NLP, or Neuro Linguistic Programming, is one of the most powerful methods of influencing people and their subconscious. The technique is used in very serious areas - from criminalistics to personal growth. In addition to educational trainings, programming techniques can be mastered by studying books on NLP. The best will be named later in the article.
The concept of Neuro Linguistic Programming
NLP is not a branch of neurolinguistics that deals with the connection between language and the brain. Neuro-linguistic programming is an independent method of psychotherapy. Deciphering the concept of NLP, one can trace the essence of the technique.
"Neuro" means the involvement of the human neurological system, that is, all the leading senses - sight, smell, hearing, taste and touch.
The concept of "linguistic" means the union of language and human experience.
And finally, “programming” is a series of influences aimed at achieving a change in emotionalhuman reactions and experiences.
History of NLP
The town of Santa Cruz in California (USA) became the birthplace of Neuro Linguistic Programming. It was here that the university was located, where young men with progressive views studied. A university professor and concurrently one of the outstanding philosophers of his time, Gregory Bateson had a special influence on the formation of NLP methodology. In the author's best books, the basic principles of the method were highlighted.
One of the fathers of the Neuro Linguistic Programming method, John Grinder, from his youth was interested in the scientific concepts of the American linguist Noam Chomsky. This passion resulted in the defense of a doctoral dissertation and the writing of a book that de alt with the problems of linguistics. A work called On Deletion has become very popular with researchers in this area.
Already teaching at the University of Santa Cruz, John Grinder met a student, Richard Bandler, who studied mathematics, cybernetics and showed a remarkable interest in the behavioral sciences. There was a significant meeting in 1972. Bandler's scientific views were greatly influenced by the work of Gest alt therapist Fritz Perls.
At the same time, while studying other areas of modern psychotherapeutic thought, Bandler compared various methods of influencing the consciousness and the subconscious. The result of this analysis was R. Bandler's first book, The Gest alt Method Through the Eyes of a Psychotherapy Witness.
Soon, thanks to the peculiar tradition of the University of Santa Cruz, where each student could try theirstrength in conducting a special course in psychotherapy, Richard Bandler opened his own practice. As a supervisor of one of the Gest alt groups, he invited John Grinder, who taught seminars on linguistics at the university.
Supervisions were so educational that soon the professor became interested in psychotherapy in a broad sense. Soon, Gest alt therapy exercises, combined with play and linguistic moments, led to the emergence of a new method in psychology - NLP. The best books in this direction (about them later) belong, of course, to their authors. Over time, they were joined by Milton Erickson and Virginia Satir, who made some innovations in NLP, in particular, the concept of hypnosis and trance. The dictionary of neurolinguistic programming has been replenished with such terms as interruption patterns, rapport. The method has been enriched with techniques of direct and cross mirroring, the use of breath and voice, etc.
Neuro Linguistic Programming method continues to evolve in our time. Despite this, the best books of NLP are those of its creators:
- Richard Bandler, Time for a Change;
- Richard Bandler and John Grinder, From Frogs to Princes;
- Richard Bandler, Personality Correction Guide;
- Richard Bandler, Reframing. Orientation of personality with the help of speech strategies.”
The works of the famous scientist discuss methods of changing thinking and perception in order to get rid of uncomfortable psycho-physiological standards. Reading such works will be extremely interesting andprofessionals, and ordinary people who are at least a little interested in the problems of psychology. The books are written in an accessible and slightly ironic manner, making it easy to read.
Basic NLP terms
Like every area of psychotherapy, neurolinguistic has its own special concepts. The best beginner NLP books explain the following terms.
- Pattern refers to a piece of behavior that is regularly repeated.
- The channel of perception is a modality through which a person learns the world around him. In NLP, three main channels of perception are recognized - sight, hearing and feelings. Accordingly, there are three types of modality - visual, auditory and kinesthetic direction.
- Building - the image of the opponent's behavior patterns.
- Reflection - fine tuning to patterns of another person's behavior.
- Calibration - determination of external characteristics (usually non-verbal) of the subject's internal states.
- The map of reality is an individual model of the world around each person.
- The primary system is a set of representative responses of a person to the world around him.
- Associations - immersion in experiences, the reproduction of which a person perceives in reality.
- Rapport means the process of establishing the highest level of trust between people or within a group of subjects.
- Trance is a change in the state of human consciousness.
- Modeling the situation consists inmapping human reality.
- Predicate is a word that refers to a certain type of representational system - visual, auditory or kinesthetic. By noticing which predicates a person most often uses in his speech, one can determine his leading modality of perceiving the world.
- Anchor is any stimulus that is associated with a clear response. The anchoring technique is based on creating a conditioned reflex.
