Written and published by Martin Leith
Leith s Briefsheet
www.martinleith.com
October 2003
Neuro-Linguistic Programming
Leith's Briefsheets
Each Leith s Briefsheet focuses on a concept or tool that change agents and innovation activists may find useful.
What is NLP?
In his book Using Your Brain  For A Change, NLP co-developer Richard Bandler says:  Neuro-Linguistic Programming is a
name that I made up to avoid having to be specialized in one field or another. NLP is an interdisciplinary subject which
embraces, among other things, brain/mind research (neuro), the study of language (linguistic), and psychotherapy (re-
patterning, or [re-]programming). One of the key NLP principles is multiple description, so here are three ways of describing
NLP. (1) NLP is a comprehensive and coherent body of knowledge about communication, behaviour, learning and change.
(2) NLP is the study of the difference between competence and mastery. (3) NLP is an attitude of curiosity, experimentation
and flexibility, leading to a methodology of modelling that leaves behind it a trail of techniques.
HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE
NLP originated during the 1970s in Santa Cruz, California, when mathematician Richard Bandler and associate linguistics
professor John Grinder studied, or  modelled , three distinguished and highly effective psychotherapists  Fritz Perls
(Gestalt therapy); Virginia Satir (Conjoint family therapy) and Milton Erickson (Ericksonian hypnotherapy). Grinder and
Bandler managed to find out how these three people were able to produce such outstanding results with such consistency.
The presuppositions (tacit assumptions), mental strategies and behaviour patterns employed by Perls, Satir and Erickson
were identified by Grinder and Bandler and distilled into the discipline they named Neuro-Linguistic Programming. Grinder
and Bandler s early co-developers included Judith DeLozier, Robert Dilts, Steve Andreas and Leslie Cameron-Bandler. NLP
initially came to public attention in 1975 with the publication of Grinder and Bandler s first book, The Structure of Magic. It
has since been used to model high performance in many different fields.
MAJOR INFLUENCES
Influences include the psychotherapeutic approaches of Fritz Perls, Virginia Satir and Milton Erickson the brief therapy
methods of Paul Watzlawick and others cybernetics (systems theory), including W Ross Ashby s Law of Requisite
Variety Gregory Bateson s cybernetic epistemology and, in particular, his learning levels work (epistemology as a noun is
the set of fundamental assumptions from which a person operates.) Bertrand Russell and Alfred N Whitehead s Theory
of Logical Types Alfred Korzybski s General Semantics Noam Chomsky s Transformational Grammar the TOTE
(Test Operate Test Exit) model developed by George Miller, E Galanter and Karl Pribram George Miller s theory,  The
Magic Number Seven, Plus or Minus Two .
UNDERLYING PRINCIPLES
NLP practitioners are guided by a set of operating principles called presuppositions. You do not need to actually believe
these statements, but you will probably find it helpful to act as though they are true. The presuppositions of NLP are as
follows: The meaning of your communication is the response it elicits Recognising people s responses requires clean,
open sensory channels People process all information through the five senses There is no failure, only feedback; no
mistakes, only outcomes Behind all behaviour there is a positive intention Rapport is meeting people at their model of
the world: people operate from their own perspective of the world, rather than how it actually is The map is not the
territory: the description of an experience is not the same as the experience itself People with the greatest flexibility have
the highest probability of achieving the responses and outcomes they desire Everyone is doing the best they can, given
the choices they believe are currently available to them People have all the resources necessary to make any desired
change Change can be quick and lasting People have two levels of communication: verbal and non-verbal; conscious
and unconscious Mind and body form one interactive system Client resistance is a comment on the inflexibility of the
change agent Modelling successful performance leads to excellence.
KEY CONCEPTS
The four cornerstones of NLP are: OUTCOME ORIENTATION (results focus), SENSORY ACUITY (paying close attention to non-verbal
information), BEHAVIOURAL FLEXIBILITY (choice about how to act), and RAPPORT (being on the same wavelength). When you are
working as a change agent, the META MODEL or language model enriches your understanding through the use of specific
questions that clarify verbal DISTORTIONS, DELETIONS and GENERALISATIONS, and the NEUROLOGICAL LEVELS model helps you make the
most effective intervention by addressing, as appropriate, your client s environment (where? when? with whom?),
behaviour (what?), capabilities (how?), values and beliefs (why?), identity (who?), or transpersonal awareness (who else?).
The three main viewpoints or PERCEPTUAL POSITIONS you can adopt to gain information are: first position (standing in your own
shoes), second position (putting yourself in the other person s shoes) and third position (imagining you are a fly on the
wall). In NLP, the five senses are called REPRESENTATION SYSTEMS and are labelled V A K O G: VISUAL (sight), AUDITORY (hearing),
KINAESTHETIC (feelings/touch), OLFACTORY (smell), and GUSTATORY (taste). Fine distinctions of these are called SUB-MODALITIES.
