Features of neurolinguistic programming. Neuro-linguistic programming (NLP)

NLP influence techniques are methods of influencing a person that allow you to succeed at work and be successful in your personal life. This is help in establishing contact with another person, a little manipulation for one’s own benefit.

NLP helps to establish effective contact with people

What is NLP

In the modern world, success is associated with well-being. The ability to achieve goals, aspirations, victory over competitors - success in business depends on such factors. Secret techniques are used in companies whose earnings directly depend on the compliance of clients. Network marketing, shops and retail outlets use simple psychological manipulations to get rich.

NLP (neurolinguistic programming) is a modeling of success. Technology that helps you succeed in any field without natural inclinations. Basic methods will be useful to men and women of different ages and social status. NLP is a small manual, a collection of techniques that allow you to improve your own situation - attract the right people, achieve more at work.

On the Internet or in a bookstore you can find several publications on NLP for beginners. Author Danny Reid reveals the simplest and most necessary techniques that make it possible to correct the behavior of people from close circles. His book "Secret Techniques" is very popular all over the world.

How NLP can help

• improving communication skills;
• understanding one’s own thinking, awareness of one’s nature;
• solving protracted problems;
• control over one's own condition;
• setting goals and achieving them without obstacles;
• improved intuition - you will be able to better understand which people will help and which will only harm;
• increasing concentration, ability to work, and labor efficiency;
• promotion.

The essence of programming is modeling someone else's success: this is not stealing other people's achievements, but following the rules that have already been tested by the experience of others. Such programming does not require special skills or talents.

The use of NLP allows you to improve communication skills: improve relationships in a team or better understand loved ones. This is a technique of perception, but it does not necessarily ruin the life of another.

The benefits and harms of the technique

Even safe methods can cause harm. The rumors that circulate about the NLP technique can lead to confusion: manipulation is associated with violent influence on another. Before studying NLP, you should familiarize yourself with its main provisions: this is one of the areas of psychology that has been effectively used for decades. This technology of influence is used by psychologists, psychiatrists, trainers, people who work to achieve a certain result, and motivators. The technique is practiced all over the world and has many fans.

How can exposure methods be dangerous? Any psychological manipulation is contraindicated for people with mental disorders: they have a distorted perception of reality, and they cannot objectively assess the situation. This type of influence is also dangerous for a fragile psyche that is just being formed. The internalization of incorrect attitudes and beliefs may occur.

Promotion is one of the effects of using NLP

Manipulation techniques

Neurolinguistic programming is practical psychology. The technique of influencing another person increases work efficiency and helps in treating complex patients: useful methods of influencing a person are used to correct behavior.

NLP technology is used for discussions, speeches, and negotiations. This impact does not lead to serious consequences. The most popular manipulation techniques:

• deposit trap;
• three "yes";
• mixed truth.

Any NLP technique is aimed at others, but with benefit for oneself. This is an increase in success due to the correct perception of the message and actions of the people around you.

Even in a group of ill-wishers, such a technique can increase the efficiency of an employee or employees. Universal techniques can be applied to colleagues, household members or friends.

Contribution trap

Basic manipulation techniques are only effective in the right conditions. The “contribution trap” technique is based on one psychological technique: if you force a person to invest effort, time, and resources in any business, you can get his assistance in the future.

Subconsciously, such a person will feel involved in the matter: he is part of the process, and in the future it will be very difficult for him to refuse to participate in it. The contribution to the common cause may be minimal, but it also obliges the assistant to further assist.

The basic techniques of NLP are simple and require a little trickery to perform them. It is not so important how a person was attracted to the project; if he started work, he will remain in the project until its completion.

Three Positive Answers Technique

NLP techniques allow you to get a positive response from an intractable person. The three “yes” technique works flawlessly. How it works:

• a person is asked several questions to which he is likely to answer positively - these should be simple questions, without negativity or claims;
• As soon as the person answers the distracting questions in the affirmative, you can ask the main question for which the manipulation is used.

The technique works in such a way that a person tunes into a positive mood. He is pleased to answer questions that provoke him positive reaction. The three yes method works in most cases.

Problems with the technique can arise in cases where a person is aggressive or has a personal dislike for the interlocutor. In such cases, another manipulation is needed to obtain a positive answer.

Mixed truth

A technique that can be used unconsciously - on an intuitive level. It is useful to use phrases or facts in your speech that are easily verifiable or widely known. During such stories, when the interlocutors have already established trust, you can add unverified facts (dubious), and people will still believe in them.

In psychology, this effect is called induced unconditional trust. You can gain favor from people who put pressure on others, because they are too demanding and biased. If you adapt to their pressure, they will begin to trust.

Trusting interlocutors can be presented with untrue facts that they will believe.

Methods of influence of NLP

Practical techniques will be effective if a person creates additional conditions to realize the plan: the opportunity for professional growth or prerequisites for achieving the goal.

NLP techniques are used in psychology:

• reframing;
• "anchor";
• rapport and leading;
• motivational;
• reinforcing.

Techniques are used to win people over. Examples where NLP techniques are used: negotiations with important partners, a date, a friendly meeting, a business conversation.

You can use one or more techniques to have constructive conversations. It is important that the interlocutor does not catch the manipulation or notice the targeted suggestion.

Conversational reframing

Reframing is a different way of looking at a situation, rethinking its main part. This method helps in communicating with difficult people whose words and actions are difficult to understand. Reframing the meaning changes the perception of everything that happens, because the emphasis shifts. It is used as one of the most effective NLP patterns (repetitive behavior).

The technique of neurolinguistic programming will be useful during a consultation so that its results do not seem negative: during negotiations, when a different perspective on a proposal is needed; for sales, to re-evaluate the product and its value.

The results of the technique directly depend on how naturally a person makes a revolution in the meaning of what is happening.

For any phrase that needs to be reframed, you need an evaluative word - it is the brightest and most informative, it can come from the situation, and you don’t have to come up with it. After this, the word needs to be inspired: imagine in what situations it is most appropriate, what it describes, who it belongs to. General definition is adjusted, its emphasis shifts to what a person needs. This is how meaning is reframed.

“Anchor” technique

Neurolinguistic programming techniques such as anchoring are based on conditioned reflexes. As long as a certain stimulus is turned on, any desired result can be achieved from a person. The anchoring technique helps in communication, negotiations or concluding contracts.

What is an anchor? This is a stimulus associated with a reaction - a conditioned reflex. Using this technique, you can control behavior (your own and those around you). The method can be used selectively or constantly, and become a useful habit.

Stages of the method:

• determining the state that is needed at the moment;
• inducing this state - creating a suitable emotional background, memories;
• at the peak of the experience, a conditional anchor is established, which needs to be fixed in memory - it will be useful in the future;
• sudden interruption of the state;
• examination;
• using an anchor.

The results of the technique will be visible immediately. The brain is designed in such a way that at the peak of any state (negative or positive), a random situation is remembered most of all - this is a trigger that becomes an anchor. There are many such signals in psychological manipulation schemes. If a person is experiencing joy, an accidental touch will become a trigger. In the future, this gesture will be associated with a peak of joy and can be used to alleviate difficult conflicts.

The rules of NLP-2 define the conditions for the anchor to work - there must be an emotional peak and an unusual trigger. The stimulus is always located within a joyful state: work with the subconscious is carried out especially carefully. The original trigger is selected. It is like a key that will make a person experience positive feelings again.

The “anchor” technique is based on conditioned reflexes

Rapport and leading

Rapport characterizes the relationship between two people as trusting. It is a special connection that has been established over time. Such a pair forms a system: they are one whole and act as one organism. Rapport is the desire to follow a person, to trust him, to follow him without any questions. The subconscious mind perceives this situation as unconditional trust.

Following rapport is leading. These are related concepts: trust arises, which a person follows. Changes in one member of the system entail changes in the second. This technique has three stages that form a cycle: adjustment, rapport, leading. If you build the system correctly (follow the person first), you can take control. Leading is the main tool of influence, especially in close partnerships.

Calibration of behavior is necessary in cases where interaction is disrupted. People are building common system, and the one who manipulates must maintain rapport - this is an important condition for successful manipulation.

