"Neuro Linguistic Programming works on the principle that although you cannot change the world, you can change the way you represent the world in your thinking," says Sue Knight, NLP expert who will approach the fascinating "management phenomenon of the decade" at HRD 2000 today. She adds, "It is our 'thought life' and not our circumstances that determine our success and happiness".
According to Knight, everyone is unconsciously aware of the best demeanour to adopt in different situations, and can think themselves into it. A gentle pinch to the earlobe can be a useful leadership technique, according to a training expert who has tutored some of the country’s senior business figures. The ear pinch is not intended to hurt, but to signal that the owner of the ear should be in a certain state of mind. This - or another simple gesture - is a trigger to adopt that attitude, whether it be energised and extroverted, which may suit presentations, or relaxed and introverted, which suits activities such as report writing.
With NLP you can pinpoint, evaluate then replicate the elements of excellence that exist in successful people. But unlike many management wisdoms, it starts by harnessing talents which people already possess, although they may not realise it.
Although NLP has a cumbersome name, its roots are uncomplicated: it was developed in 1975 by two academics who set about trying to reproduce the excellence of people whose performance they admired. Knight will explain with straightforward exercises in self-evaluation - its techniques, and how they can be used in personal and profession relationships with other people.
NLP, she says, can be widely used in business to: build and enhance relationships with new and existing contacts, build rapport to do effective business, 'keep your head' when the world around is reeling and learn how to recognise natural talents within yourself and others - and to be able to select and draw on them.
Knight says: "Anyone who needs to achieve results through others needs to be able to connect with people, no matter what their background, style or culture. Those who have it engender respect and trust. They have learned either intuitively or consciously to match the style of the people with whom they are dealing, and this is what constitutes rapport."