Types of modalities of perception of the world
As mentioned above, a person perceives the environment through three representational systems - hearing, vision or feelings (touch, smell and inner sensations). Although the subject simultaneously owns all three types of modality, one of them is leading (representative).
According to the above, there are three types of people:
Audial is a person who is most focused on sound information (sounds, voice intonations, speech timbre, etc.). In his stories, he often uses words denoting auditory information: making noise, screaming, twittering, voice, sounds, quiet, loud, etc
- Visual - a person who primarily perceives everything with his eyes. Analyzing the speech of the visual, one can notice the frequent repetition of the words of the "visual" meaning: bright, clear, color, colorful, light, dark, etc.
- Kinesthetic includes all other senses - smell, taste, tactility, internal sensations. The predicate words of such people may be as follows:warm, cold, s alty, hurt, prick, stink, sweet, etc.
How to determine modality by eye movement
You can also determine the representative system of a person by the eyes. The best books on NLP recommend keeping a close eye on your opponent's eye during dialogue. All eye movements occur almost involuntarily, especially when a person is engaged in a conversation.
It is believed that the right side of the torso is responsible for the imagination, while the left side is for the memories of real events.
Visual eyeballs run in the upper part of the orbit. If, during a conversation, the eyes of the interlocutor suddenly crawled to the upper right part, it means that you have a classic visual in front of you, who also wants to lie or hide information. Moving up and to the left means that a person is trying to remember his past experience.
Audial is distinguished by the movement of the pupils in the middle part of the orbit, and the kinesthetic prefers to hide the eyes down. The right and left sides will testify to the veracity of the information of the interlocutor.
Principles of the methodology
The main postulates of the NLP technique are the following:
- Each person has a subjective experience that determines his behavior.
- Every experience is reprogrammable.
- A new human experience can be reprogrammed.
- Positive and negative emotional attitude to upcoming events can be programmed.
- Neuro Linguistic Programming is not hypnosis. Because of this mancannot be forced to perform any particular action.
- In the process of NLP, only the attitude of the subject to certain events changes.
- The work of an NLP specialist is based on one of the three representational systems of a person (visual, auditory or kinesthetic).
- In the process of neurolinguistic programming, the therapist reflects all the emotional states of the client, as well as his voice tone, speed of speech, posture, etc. All this helps to establish a trusting relationship between the specialist and his visitor.
Simple Neuro Linguistic Programming Techniques
The best NLP books for beginners present the simplest methods of guidance. Common exercises include the following:
- "Little things in life" technique (presenting a major trouble as small and not worth attention);
- exercise "After 50 years" (imagination in detail of an unpleasant situation or person in 50 years);
- Blow Film method (representing unpleasant memories in a brighter way, until the picture fades completely over time).
Rating of the best books on NLP by foreign authors
For beginners who have just started learning Neuro-Linguistic Programming, it will be useful to familiarize themselves with the following works:
- Joseph O'Connor and Pryer Robin, NLP and Personal Relationships. The authors explain the reasons for the death of interpersonal relations between a man and a woman in our time, considerthe basic principles of choosing a partner, give advice on how to remain yourself. After reading the book, the reader will learn to freely express their feelings and enjoy gender differences, and not try to overcome them.
- The same Joseph O`Connor, in collaboration with John Seymour, created a work called "Introduction to Neuro-Linguistic Programming". The book discusses a variety of NLP techniques that will be useful in establishing communication links in business, education, and psychotherapy. The techniques described here are effective in all areas of human activity.
- Joseph O'Connor and Ian McDermont, NLP and He alth. The book talks about how to overcome he alth problems and prevent dangerous diseases with the help of neurolinguistic programming. This book is considered one of the best NLP books for beginners. Here are the main principles of Neuro Linguistic Programming techniques. In addition, not only the main postulates of the direction are indicated, but also those areas of human life in which the method finds its application.
- Leslie Cameron-Bandler, "They have lived happily ever after." The book by the wife of the founder of NLP, Richard Bandler, teaches how to transform the premonition of personal pleasure into reality. With the help of a light syllable and funny examples, rather serious postulates are stated, the main exercises of the method are described. Even a beginner can master this therapeutic manual.
The best NLP books in ourcountry
Neuro-linguistic programming is very popular in different countries of the world, including Russia. Among the best books of NLP, published by domestic specialists, the following can be distinguished:
- "Stop, who's leading?" Dmitry Zhukov;
- “How to manage yourself and others with the help of NLP”, “NLP. The Big Book of Effective Techniques”, “NLP. More than hypnosis”, “NLP for parents” by Diana Balyko and others.
As evidenced by reviews of the best books on NLP, these works help to gain self-confidence and get rid of many complexes. Such "textbooks" provide an opportunity for beginners in the field of neurolinguistic programming through simple exercises to help not only themselves, but also others to deal with many problems, build relationships with others, improve well-being and look at the world differently.