People in the same interaction must have constant contact, otherwise all harmony will be disrupted. This is the main difference between trust and psychological rapport.

Strong motivation

Motivation is a force that you can use to achieve your goals. Its principle is very simple: a person must perform a certain action now in order to receive additional encouragement, reward, and benefit for this in the future. Motivation is the expectation of good things that generates the strength to work hard.

They use it only in relation to their close circle: people whose intentions and secret desires are known. If the motivation is not correct, you will not be able to get a return on it. Working with the subconscious in this case requires knowledge of the habits and aspirations of the person whose behavior needs to be corrected.

Reinforcement technique

Reinforcement is the basis of encouragement. A stable energy message that needs to be reinforced so as not to reduce the effectiveness of the technique. Reinforcement is based on gestures, pleasant little things - these are things that remind you how pleasant it is to perform the actions desired by the manipulator.

Without encouragement, motivation is not enough for a long time: some NLP techniques rely on long-term interaction for the sake of obtaining benefits. You need to select things for reinforcement individually, based on the desires and needs of the other.

Conclusion

Neurolinguistic programming is a system of simple manipulation techniques that will be useful in life. At work, at home, in difficult negotiations, you can use the technique and win over the right person.

The techniques will allow you to achieve your goals, and motivation will help improve family relationships. The selection of techniques depends on the wishes and goals of the manipulator.

Neuro-linguistic programming

Neurolinguistic programming (NLP) (English) Neuro-linguistic programming) (also found as “neuro-linguistic programming”) - a set of models, techniques and operating principles (context-dependent beliefs), used primarily as an approach to personal development through the modeling of effective strategies (mental and behavioral). Modeling implies the presence of a model - a genius or a highly qualified specialist in his field and consists of the following steps:

1. removal of strategy, through the second position of perception
2. strategy coding (identifying and describing a strategy in the form of an algorithm or system of algorithms and operating principles)
3. application of the subtraction model (removing elements from the strategy that do not have functional significance)
4. strategy embedding (training another person to achieve the same result as the original model).

Modeling is the primary and only function of NLP as such. All other functions of NLP (NLP therapy and NLP coaching, creativity, communication and negotiation technologies, etc.) are derivatives of modeling - that is, the direct use of collected models and can be called “applied NLP”. This is the position of the founders of NLP (in particular John Grinder, Richard Bandler), which may differ from the opinion of other developers who have made significant contributions to NLP.

NLP is based on the idea that the mind, body and language of an individual determine the picture of his worldview, and this perception (and therefore behavior) changes over the course of life as a person gains new experiences, and can also be changed intentionally through personal restructuring experience through various techniques. The object of study of early NLP was the methods of using the language and techniques of prominent therapists in the fields of hypnotherapy, Gestalt therapy and family psychology. Some communication strategies from these areas have been adapted to the field of everyday communication.

Despite its popularity, NLP continues to be controversial, particularly in therapy and business. Even after three decades of existence, NLP has no scientific basis. NLP is criticized for the lack of defining and regulating institutions to develop common standards and publicly declared professional ethics. By its structure, NLP is a completely open methodology (“network” type), and does not pretend to be a scientific discipline.

The main area of ​​application of NLP is psychotherapy and training, but NLP techniques are used in management, sales, personal and corporate counseling, coaching, strategic planning of results, creativity, development and delivery of training programs, journalism, law, media and advertising.

Given that NLP is a meta-methodology - epistemology, in itself it makes sense when applied to specific professional activities that involve the human mind and linguistics, to increase its effectiveness through modeling behavioral and mental strategies. Already developed NLP strategies in various fields can be useful in relation to the context of these and related fields. The ability to isolate skill structure allows strategies to be transferred across domains through modeling. Training NLP as a discipline (which has modeling as a function) allows you to simultaneously develop communication skills, multi-positional perception of the world, behavioral flexibility and achieve significant personal growth.

General information

Based on language patterns and body signals collected expertly through observations by multiple psychotherapists, practitioners of Neuro-Linguistic Programming believe that our subjective reality determines beliefs, perceptions and behavior, and therefore it is possible to implement behavioral changes, transform beliefs and heal trauma. The techniques developed from observational data were described by their creators as “therapeutic magic,” while NLP itself was described as “the study of the structure of subjective experience.” These statements are based on the principle that all behavior (whether extreme or dysfunctional) does not occur randomly, but has a structure that can be understood. NLP is used in a number of areas of activity: sales, psychotherapy, communication, education, coaching, sports, business management, interpersonal relationships, as well as in spiritual movements and in seduction. NLP has been accused of being controversial and is sometimes criticized for being unproven and pseudoscientific by those who monitor fraud, exaggerated claims and unethical practices. There is considerable diversity of opinion among both practitioners and skeptics as to what should and should not be considered NLP.

Philosophical base

This system was developed in response to the question of why certain psychotherapists interact so effectively with their clients. Rather than exploring the issue from the perspective of psychotherapeutic theory and practice, Bandler and Grinder turned to analyzing what these psychotherapists did at an observable level, categorizing it, and applying the categories into general patterns of interpersonal influence. NLP tries to teach people to observe, make assumptions and respond to people in the same way as those three extremely effective psychotherapists.

Many proponents of NLP believe that it is closer to technology than to science, and often classify it as similar to engineering, since NLP attempts to answer the question "what works?" rather than the question "what is true?" They would say that they strive to create practical models and user-friendly approaches.

Early developers stated their disinterest in theory, and in NLP it is recommended to concentrate on “what works.” However, some practitioners create and develop their own theories behind NLP, based on a synthesis of neurolinguistic programming with other personality, New Age, psychological and/or neurological concepts. Some trainers teach these theories within NLP.

In NLP trainings, one is taught to observe subtle verbal and nonverbal cues, and implies that there can be no certainty in the operation of any method, and behavioral flexibility is seen as the key to success.

Scope of NLP

The initial area of ​​application of neurolinguistic programming was the sphere linguistic and communication phenomena in the psychotherapeutic process. NLP teaches that our experience is formed from sensations, sensory representations and neurological and physiological characteristics of a person. NLP places no restrictions on what can be communicated within or through sensory systems, allowing for the possibility of synesthesia, in other words, the experience of one form of sensation within another sensory system. Thus, in NLP it is believed that it is acceptable and logical to explore the subjective experience of a person itself. The consequence of this fact has been a wide variation in the phenomena in which NLP is applied. Among them:

• Everyday communication situations: for example, negotiation and the parent-child communication system.
• Psychological phenomena: for example, phobias and age regression.
• Medical phenomena: for example, pain control or influence on health/illness.
• Manifestations of unconscious phenomena: for example, post-hypnotic suggestion, communication at the level of unconscious processes, immersion in trance and utilization of external signals, changes in the perceptual series.
• Working with known spiritual experiences and states: for example, meditation and enlightenment.
• Study of subjective parapsychological phenomena: for example, extrasensory perception.
• Changing established stereotypes of behavioral reactions: for example, a sharp change in lifestyle, criteria and values, or finding sexual partners.
• Business situations: for example, sales and personnel training.
• Dividing holistic behavioral strategies into components for their analytical study.
• Simulation of famous and/or effective personalities: that is, subjective self-identification with what the experience of living as such people might be like, and carrying out detailed suggestive influences on deep ways of thinking based on observable evidence, which allows you to “copy” in varying degrees of detail the manner of behavior and outwardly manifested style lives of simulated personalities.
• Development and systematization of more effective and diverse approaches when working with communication situations, beliefs and subjective reality of a person.

Purposes of using NLP

NLP is used to gain and apply effective ways changes in your behavior, psycho-emotional state and worldview in general. According to its creators, it is intended to provide the practice of neurolinguistic programming with a set of beliefs and techniques for working with oneself and other people for the optimal and effective performance of tasks of very different scales and individual significance - from successfully performing everyday behavioral acts to defining one’s goals in a very long term. Neurolinguistic programming is interested in how an individual thinks and experiences the world around him. At the same time, NLP tries to provide as tools a set of presuppositions, or basic beliefs, which, according to the creators of NLP, are useful to believe. At the same time, given the focus on subjective experience, the emphasis is on which beliefs are “subjectively useful” for a person, and not which and to what extent correspond to the “truth”.