Visual sub-modalities include size, brightness, colour/black and white, spatial location, and DISSOCIATED/ASSOCIATED STATE (do
you see yourself in the picture or not?). You can adjust your sub-modalities to eliminate unpleasant feelings and generate
more effective behaviour. CALIBRATION helps you read another s state more accurately. Verbal clues called PREDICATES indicate
whether that person is in visual, auditory or kinaesthetic mode; likewise EYE ACCESSING cues, which also let you know whether
Copyright © 2003 by Martin Leith, all rights reserved. [e-mail] | www.martinleith.com | www.leithworks.com
images and sounds are being constructed or remembered, and if internal dialogue is occurring. MATCHING and PACING can
then be employed to create and maintain rapport. Resourceful states are evoked through stimulus-response ANCHORING and
through ELICITATION; this can also be used to identify STRATEGIES (patterns of thinking and behaviour) which can be modified
to improve performance. You can change the meaning of events by REFRAMING or redefining them. TIME LINE work enables you
to think differently about your personal history and invent your ideal future. META PROGRAMS are your internal filtering and
external operating styles. CRITERIAL EQUIVALENCE is how you act out your values or CRITERIA (what s important to you). Moving
from the specific to the general is called CHUNKING UP; moving the in the opposite direction, or dividing something into
smaller pieces, is CHUNKING DOWN. METAPHOR is used to communicate with the unconscious mind. The WELL-FORMED OUTCOMES
model helps you define goals in such a way that the likelihood of their achievement is substantially improved. You can then
use FUTURE PACING to mentally rehearse the successful accomplishment of these goals.
APPLICATIONS
NLP is a set of tools for accelerated learning, effective communication, strategic change and outstanding performance.
Organisational applications include the specification of mission, vision and strategy, the changing of attitudes, values and
beliefs, culture change work, the development of capabilities and competences and the strategic modification of behaviour.
Organisations embarking on small or large scale change programmes would do well to study NLP, as would those adopting
The Learning Organisation philosophy (Senge, et al), and those involved in Total Quality Management initiatives, business
process re-engineering, or competence-based schemes such as National Vocational Qualifications and the Management
Charter Initiative. Specific applications include training (process and content), public speaking, negotiation and selling,
interviewing, objective setting, problem solving, creativity and innovation, advertising, qualitative market research,
teaching (including spelling and music), dyslexia resolution, management and sports coaching, psychotherapy,
counselling, habit breaking (smoking, etc.), personal development, acting, mediation, advocacy, martial arts, medical
diagnosis.
THREE COMMON CRITICISMS
1.  NLP is manipulative. This is a shortcoming of certain practitioners, rather than a truth about the practice itself.
Fortunately, the large majority of NLP practitioners have respect for others and are aware of the negative consequences of
manipulation. 2.  NLP practitioners copy your postures and gestures, while noting every movement of your eyes. (A
reference to pacing and eye accessing cues; see overleaf.) This is evidence of a very low level of skill. If you are aware of
such behaviours then it is unlikely that the person concerned has studied with a recognised training organisation. 3.  NLP
training is expensive. It is true that the total cost of a training programme can appear high, but when the cost per training
day is calculated it is actually quite low, flexible payment terms can usually be arranged and the return on investment is
generally substantial.
THREE MAJOR VIRTUES
1. NLP is based on an interactive, holistic view of the world, rather than a linear, reductionist one. 2. NLP leads to
generative, rather than remedial, change. 3. NLP is not concerned with theories, only with what works. According to
Psychology Today:  NLP is the most powerful vehicle for change in existence, whether it is applied to business, law,
medicine or therapy.
Recommended reading
If you like restrained British books, then your best bet is Joseph O Connor and John Seymour s Introducing Neuro-
Linguistic Programming, published by Aquarian/Thorsons. If you prefer a more racy approach and are comfortable with an
American author, you will probably like Unlimited Power, written by Anthony Robbins and published by Simon & Schuster.
Both books are an enjoyable read and provide a clear, detailed explanation of NLP.
A selection of leading NLP training organisations (Recognised by ANLP  see below)
International Teaching Seminars (Ian McDermott)  based in London, www.itsnlp.com
John Seymour Associates (John Seymour)  Bristol based, www.johnseymour-nlp.co.uk
PPD  London based, www.ppdlearning.co.uk
Sensory Systems (John McWhirter)  based in Glasgow, www.sensorysystems.co.uk
Professional qualifications
ANLP (see below) accepts as full members those who have gained certification at practitioner level or above, either with
one of the establishments listed above (and certain others  details from ANLP), or with a recognised training organisation
outside the UK. The four main levels of competence are Practitioner, Master Practitioner, Trainer and Master Trainer.
Other information
The professional body in the UK for NLP is The Association for Neuro-Linguistic Programming, www.anlp.org
A mail order service for NLP books is provided by The Anglo-American Book Company, www.anglo-american.co.uk
Richard Bandler's website: www.richardbandler.com
Website of Robert Dilts and NLP Univrsity: www.nlpu.com
Copyright © 2003 by Martin Leith, all rights reserved. [e-mail] | www.martinleith.com | www.leithworks.com