NLP practitioner:: Goal setting

Undoubtedly, neurolinguistic programming today is one of the most popular and sought-after ways for a person to influence his own personality and those around him.

After all, NLP allows a person to learn to better understand himself and get rid of any negative traits, while at the same time cultivating positive ones; promotes a deeper understanding of those with whom you interact; makes it possible to make the communication process more pleasant and effective, as well as to influence people of completely different categories.

Moreover, knowledge of NLP is successfully applied not only in psychology, psychotherapy and other related sciences. The use of NLP is ideal for ordinary everyday life. And so that anyone can learn this, there are now many options: video and audio materials, Internet resources, trainings and webinars, special training programs, magazines, books, etc.

And, of course, the basis for any training programs and materials is always the theoretical foundations, which contain the bulk of information. But any theory will be of no value if it is not combined with practice, because Only practice develops the skills necessary for the successful application of knowledge.

We devoted this article to the practical side of NLP. In it we will look at some of the best and most popular NLP techniques and techniques. You can master any of these methods sufficiently if you practice regularly in everyday life.

This article briefly examines 13 techniques. If you want to learn about another 72 techniques and learn how to apply such techniques in life, we recommend that you pay attention to our course “The Best Communication Techniques.”

Change of submodalities

Submodalities are those elements that make up a holistic picture of our perception of the surrounding reality. With the help of them our attitude towards everything is encoded. The technique of changing submodalities allows us to change our attitude towards something, and we can influence not only the strength of the experiences we experience, but also transform their assessment and subsequent sensations. In addition, this technique is also suitable for changing the assessment of some situation that happened a long time ago, developing motivation, changing attitudes towards another person, etc.

As a rule, the scheme of this technique is always approximately the same: you need to take a situation (person) towards which you need to change your attitude, and a situation (person) in relation to which you experience, on the contrary, positive emotions. Then you need to find several differences between these situations (people) and their submodalities, and replace the submodalities of the first situation with the submodalities of the second. After this, a check is made: if the situation has changed in the desired direction, then the replacement was successful; if not, then you need to return to the previous step and work it out again.

You can learn more about the technique of changing submodalities here.

Model of correct goal setting “SMARTEF”

A huge role in the process of achieving goals is played by the ability to correctly formulate and determine the desired result. Simply put, in order to change anything in life, you need to have a clear idea of what you specifically want. It is the SMARTEF technique that helps to determine and formulate the result properly. Compliance of a goal with SMARTEF criteria greatly increases the likelihood of its implementation. The goal should be:

Specific (you must take into account all the details);
Measurable (you must be clearly aware of all the indicators of the moment when the goal is achieved);
Attractive (the goal must correspond to your beliefs and values, motivate you);
Realistic (you must know for sure that the goal is achievable and what you will need to achieve it);
Time-bound (you must clearly set a time frame for achieving the goal);
Environmental friendliness (you must consider your goal in global terms, and also realize the secondary benefits of achieving/not achieving it);
Positive wording in the present tense (when setting a goal, you must take into account special wording parameters).

We have already touched on the SMARTEF technique in our lesson “Anchoring, Performance and State Management”. If you wish, you can return to it or study the method in more detail here.

Walt Disney's Creative Strategy

This technique is based on the many years of experience of the American animator and film director Walt Disney in the fields of business and creativity. The essence of his strategy is the ability to approach any issue from three different positions: a dreamer, a realist and a critic. This approach itself was called “imagining” by the author. Each of the three components makes its contribution to the search for an effective solution to any issue.

The main function of the dreamer manifests itself at the initial stage, when new goals and ideas are just being formed, and is focused on the future. The dreamer must help the person see how all the components of his plan fit together. The function of a realist is expressed in the search for tools suitable for the implementation of the intended plan, so that an abstract idea can take shape into something concrete. A realist helps a person move from thought process to action.

A critic, in turn, is needed to evaluate the emerging idea or planned plan to achieve a goal from a critical perspective. The critic is called upon to help a person find weak points in his plan, to try to identify potential problems or points that might have been missed. The critic also draws a person’s attention to such things as the environmental friendliness of the plan, its realism, secondary benefits, etc.

Approaching any task using Walt Disney's creative strategy greatly increases a person's effectiveness and personal productivity. You can learn more about this strategy here.