Concepts and techniques

According to Robert Dilts, "NLP has theoretical basis in neuroscience, psychophysiology, linguistics, cybernetics and communication theory." In his opinion, the philosophical basis of NLP is Structuralism. Other proponents of NLP believe that it is based not on theory, but on modeling. In general, NLP practitioners are more interested in what is effective rather than what is true.

Presuppositions

Ecology

Ecology in NLP deals with the client's relationship to his natural, social and built environment in order to answer the question of how a particular goal or change will affect these relationships and environment. This is the framework within which the influence is tested desired result on the client's life and relationships. If any action is destructive for the client or subjugates his will and consciousness so much that the person cannot return to his original state, then this action is considered non-ecological and cannot be used. However, if these actions are not prohibited by the law of the country, then the action is not essentially prohibited, and whether to use it or not depends only on the person using this technique.

Modeling

Main article: Modeling (NLP)

The purpose of modeling is to track the behavior of a professional and transfer it to another person. The NLP theory behind modeling does not claim that everyone can be Einstein, but rather that "know-how" can be separated from a person, described and transferred through experience, and that the ability to reproduce a skill can be transferred into one's own structure of the modeler, which can change and improve with practice. This is often interpreted as an indicator of "unlimited potential" because a person's ability to change is limited only by changing the technology at that person's disposal.

Modeling involves closely observing, discussing, imitating, and reproducing many different aspects of the modeler's thoughts, feelings, beliefs, and behaviors (that is, acting "as if" the modeler is a professional) until the modeler can reproduce them with some consistency and accuracy.

Other concepts

Cybernetic model of regulation of nervous activity

These are the fundamental foundations of mental and behavioral strategies (Miller, Galanter, and Pribram, Plans and Structure of Behavior, 1960).

Brain lateralization

Management by Objectives, MBO (results-based management)

Management system based on target indicators or management through performance assessment. This system was first described by Peter Drucker in 1954 in his book “The Practice of Management.” Taken from scientific management models S.M.A.R.T. - the model formed the basis of the concept of a Clearly Formulated Result.

Theory of conditioned reflexes (Pavlov, Ivan Petrovich)

Fundamentals of Higher Nervous Activity.

Mathematical theories and solutions

When making an expert assessment of effective behavior in NLP, introductory solutions are used for: - Modeling within the framework of fuzzy sets - Rectangular coordinate system on the Rene Descartes plane - Scaling of sets during expert assessment, etc.

History of development

Neurolinguistic programming was developed jointly by Richard Bandler and John Grinder under the tutelage of anthropologist, social scientist, linguist and cyberneticist Gregory Bateson at the University of California, Santa Cruz, in the 1960s and 1970s. Bateson and Grinder and Bandler shared living space in the mountains.

Originally just a study of how the best psychotherapists in their field achieved high results, it has grown into an independent field and methodology based on the skill of modeling as identifying and adopting aspects of other people's behavior and ways of thinking that led them to achievements in their field. It didn't matter if the client understood the problem, more of a question was to find people who had achieved successful results and understand exactly how they achieved it.

The first three people Grinder and Bandler modeled were Fritz Perls (Gestalt therapy), Virginia Satir (family therapy), and Milton Erickson (Ericksonian hypnosis). These people were considered highly competent in their fields, and the consistent patterns and approaches they used formed the basis of NLP. Bandler and Grinder analyzed the speech patterns, tone of voice, word choice, gestures, postures and eye movements of these people and correlated the information obtained with internal thought processes each participant. This was the first project on what was called "modelling". The results of these studies have been widely used and integrated into many other fields, from healthcare to hypnotherapy and coaching.

Most of the techniques commonly referred to as NLP can be found in the earliest works of the founders of neurolinguistic programming and the group of like-minded people who surrounded them in the 1970s. Bandler and Grinder chose an immersion method for teaching, trying to understand how some people felt and perceived the world, imagining themselves in their place and acting like them. They imitated these people without caring about understanding. This approach influenced all their subsequent work to make changes.

The first model they published, the metamodel, became an approach to change based on responding to syntactic elements of the client's language that provide information about the limits of the client's model of the world. Gregory Bateson, who wrote the foreword to the first book on NLP, was impressed by the first results of NLP and introduced Bandler and Grinder to Milton Erickson. Bateson had a significant influence on the development of the people behind NLP and provided many of the theoretical background for the field.

Bandler and Grinder immersed themselves in the world of Milton Erickson and gained full access to his work, and they developed and published the Milton Model, based on Erickson's hypnotic language, therapeutic metaphors, and other behavioral patterns such as pacing and leading to create rapport. Together with Erickson, they shared the idea that conscious attention is usually limited and thus tried to attract the attention of the unconscious mind through the use of metaphors and other hypnotic speech patterns. Other concepts and ideas regarding the conscious and unconscious mind are also formulated under the influence of Erikson:

It does not translate unconscious communication into conscious form. Whatever the patient says in metaphorical form, Erickson responds in kind. Through parables, interpersonal interactions, directives - he works within the framework of metaphor to bring about change. He seems to feel that the depth and speed of such a change may not occur if a person is experiencing broadcast communication.

The first group of NLP developers made the observation that people tend to provide information about unconscious information processing in oculomotor patterns, as well as in changes in body posture, gestures, speech, and breathing. A connection was found between these changes and sensory-colored language: “I I see clearly, what...", "I I hear, what do you speak" or " come on hold contact". These observations formed the basis of the representational systems model, which, in turn, paved the way for the development of approaches to capture the strategies of successful people and clients in psychotherapeutic contexts. For example, work with phobias involves visual-kinesthetic dissociation, which is thought to reduce the negative feelings associated with traumatic events, and submodality change, which involves changing memory representations - for example, the size, vividness, mobility of internal images - with the goal of behavior change. By being able to notice nonverbal cues indicating internal processing of information, they were able to focus on the structure of the pattern rather than the personal content of the client's experiences. Other methods of effecting change include anchoring, which is the process of retrieving resourceful, or positive, memories for a person in order to attract that person to subsequent contexts.

The developers of NLP published a number of beliefs and presuppositions that are still taught in NLP training. They were created to combine some of the patterns demonstrated by successful psychotherapists and communication professionals. Most of them come from the idea of ​​Alfred Korzybski and Gregory Bateson that the map is not the territory, multiple descriptions of reality provide choice and flexibility, which allows you to effectively organize personal resources (states, goals and beliefs) to change yourself and get the desired result . Even seemingly negative behavior is seen in NLP as an attempt to fulfill a positive intention (which may well not be consciously realized). These presuppositions may not be true, but in contexts of change it is useful to act as if they were true. The latter presupposition implies, for example, that the behavior exhibited by any person constitutes best choice of all available to him at the moment. All of these methods and techniques (anchoring, representational systems) require highly developed skills of sensory observation and calibration, which are considered a prerequisite for the application of any of these models. Some NLP presuppositions, such as “there is no failure, only feedback” (William Ross Ashby), have direct relevance to information theory and the importance of feedback loops for learning. Another idea is that the meaning of communication lies in the response it produces.

Source of title

The developers of NLP, Richard Bandler and John Grinder, explain that neurolinguistic programming embodies Korzybski's ideas that our maps, or models, of the world are distorted representations due to the characteristics of neurological functioning and the limitations associated with it. “Information about the world is received by the receptors of the five senses and then undergoes various neurological transformations and linguistic transformations even before we first access this information, which means that we never experience objective reality unmodified by our language and neurology.” .

Alternative names

Also, neurolinguistic programming techniques are sometimes adapted under other names not related to NLP.

• Design Human Engineering (DHE, Richard Bandler)
• Neuro Associative Conditioning (NAC, Anthony Robbins)
• Neuro-Semantics (Michael Hall)
• NLP Coaching, Time Line Therapy (Tad James)
• Etc.

Incorrect use of title

Individual trainers sometimes propose and develop their own methods, concepts and labels under the "NLP" brand. Moreover, many organizations, calling themselves “NLP Centers,” often violate the basic principles of the direction; in particular, they declare that NLP is a science.

