Rachel had the opportunity to present for the International Coach Federation (ICF) New York chapter in three venues in late September. She began with a live television show on Channel 56 with Terry Yoffe and discussed NLP. The very first question was, “What is NLP?” The next venue, two days later at a presentation to 60 members of the ICF-NY chapter and again answered the question, “What is NLP?” Lastly she was interviewed on the ICF coach radio show, and no surprise the first piece of discussion was, “What Is NLP?”
So what is NLP, really?* That is typically the question that most people ask when coming to a preview or during a presentation. Any verbal answer alone will not be a complete answer. Words are not experience; they are representations of experience, so whatever you read here is still only a representation, at best. This can be summed up in one of the NLP Basic Presuppositions; “The Map is Not the Territory.” Any verbal or written description of NLP is just a digital representation of an experience, just as the menu is not the meal and that any map, google or otherwise, is a representation of the land that you will travel.
We will share our map of NLP with you. We hope that you will be intrigued and want to explore the territory.
Neuro Linguist Programming (NLP) is a communication system that is designed to influence thoughts, behaviors and feelings. We use our neurology to think and create our own reality. We use our language to express as well as to represent our thoughts. We are programmed, like a computer, with our hardware, yet we have a lot of software that can be changed and upgraded. And some of us have not upgraded in awhile.
When the developers were exploring these concepts the time period was 1975. At that time computers were large and not user friendly. Now 35 years later, thanks to people like Steve Jobs, our computers are part of our daily life. In the NLP system we are working with creating simple accessible tools to make fine adjustments in our neurology, language and programming to fulfill our potential. Our thoughts, movements and sensations can be reprogramming. They are patterns. By recognizing the patterns we have and identifying the patterns we prefer, we can begin to activate the inner resources necessary to make the changes in ourselves and facilitate these changes in others.
Another definition for NLP is that it is the study of our subjective experience. Our subjective experience is made up of our five senses; Visual, Auditory, Kinesthetic Olfactory and Gustatory, what we see, what we hear, how we move, how we feel, smell and taste. In the NLP model we use Kinesthetic to embody not only sensations, but to describe actions as well as emotions. Each one of us will interpret and represent our reality based on our subjective experience. It is the job of the NLP Coach/Practitioner (Master Practitioner) to identify the uniqueness of our maps so we can “understand” and influence another person’s reality as well as our own.
Some people attempt to change the world, while keeping their maps the same. We look at changing our maps, so that we can more effectively and profoundly influence the world. The skills and tools you will learn in our NLP Training will not only help get you to where you want to be, but will make your journey much more enjoyable and fun.
Our alternative definition is that NLP means “Now Let’s Play” (copyright 2010).
The three live presentations; TV, radio and a gathering of ICF members, all went well. Overall the goal was to give listeners and participants a taste of NLP.
Unfortunately, many people have been “sold” the idea that you can learn NLP without actually being in the presence of and interacting with other human beings. If in the future, we find our selves living in a world where we no longer get to interact with people, then this idea may is fine. Until then, being part of a non-virtual community where you get to try on and practice new ways of thinking, feeling and moving in a safe and supportive environment and getting feedback along the way is essential.
That is what we provide.
*Please note our full working definition for NLP and more will be in our upcoming book Hott Leeds on Getting NLP: Communicate Boldly, Live Fully. If you are interested in the book please e-mail us and we will notify you upon publication.