Working with logical levels

According to the results of research by one of the first developers of NLP, Robert Dilts, there are several levels of a person’s perception of reality and how he lives it. They are all parallel to each other and closely interconnected. It is very useful for a person to become aware of what is happening at all these levels, because it affects any aspect of life: decision-making, relationship formation, sensations and well-being, and even current events.

It is also important to know that logical levels are subject to a specific structure. Firstly, the Higher levels cannot exist without the Lower ones, because is realized through them, and secondly, the Lower levels depend on the Higher ones and obey them.

Usually a person forms his goals and realizes problems at the Lower levels and therefore one can begin to work with them at these levels. But, taking into account the above-mentioned patterns, goals and problems should be worked out at the Highest levels, because The best way to find a solution to any problem is to find its roots and deal with them directly.

Working with logical levels is an extremely effective technique for interacting with your goals and inducing life changes. Absolutely everything that a person desires must be in agreement with his Higher levels, i.e. consistent with beliefs, values and worldview. Working through problems at the Highest levels helps to identify the necessary resources and increase their energy potential.

You can find out more information about working with logical levels at this link, and here you can listen to an audiobook on this topic.

Why do you need NLP?

There are a huge number of courses and trainings teaching NLP. What does knowledge of neurolinguistic programming give a person? NLP is, first of all, a communication tool that allows you to better understand your interlocutor and convey information to him in an accessible form.

NLP helps you learn effective words, structures and patterns, and helps you understand how the brain works. With the help of neurolinguistic programming, a person understands how best to present information about himself; in a business environment, the skill of self-presentation is one of the key ones. A person learns to broadcast his emotions without direct words – “I’m happy,” “I’m worried,” “I’m angry,” and to write convincingly and naturally.

There is a theory that in NLP words cure depression, melancholy, weak immunity, allergies, and insomnia. But most likely it's just a placebo.

The ability to communicate helps to build contexts in all areas of life: business, love and family relationships, friendship, social communication, creativity.

For example, in a relationship between a man and a woman: you can ask “What time will we meet tomorrow?”, or you can say “What time will you be pleased to see me tomorrow?” In the second case, the man conveys a meta-message that the girl will be pleased to meet him. She can't argue with this because she wants to meet him. But before the meeting, she had already formed the belief that the meeting would be pleasant and interesting.

NLP is used in negotiations, sales, acting, public speaking, business, advertising, and copywriting. But simply embedding NLP constructs into speech or text is pointless; all beliefs must be worked out and ethical.

NLP teaches you to determine a person’s thinking model in order to better grasp the meanings that the interlocutor is trying to convey to you. After all, during communication, not everything may be voiced, since some details are considered clear to us by default, but at the same time unclear to the interlocutor. NLP teaches you to ask clarifying questions and develop flexibility in communication.

NLP also helps to frame speech in certain frameworks or frames in order to convey a thought to the interlocutor in the form to which he is accustomed, and he does not have to delve into a different picture of the world or value system.

"Swing"

The presented technique serves to change, within a short time, a person’s destructive type of response to something and replace it with a more constructive one. But the result of this technique is not only a change in the type of reaction, but also the establishment of a positive and productive self-image in a person. “The Swing” can be used in many areas of life, from eliminating bad habits to correcting problematic behavior.

The structure of the “Swing” technique is as follows: first, the context is determined, i.e. a situation to which one would like to change the reaction. Then you need to identify the triggering factors, i.e. those factors that cause the desire to react in a habitual way. This point is the most important, because often the person may not even be aware of it. Determination of trigger factors also occurs according to a certain method.

After this, you need to create an image of the state you want to achieve. Most often this is done using the third perceptual position. The next stage is the “swing” that needs to be performed. It means a very quick replacement of one picture with another (an unwanted image with a desirable one). After the “swing” is completed, you need to check the new state and adjust to the future.

The Swing technique requires more detailed study (this can be done here) and training.

New behavior generator

This technique, similar to the previous one, is designed to help a person change automatic reactions to manifestations of external reality, thereby saving him from many unnecessary problems. Thanks to it, a person’s self-confidence increases, reactions change and positive changes occur in life.

Successful application of this technique involves going through several stages. First you need to identify the situation that needs to be worked out and live it, imagining it in your mind in the smallest detail. Next, you need to imagine the same situation in the form of a film made about you, and feel the emotions that it evokes.

