Neuro-linguistic programming, or NLP, was developed in the 1970s by two Americans – a mathematician called Richard Bandler, and a linguist called John Grinder.
The two men shared an interest in psychotherapy and jointly developed a model based on the idea that linguistic patterns held the key to transformational psychotherapy. In other words, if you could understand and model the effects of language, you could then adjust those models to create new behaviours. The two men referred to this idea of creating strategies as ‘programming’.
Today NLP is an enormously popular and influential set of tools and techniques designed to improve communication, and to help people understand how and why we behave the way we do.
In business, NLP is often used to help employees build rapport with colleagues, clients and potential customers. It can also be used as a self-development tool, boosting positive thinking and confidence.
