While it’s fascinating to dive into the psychological theory and ideas that underpin neuro linguistic programming, understanding its practical implications can have an even bigger effect on your life. Still, it can be hard to know exactly what that would look like if you haven’t yet used it yourself. So what are some practical NLP examples?
In our guide below, we attempt to answer this question by providing you with three distinct examples of NLP being used in real life. Additionally, we will fill you in on some of the background of NLP so you can also have an understanding of how it was constructed and the ethics behind it as well. So come along and let’s dive right in!
Check out this article on the pillars of NLP.
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How Did NLP get started?
Before we dive into some specific examples of practical NLP use, it would be prudent to get an understanding of where NLP came from in the first place.
NLP was first discovered by Richard Bandler at the University of California, Santa Cruz, while he was listening to old therapy sessions by the German therapist Fritz Perls. While he was listening to them for a completely different project he noticed that certain words and sentence structures allowed the Fritz Perls to be more effective with his patients.
From there, along with the help of John Grinder Bandler wrote and published the book The Structure of Magic I: A Book about Language and Therapy. This kickstarted the discussion around NLP and is a big part of what made it into what it is today.
NLP is Projection Through Management of Self, Not Manipulation
One of the most common myths about NLP is that it is meant to be used to manipulate people.
The truth, however, is that when NLP is ethically practiced it should be about projection through the management of self, not manipulation. Meaning that with NLP you can influence the actions of others through your own self management, but you should never be manipulating them. Using NLP for manipulation is unethical and goes against everything it stands for.
Here’s an article on the science behind neuro linguistic programming.
3 Practical NLP Examples
NLP can be used by anyone from school teachers to police officers. There are just so many practical applications of the practice.
Below we present three specific examples of how NLP can be used practically so you can know if it’s right for you:
NLP in Teaching
Teachers can benefit tremendously from using NLP techniques. They can help them to connect with students, be more memorable and be more persuasive.
Below we’ve outlined a few of the ways NLP can help teachers to be more effective:
- Helps connect with students better: Connecting with students is important. NLP allows the teacher to use key words and phrases that will make it more likely that they’ll have a connection with their students.
- Helps make learning easier: Using NLP techniques a teacher can more easily convey the underlying sentiment of what they are trying to teach. With careful wording and repetition, students will be able to learn and memorize the material much faster than they otherwise would.
- Allows the teacher to have more flexibility in teaching methods: NLP just broadens the number of tools the teacher has in their arsonal for teaching methods.
At the end of the day, NLP can make teachers more effective at connecting with their students and leaving information for long term storage.
NLP in Business
Business people probably use NLP more than any other group. That’s because NLP gives them the tools they need to be effective.
Below we’ve outlined three practical ways that NLP can be used in business:
- Helps improve presentations: In business you often have to give presentations. Using key words and phrases learned from NLP can really help you to improve your presenting skills and be more effective with your clients or your board.
- Helps you plan better: NLP isn’t just about influencing others, it’s about influencing yourself as well. With that influence you can better plan for the future in a way that is clear and inspiring to you.
- Helps you build relationships with staff, customers and higher-ups: You can carefully mold all of your business relationships using the techniques from NLP.
There’s a reason why so many business people use NLP. It’s not only effective with customers, but with staff and the board as well.
NLP in Sales
Closely related to business is sales. Fortunately, sales is one of the most practical careers to use NLP in.
Below we’ve outlined three practical ways that NLP can be used in sales to increase performance:
- Helps increase turn-around: Knowing the right phrases to get someone interested is key in NLP and in sales. You can really increase your turn-around by employing some of these strategies.
- Helps you build loyalty with customers: Customers who come away feeling like you really understood them because of the key words and phrases you used are more likely to come back.
- Helps you understand customers better: Using NLP you can better understand a customer’s listening style. Once you know their listening style, you can use it to make sure everything you want them to hear gets through. This is really something a lot of salesmen and women struggle with if they aren’t using something like NLP.
With NLP you will have more repeat customers as well as better success with new ones. You really can’t beat that.
Final Thoughts on the Examples of NLP
Up till now we’ve looked at how NLP can improve performance on everything from teaching to business professionalism. In every case, NLP is really just used to increase the influence of the person using it. They are able to be more effective with whoever they’re working with–be it a student or a member of a board on a major business–because they understand how the other person listens and what key words and phrases are effective with them.
At the end of the day, examples of NLP can truly be found in just about any career path that involves working with other people. Of course, because NLP is also about self management, it can even be used in careers where you’re working solo. The applications of NLP are really endless when you stop and think about it enough.