After this, you need to imagine yourself as a cinema operator who puts a film on the projector with a film about you for himself, sitting in the hall. Then you need to imagine yourself as a director and realize the possibility of changing the script; come up with several new options and choose the most suitable one.

The new stage implies that you are again a cinema operator, putting on a new film for yourself, sitting in the cinema hall. Then you imagine yourself sitting in the hall and watching a new film with your participation. As a result, you must imagine yourself as the hero of a new film and live a new situation, imagining it in all details in your imagination and realizing your emotions. It is important that you are satisfied with the new result. If it does not satisfy you, then you should return to the previous points and work through them again.

The result should be the emergence of a new response pattern, but one that will be beneficial. You need to consolidate it by replaying the situation several times, using new reactions. You can learn more about how to do all this on this page.

Scientific analysis of NLP

NLP has been empirically tested over the years, and many of its models and techniques have been found to be largely ineffective. From the perspective of current ideas about neuroscience and perception, NLP should be considered a fallacy; Instead of relying on modern scientifically sound neurological theory, NLP is based on outdated metaphors about brain function and is riddled with many factual errors.

A 1988 report by the United States National Committee (composed of 14 competent scientific experts) stated that “Neither individually nor in groups, these studies have been able to provide empirically based evidence in support of the assumptions made by NLP... and the effectiveness of NLP. The Committee cannot recommend the practical use of such a technique, the viability of which has not been confirmed in practice.” In addition, Army Institute of Research CTO Edgar Johnson, who led Project Jedi on NLP, stated that "there is a lot of evidence that NLP doesn't work." NLP specialists have been unable to provide convincing evidence of the effectiveness of the NLP model, nor have they been able to confirm its effectiveness.

The assumption that a person has a Preferred Representational System (PRS), which manifests itself through the choice of words, has been found to be false based on data from a specially conducted thorough study. And the claim that a person has PRS, which can be determined by the direction of eye movement, has received even less support.

A direct critique by Einspruch and Foreman (1985) argued that Sharpley's NLP report contained methodological errors. However, Sharpley refuted this criticism and provided additional evidence obtained experimentally to prove the ineffectiveness of NLP and the presence of misconceptions in it, both methodological and practical.

Thus, objective empirical research and audit data have consistently proven NLP to be ineffective; The revision, or meta-analysis, ultimately gave NLP a negative assessment, and the repeated statement of experts denies that NLP has a neuroscientific basis or any scientific basis for its effectiveness.

Due to the general loss of illusions regarding NLP, mention of it in magazines and books on psychotherapeutic topics is becoming less and less common. Proponents of NLP have provided not an iota of evidence to support their claims, and NLP as such is considered an inappropriate practice by all clinical researchers.

According to Professor Robert Carroll, identifying the “right” NLP model is not possible, and applying one single model to all is an overly simplistic approach that does not replace hard-won experience and whose truth is not supported by statistical evidence.

The fact that some researchers at times note the effectiveness of NLP can rather be explained by the “placebo effect” [an effect based on the process of human self-hypnosis, when a drug that obviously does not have any healing properties is perceived by a person as a medicine and has the corresponding therapeutic effects], social pressure , external (superficial) symptoms, and not the very essence of treatment and overestimation of a number of obvious victories, while failures are ignored, hushed up or justified.

Six-Step Reframing

Many of us are familiar with the situation when certain problems are not solved for a very, very long time, and we cannot understand the reason for this. The fact is that this is hindered by our own subconscious, which for some reason seems to think that the way it is now is best. The six-step reframing technique is very suitable for changing the mood of your subconscious.

It is based on a special meditative state, in which the subconscious is most receptive to incoming information, whereas in the normal state its access is blocked by various subpersonalities (see here).

The six-step reframing scheme is quite simple:

First step. You need to lie on the floor and relax, alternately tensing and relaxing all the muscles of the body, after which you just lie there for about five minutes, focusing on breathing.
Second step. Visualization of a large white screen.
Third step. Once the screen is presented, you need to ask your subconscious mind whether it is ready to cooperate. The answer should appear on the screen.
Fourth step. If the answer is yes, then you can ask the subconscious any questions, the form of which should imply simple answers (yes/no).
Fifth step. In the process of interacting with the subconscious, you need to find out from it what benefits it derives from the current problematic situation, and turn to the creative component of your personality with a request to find a more suitable way to satisfy this need.
Sixth step. You should relax, allowing the subconscious to process the information, slowly count from one to ten and stand up. Reframing is over.