Criticism of NLP

General criticism

Various people have raised questions about the ineffectiveness of NLP practices, the unethical use of NLP, NLP as a psychocult, exaggerated and false statements of NLP supporters (see the “Criticism” section at the end of the article). In Russia, some church leaders believe that the use of NLP is unacceptable within the framework of Orthodoxy.

The famous American anti-cultist Rikk Ross claims that neurolinguistic programming techniques are used in some new religious movements to convert people and their subsequent control. In addition, neurolinguistic programming is considered by some researchers in the context of psychocults and alternative religions due to the fact that the roots of NLP can be found in the human potential movement. Stephen Hunt's book Alternative Religions: A Sociological Introduction discusses the presence of a religious aspect to the NLP movement:

In many cases, criticism of NLP is not supported by relevant evidence and research and is not systematic. At the same time, criticism is divided into two streams: on the one hand, it is argued that NLP is ineffective and is a fraud, on the other hand, the question is regarding the ethics of its use. Because NLP courses are available to many people, some authors have expressed concern about the possibility of unethical use of NLP. For example, in the book “Technologies for Changing Consciousness in Destructive Cults,” published under the authorship of Timothy Leary (who was enthusiastic about NLP and with whom Robert Dilts collaborated in the late 1980s when he introduced T. Leary’s concept of reimprinting into NLP), M. Stewart and other authors note: “A large number of people have become familiar with hypnotic trance techniques without having the slightest idea about the ethical side of working with the subconscious.”

According to M. Singer, not enough research has been devoted to the study of the correctness of models used by NLP. scientific research. They advocate the inadmissibility of using the word “science” in relation to NLP. As M. Corballis points out, the name "neurolinguistic programming" was chosen to deliberately convey an impression of scientific respectability, whereas "NLP has little in common with neuroscience, linguistics, or even the respectable sub-discipline of neurolinguistics."

Although it claims neuroscience in its pedigree, NLP's outdated understanding of the relationship between cognitive style and brain functioning ultimately amounts to crude analogies. NLP basks in countless expansive pieces of evidence, but the National Research Council has been unable to identify any sufficient evidence in its favor, or even a concise statement of its basic theory. (Beyerstein, )

... NLP. The theory is not clearly formulated, its terminology, premises and assumptions are ambiguous or poorly specified. As the analysis in this article has shown, the main reason for the inconsistencies of this theory is that it borrows from concepts that are antagonistic to each other... Conclusion from the literature review: as a theory, it is undeveloped and inconsistent, and its methods do not offer anything new. (Baddeley, )

• NLP researchers criticize it for being ineffective.

This study compared NLP techniques such as guidance, metaphor, and phonemic patterns with two much simpler non-NLP controlled conditions: a directive-informant condition and an information-only placebo condition. No differences in attitudes were found among conditions, but the non-NLP directive-informing controlled condition demonstrated significantly greater persuasiveness in the behavioral measurement system, showing the opposite result to that predicted by NLP practitioners. (Dixon, )

Significant cross-correlations (fluctuating around r =0.7) were revealed between the subject’s behavior in various sensory modalities, which is the only possible result, which was not predicted by NLP. (Fromme, )

Apology for NLP

In academic circles, opinion about NLP is divided: there are a number of opponents of NLP and its supporters. Neuro-linguistic programming has been heavily criticized by some clinical psychologists, management scientists, linguists and psychotherapists.

According to a supporter of NLP, German researcher professor of psychology W. Volker, “The most harsh criticism of NLP comes from circles and from individuals who are little familiar with this discipline, who have mainly heard something about it from “second” and “third” parties, also who are not NLP professionals. It is easy to notice that both accusations of critics: “ineffectiveness” and “inhumane use” clearly deny each other. All this interferes with a balanced assessment of this discipline.” (V. Walker. The Spirit of NLP.)

As NLP proponent W. Volker writes in his monograph “The Spirit of NLP”: “Opponents of NLP (often very harsh) must be accused of taking a defensive position that is not easy to prove. The accusations they make typically demonstrate poor knowledge of the subject, and range from reflexively formed accusations of unscientificness to a lack of empirical testing of fundamental concepts. In addition, they speak of a lack of respect, falsification of the thoughts of reputable authors and borrowing of methods from other schools. Opponents criticize NLP for offering only a disorganized set of therapeutic tools, the distribution of which is uncontrolled and unethical, since it does not address etiology and diagnosis, and does not take into account the needs of people. However, until now, interest in substantive and critical work with NLP and confirmation of its rational content is a very rare phenomenon. Lately, however, more and more voices have been rising on both sides, demanding careful and serious discussion. Chaotic and ineffectively conducted debates, first of all, open up the enormous problems that arise when attempts are made to introduce new contradictory currents into the field of a traditional discipline. The misunderstandings associated with this are more acute in this case, since the concepts of the NLP model already in their fundamentals went beyond the boundaries of the science that Sigmund Freud created at the end of the twentieth century. Therefore, attempts to evaluate NLP using traditional academic thinking patterns are doomed to fail from the very beginning. After reviewing the available literature, it becomes clear how rarely representatives of traditional therapeutic schools and proponents of NLP come to an agreement. This is all the more strange because at this stage of the discussion many of the concepts of programmers can help therapists of any school. A fact that is still lost in the heat of the struggle of counterarguments. Despite the growing importance of NLP (and because of the irritating nature of the main theses in the field of therapy), it seems that the time has come to discuss the basic views of the creators of NLP in a broader context and with the involvement of a wider range of academic specialists than has been done heretofore.

Supporters of NLP claim that the church fathers (Abbess Evmeniy) and even mother superiors (Abbess Evgrafiya Solomeeva) are certified NLP practitioners and masters, and advocate for training seminarians in the elements of NLP, believing that a good shepherd is also a good psychotherapist.

Such criticism takes place at a time when the founders of NLP themselves warned in advance of accusations that the models were incorrect and the NLP methodology was unscientific:

Everything we are going to tell you here is a lie. Since you have no requirement for true and precise concepts, in this seminar we will constantly lie to you. There are only two differences between exact and other teachers. First: at our seminars we warn at the very beginning that everything we say will be a lie, but other teachers do not do this. Most of them believe what they proclaim, without realizing the artificiality of their statements. The second difference is that if you act as if our statements are actually true, you will see that they work.

There are many things we cannot do. If you can program yourself to find something useful in this book instead of looking for cases where our method does not find application, then you will certainly encounter such cases. If you use this method honestly, you will find many cases where it does not work. In these cases, I recommend using something else.

