Its a good question

A post on my LinkedIn feed appeared recently that gave me cause to stop and think. It was by a trainer who offers a bespoke training in NLP for use in coaching, and their post was knocking other NLP trainers who use manuals where the content largely dates back 50 years. And it led me to wonder about several things connected to the world of NLP training.

We have a 30 year old set of Encyclopaedia Britannica, back from the days pre-internet and good old Wiki! I love it, but must admit it is rarely read these days, and the truth is whilst most of it remains true and valid, the world has also changed enormously in that time too. I've also been building on my hypnotherapy skills recently with some further reading, and my current favourites are both from the late 1950's which are absolutely as relevant now as they were at the time of writing. So is age an issue when it comes to the source material?

Well I'd say the answer lies in the training not the manual. There are loads of cheap online courses in NLP that are little more than listening to audio and reading a book, or perhaps watching some videos. The truth is you can find most of that for free online, so you are really paying for a certificate. Even in the unregulated world of NLP not every certificate is equal, there are actually quality standards that good trainers adhere to, with thanks to associations like ANLP who are striving to help people separate the good from the bad.

Many of the original techniques that were developed 50 years ago are as valid now as they were then. They were created using the attitude and methodology which really defines NLP rather than the techniques 'being' NLP. Developed from observation of therapists, they are in their own way therapeutic. But what do you do with them once you have them?

Learning NLP is essentially experiential. You can't just read about it, listen to someone tell you about it, or watch a video. You have to do it, and experience it on the receiving end to actually understand it. So a training course that includes time with a trainer and other students is a must - and as a real traditionalist I still hold that this is best done face to face rather than virtually, even though I use Teams and Zoom extensively for meetings in my day to day work.

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"These courses really have changed me in ways that many different therapies over the years have not, and I want to thank you. I never intended for that to be the outcome of the trainings but am so grateful they are. They have helped me find myself, accept myself and be happy with myself, just as I am. "

Master Practitioner student 2023

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I was involved with my old University Business School a few years back as a mentor on their undergraduate programme and was asked to take part in a panel as part of an international accreditation standard. One of the pieces of feedback they were given was about the importance of lecturers in business actually having recent or current business experience. And its true, the real value in NLP training is not whether the manual has material from 50 years ago or whether it is new generation so much as whether the trainer has current experience in the areas that you intend or wish to go on and use it.

If you want to find out more about our NLP training get in touch, and we can share with you how we use the learning every day.