Even as an NLP practitioner I think this is a very healthy debate to have. I am absolutely convinced that NLP provides positive life transformations when applied in the way its creators intended it to be used; I have seen it happen time and time again with my own clients. However, many people have a distorted view of what NLP is all about because their exposure to it has come in the form of inexperienced ‘dabblers’ who have missed the point.
I have attended many trainings and seminars where NLP is cited as one of the methods being employed, but then the facilitators only go on to talk about concepts and presuppositions. NLP is something that needs to be experienced before it can be completely understood. I could talk all day about how the mind makes associations and links emotions to external stimulus and you would either buy into it or you wouldn’t. However, if I were to guide you through a physical Anchoring technique that allowed you to access a positive emotional state anytime you wanted in the future you would have no choice but to see the truth of how NLP is aligned to the way you work. Only when we have a true experience of something can we stop having opinions about theories and start utilizing the tested facts.
I genuinely think that if I had never experienced NLP first hand, in its intended form, I would be one of the skeptics who think it is a fluffy gimmick passed its sell by date. The fact that I have experienced it, on too many occasions to count, means I can see why NLP is going to continue growing, evolving and changing lives.
This is a fascinating article by Mike Levy on the Training Zone website:
In his recent book, 'Tricks of the Mind' television
illusionist Derren Brown says that NLP (neuro-linguistic programming) is "The
Frankenstein grandchild of Ericksonian hypnosis". More than 30 years after the
publication of 'The Structure of Magic', the seminal work on NLP by Bandler and
Grinder, has the set of techniques come of age or had its day? Is there any
scientific proof to underpin the claims made by practitioners? And if not, does
it matter?
Evergreen questionsThese, says Michael Breen, are
evergreen questions: "They were asking them back in 1988 and they come up every
10 years or so." Breen, who taught NLP with Bandler and Paul McKenna, has
predictably strong views about the current state of NLP. "It's no use asking
about scientific validity: NLP is not and never will be a science. It is a
discipline that people will take pot shots at and then steal its contents."
Breen who spoke at last year's NLP Conference, says that the
discipline does not look for absolute truths: "NLP looks for clues to see what
works in human behaviour. NLP cannot be controlled – the best new work is coming
from people nobody has heard of. And that is how it should be."
Elusive qualityThere is, says Breen, an inbuilt and elusive
quality about NLP which depends hugely on the skills and insights of the
practitioner: "It is not about a corpus of knowledge or a set of testable
qualifications. NLP was created to create new stuff, not to copy other people's
work."
His point is that for him, NLP is a facilitating tool that
opens up endless possibilities when it is in the right hands. "It is a
behavioural skills set, an art, a discipline that when used well can have
amazing results."
What excites Breen most about his discipline is
what his students can do with the tools: "Someone who takes what they learn
about NLP and goes on to do something completely new with it: that is what
really turns me on." He cites a student who developed his own set of tools based
on Houdini's famous escapes. "It's a lovely little tool and it works – that is
NLP."
"The best practitioners are those who already possess
competencies that can be built on. However, no two practitioners should ever do
the same work. That is why NLP is not a science."
Flourishing in
the downturnSue Knight, best-selling author of 'NLP at Work', agrees: "NLP is a
study of what works best – the most important test is: does it work for you and
achieve the results you want?" Knight, a speaker at this year's NLP Conference,
thinks that the discipline is flourishing with the present downturn providing
new and exciting opportunities.
"NLP is perfectly suited to these
times. What makes excellence in leadership and how do we best deal with business
adversity are some key questions today. My programmes on leadership here and in
India are bursting at the seams. The crash in the financial world is a
demonstration of what happens when you do not have excellence in leadership.
People are now looking for new ways of leading business. NLP answers that call."
Never strongerFor Knight, NLP is now far from marginal: "Looking
back over 20 years as a practitioner, there was a time when most people on my
courses paid for themselves – now almost all are backed by their employers." So
Knight believes that NLP has never been stronger.
Marielena
Sabatier, co-founder of Inspiring Potential, agrees with that view. She is
another keen advocate of NLP. A few years ago, she took her MBA and immersed
herself in the no-nonsense world of high corporate finance. Then came a complete
change of career – running a thriving coaching company whose focus is leadership
development and interpersonal communication skills. But isn't NLP a little too
fluffy for her? "Not at all. It has so many uses – improving inter-personal
communications, challenging the presuppositions behind the way we see ourselves
in the world, helping us to become more tolerant of other people's viewpoints. I
find that NLP really opens the mind to new possibilities."
Lack of
evidence?Is she worried then at the lack of hard scientific evidence behind NLP?
"No, it is an amalgam of already tried and tested therapies and ideas. To me,
NLP really explains how the brain works – and I'm the kind of person who, if it
doesn't make sense, I go back to the roots of an idea." That said, Sabbatier
regrets the sheer number of NLP schools out there: "It makes a single
accreditation body less, rather than more, likely to succeed."
No
profession!Accreditation is something of an anathema to Breen but he is excited
about the future of NLP: "Not in terms of more paper qualifications. There
should never be an NLP 'profession'. Without all that NLP has reached the point
where it has percolated through the culture," he says. "It is everywhere but it
doesn't necessarily smell like NLP – and that is exactly as it should be. NLP is
essentially about transformation and in that quality, the very nature of NLP
must keep evolving and transforming."
The future, says Breen, will
be online – NLP will be democratised and that could be bad news for traditional
classroom approaches. New technology will hit the NLP profession very hard –
putting learning into the hands of the learners will mean that NLP will change
its form, content and mode of delivery." Breen, for one, cannot wait for the
next 30 years.
For more information:For those looking for research
underpinning NLP, there are a number of respected papers such as the one
produced by Ashley Dowlen, an Associate at Roffey Park. His 1996 paper 'NLP -
help or hype? Investigating the uses of neuro-linguistic programming in
management learning' is a good overview of the evidence. He finds that, "...the
use of language patterns to enhance effective communication tends to get support
and appears to be among the more reliable evidence. The use of the 'outcome'
technique receives some support, as does the meta-model questioning method. The
evidence on the ability of NLP approaches to bring about change in emotional
state is far less conclusive. In general terms, the eclectic nature of NLP may
be its strength, particularly if the collection of approaches is new to
potential users, and in general terms there are a number of references to the
value of NLP techniques for developers."
For the whole report see
the Emerald Insight web page: www.emeraldinsight.com
There are more research findings at: www.eanlpt.orgAnd www.inspiritive.com.au
About the interviewer: Mike Levy is a freelance journalist and
copywriter with 20 years' experience. He is also a writing and presentations
coach. He especially loves playwriting and creating resources for schools. Mike
is director of Write Start Ltd. For more information go to: www.writestart.co.uk
LIFE HAPPENS: visit me any time as www.life-happens.co.uk
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