Notes

1. Bandler, Richard & Grinder, John (1979). Frogs into Princes: Neuro Linguistic Programming. Moab, UT: Real People Press.
2. Bandler, Richard & John Grinder (1983). Reframing: Neurolinguistic programming and the transformation of meaning. Moab, UT: Real People Press.
3. Bandler, Richard & John Grinder (1975a). The Structure of Magic I: A Book About Language and Therapy. Palo Alto, CA: Science & Behavior Books. ISBN 0-8314-0044-7.(English)
4. Sharpley C.F. (1987). "Research Findings on Neuro-linguistic Programming: Nonsupportive Data or an Untestable Theory." Communication and Cognition Journal of Counseling Psychology, 1987 Vol. 34, No. 1.(English)
5. Dilts, Robert B, Grinder, John, Bandler, Richard & DeLozier, Judith A. (1980). Neuro-Linguistic Programming: Volume I - The Study of the Structure of Subjective Experience. Meta Publications, 1980.(English)
6. The First Institute. What is Neuro-Linguistic Programming? . 1996.(English)
7. Alok Jha. Was Derren Brown really playing Russian roulette - or was it just a trick? . The Guardian, October 9, 2003. (English)
8. neuro-linguistic programming (NLP) (English)
9. Druckman, Enhancing Human Performance: Issues, Theories, and Techniques (1988) p.138
10. Robert Dilts. Roots of NLP (1983) p.3 (English)
11. Dilts R. Modeling With NLP. Meta Publications, Capitola, CA, 1998.
12. Interesting interview “Right and left sides of the soul” with Vadim Rotenberg (November 3):
    “The ability to make logical conclusions, to make a probabilistic forecast based on analyzed past experience, to have an unambiguous understanding in the process of verbal communication is a function of the left hemisphere of the brain, especially the left frontal lobe. ... The world is contradictory in many of its manifestations, and in this wealth, diversity and contradictory connections, a person should not feel lost either. Responsible for the holistic perception of the multi-valued world and for behavior and creativity based on this perception right hemisphere, and also to the greatest extent the right frontal lobe.”
13. Bandler, Richard, John Grinder, Judith Delozier (1977). Patterns of the Hypnotic Techniques of Milton H. Erickson, M.D. Volume II. Cupertino, CA: Meta Publications. p.10, 81, 87.(English)
14. Chris & Jules Collingwood, “An Interview with Dr Stephen Gilligan.”
15. Andreas S., Faulkner C. NLP: The New Technology of Achievement. NLP Comprehensive, 1994.(English)
16. Hall M., 1994
17. Dilts R. Tools For Dreamers: Strategies of Creativity and the Structure of Innovation, co-authored with Todd Epstein and Robert W. Dilts, Meta Publications, Capitola, CA, 1991.
18. Grinder, John, Richard Bandler (1976). Patterns of the Hypnotic Techniques of Milton H. Erickson, M.D. Volume I. Cupertino, CA: Meta Publications.(English)
19. Haley, "Uncommon therapy", 1973, 1986, p.28. (English)
20. Dilts R., DeLozier J. Encyclopedia of Systemic Neuro-Linguistic Programming and NLP New Coding, NLP University Press, Santa Cruz, CA, 2000. (English)
21. American Cancer Society. Neuro-Linguistic Programming (English)
22. Andreas C., Andreas S. Change Your Mind-And Keep the Change: Advanced NLP Submodalities Interventions. 1987.(English)
23. Bandler R. Using Your Brain for a Change, 1985. ISBN 0-911226-27-3(English)

You've probably noticed that lately proposals for mastering various technologies for personal growth and self-development have been popping up at every step. One of them includes neurolinguistic programming. But the question arises: how beneficial or harmful is its use?

With the development of technology and expanding access to the World Wide Web, the majority of the world's population has the opportunity to look at a life other than their own: through social networks, YouTube, Instagram. And, looking at photographs of celebrities and rich people, many people began to ask themselves questions: “why am I worse?”, “what can I do to have the same?”, “what qualities is this person superior to me?” And this is just one example of topics that concern modern people and are closely related to the personal perception of one’s place in the world.

It is no secret that dissatisfaction with oneself or the events occurring around oneself often leads to the development of depression, immersion in melancholy, or even the development of personality disorders.

Here psychological science comes to the aid of a person, including such areas as Gestalt psychology, humanistic psychology, transactional analysis and others. However, in addition to generally recognized scientific schools, there are many that are notorious due to the fact that, instead of a positive result, their use can lead to disastrous consequences. One of these is neuro-linguistic programming, or NLP. We'll talk about it today.

What is NLP?

Neurolinguistic programming, in the words of its creator Richard Bandler, is “an attitude and a methodology.” Despite this, both proponents and opponents of NLP call it a practical direction in psychotherapy, however, their opinions differ when it comes to the effectiveness of NLP practices.

At its core, NLP uses a whole range of different scientific and pseudoscientific areas, including psychotherapy, Gestalt psychology, hypnosis, programming and linguistics.

The main goal of NLP is to help a person become a better person.

Of course, one can object here and say that the main goal of NLP is to make money, but we will discuss this issue at the end. It is based on a model that allows everyone who is willing and able to reproduce patterns (schemes, models, ideas) of mastery based on the subjective experience of successful people. Simply put, if a famous billionaire sits with his head left leg on the right, you need to do the same. This is the simplest and crudest example, but it reflects the content of NLP: If you want to become better, focus on those who are better.

The creators of NLP argued that our brain is capable of acting like a computer, which can be programmed for a certain model of behavior and life.

History of NLP

Without historical information and descriptions of the personalities who were at the heart of the creation of NLP, it is impossible to understand its essence and the reasons for its criticism. NLP first emerged through the collaboration of three individuals: Richard Bandler, John Grinder and Frank Pucelik. Considering that the latter is mentioned extremely rarely and reluctantly, he is not included among the founders of NLP. It is believed that it was Bandler, who was involved in programming, and Grinder, a psychologist and linguist, who developed the first theoretical model of human “language programming.”

Richard Bandler

Richard Bandler is an extremely controversial figure these days.

But back in 1972, he was an interested student who devoted himself, in his free time from programming and mathematics, to the study of Gestalt psychology, which was practiced in intensive group seminars. It was during heated discussions that the theoretical basis of NLP was born. Bandler, despite the fact that he was still a student, actually led the group and was Grinder’s “model” on which he had to rely. That is, Grinder had to imitate Bandler's behavior. In this not yet formed concept, created by the second, the first introduced linguistic content.

The very figure of Richard Bandler is extremely contradictory: he was rude, arrogant, quarreled with his colleagues, took cocaine, and even tried to prove in court that the intellectual rights to NLP belonged to him, but lost. Today, he is one of thousands of personal development coaches who tell people that to be productive, you need to work, and to not be sad, you don't need to be sad. But the theory itself is worthy of discussion.

The essence of NLP

It should be noted that the titles of the first books published on NLP indicate their focus: “The Structure of Magic. Volume 1-2" (1975, 1976), "Milton Erickson's Hypnotic Technique Templates. Volume 1-2" (1975, 1977). They were not deeply scientific, just as the theory of NLP itself is not today.

According to the creators, the books were intended for “ordinary” people. And this is their peculiarity.

Neurolinguistic programming is not a part of psychology or psychotherapy, it is a technique, a collection of tips, practical recommendations and, as mentioned above, a position. NLP is not afraid of criticism; on the contrary, it welcomes it. And its representatives call the main factor in the success of their practices empirical methods, that is, experience and its results. To successfully master this technique, you need to be ready to experiment, since NLP does not provide the answer itself, but only a series of recommendations for your own search.

Let's take a closer look at the basic postulates of NLP.

Postulate 1. Every person has a representative system

We receive information about the world thanks to our sense organs, which are called representational systems. The resulting data is transmitted to the central nervous system, where it is processed into data that serves as the basis for developing behavior.

This way, you can determine which one you and other people use. For example, if a person in his speech focuses on the words “I look at this issue the same way,” he uses the visual system, if “I feel the same as you,” he uses the kinesthetic system. Similar pointers are predicates, or specific language keys in human speech, which can also be called linguistic markers.

By defining a representative model of a person, it is possible to carry out 3 types of actions that will help us enter into rapport with him (a trusting relationship). Firstly, this accession, in which you match your model with that of another person, that is, you use linguistic patterns and vocabulary to imitate the model of your interlocutor. For example, if a person says to you: “I see that you haven’t eaten your porridge,” you can answer: “Yes, it really looks like that.” Or, the second option is to say: “Yes, I hear your argument and agree with it” and disconnect.

The third option is called mirroring and involves maximum imitation of human behavior. If joining implies that you share the person's representational system as a whole, then to mirror you need to act exactly like him. That is, if your interlocutor scratches behind his ear, you should (via certain time, of course, so that he doesn’t think that you’re teasing) do the same.

The main tool for defining a representative system is sensory acuity, or a person's ability to notice external behavioral cues and interpret them.

It is achieved simply - through daily training, which consists of observing breathing, changes in complexion, muscle tone, position lower lip and tone of voice. In the process, in order to “join” a person, you need to calibrate your behavior, depending on the patterns of behavior of your interlocutor.

Why is this necessary? People who think and behave the same way more likely attract each other.

Postulate 2. “Map” is not “territory”

There are two levels of perception of reality: internal and external. We construct reality at the internal level (internal representation) through the receipt of data by the senses and their subsequent processing. However, our internal interpretation of an event is not its real reflection. Therefore, the “map” that is created within us is not the “territory” that exists outside.