The use of six-step reframing helps to effectively solve many problems. It is best, of course, to be under hypnosis while using it, for which you can seek the services of a specialist. But you can use it yourself. You can study the features of this technique in more detail here. You can also watch an interesting video on this topic.

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 feel their effectiveness for yourself. For this, a small training seminar from a specialist or even detailed instructions is enough. 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 can also be associated with negative emotions, but in this case we are 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 in difficult situations, when we need to solve complex 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 is the vagueness of goals or the general lack of a clear idea of them. 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” 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:

“I want to achieve results, but I have problems.”
“I want to achieve results, even though I have problems.”
“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.”

Changing your personal history

The technique of changing personal history is used, as a rule, in cases where the behavior that needs to be changed is associated with some events that took place in the past, and is based on connections between the present and the past. Its use allows you to get rid of unnecessary and limiting beliefs, stereotypes, habits, attitudes, methods of response, etc.

The essence of the method is as follows. You need to identify a problem situation or an undesirable state and set an anchor on it. The established anchor must be used to guide the person (or oneself) to the very moment when the problematic situation or experience first appeared, and whenever they are discovered, the context of what happened must be taken into account.

After several (4-5) similar situations or experiences have been found, you need to lower the anchor and return to the very first situation, determine the resources that were required to overcome it, and find the triggering factors. Next, you need to find access to the found resource and anchor it, return to the earlier situation and change its perception, using an existing resource (collapsing anchors are great for this.

After all that has been done, you need to dissociate from new experiences and evaluate the result obtained. If it does not meet the requirements, then you should return to the previous stage of identifying resources and work it out again. Then you need to consolidate the result and carry out an environmental check and synchronize with the future.

You can learn more about how all this is done here.

Where is it used?

At the moment, NLP is used in almost all areas related to people: training, consulting, coaching, negotiations, sales, personal growth, management, sports, etc. Indeed, if there is a successful athlete (businessman, teacher, consultant), why not model his skills and teach others.

Quick treatment for phobias

The rapid treatment technique for phobias is used in NLP to neutralize anchors to any strong experiences, i.e. rid a person of phobias: xenophobia, agoraphobia, nyctophobia, photophobia, claustrophobia and many others. The result of successful application of this technique is the liberation of a person from fears, the release of energy and the emergence of many new opportunities.

The process of implementing the technique for quickly treating phobias consists of several steps:

You need to gain access to a positive state and anchor it, creating a powerful resource anchor. Moreover, it is best if the anchor is kinesthetic.
It is necessary to conduct a dissociative analysis of experiences, imagining yourself before being in a negative state (black and white picture) and after being in it (color picture).
You need to look at yourself from the outside, as if sitting behind yourself in a movie theater.
You need to quickly watch a black and white film, consisting of the first picture, the event itself and ending with a color picture.
Then you need to watch the entire black and white film, but starting from the second color picture and ending with the first, and during the transition to the first picture you need to move to the second degree of dissociation (look at yourself watching the film). After moving to the first picture, the film should end immediately.
You need to think about what was the source of the phobia and note changes in your physical condition.
You need to project the negative situation into the future by imagining interaction with the source of the phobia and thinking about new response options. It is important to clearly define indicators of a feeling of safety or pointers to careful behavior.

You can learn more about the technique for quickly treating phobias on this page.

Is it dangerous?

about NLP , that it is a sect, that during the training they will zombify you, and in general these are terrible people - he will say a word to you and you will give him all the money. But then why should I bother, conduct trainings, consult, etc. – you just need to go to the bank and ask them to give you the required amount. In fact, NLP is just one of the areas of psychology. Very effective, probably the most effective at the moment. It is used by many psychologists, psychiatrists, athletes, speakers, businessmen and coaches. It is taught in many institutes, including Moscow State University. NLPt ( NLP in psychotherapy) is recognized as a direction of psychotherapy at the state level in many European countries, for example Austria, France, Germany, Switzerland, Italy. It is also included in the quality of one of the modalities (directions) in the Professional Psychotherapeutic League of Russia and in the European Psychotherapeutic Association.

