What is NLP or neuro-verbal programming, and what are its uses?

Do you want to improve your relationships and talk more intelligently with others? You may also be interested in using the power of your words and speech to influence others, motivate them, and develop creative ideas. Neuro-verbal programming, or NLP, can get you to this point. It can even take you further. This article will introduce you to NLP and show you how to use it in a few examples.

What is neuro-verbal programming or NLP?

NLP is a set of advanced communication skills. These skills have been identified by studying people who were very good at communicating. In this approach, the prevailing belief is that if you understand and imitate the way these people think and behave, you can achieve the same positive results that they have achieved.

These studies’ tools, techniques, and strategies will help you know yourself and others. NLP enables you to understand how you act and react, communicate with others, and quickly form mutual understanding, creating positive results.

To better understand what NLP is, remember when your boss called you into his office after you finished a challenging project. Or remember that feeling you got when you stepped on a stage or gave a speech? Think of a child who is faced with the angry and annoyed tone of his parents’ voice. How will he react to this situation?

In such situations, most of the time, our reactions happen automatically and without consciously thinking about them. These automatic reactions have a positive effect and are helpful. Still, it is also possible that they are useless and have a negative impact. With the help of NLP, you become more aware of your reactions and learn how to beneficially change both your responses and the words you say and make their impact positive.

Note

The fathers of the NLP approach, John Grinder and Richard Bandler, used the word “neural” in naming their model because the patterns they discovered were at the level of neural processes. The term “verbal” was chosen to show how our neural processes are reflected in our speech. And finally, “programming” means that we can break free from our programmed behavior and choose how to organize our thoughts and actions.

Applications of NLP

You can use NLP to increase your abilities in positive and constructive behavior. The techniques of neuro-verbal programming (NLP) help you to find a mutual understanding with people when communicating with them and to speak in such a way that you are understood and understood by others. In the NLP model, you use language patterns and skills to ask more powerful and effective conversation questions and get positive results.

NLP (Neuro Verbal Programming) teaches you to understand what outcome you want from a particular situation and see if you are moving toward or away from that outcome. This approach teaches you to be flexible in changing your behavior and ultimately get the desired results. For example, suppose you want a successful negotiation about a work contract. Using Neuro-Lingual Programming (NLP), you can become more aware of what you say and how you say it and determine if the other person is attracted to your speech. Once you have this awareness, you can change your behaviour and address it if necessary, thus achieving your goal successfully.

Let me give another example. In the middle of a contentious argument, NLP (Neuro Verbal Programming) can help you change your perception of the situation and put yourself in the other person’s shoes. This will help you better understand their motivations and the reason behind their words. Also, when you want to summarize the discussion, instead of immediately agreeing to the final result or going into the details, you can use the help of NLP to look at the whole matter and understand the entire discussion.

NLP can help increase self-confidence in public speaking. Explore and become aware of your inner states when you are confident enough. You can make associations between these images and emotions and situations in which you are not very secure. The mind unconsciously understands these slight changes and increases your self-confidence.

Creating mutual understanding to achieve excellent results

Although most of us have a long way to communicate with others and create mutual understanding, there are still times when things don’t go how we want. Like the grueling meetings with unhappy customers or the problematic discussions, we have with the salary boss. With the help of NLP, we can create a successful mutual understanding with the other party and, in this way, move the discussion a little more smoothly and increase the probability of getting a positive result.

Imitating the tone of voice, body language, and even the speed of speaking of your other party can improve your relationship with him. In this case, your interlocutor’s mind will unconsciously conclude that you are similar to him, and we all like those similar to us. You can also communicate with others by speaking their language. We perceive events with the help of our eyes, ears, emotions, and even our sense of smell and taste. Our speech reveals our preferred sensory language in various situations.

Have you ever heard someone say, “I know what you’re talking about,” “I can imagine it,” “I have a feeling about it,” or “I’m in touch with it?” Finding the skill to recognize this sensory language will help you to use words appropriate to the sensory language of your audience when necessary.

Additionally, by developing your awareness of subtle changes in body language, you can gain insight into what’s going on in the other person’s mind. What can you tell from the change in standing (straight or hunched) of the person in front of you? Do you know someone whose face turns red when they are angry? Do you have a friend who turns as white as chalk when they hear sad news?

By delving into the mechanisms of language and how we communicate, you can identify patterns that help you understand human behaviour. For example, about your opposite party, you ask yourself if they want to distort or delete something. Do they generalize too much? Do they like to have multiple options to choose how to do the work, or do they prefer to proceed according to specific and fixed instructions? Once you find the answers to your questions and understand what motivates people, you can better engage with them.

Common Misconceptions About Neuro-Nergic Programming (NLP)

Sometimes, people think that NLP (Neuro Verbal Programming) is a trick to do precisely what we want—for example, a sleazy marketer who convinces you to buy something you don’t like. Yes, NLP can be used in this way. However, it is not the tool that causes deception; it is how it is used. If we use this tool to the detriment of someone else, it is called cheating. But if we use it for the benefit of others, then we have used it positively.

Another common misconception is that NLP is used to detect lies using eye movements. Part of developing sensory insight is recognizing subtle eye movements and understanding the different meanings of each movement. However, since the purpose of each person’s eye movements is unique, before using NLP to detect other people’s lies, you must first understand what each movement of that particular person means. So, it is not that NLP is an advanced lie detector that is quick and easy. Catch people’s lies for you.

Warning

Neuroverbal programming was top-rated in psychology in the 1980s; therefore, much scientific research was conducted. However, most of these studies showed that NLP could be more effective. In controlled experiments, it has yet to achieve the results it claims. Today, NLP is considered a pseudo-science, and they do not give it much credit from a scientific point of view.

One of the reasons NLP is discredited is that its evidence is derived from personal experiences and oral traditions rather than scientific testing. It has also been said that verbal neuroprogramming has no connection with neuroscience and no link with linguistics and programming. Its name makes it seem as if it is taken from these areas. Some believe that the founders of NLP have only used these scientific words to make their method appear scientific in the eyes of the public. Despite all this, this technique is still mentioned in success seminars, as well as communication skills. For this reason, we have decided to write an article about it.