure Worrying is normal. We all to do it, at times. We worry about how we’ll handle an important event, such as a job interview, presentation or appraisal. Or exam. Sports or arts performance. And the more important this event, the more worried we become… We imagine we’ll forget things, or…
Read More“I’ve lost the car!”
Professional Guild of NLP (2004-2017)
The Professional Guild of NLP was founded in 2004 by a number of NLP training organisations. It was an independent membership-owned body which supported professional standards of training in NLP. Member organisations agreed to a code of ethics, a core syllabus, and to a minimum length of training. The Professional Guild of NLP was set…
Read MoreGive gifts to create feelings – or just create feelings?
Giving presents is a ‘funny’ process. And a slightly complicated one, too, if you think about it… if you delve a little deeper – under the bonnet – which is what we do in NLP… On the surface we give a present because… We want to see the joy and surprise when they open it?…
Read MoreThe 10 Steps to Highly Effective Hating!
You have to be careful if you want to be good at hating people. For example, you must take care not to get to know them. This could spoil everything. If you get to know someone you could easily be side-tracked into seeing them as humans like yourself and even as likeable.
Read MoreStrong Leaders Create Weak Followers
The new team forms On the Low Ropes course you are part of a small group of 5-8 people who have to resolve a number of non-strenuous team challenges and problem-solving activities and, ideally, become a team in the process. You don’t know one another – you’ve met for the first time about 3 1/2…
Read MoreNo surprises, please! Keep it the same…
The NLP Meta Programme of ‘Sameness’ Some of us prefer ‘sameness’ patterns – we like to do the same thing over and over again. For example, do you tend to Shop in the same supermarket? Use the same route to work – or to the gym? Dress much the same as you did 10…
Read MoreIf you believe you can’t, you’re right
How do you respond to challenges? I can do this! or I can’t do this! Some people approach challenges or unfamiliar situations with Possibility Thinking – others with Impossibility Thinking. Each attitude directly affects your thinking and your actions… as well as the results you get. Henry Ford is supposed to have said something…
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