Understanding NLP: Strategies for Better Workplace Communication … Without the Jargon

Citation

Palethorpe, R. (2010), "Understanding NLP: Strategies for Better Workplace Communication … Without the Jargon", Industrial and Commercial Training, Vol. 42 No. 2, pp. 118-119. https://doi.org/10.1108/00197851011026126

Over the course of the last 35 years, neuro‐linguistic programming (NLP) has grown into a popular topic for business and management training. However, while NLP offers the promise of greatly enhanced interpersonal and communications skills, it is often presented in terminology which may be daunting for some learners.

With this book, consultants Frances Kay and Neilson Kite aim to remove this barrier by illustrating NLP's key messages in straightforward, non‐technical language. Although neither author presents themselves as an NLP practitioner, both have had wide‐ranging careers covering a number of disciplines, and this is demonstrated by their choice to base their discussions around examples drawn from easily recognisable business situations. Appropriately in this context, the scope of the book has been restricted to omit NLP elements such as therapy and hypnosis.

Throughout the book, the focus is on offering practical, commonsense advice for use in the workplace. To achieve this, discussions are arranged into short, almost self‐contained sections, each dealing with a single key point. These sections are well organised and appropriately titled, and make the book accessible for busy managers who may not have time to read the full text.

Part One of the book provides the main overview of NLP. In Chapter One, a number of very short sections outline the building blocks of the subject, primarily in bulleted‐list form. This is followed by a helpful and more substantial chapter in which 18 key NLP presuppositions are outlined and illustrated through analogies and anecdotes.

The next three chapters deal with the mind, body and nervous system. Of these, the treatment of the mind and its impact on behaviour is the most wide‐ranging. A number of short pieces introduce NLP topics such as the relationship between the mind and the physical state, representational systems, and the effects of controlling your own attitude in interpersonal communications. Well‐known models such as the Johari Window and Transactional Analysis are also covered.

Chapter Six deals with language, and presents an eclectic range of “dos and don'ts” covering topics from “Why am I so boring?” through to the use of generalisation, the limitations of short‐term memory when listening, and even an analogy with the elements of Greek classical literature. Subsequent chapters go on to deal with rapport and relationship‐building, influencing skills and learning.

Part Two of the book is grouped into three chapters which outline 26 real‐world situations that businesspeople may face. The diverse range of situations covered include bullying, time management, personal confidence, managing by objectives and interviews. For each of these scenarios, the authors offer pragmatic, business‐oriented advice on how to deal with the situation before commenting from an NLP perspective.

Finally, the book closes with a useful glossary of NLP concepts. Although these technical terms are not used in the main body of the text, the glossary helpfully lists the pages where each concept is discussed, allowing those with a prior knowledge of NLP to access the relevant sections more easily.

In their introduction, the authors state that their approach to the topic is “not the vocabulary of NLP, but […] situations that you are likely to recognize. NLP thinking is then applied to these situations”. When judged against this statement, the book achieves its aims, and the many and diverse discussions that it contains are regularly referenced against NLP presuppositions. However, as a relative newcomer to NLP, I felt that this approach led me towards a rather piecemeal appreciation of the subject, and I would have appreciated chapter summaries or an appendix to draw the discussion together and allow easy comparison with more traditionally presented NLP texts. Additionally, popular NLP concepts such as mirroring, anchoring and eye‐accessing cues are treated in a rather general way, and further investigation would be needed to be able to put these tools into practice.

The authors also include a large number of management, learning and psychological theories that may already be familiar to business trainers, and it is in these instances that a tendency towards oversimplification is most apparent. As an example, the section on Transactional Analysis alludes to Freudian tradition, interactions between ego states and also the problems of an “inflated” ego, thus introducing three distinct concepts in the space of less than two pages. On these occasions, further elucidation and more transparent references to the source material would prevent possible confusion and greatly increase the authority of the book.

However, this book is not specifically aimed at the critical reader and, when viewed as an introductory text for a general business audience, does provide a number of commonsense strategies which may be useful for those who wish to improve their business communication skills. Additionally, it successfully illustrates many applications of the NLP presuppositions, and provides an introduction to the subject for those who are curious about NLP but do not require a rigorous treatment of its concepts.