Neuro-Linguistic Programming

NLP is a science, a process, a study, a model, a set of procedures, a manual, a system, an attitude, a strategy, a technology... no wonder some people initially struggle to get a perspective on what NLP is or grasp its essence. The absence of any agreed definition or description means that everyone comes up with their own - and they're very different.

Perhaps the easiest way of explaining NLP is to say it is a form of applied psychology. That's not the whole story, but it's how many people use it - as a means of achieving more for themselves and being more fulfilled in their personal and professional lives.

Another problem for NLP is the technical nature of the name. Happily, these days it is better known, but the reaction when you mention Neuro-Linguistic Programming from those who have never heard of it is still to ask, 'What on earth is that?' Although many of us wish the founders had come up with a name that was snappier, clearer and - for those of us who earn a living from NLP - sexier, in fact 'Neuro-Linguistic Programming' is simply an accurate description of what it is. Let's take a look at why each of the terms came to be used.

Neuro

The 'neuro' part relates to neurology, to the ways in which we process information from our five senses through our brain and nervous system.

Linguistic

'Linguistic' relates to the use of language systems - not just words but all symbol systems including gestures and postures - to code, organize and attribute meanings to our internal representations of the world, and to communicate internally and externally.

Programming

And 'programming' comes from information processing and computing science, on the premise that the way in which experience is stored, coded and transformed is similar to how software runs on a PC. By deleting, upgrading or installing our mental software, we can change how we think and, as a result, how we act.

When you link all the words up you have Neuro-Linguistic Programming, which is essentially concerned with the processes by which we create an internal representation - our experience - of the external world of 'reality' through language and our neurology.