Another thing is that people who have learned NLP really begin to communicate, negotiate, consult and work better. And this fact causes natural fears among those who do it worse.

It is clear that among all this abundance there are some excellent books and trainings, but there are also, to put it mildly, not so good. NLP is quite fashionable and there are bad people who advertise it as a way to get rich in five minutes and sell it as a magic pill for everything: “After completing my super-duper cool course, you will earn a hundred thousand bucks a day, sell anything to anyone suckers and seduce any chicks in five minutes. Your steepness will be incredible.” These bad people get rich mainly from the buyers of magic pills, so, at least for them, it works. Moreover, very often these bad people do not particularly understand the topic, but simply very convincingly convince of their great knowledge, based on reading one book and watching the series “The Theory of Lies” (the series, by the way, is good). There are also people who, after reading two books and attending one training, decided that they could do no worse, and they write their own books and conduct their own trainings.

There are also those who want to create their own, even cooler NLP, without any “pink humanistic snot” and “stupid ecology”. The result is some kind of “Combat NLP” or “Recount NLP”. But NLP has its own philosophy and values that are not observed in these areas, although some approaches and techniques of neurolinguistic programming are used. So, despite the name, it is not NLP.

Reimprinting

The name of this technique comes from the word “imprint”, meaning “imprinting”, i.e. any experience or set of experiences as a result of which a person developed certain beliefs. Often imprint situations are dead ends and cause a person to feel meaningless, hopeless, hopeless, etc. The point of imprinting is to find the resources necessary to change ingrained beliefs and update established behavioral patterns.

The use of the reimprinting technique is based, first of all, on identifying the symptoms of the imprint, which involves focusing on the very first appearance of any experiences associated with it and the beliefs that have arisen. After this, you need to mentally transport yourself to the moment that preceded the emergence of the imprint, return to the present state and look at the imprint from the position that preceded it.

The next stage is the search for positive intentions or secondary benefits that are hidden behind the established reactions and symptoms of the imprint and some other equally important components that require more detailed and scrupulous study.

The features of reimprinting and the procedure for its implementation can be found here.

Some questions and answers (FAQ)

What do the letters NLP mean?

NLP stands for Neuro-Linguistic Programming. And it's pronounced e-nel-pee or en-el-pee.

Is it true that NLP is about making zombies out of people?

I've been doing NLP for 20 years, but so far I haven't been able to make a single zombie. And it seems that he himself did not become this very zombie. And among those who practice NLP, zombies have not yet been encountered.

Is it true that an NLP specialist can make another person do anything?

If this were so, then I would not be engaged in conducting trainings and writing all sorts of articles and books, but would simply go to the nearest bank and “force” the cashier to first give me all the cash, and then forget that I talked to him. But... :o) The easiest way to get a person to do almost anything is to pay him a sufficient amount of money. You can also put a gun to your head, but not everyone likes it.

Is it true that NLP is used in advertising, PR and election technologies?

Is it true.

Is NLP a cult?

No.

What do the words NLP Practitioner, NLP Master, etc. mean?

There are only three “titles” in NLP: Practitioner, Master Practitioner (Master), Trainer. Practitioner (NLP practitioner, NLP practitioner) – is able to apply NLP both to himself and to others and has the right to conduct individual consultations. Master Practitioner (NLP Master Practitioner, NLP Master, NLP Master) – has the right to conduct non-certification groups. Trainer – has the right to issue certificates.

What do the letters M.A. mean, for example “M.A. NLP Ivanov"?

MA stands for Master of Art. In the West, such an abbreviation is quite common and denotes a person who has reached a certain level in mastering a certain area. Formally, any certified NLP Master Practitioner is an MA NLP.

