Recently, on social media, an NLP Practitioner asked a question about a client who reported having a phobia, and with whom he used the NLP Fast Phobia Cure, which may have partly worked, but it came back a few days later?
What is NLP? Are you new to NLP? Beginner's Guide to NLP
By Jonathan Altfeld
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If you're new to NLP, this will help get you started, and clarify your reasons for learning NLP. From there you can plan a clearer, targeted learning path through endless options in the marketplace! We also recommend visiting our "NLP Learning Pathways" page.
To start off on the right foot, welcome to this website! We're glad you could join in this exciting journey! We really enjoy introducing people to Neuro-Linguistic Programming, and have developed this site to interest all levels of NLP backgrounds. One thing is certain, NLP attracts a lot of really interesting people who want to explore new ideas and improve their communication skills. They usually exhibit a wanton curiosity for growth and learning. And everyone's looking for another edge in life (usually not over other people, instead, just a more successful and vibrant life!). So welcome -- hopefully this site will help you to learn a lot about how your mind works, and how to improve many aspects of yourself, your communication, your relationships, and more!
Now, how do we go about talking about what NLP can offer you? Because it doesn't strike me as profoundly useful, in the early stages of talking about it, to get lost in the jargon (Every field has some jargon, of course)! Initially, I think we ought to find out what you can get from learning it! So in that spirit, I've prepared a little quiz for you to take. Keep the answers to yourself. Go ahead! Take the quiz! It won't bite!
Quickie Quiz
1) Would you enjoy knowing how to lead any conversation absolutely anywhere? 2) Would you like to be able to walk up to absolutely anyone, & consistently cause people to feel a deep sense of rapport with you, and find you somehow irresistibly magnetic, before you actually say anything? 3) Would you enjoy knowing that limiting beliefs can be changed visually without actually talking through them? Just by learning simple mental mechanisms, you can enhance your own capabilities powerfully! 4) How would you like to have substantially more control over your emotional states, such that anytime you found yourself in a less than wonderful state, you'd have tools at your disposal to quickly & easily change your attitude & perspective? | 5) Would you enjoy being able to set up & close sales in less time, with more automatic referrals generated, with a higher close ratio, all while guaranteeing no buyer's remorse, & a greater sense of accomplishment & personal reward? 6) Would you enjoy having powerful skills to be able to rapidly learn specifically how experts do what they do best? Would it be nice to be able to take that information & consciously & unconsciously reproduce that expert behavior in your own daily life so as to reproduce their results? 7) Would it be useful to be able to change your automatic behavior just by expanding your belief set? 8) Would you like to know how to very effectively motivate yourself and others using the most advanced persuasion techniques available anywhere? |
Scoring Your Answers:
If you answered just 1 of the above questions with a YES answer, then you stand to gain powerfully by studying NLP techniques! Alright, I admit it, I asked rhetorical questions designed to get only YES answers! But all jokes aside, NLP technology promises & delivers all of the above! And a lot of NLP techniques are really easy to learn, so you'll be seeing many benefits very early into the process of discovering how valuable NLP can be!
Defining NLP
Neuro-Linguistic Programming has certainly been defined in many different ways since Richard Bandler and John Grinder first began co-developing NLP in 1975. And on our NLP Links page, you'll find links to other trainers' sites where you can see some of these other definitions. But for most people, NLP is a technology for improving communication. Its also a way of learning how other people store their own experience in their minds... so that we can more accurately and effectively find out how other people think! So NLP has been called the study of the structure of subjectivity, or, the study of the structure of excellence.
By studying how experts store their own expertise in their minds, using NLP Modeling techniques, we gain unique insights into how to more effectively install that experience inside ourselves! So this is why over the last few decades, NLP has covered a LOT of territory, gathering the best experts knowledge from hundreds of fields! From my perspective, it's about doing better things, more effectively, faster, with more fun & enjoyment, greater personal congruence, with less stress and less uncertainty.
Sounds Familiar...