Postulate 3. A person’s behavior corresponds to his “map”

The perception of reality, and therefore our actions, depends directly on our internal “map”. They consist of our beliefs, values, so they are positioned as our “thoughts”. Thus, NLP practitioners argue that changing the “map” contributes to the formation of a new model. To put it simply, there is objective reality, it is not a matrix, but we still perceive it incorrectly. So why not program perception with more practical thoughts?

Postulate 4. Consciousness and body directly influence each other’s state

The placebo effect clearly demonstrates the fact that the presence of beliefs can lead to changes in physical condition. And if the mind can heal the body, then the reverse process is also possible. That is, if we feel moral pain in our hearts, then there will be a threat of the formation of a real disease, as NLP practitioners claim.

Postulate 5. We must respect the model of the world, or “map”, of other people

Subjective perception really exists and will cause a considerable amount of controversy, usually associated with an attempt to convince a person or with a lack of understanding of why he thinks this way and not otherwise. For an NLP professional, an important basis for interacting with people is accepting the possibility of their “map” and respecting it. Moreover, when trying to influence the “card,” a defensive reaction may arise, and most likely will occur, which will negate efforts to establish rapport.

Postulate 6. Personality and behavior are not the same thing

An individual's moral values ​​are not determined by actions, which may depend on a particular context. We must expect that a person’s behavior in the same situations, but when exposed to various factors, may differ. Thus, behavior does not define the person himself.

Postulate 7. The main result of communication is not the delivery of thoughts, but the reaction

Due to subjective perception, information provided by one person may be interpreted by another in a completely different way. Communication is not a monologue, and the reaction of your interlocutor determines the effectiveness of your ability to convey a point. If a person does not react in the way you want, then you should change not his model of perception, but your model of behavior and communication.

Postulate 8. There are no defeats, there is feedback

One of the main tenets of NLP is that there is no such thing as defeat. If during the communication you were unable to convey the idea, then this should be feedback, that is, the opportunity to analyze your mistakes and correct them. NLP practitioners often cite the example of Thomas Edison, who conducted more than 10,000 unsuccessful experiments and said that he did not fail, but discovered 10,000 options for what should not be done. As a rule, failure is perceived as a reason to retreat, while it should provide an opportunity to adapt one's behavior.

Criticism of NLP

Before we talk about criticism of NLP, we need to consider two points. Firstly, like any other science, psychology is open to new ideas and experience, because without this development is impossible. But psychologists as its representatives are a different matter. It's no secret that it is easier to criticize than to build your own scientific theory, in connection with which in science there are often cases when the H-index, or the scientific citation index and the main indicator of a scientist’s success, is created exclusively thanks to critical works.

And secondly, NLP is a theoretical framework that anyone can use. Like one of its two creators, Richard Bandler, proponents of NLP can get a bad reputation for misusing or selfishly using their knowledge. For example, the same personal development trainers who call NLP in a unique way turn an ordinary person into a successful billionaire.

In general, three main positions can be distinguished:

1. Supporters are those who fully share the ideas of NLP.
2. Opponents are those who believe that the theoretical basis of NLP is seriously undermined and can harm not only the person himself, but also the people around him. They, as a rule, choose the pretentious and unscientific language in which NLP is described as the main target of criticism. Neurolinguistic programming promises a lot, which is why the requirements for results are too high.
3. Realists have the most non-conflict position of those presented. Realists simultaneously see both the pros and cons of NLP. They highlight the weak effectiveness, underdeveloped theory, and inflated promises of the creators and supporters of NLP, but note the scientific validity of the first works on NLP and the possibility of achieving a positive result from the use of certain techniques.

What can you say on the merits?

In this article, we did not discuss specific methods of “achieving happiness” and turning oneself into a “successful businessman”; let personal development coaches do this. We have analyzed some of the postulates of NLP so that each reader can define whether to agree with these theses.


NLP has gathered around itself huge amount criticism, although it never tried to reach the stars from heaven. A person who understands the postulates of NLP and shares them will not enter into disputes, because he has made his own choice.

It is the idea of ​​perception and choice that runs through the entire concept: if you don’t want to understand, don’t do it; if you want, do it.

The very essence of NLP is the assertion that we cannot completely recreate reality within ourselves, but it gives us the opportunity to decide for ourselves how we see it. Hence, by the way, the widespread dissemination of personal training based on NLP, the creators of which do not have a specialized education and are interested in making a profit.

Of course, too much passion for other people's practices can lead to instability of your internal state, but NLP teaches a person to be successful and at the same time respect other people's perception of the world. Quite adequate postulates, right? This is how the author of the article sees the concept of NLP. What you see depends on you.

If you find an error, please highlight a piece of text and click Ctrl+Enter.

Cool idea - we can learn other people's skills. I have already written that NLP is essentially a success modeling system. This is just to find out how someone else’s skill works and teach it to others. And this can relate to almost anything: touch typing, walking on coals, playing on the stock exchange, sales, the ability to make acquaintances or manage your own fortune.

By the way, one of John Grinder’s students once modeled coal mining to take a test in the NLP master course. After that, I began to conduct seminars on teaching this very coal mining, which suddenly turned out to be very popular.
Richard Bandler, when he came across a person with a phobia, set out - as the great Milton Erickson bequeathed - to look for people who had overcome their phobias themselves. I found a couple of them, found out how they did it and created the “Quick Phobia Treatment” technique. Which allows you to deal with a phobia in about 15 minutes (true, true - we go through this technique in the Successful Thinking 2 training and quite quickly remove various phobias).
Personally, when I was certified as an NLP master, I simulated touch typing on a computer. He learned it himself and taught others. I'm using this model right now.

Each person is unique or “the map is not the territory”

Men are mistaken in thinking that all women are different, and women are mistaken in thinking that all men are the same.
Joke.

Indeed, each of us has our own personal life experience, our own view of the world. And this view of the world is unique. A person's personal view of the world in NLP is called by card(in contrast to the surrounding world, which, accordingly, is called territory). Maps are different - more or less convenient, suitable and detailed. The only thing is that they are not correct or incorrect, because this is only a description, a model. Any, even a very good card, will not be very convenient somewhere: the most best card the city of Moscow is completely useless in the glorious city of Saratov, and the wine list of a French restaurant is not very convenient for orientation in the Berlin metro.
And, naturally, a map is not a territory, just as a very detailed description of borscht (even with pictures) will not become borscht itself. So, most of the problems arise when a person tries to fit the world (territory) to his map, instead of redrawing his map so that it would be more suitable for this territory. And, to some extent, all that NLP does is help a person find such personal cards world that will help him become more successful, successful, happy and healthy. Naturally, if he wants it.

Many techniques for change in NLP are associated with “expanding” the map - searching for a broader view of the situation. Well, indeed, if we have a problem, then the solution is somewhere outside our world map. And in order to solve the problem, the map must be expanded so that this very solution falls into it.

Behind every behavior is a positive intention.

Calibration

People say one thing, but often feel and act very differently. There is such an important concept in NLP as calibration- ability to notice external signs condition. Because any of our assessments is manifested throughout the body: in intonation, movements, gestures, posture, sentence construction or breathing. And calibration allows you to understand what a person really feels, how he relates to whom, and what he wants. And pay much less attention to what he says. Since he can speak in order to please, what is expected of him, or what he considers more correct to say at the moment. Or simply because he did not realize his assessments and feelings. Calibration makes communication much more accurate and efficient, and human behavior much more understandable.

We already have all the necessary resources to achieve our goals

In order to get from Moscow to Saratov, a car needs gasoline (and a train needs electricity). Both a car and gasoline are necessary resources to achieve the goal of arriving in Saratov. So, in NLP it is assumed that we either already have the necessary resources to achieve the goal: to become more successful, stop smoking, communicate better, or finally write that report - or we can find them. The world is big, you just need to look.

At least by thinking this way, you are more likely to achieve results than by meditating on the topic “why am I so unhappy” and “I won’t succeed anyway, I’m not created for happiness (success, marriage, prosperity and possession BMW car X5)".