Reassessment of the past

The technique of re-evaluating the past helps to change the assessment of any event that took place in a person’s past. It is very effective because... with its help you can influence the assessment of the troubles that have occurred and the beliefs associated with them, change relationships with specific people, and even transform aspects of the perception of childhood. A brief algorithm of necessary actions includes the following:

It is necessary to determine the period of time that requires change and elaboration. It can be associated with a person, place, time, etc. conditions.
We need to create a powerful resource anchor. It is best if it is kinesthetic.
It is necessary to imagine the time period in question in the form of a straight line located on the floor, determine the most significant moments of this period, name them and mark them on the line, observing the real sequence.
It is necessary to divide all noted situations into positive and negative. Then, walking along the line, you should re-experience positive situations anew, and imagine negative ones dissociated, i.e. watching yourself from the outside.
When considering negative situations in a dissociated way, you can use the resource anchor created at the beginning. Sometimes this allows you to look even at negative events from a different angle and see the positive aspects in them.
It is necessary to conduct an ecological check of the new perception of past events and, if the result does not satisfy all the requirements, go back and work through the previous points again.
It is necessary to synchronize with the future, projecting the achieved result onto situations that may occur.

The technique of revaluing the past is discussed in more detail here.

Different types of NLP techniques
All NLP techniques can be classified into three groups. Influencing other people (transferring information from oneself to another). Impact on your inner world (from yourself to yourself). Modeling (from another to oneself).

Another type of interaction is possible - with the surrounding inanimate world (closed cycle: I - the world - I). These are different types of “magical” practices used in NLP only indirectly.

The first and second groups include the following global techniques: anchoring, reframing, metaphors, working with submodalities, using the time line, achieving the essential state, trance techniques. They are used to optimize the interaction of information structures of the inner world, including for the “treatment” of psychosomatic diseases. Quotes are used because in the classical sense this is not a treatment, since chemical and biological agents are not used. Usually such influence is called psychotherapeutic. All of the listed techniques have the same stages: a) joining and maintaining; b) impact on the inner world; c) environmental testing (joining the future).

From the point of view under consideration, joining is: determining the position of the client’s focus of attention, for which the operator perceives the output surface structures of the interlocutor (access signals, gestures, mental state, speech), for him this is the mental state of uptime; shifting the operator’s focus of attention so that his output surface structures become consonant with the client’s state; the correspondence of intermediate and deep structures is unnecessary and even harmful. Management: changing the state of the operator’s surface structures, forcing the client to unite and shift the focus of attention towards his inner world; fixing the client’s unsplit focus of attention in the required position (state of trance, downtime), while the operator returns his focus of attention to the client’s surface structures, maintaining rapport (feedback loop).

Next, the operator selects and implements a suitable NLP technique that optimizes the interaction of the client’s intermediate and deep structures, and “reads” the changes occurring in its output structures. In case of successful change, this is physical relaxation and an expression of pleasure on the face, or nervous trembling and loss of interest in the problem that was previously worrying.

Ecological testing consists of fixing the client’s attention in the area of imagination and emotions to simulate a previously problematic situation in the future. If its surface structures give the same result, then no fundamental transformation has occurred. If the changes are sustainable and the sensations are positive, it means that the interconnections of internal structures have changed.

The application of NLP techniques to oneself in itself forces one to structure the personality, since without this it is unclear how the inseparable “I” can transform itself, induce a trance and discharge imprints. The introduced conceptual series puts everything in its place. Since work is carried out not with the entire personality, but with its elements, a split focus of attention allows you to consolidate the necessary “healthy” blocks into a subpersonality - the operator. This process becomes possible with some skill in having a dissociated state. The actions of the subpersonality differ from the actions of the external operator in the part where the focus of attention is divided into an object and a subject. This is where the main difficulties and lower effectiveness of applying NLP techniques to oneself are associated. The question of which techniques are more suitable for self-use and which are not requires separate study. The third group of techniques – modeling – combines the features of the first two. Typically, successful behavior in a specific area is modeled by a well-known person. A positive result can be achieved if you can shift your focus to the same internal information structures as the modeling object, and then establish the same relationships between them (the order of priority of interaction, the speed and intensity of information exchange). This requires great flexibility and the ability to shift and accurately fix your focus. By the way, Castaneda’s modeling process is called stalking and plays a vital role in ordering and expanding the inner world. Based on the above, we can formulate the concept of an effective communication strategy. One of the most important presuppositions of NLP is: “The meaning and purpose of any communication is the result achieved.” Any communication (communication) always pursues a specific goal. This may be encouraging the interlocutor to take the actions you need or achieving the required emotional and physiological state (pleasure, relaxation, etc.). if the goal is not achieved, it is always your fault, since you organized the exchange of information incorrectly. Your effectiveness will increase dramatically if you make all claims only to yourself.