Sure! About 1/3 of the books on the Self-Help shelves at your local bookstore were probably written by trained NLP Practitioners or NLP Master Practitioners. Many of those authors found the keys to their success in NLP technology, and then they packaged up what they learned into their own methodologies and teachings. Have you ever heard of Anthony Robbins, or seen his infomercials? Take a look in the early sections of his book "Awaken the Giant Within" and look for his quick mention of Neuro-Linguistic Programming. The techniques he learned from NLP which he's folded into a number of his trainings, he now calls Neuro-Associative Conditioning, or NAC. That's just one example out of many. If you want to learn the skills and tools that brought those people to the successful levels they've reached, then feel free to explore this site, read more about NLP, and don't be surprised when you'll find yourself laughing at how ANY limiting beliefs you may have had in your past will have already begun to fade away...
That's enough for now; the above should have given you a nice frame for why you might want to pursue NLP! And again, I highly recommend visiting our "NLP Learning Pathways" page for a more targeted set of recommendations for you personally! I look forward to hearing from you as you continue reaching for your goals, now!
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Inbox Insights
- Knowledge Engineering (& Belief Craft) have evolved, into GeniusMapping™
- As of September 2020, we're in the process of moving from Tampa, Florida, to the Youngstown Ohio area. Currently, during the Coronavirus era, we're mostly focusing on Zoom-based Coaching, and aligning resources to run online courses.
- How "Civil Engineering" totally reframes the word "Stress," redefines the phrase "Stress Management," and leads us to embrace Stress!
- Many NLP Practitioners are more sloppy with their thinking patterns, than they'd like to admit, or... would even notice.
- Watch NLP Co-Founder Richard Bandler use NLP to eliminate Michael Strahan's phobic response to snakes -- in minutes (with Kelly Ripa bringing over a BIG snake at the end to test Michael's response). Spoiler alert: It worked ridiculously well.
- No matter what skill you want to learn, no matter what fears or concerns or hesitation you may have, there are and will always be a wide range of approaches, to learning that skill. It's important to keep that in mind when making learning choices.
- Many more famous people have been trained in Ericksonian (indirect) Hypnosis and NLP than you might guess. There are certainly far more who have strong interests here than have publically admitted so.
- On January 1, 2015, Jonathan Altfeld and 20 other co-authors released a digital book entitled "Creating Business Growth."
- What are the Four Stages of Learning?
- Mark HenryCertified Hypnotherapist, Baton Rouge, LABought Video : “Building Hypnotic Rapport”
Jonathan's skill builders DVDs are incredible. Learn about building hypnotic rapport by pacing and leading others breathing patterns. I synchronized my breathing with several attractive women at coffee shops and malls in the last month. Each turned their bodies toward me while I sat across a room. They gazed at me for several seconds. I felt that I connected with them on an unconscious level. I later spoke with them and were amazed at their friendliness to a complete stranger.
2005 - Bob DillonSeminar Leader, VermontAttended Course : Speaking Ingeniously
No matter where you perceive your skill level, there is always more. Jonathan not only cuts diamonds, he polishes them, and adds more facets."
2002 - Ted VanderNootCognitrix, London, UKAttended Course : Belief Craft MP3 Set
"Your presentation of AI & Knowledge Engineering & how computer software systems can learn & decide was quite interesting. But using these models to then explore modelling in the NLP context was mind-blowing! It was really cool how well we were tracking beliefs by only the second day. [...] Not only could we track beliefs & language patterns "on the fly" but we could unravel their interconnections & their interactions conversationally. I thoroughly recommend your course to anyone who wants to improve their skills at tracking language patterns & modelling."
http://www.cognitrix.com/2005 - Elaine ChristakosFinancial Coach, Kelowna, BCAttended Course : Linguistic Wizardry
Jonathan is a superb trainer and communicator. I am thrilled to have participated in his recent Seattle Linguistic Wizardry workshop. Jonathan has a way of transferring knowledge with such ease as to include everyone - regardless of prior training or NLP experience. I was in awe watching how Jonathan managed to reach everyone in a different way - while constantly keeping the entire group engaged. I've now got a renewed excitement for practicing my NLP skills, and am more eager than ever to keep it working for me. Although I thought my coaching calls were great prior to attending LW, soon after my training - I found my calls to be more fluid and effective. The words seemed to flow much easier and my use of embedded commands are more natural and useful. I also am better able to focus my attention on understanding the style of my clients patterns - without losing focus on the content of what I'm teaching. It has all been such a natural process that I'm eager to see where it will be most effective next.
