Neuro-linguistic Programming: background

Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP) was developed at the University of California at

Santa Cruz in the 1970's. Its founders and principal authors were Richard Bandler, a
student of (initially) mathematics and computer science, and John Grinder, a professor of
linguistics. McLendon (1989) describes the emergence of NLP between 1972 and 1981.
NLP has since achieved popularity as a method for communication and personal
development. It is used by professional practitioners of many kinds - managers, trainers,
sales people, market researchers, counsellors, consultants, medics, lawyers and more.
NLP is being applied in UK education, for example through the UK NLP network called
NLPEdNet', through interest from associations such as the Society for Effective Affective
Learning (SEAL), and through the practice of individual teachers and learners who have
received NLP training. NLP is also a recognised mode of psychotherapy in the UK,
accredited by the UK Council for Psychotherapy (assigned to the Experiential
Constructivist Therapies section)

What is NLP?
The title, coined by Bandler and Grinder, broadly denotes the view that a person is a
whole mind-body system with patterned connections between internal experience
(`neuro'), language (`linguistic') and behaviour (`programming')vii.
NLP has been defined in various ways, often in its promotional literature as (for example)
`the art of communication excellence', or `the study of the structure of subjective
experience' (McWhirter 1992). These definitions reflect a tension within NLP, in that it is
both a technology for communication and personal development, and (as it claimed to be
originally) a methodology or modelling process (Cameron-Bandler et al 1985; Dilts
1998a; Jacobson 1994).
Thus, although NLP has come to be identified as a mode of psychotherapy in Its own
right, originally it was offered as a method capable of identifying the effective aspects of
existing models of communication (Gestalt, TA etc.) for pragmatic purposes. Initially
(see Bandler and Grinder 1975a, Grinder and Bandler 1976) Bandler and Grinder were
interested in figures such as Carl Rogers, Fritz Perls and Virginia Satir because of their
reputation for excellence. Other practitioners, apparently informed by the same
framework, seemed markedly different in effectiveness. Bandler and Grinder asked what
was the `difference that made a difference' between the excellent practitioners and the
others. Almost self-evidently, this was not the formalised theory being used. Instead they
focused on patterns of communication and interaction used in practice.
NLP writing and practice show influences from a wide array of fields; Gestalt therapy
(Perls 1969), person-centred counselling (Rogers 1983), transformational grammar
(Grinder and Elgin 1973), behavioural psychology, cybernetics (Ashby 1965), the Palo
Alto school of brief therapy (Watzlawick et al 1967), Ericksonian hypnotherapy (Bandler
and Grinder 1975b; Grinder et al 1977), and perhaps most importantly the cybernetic
epistemology of Gregory Bateson (Bateson 1972). NLP adopts the TOTE (test-operate-
test-exit) mode of functioning (Miller, Galanter and Pribram 1960). These processes
depend on the dynamics of calibration and feedback (Wiener 1965, Bateson 1972).

To summarize, NLP is a process oriented psychology which deals with the how of a
situation and why (outcome) and is not concerned so much with the what (content) and
the why (excuses for not doing anything) the last two getting us nowhere to the
solution.

At the heart of NLP is a wide range of methods and models it offers for
understanding how people think, behave and change. It offers a flexible approach
which brings about positive, fast change in individuals and organisations and
empowers them to adapt to an ever-changing world.
NLP describes the fundamental dynamics between mind
(neuro) and language (linguistic) and how their interplay affects our body and
behavior (programming).
Neurorefers to the neuro logical system and is based on the idea that we experience
the world through our senses and translate the sensory information into thought
processes, both conscious and unconscious. These thought processes activate the
neurological system, which affects physiology, emotions, and behavior. NLP is
about learning how to manage our neurological system for optimum results.
Linguistic refers to the way human beings use language to make sense of the
world, capture and conceptualize experience, and communicate that experience
to others. It is the study of how words mediate and influence human experience.
Much of NLP is about learning how to think more effectively and communicate
more effectively with yourself and others.
Programming draws heavily from learning theory and addresses how we code
(mentally represent) experience. Our personal Programming consists of our
internal processes and strategies (thinking patterns) that we use to make decisions,
solve problems, learn, evaluate and get results. NLP shows people how to recode
their experiences and organize their internal Programming so they can get the
outcomes they want.
NLP IN MANAGEMENT & BUSINESS

After much research and referrals online, I saw the use and advantage of NLP in
daily business activities. Elaborated below :

Basic sales cycle

Get attention
Establish Rapport and gather information
Package presentation
Inoculate against objections and test for close
Close & future pace and build in prospecting

Sales and nlp skills

State
Rapport
Value statements
Fact finding questions
Identifying criteria
Intonation
Anchoring
Presenting back and story telling
Tag questions
Handling objections
Closing
Build in prospecting

Values, positioning & selling

When you apply NLP in selling you will increase your customer satisfaction rating and your repeat
business. The approach enables you to ensure that you match your products or services to your
customer's precise needs and ensure that your customer is aware of how carefully you are
attending to their needs!

By doing this you are positioning yourself differently in the mind of your customer. You're no
longer just another 'rep' or even a salesperson. In their mind you become 'someone-to-be-
consulted and a valuable resource rather than a nuisance-to-be-tolerated.

When we 'model' or extract the key ingredients of successful selling strategies in order to apply
NLP in selling we find there are two chunks to the process:

The task: to ensure that the customer recognises the value for them in your product or service or
idea - and buys. Most sales training courses and books on selling cater for this side of selling.

The relationship: this is either ignored or given minimal attention by most books, gurus, and
training courses. Which partly explains how tough a field selling has become - salespeople are
inadequately equipped to deal with an increasingly sophisticated, better informed and more
demanding customer base.
So sales people have begun looking for ways of becoming more skilful at being 'customer
friendly'! Instead of simply becoming more friendly with their customers!

Yet so many sales people hate selling. They actually fear their customers. Because they see it as
a numbers' game instead of a people game!

When we model good sales people we find they actually like people. And people pick this up and,
if the product and terms are right, they become customers!

References:

www.Nlp-pro.com

www.Nlp-now.com

www.thenlpcompany.com

…and various other NLP solution providers websites.