Communication may fail for the following reasons. You are not synchronized with your interlocutor, there is no connection or follow-up. This suggests that you keep your own focus of attention in your own inner world, and not on the surface structures of your partner. You have shifted the object's focus to the wrong position. For example, he experiences emotions instead of conducting logical analysis, or is not charged with your enthusiasm, counting his losses and troubles. You did not fix his focus, and he fell out of rapport due to your incorrect actions. You give out incongruent (contradictory, insincere) information with your surface structures. He doesn’t understand you, suspects some kind of intent and falls out of synchronicity. You have done everything successfully, but you have not joined the future. He has no need to carry out the actions you need. The actions you prompt sharply diverge from the information of the interlocutor’s deep structures (culture, beliefs, beliefs), and you cannot block them. The main problem is in your deep structures. Either they allow what they should not allow (your lack of specific ethical standards), or they are too rigid and do not allow you to properly synchronize and shift your focus to the desired position.

It should be remembered that if your intermediate structures allow you to completely simulate the state of similar structures of your interlocutor, you will never encourage him to do something that is unacceptable for him (and you!). In this state you and he are almost identical.

The initial and final stages of all techniques are the same. Enough has been said about accession, management and environmental testing in the second chapter. Below we analyze the main stage - the impact on the inner world. The basic principle of any NLP technique is as follows. Since the client was aware of his problem, or at least its existence, his consciousness had already tried to correct the situation and failed. Therefore, in all techniques it is necessary to isolate the client’s consciousness. To do this, it is necessary to consolidate the focus of the object’s attention, moving it either to the intermediate kinesthetic and visual zones, or to non-its input surface structures (uptime state). If it is necessary to completely neutralize consciousness, explicit trance techniques should be used. In the course of work, the client’s attempts to shift or split the focus of attention should be stopped. Otherwise, the structures of logical thinking are activated. To do this, you should appeal to the imagination and sensations. Moreover, the processes occurring in them are well controlled using access signals. Feedback should be continuous throughout the session. Since consciousness needs to be neutralized, it is appropriate to define it. According to the BME [3], consciousness is an integral subjective reality, the dialectical unity of its epistemological (i.e., representing the body of knowledge), value and action-volitional parameters. Structure s. is based on the dialectical unity of opposite reflections - the external and internal world. If you follow this definition, consciousness includes the following structures: thinking, verbal and conceptual memory, map, beliefs, translator and will. This is only part of the elements of the complete scheme, so consciousness can be characterized as a subpersonality associated with thinking processes. A characteristic feature of consciousness is its critical attitude, since the principle of thinking is based on a logical assessment of the correctness of information. At the same time, consciousness does not control emotions, the creative process, or physiological functions. It does not even control subpersonalities that partially use the same structures. Consciousness can evaluate the actions of other subpersonalities and enter into conflict with them, without offering solutions that satisfy both sides. There is a widespread misconception that a person is always in “consciousness”, and this is identical with the “I”. On the contrary, most often the focus of a person’s attention is in one or another subpersonality, and consciousness “sleeps.”

excerpt from the book “COMMUNICATION STRATEGIES” by Anukhidia Dumka

Timeline selection

The presented technique has proven itself to be a reliable tool for resolving those situations when there is a choice of something, but a person does not know what is the best thing to do. In addition, the timeline choice technique can be used to predict the long-term consequences of each of the possible options.

The first thing you need to do to successfully use this technique is to realize that you have a choice: you need to clearly define for yourself what options exist. Next, you need to speculate on how long the choice you make can have an impact on, and mentally draw a line on the floor reflecting this period.

Then you need to set a deadline for yourself by which you need to make a choice; Between this date and the present day, you need to determine the most optimal time for selection. Then you should mentally move into the future and try to note the events that your choice may cause; Give these events an assessment by looking at them from the outside. You can also resort to integration to walk the intended route, as if observing from the outside at the people who have already passed it.

At the end of all this, you need to return to the starting point and think about whether there is an opportunity to somehow improve the route or create a new, more efficient one. Evaluate your choices: What did you learn from traveling along the timeline? The number of positive aspects will indicate to you the right choice.

The time line selection technique is discussed in detail here.