Environmental audit

NLP has a lot important thing - environmental check changes. This is a test of the consequences of actions - will it get worse after achieving the goals? And then he became the general director, but got an ulcer, stopped being afraid of heights, fell from the balcony and broke his finger, demonstrated confidence and calmness while scolding his superiors and was fired. So that new abilities, skills and beliefs do not ruin your life, you need to check in advance and tweak the result so that everything turns out well.

Models and techniques

Model in NLP - this is useful description(map). For example, how to clarify what a person is talking about (“meta-model of language”), how to change an assessment during communication (“reframing”) or belief (“tricks of language”), in what sequence to collect information (“SCORE”), typing people (“meta-programs”).
You can read about models in the NLP Encyclopedia.

Technicians NLP is step by step instructions. Most often, techniques describe how to solve a problem (“Swing”, “Six-step reframing”, “Quick treatment of phobias”, “Changing personal history”). But there is also about how to set goals correctly (“Well-formulated results”) or how to communicate better (“Effective Communication Strategy”).

In fact, techniques are also models, because they describe something, and are usually very useful.

Many NLP techniques are the result of modeling how people have successfully solved similar problems themselves. For example, “Strategy for Effective Communication” is the result of modeling successful communicators, “Changing Personal History” is modeled on the great Milton Erickson, the same one who created Ericksonian hypnosis, and “Quick Treatment for Phobias” is modeled on people who have removed their own phobias.
Description of various techniques in the NLP Encyclopedia.

Values, criteria and beliefs

What we strive for, what we want, or vice versa, what we avoid, is precisely determined by values, criteria And beliefs .
Values- important concepts for a person, usually expressed in abstract words, such as: happiness, freedom, justice, prosperity. Since values ​​are quite abstract, values ​​are accompanied by criteria- ways to measure the realization of value. For example, the value is “wealth”, and the criteria for wealth are “earning more than 150,000 per month, own apartment, car and dacha”.
Beliefs- rules of life that describe how to interact with value. For example, for the value “love” the beliefs could be:
- The most important thing in life is love.
- Love comes and goes.
- I'm not worthy of love.
- True love only happens once in a lifetime.
Beliefs can allow and prohibit the achievement of a value, describe what is needed to achieve it and what its criteria are. For example, even if “love” is a very important thing for a person, the belief “I don’t deserve love” will “prohibit” him from receiving this very love.

Beliefs control our lives: either a person does something for the sake of his beliefs, or does nothing.

At one time, no one managed to run a hundred meters faster than ten seconds. Until Jim Hines ran in 9.9 seconds in 1968. After that, everyone quickly began to run faster, record after record. The current record is 9.69. Well, runners before Hines didn’t believe that it was possible to go faster than 10 seconds; in their reality, such a possibility did not exist. Until that bastard original Hines vilely destroyed this belief.

Beliefs are also one of the most important filters of perception. If a woman does not believe that there are decent (according to her criteria) men, she will never come across them in her life. And even if they are caught, their behavior is interpreted in such a way that, God forbid, they do not fall under the criteria.
In NLP there are quite a few techniques for changing limiting beliefs (for example, the “Museum of Old Beliefs”), as well as a set of speech structures for changing beliefs directly during a conversation - tongue tricks(they are also promotions).

Our attitude is encoded using submodalities

In communication, the assessment and attitude is 85%. But inside about the relationship - important, like, right, legal, mine, someone else's, bad, wonderful, true - we learn with the help of the so-called submodalities .

Modalities (sensory) in NLP and psychology are called hearing (auditory modality), vision (visual modality) and feelings (kinesthetic modality).

For example, we can move the image away or bring it closer (which usually enhances the experience), make it brighter or darker (weakens the experience), color it differently (here it depends on the selection of colors) or blur the background (makes the object more important). Similarly, you can change the characteristics of sounds and sensations.
So here it is. Simply by changing submodalities, you can change your attitude: make something unpleasant neutral, increase motivation, remove obsession, turn doubt into conviction or confusion into understanding. With the help of visual and auditory submodalities, you can control your own attention. And with the help of kinesthetic submodalities, you can quite successfully learn to control various interesting states, such as creativity, increased attention, intoxication or super motivation.

More details about submodalities in the presentation.

We can control state using anchors

Would you like to manage your own wealth? So that you press the button and feel confident. Or calm, cheerful, cheerful, relaxed, focused. Is it good for a person to manage other people in the same way? Or calm, fun, and so on? Surely I would like such a thing - well, at least try it. And there is such a thing - this anchors, such marks in the consciousness that trigger the desired state.

In fact, anchors are conditioned reflexes. But the word anchor sounds more clear.

With the help of anchors, we can “turn on” and “turn off” our state: attention, vigor, calm, motivation or creativity; we can transfer the state from the place where it is to the place where it is still lacking: for example, there is calmness and confidence lying on the sofa at home, but when communicating with clients it is not yet there, so we can transfer it from the sofa to the clients; You can control the condition of other people, as well as destroy old, no longer needed anchors.

And attitudes formed in childhood are very tenacious. In addition, often a person simply does not know what and how to fix in order to change his life for the better.

The dream of managing one’s own consciousness and attitude towards the world was embodied in the development of various psychological and psychotherapeutic practices. One of the most popular of them currently is NLP - neuro-linguistic programming.

The first developments in this area appeared in the 60-70s of the last century. The founders of NLP are considered to be the American linguist John Grinder and the American psychologist Richard Bandler. Creating a theoretical basis for neurolinguistic programming, they proceeded from the following position: all the information we receive from the world around us is transformed using logical and linguistic (language) mechanisms. And this happens even before we comprehend the data we receive from our senses. Therefore, a person deals not with objective reality, but with his subjective ideas about this reality. Consequently, changing a person and his life is possible only through changing these ideas with the help of neurolinguistic mechanisms and the formation of models of consciousness.

NLP was not initially an independent direction or school in psychology, like, for example, humanistic psychology or psychoanalysis. Its developers used techniques and verbal techniques from representatives of three psychotherapeutic directions: Ericksonian hypnosis by M. Erickson, family therapy by V. Satir and Gestalt psychology by F. Perls.

Currently, NLP has many followers and critics. The cautious attitude of classical psychologists towards neurolinguistic programming has led to the fact that this system of techniques is rarely used in psychotherapy, but is widely used in various trainings on vocational training personnel, especially advertising and sales managers.

NLP - what kind of technique is it?

As already noted, the attitude towards NLP is contradictory: along with enthusiastic reviews, there are also many skeptical ones, and some psychologists generally consider neurolinguistic programming almost quackery, and ordinary people not associated with psychology often identify NLP techniques with the tricks of psychics or zombies (well, since this programming).

However, NLP is officially recognized as a direction of practical psychology, and skepticism is often associated with the specifics of techniques and techniques that use the power of words.

What is the essence of the NLP technique?

Neurolinguistic programming is based on the following objective laws of the human psyche and characteristics of human behavior:

• Human consciousness is a product of the interaction of an individual with the environment when external influences are transformed, transformed into mental processes.
• An important role in the formation of stereotypes of consciousness and patterns of behavior based on them is played by language, more precisely, speech or linguistic formulas.
• Analyzing his own experience and the experience of other people who have achieved success, a person, with the help of speech formulas, is able to program his attitude to the world and his behavior.
• Successful management of life and behavior requires specially developed strategies and linguistic models. Developing them is the task of a practicing psychologist - an NLP specialist.

As I think you already understand, there is nothing supernatural or paranormal in neurolinguistic programming. The power of the human word and self-persuasion has long been known, as well as one of the fundamental principles of NLP: “If you cannot change the situation, then change your attitude towards it.” However, the apparent simplicity of the practices of neurolinguistic programming leads to the fact that poorly prepared people who do not know the basic principles of psychology begin to practice it. The attempts of these would-be specialists to invent their own methods, which do not bring the desired result, are one of the reasons for the skepticism towards NLP.

Auditory, visual and kinesthetic: three approaches to influence in NLP

People perceive and process information differently depending on which channel of perception is dominant in them: visual, kinesthetic or auditory. And the nature of this information is different. The dominance of one channel or representative system leads to the “filtering” of data from the senses, that is, what some hear may not be seen or felt by others. Therefore, an important condition for the effectiveness of NLP practices is orientation towards the dominant channel and, accordingly, towards psychological characteristics kinesthetic, visual and auditory learners.

