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Self-NLP When training in NLP I noticed that I always looked at each technique with an eye towards how I was going to use it in my practice. As I understood the specific purpose of each new idea and how it worked to achieve a specific outcome I noticed that I mentally reviewed past client interactions in order to imagine how this particular technique would have made our work more effective. While working to become a certified trainer I seemed to always look to fellow practitioners, hypnotists, traditional therapists and those practicing other modalities as potential students upon receiving my NLP trainer credentials. While this is a great pool of potential students for workshops and classes it is certainly limited when compared to the number of people that would be interested in learning these techniques to help themselves. In the book "Teach Yourself NLP" by Bavistar and Vickers the authors explored the concept of four pillars of NLP. The first pillar is the outcome. What goal do you want to achieve? What change do you want to make? The second is developing the sensory acuity in which to analyze the results of the actions taken to determine if those actions brought you closer to the outcome in a timely way. The third is developing the behavioral flexibility in which to expand your potential responses to the feedback so that if it is determined that the outcome is not going to be reached with the current actions in a timely enough manner other actions with more potential can be taken. The fourth pillar is rapport. While it is necessary for someone to have rapport with themselves, the manner in which they self-talk for example, this pillar is especially critical for anyone that is working with others in order to help them reach their desired outcome. Bavistar and Vickers make the case that anyone can use NLP techniques to create the life they desire without the use of a therapist or facilitator. I tend to agree with the authors. I’ve learned something about hypnosis that I believe translates to NLP as well. When I first taught self-hypnosis I used to think that now that this person knows self-hypnosis why would they need to come back? What I didn’t realize at first was that those in the class were there to learn about a tool they could use to help themselves. Most of them had minor goals in mind to accomplish. Goals such as reducing stress and increasing self-confidence were dominant. After learning about hypnosis and its’ potential for creating change, the tool of self-hypnosis and seeing for themselves the improvements they could make on their own my practice increased as those students decided to use hypnosis to work on other things in which they felt additional help was appropriate for them. Teaching the “how” of NLP (call it self-NLP!) will have the same effect. Just as those with the greatest interest in a subject will be the ones that progress from a Basics course to a Masters course, teaching NLP skills with excitement and providing many ways in which they can be used will create students that are hungry to learn more and to more with it. There is certainly enough material to share with non-therapist users with regards to developing well-formed outcomes (call it goal setting when talking with those not familiar with NLP), sensory acuity (call it awareness), and behavioral flexibility (call it having more choices) in which to create appealing seminars and workshops. In addition, many of the rapport techniques are useful to an individual whose concern is in achieving his or her own outcomes. What would be more compelling? Being told the steps of goal setting, or being shown how creating a well-formed outcome leads to a change in the way your brain represents that goal. This change then leads to the actions you need to take in order to achieve the outcome. The second option will easily be seen as more valuable to those in a goal-setting seminar. It will lead to them wanting to learn more about the techniques and how they can be used to help them achieve their goals, rather than them going home to create a list of goals then dividing them into short, mid and long range etc., getting bored with the process and giving up. I know that many NLP practitioners are taking the skills they have learned and developing programs that are shared with the general public. Seminars dealing with interpersonal communications, stress management and many others are being offered. Those that attend these seminars are given tools they can use to improve aspects of their lives in the context in which the material was delivered. There is a large market for these specific programs and many are very well done. What seems to be an even bigger opportunity to me is in sharing the tools and the concepts, the “how” to do it and the “how” it works, in order to allow people to use the tools in any way they wish. For example teaching couples how to improve their communication with each other by having them work outside of their primary representational systems may achieve the goal of improving communications. However, teaching about representational systems, how they work, and how this leads to roadblocks in communications would be much more effective. Then examples of how they can use this information to improve communications with each other, their children, boss, employees, etc. will be possible. Teaching self-NLP. Understanding the potential of NLP to facilitate positive changes is exciting to me. Since learning hypnosis and now NLP techniques and sharing these tools with others I feel that I am working with a sense of purpose. This is something I did not have while working in industry for the past 27 years! I’m on the right track personally and I’m looking forward to sharing my new found enthusiasm and knowledge with as many people as I can!
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