THE FOUNDATIONS OF NLP- The underlying principles of NLP
Neuro-linguistic Programming or NLP was developed in the 1970’s by John Grinder, a linguist and Richard Bandler, a mathematician. They wanted to discover how successful people achieve their results and learn how to replicate their models. They studied individuals who were excellent communicators and technicians of personal change, observing many world class performers, including psychotherapists, discovering the beliefs, mindset and strategies which delivered their success. They explored personal and professional change work, looking at the most effective tools and techniques that deliver fast and sustainable results. As a result of their study, they then formalised their change techniques under the name NLP which refers to the relationship between the brain, language and the body and the results that can be achieved.
The three central principles of NLP are: neuro (what we think), linguistic (what we say) and programming (what we do). I will now discuss each principle in more detail.