This should also be taken into account by people who would like to use neurolinguistic programming techniques to manage own life. Determine which representational system dominates in a person, based on the characteristics of his behavior and speech.

• Visuals are focused on visual images, for them it has great value shape, size and color of objects. For these people, the orderliness of things and the harmony of the surrounding space are important, so they are irritated, for example, by clothes lying around out of place, a book that is not on a shelf in the closet, but lying on the sofa, and the asymmetry of the company logo can make them refuse to purchase. They describe reality in visual terms; their speech contains many words related to vision: “look”, “see”. They “vaguely understand,” “clearly imagine,” “see prospects,” and their achievements are “visible.”
• Kinesthetics are people who live by body sensations. For them, tactile perception, the feeling of movement, the speed of a car or the comfort of a soft sofa are important. They attach importance not to color, but to the convenience of things. That's why nothing irritates them more than a tight collar or cookie crumbs in bed. They evaluate the reliability of a business partner by shaking hands or by the smell of perfume. Since the thinking of kinesthetics is focused on bodily sensations, in their speech they have many corresponding words and verbal formulas: “feel”, “it feels like...”, “soft”, “rough”, “touching”, “firm look” , “tough decision”, “inconvenient position”.
• Auditory learners perceive the world as a combination of sounds. They remember information better by hearing. The timbre of the interlocutor’s voice is important to them; they prefer to communicate with business partners over mobile phone or via Skype. In speech, auditory learners often use words and phrases related to auditory perception: “listen”, “it doesn’t sound like something”, “noisy”, “quiet”, “ringing”; they wait for an “explanation,” which often “tells them nothing,” and they themselves “take the floor.”

NLP Techniques

Currently, there are many different NLP techniques. Their advantage is that, unlike other areas of psychotherapy, neurolinguistic programming methods can be used independently and experience their effectiveness for yourself. For this, a small training seminar from a specialist or even detailed instructions. There are, of course, techniques of varying degrees of complexity, but here we will get acquainted with the most accessible and popular ones.

Anchor technique

In the lives of each of us there are situations that are significant because they have had a serious impact on our lives. They may be associated with negative ones, but we are in in this case I’m only interested in positive ones, those that evoke memories of a feeling of bliss, unclouded happiness.

Images of such situations filled with happiness are recalled spontaneously, but this process can be made conscious and organized. The “anchor” serves this purpose. Having chosen the most attractive situation that is in memory (meeting with a loved one, a combination of a feeling of freedom, warm sun and gentle sea, etc.), you need to associate it with a specific action. This could be clapping your hands, snapping your fingers, rubbing your earlobe, etc. This connection will be the “anchor”. You can also use some material object as an “anchor”: a keychain, a ring on your finger, a souvenir or a talisman. And if this item is initially associated with the chosen situation, even better.

The connection between the memory and the “anchor” needs to be consolidated by mentally repeating it to yourself several times. This will lead to the development of a conditioned reflex that can be “turned on” at any time, just perform an action or look at the object chosen as an “anchor”.

The situation on which we have set the “anchor” is called “resource” - from it we will draw a positive mood, strength and be charged with positive energy at any time. The anchoring technique is very helpful when we need to solve difficult problems or when it seems that nothing positive is happening around us.

SMART - goal setting technique

One of the main problems of many modern people– vagueness of goals or lack of a clear idea of ​​them at all. Therefore, these people, without thinking about anything, seem to go with the flow and are very surprised when they are carried out onto the rocks of problems and troubles.

A goal is a necessary guideline for moving forward, and indeed for any movement. Therefore, it is very important to learn how to set the right goals, which is the subject of one of the neurolinguistic programming techniques - SMART. This is an acronym for 5 rules to follow when setting a goal.

• S – specific – accuracy and specificity. When setting a goal, be precise and in detail about the specific result you want to achieve. So, “I want to be rich” is too vague and unclear a goal, so it is not able to stimulate your activity. But “I want to earn money to buy a new apartment” - this is more specific.
• M – measurable – measurable. Have a clear idea of ​​how much time and what resources will be required to achieve the goal.
• A – attainable - achievable and realistic. Be aware of the possibility of achieving your goal and do not strive for the obviously impossible. This will only lead you to disappointment and loss of self-confidence.
• R – relevant – importance, significance and compliance with your requirements. The goal should be meaningful to you, and its achievement should qualitatively change something in your life or in yourself.
• T – time-bounded – time limitation. Set strict deadlines for achieving what you want. A goal that is lost in the distant, foggy perspective will never be a stimulus for activity.

By following these rules, you can not only learn to set goals that are meaningful to you, but also achieve them and realize your dreams.

Reframing

According to the theory of NLP, what is important for a person is not only and not so much objective reality, but his own attitude towards it. It is the perception and assessment of the situation that shapes behavior and determines our emotional state. If we are upset because of the action of a loved one, then the point is not in him or the action itself, but in our attitude towards it. Emotional assessment is a kind of frame into which we insert reality events. It is enough to change the frame, and reality will be perceived differently.

This is the essence of the reframing technique. Frame is a “frame”, and reframing is changing the frame. With the help of reframing, you can not only change your attitude towards what happened, but also get rid of thought patterns that have a traumatic effect on us.

Context reframing

From the point of view of NLP, changing the perception of a situation is possible with the help of verbal formulas that describe the event differently. This is the so-called context reframing, which has become popular recently. By the way, this is not a new invention at all. We can find an example of context reframing in the fable of the blind ancient Greek storyteller Aesop, translated by I. A. Krylov. The fable is called "The Fox and the Grapes." The fox, who, no matter how he jumped, could not get the bunch of grapes, declares that they are still green, so there is no need to be upset.

And here is another example of “folk” reframing. When a bride runs away with another man before the wedding, this is, of course, a very unpleasant situation. But folk wisdom, in the words of a famous song, teaches: “If the bride leaves for someone else, then it is not known who is lucky.” Agree, this radically changes the perception of the situation.

Sometimes, to change your assessment of an event or your behavior, it is enough to just slightly change the phrase describing the event. Here, for example, are 3 variants of verbal formulas, essentially with the same meaning, but how they differently influence the emotional state and attitude to the situation:

1. “I want to achieve results, but I have problems.”
2. “I want to achieve results, even though I have problems.”
3. “I want to achieve results, despite the fact that I have problems.”

Along with context reframing, there are other types of reframing: content reframing, result reframing. But one of the most difficult is considered to be the “six steps” reframing, which appeared as the very first of all types of this technique.

Six Step Reframing

Its goal is to change an unwanted behavior pattern or habit, which in NLP is called a pattern. This type of reframing consists of 6 stages or steps:

• Stage 1. Decide on the problem, that is, clarify for yourself what specifically does not suit you in your behavior.
• Stage 2. Designate this trait or stereotype of your behavior with some symbol, color, letter, that is, create a visual image and clearly establish in your mind the connection between it and the undesirable pattern. Imagine this image as part of yourself and feel your relationship to it.
• Stage 3. Why are you following this pattern of behavior? There must be some positive reason or intention behind it. Identify them and clearly understand the essence of these intentions.
• Stage 4. Come up with a set of alternative behaviors that also satisfy the positive intention and can replace the unwanted pattern without harming you.
• Stage 5. Contact your subconscious with the desire to replace the unnecessary stereotype with one of the alternative behavior options.
• Stage 6. Check to see if all parts of yourself agree with the proposed alternative. This last stage is called "Environmental Review".

Communicating with parts of your Self, with your subconscious, turning to them with a request or gratitude seems strange at first glance. However, in accordance with the theory of NLP and psychology in general, we are not always aware of the activities of different spheres and levels of consciousness and subconscious, and even more so we do not always control them. Therefore, establishing contact with these areas of our psyche is not only useful, but also necessary in order to learn how to manage our lives.

The use of verbal influence in NLP encourages followers of this direction not only to develop speech skills, but also to be very serious and attentive to our own speech, including internal speech, to the formulations that we use. It’s not without reason that they say: “Whatever you call the ship, that’s how it will sail.”