2007 - G.A.Sydney, AustraliaBought Audio : Finding Your Irresistible Voice
After reviewing your CDs I started realising how applicable it was in creating a new improved voice range. I realised that with very little effort people were listening attentively to me, even in crowded places and in places where machinery is constantly running. My workmates noticed it too, dropping comments as to how 'agreeable' it was to listen to my opinions, and how much more rapport was noticeable! My new girlfriend also refers to my voice as to one of my good qualities, which -- in combination with my other NLP techniques -- makes for my voice a seductive weapon of choice. I am recommending it to my friends. Thanks!
2004 - Chris ArellanoNorth CarolinaAttended Course : NLP Practitioner Training
Through this experience, I've gathered many things that I did not have before. I am able to see things, and see them from new perspectives. I have learned and am still learning how to improve both myself as well as those with whom I come in contact. Things I have just described are somewhat vague in description yet very profound to me. I owe much of this trance-formation to Jon for providing the tools and facilitating the use of these new tools in a positive direction. Thank you.
1998 - Chris FialaMarketing Consultant, Clearwater, FLAttended Course : Speaking Ingeniously
"I very much enjoyed your seminar. Having more comfort when I talk with people makes the rapport deeper. Even though my demo is only 90 seconds, I hold longer eye contact with more potential customers, building a sense of connection. Result? Sales of my juicer product increased 30%." -
- Andrew JoyPrincipal French Horn, Cologne Radio Orchestra, Cologne, GermanyBought Audio : Finding Your Irresistible Voice
Your CDs arrived safe and sound. I've listened to the first two and worked on the exercises. I'm a 55 year young, professional principal french horn player and have been working in a top German symphony orchestra for the past 30 years. I listened to the bonus telephone interview today. I am blown away. The results, applying your voice exercises to my playing (and to my students) are phenomenal. Resonance plays a huge role in performing on a brass instrument and very few poeple understand much about it. I've picked up useful and practical information, from singers and voice coaches, that I've been able to adapt to brass playing. Explaining resonance is now easy using your nose, mouth, throat etc, approach. The killer though, is using double resonance. I have free at present and don't have to perform in the orchestra (and the hall) until the beginning of Febuary. However, I am itching to hear how my changed sound is in our hall. It has to be amazing. Your material has added wonderfully valuable understandings to my comprehension of what constitutes excellent quality brass player and has beautifully simplified my means of effectively communicating it to my students. There has been a lot of belly laughter, stunned ears and broad smiles in my teaching studio this week. I'm teaching a course to amateur wind and brass players next year and am looking forward to applying your teachings to this particular situation for the benefit of the people attending. Thanks a million. This is one of the few times in my life where I've been gladly reeling and with a huge smile on my face.
http://www.andrewjoy.com2007 - Maureen StevensonCafe Manager, Nottingham, UKAttended Course : Belief Craft MP3 Set
"As a person who has never attended any NLP or KE Sessions before, I have found the whole experience useful to me and feel that I am going away with a wealth of knowledge I believe will guide me through many areas of my life. I am excited about attending more trainings in the future."
2005 - Howard WolfMiami, FLAttended Course : Persuasion Summit
PTPS was absolutely the best training in persuasion I've ever experienced. Chris' skills in NLP and persuasion are a compilation of the best of Richard Bandler, Kenrick Cleveland, & Michael Hall, all combined. Chris has evolved these techniques, enhanced them, and repackaged persuasion for the new millenium. Chris has tested his techniques thousands of times through the thousands of telemarketers he's managed over the years. This seminar will go down in the annuls of NLP history.
2001