At the University of California, Santa Cruz in early 1970s a group a researchers set out to discover the specific communication patterns that enabled successful psychotherapists – including Milton Erickson (famous psychiatrist/hypnotherapist), Virginia Satir (founder of Family Systems Therapy), and Fritz Perls (founder of Gestalt Therapy) to achieve uncommon results with their clients. By direct observation and videotape analyses, they were able to break down these practitioners’ effective patterns of communication and teach them to others.

The process used to discover the magic in transformative communication was called modeling. Many consider modeling to be the heart and soul of Neuro-Linguistic Programming. When you know how to create models based on the expertise of others, you can learn and teach any new skill in its essential form.

Learning and applying NLP is about discovering ‘how’ you do the things you do and how you can change these (if desired). How do you respond (communication and behavior) to what you perceive and how could you do it more effectively or differently? NLP has been described in various ways as the technique of the mind and the study of success.

NLP: Neuro-linguistic Programming

The term Neuro-linguistic Programming, nowadays better known as NLP, stands for how we perceive the world around us and how we respond accordingly.

Neuro

The nervous system processes experiences through 5 senses: Vision, Hearing, Touch, Sense of smell, Taste sense.

Linguistic

Internal representations (representations) are coded, ordered and given meaning by: Images (visual), Sounds (auditory), Feelings (kinsthetically), Scents (olfactory), Flavors (gustatory), Language (auditory digital)

Programming

Discovering, using and changing the unconscious patterns in the nervous system to achieve specific and desired outcomes.

The communication process

To communicate more effectively and to be able to change behavior, we first need to know how communication works.

We all perceive the same outside world through our senses. But why does everyone react differently to the outside world? These sensory perceptions are converted into communication and behavior through an internal process.

Based on our perception and the filtering of the information, we form our behavior on a daily basis from recurring thought patterns. Our thought patterns are made up of images, sounds, feelings, internal dialogue, smell and taste. We filter all the information we receive by deliberately deleting, distorting and generalizing things. Our thoughts and mood guide our behavior, whether or not this is based on factual perception or based on our recurring patterns.

If you apply NLP, you become aware of your perceptions, thought patterns and behavior, so that you can make permanent changes in your communication and behavior where necessary and achieve better results.

Using NLP you can

• Analise yourself and your relationships (in private and business context)
• Influence moods, thoughts and behavior
• Communicate more effectively with others
• Optimise the use of your talents and resources (and those of others)
• Optimally motivate others in their personal development