My Blog

Who can use NLP and will it help at work?

01/10/2012 10:24:00

Who Can Use NLP? Will It Be Relevant To The Skills Needed In My Workplace NLP is essentially a "meta-skill" that enables you to take control of your thinking and your internal processes, so that you get more out of yourself. It teaches you how your internal emotional state is a large influence on your productivity, on your interactions with others, on how well you maintain your morale, and how to life others' morale, too. This means that it is a skill relevant to any job. Here are just a few of the applications of NLP that we know about:

The Metropolitan Police Force has used NLP to help probationer police officers to have more psychological tools to help them on the beat. It is excellent in instilling confidence and teaching young officers to maintain cool composure under stress. Now with CPD accreditation, we are able to offer that training under the umbrella of CPD accreditation, making it more recognisable by many more businesses.
The City of London Financial Institutions use NLP to maintain morale and focus during difficult times. The "Big Four" banks have sent their managers to be trained in NLP.
Doctors and health workers find that they are more able to handle patients with more ease, and that they are able to get "problem" clients to take a more active role in their own health management.
Educational establishments are noticing that the use of well thought through language patterns and emotional management is massively useful in educational situations, raising the performance of the kids and making the whole classroom experience work better.

In a recent survey, we asked you if knowing that our NLP courses were CPD accredited would encourage you to consider more seriously enrolling on them. The majority of responders to whom it was applicable said yes - and what's more, around half of responders the question applied to say that their organisation recognises CPD as adding value to their role as an employee. Half of these also said that their employees allowed time off for CPD courses, - and even budgeted for them. If you work in an organisation interested in developing its people, then you might find it is well worth speaking to your HR department or personnel manager to find out what provision they lay down for you!

Why don't New Year Resolutions work?

01/10/2012 10:03:00

Why don’t New Year’s resolutions tend to work? Mainly it is because they are made at the conscious level of mind. Resolutions typically make use of will power to implement the desired change, another conscious mind function.

Some people may feel they have lots of will power and others none at all, regardless of your perceived ability to make change through will power over the long term it is no match for the emotions, imagination and programming of the subconscious mind.

Through will power you may be able to respond differently to your trigger for a few days or even a week or two. The subconscious mind however, is looking for ways to trip you up. It knows that in many cases you will see a slip as failure and an excuse to continue the habit that you consciously want to change.

New Year’s resolutions rarely work because your conscious desire for change is not aligned with your subconscious programming.

By using hypnosis your subconscious can become your ally in making the change. Once your conscious and inner minds are in agreement not only will change happen, it will be permanent and effortless. After all you will simply be responding to a new program.

Using hypnosis there are many tools to make desired changes including; direct suggestion, replacing the response to a trigger with something that is more beneficial to health, identifying consciously the root of the habit, or discovering any hidden reasons for the behavior.

Regardless of which tool or tools are used to change your internal programming, your subconscious mind is now aligned with your conscious desire for change. Once the behavior needed to reach your goal becomes a part of your belief system (programming) it will operate without a thought. Imagine taking a deep breath instead of lighting up a cigarette, or taking a sip of water instead of having that bowl of ice cream while the new beneficial action satisfies you completely.

The emotional need that drove the old behavior is now completely satisfied with the new behavior. The achievement of your desired goal is the natural side effect of your new response.

Can you really change the way you think?

08/05/2011 11:18:00

I am passionate about helping people to think purposefully. I believe that you can change the way you think. Many people think that their thoughts are not within their control but they are. Thoughts manifest in pictures, sounds and voices within our heads and we have to manage this constant "chatter" whilst communicating with the external world. It's a bit like a news reader presenting the news while her producer is speaking directions and updates into their earpiece. It's something such professionals get used to. So it's time to become a professional thinker!

The Baggage Handler

07/19/2011 11:25:00

When you're really stressed and you can't think straight and you have loads of choices and you don't know what to do you may be suffering from "overwhelm" which is where your recent past has been littered with decisions that have maybe backfired and now you have lost confidence in your ability to make the right decision - in fact to make ANY decision!

So I've been looking at some great NLP techniques for shifting baggage.

Have you tried the SWISH technique?

This is where you compose a picture in your mind of a poor outcome or a challenging event coming up. Then you make sure you get the emotion, the feeling, attached to that event, the feelings you don't want. Put that image aside.

Now create in your mind a picture of a great outcome - after the forthcoming event or decision has been made - see yourself successful and happy. Get the emotions and feelings attached to that - the positive happy feelings. Put that image aside.

Now take the first image and make it big, bold and colourful - really big it up.

Now take the second image and place it in one corner, small so you can only just make it out.

Now the purpose of this exercise is to reprogramme your mind so whenever you think of the forthcoming event in a negative way and you see the first image in your mind, the second image will instantly overwrite it.

The way we do this is by quickly replacing that first image with the second.

See the first image, big bold and colourful and bring up the second image to fill the screen of your mind - now and when you do go SWISH and really grasp the good feelings and make that second image bigger and bolder and brighter.

Now SWISH them back but this time make the first image a little paler, less colour, not as exciting or compelling and when you SWISH bring the second one in closer, bigger, add colour, add sound and let the great feelings of success spread throughout your body.

Do this again and again until you can't see the first image without the second one swishing in automatically.

Hey bingo - reprogrammed mind and some of the baggage handled!!

Any comments or thoughts on the SWISH?

Is dieting a waiste of time?

07/13/2011 13:16:00

The Daily Mail headline yesterday was "Deadly Cost of Low-Fat Dieting" and warned of cancer risks over counting calories because people coule be putting themselves at risk as unhealthy eating habits could lead to heart disease, cancer and altzheimers disease. Well should we look at alternatives like the hypnotic virtual gastric band technique? Does anyone have any experience of this?

Hoe NLP can improve your work and business life

07/07/2011 16:09:00

How can Neuro Linguistic Programming improve your work / life experience, performance and state of mind?

NLP has been described as “the study of the structure of subjective experience” and “the art and science of communication”.

Neuro relates to what’s happening objectively in our brain and subjectively in our minds – in computer analogy you could say that the brain is the hardware in which the mind is the operating software running programmes of thoughts and feelings which influence and control our behaviour.

Linguistic refers to language and how we use it to get our message across or understand, interpret and represent what others say to us.

Programming helps us to understand how we adopt persistent patterns of behaviour that we learn and then repeat throughout our lives – habits and cultural preferences based on our values, goals and motives.

In understanding human behaviour through such “pop-psychology” such as NLP and “Gober” we can improve our personal performance and how we relate to our external and internal customers.

So what are the basic assumptions of the NLP model?

1. The ability to change the process by which we experience reality (the external world) is more often valuable than changing the context of our experience of reality.

2. The meaning of the communication is the response you get.

3. All distinctions human beings are able to make concerning our environment and our behaviour can be usefully represented through the visual, auditory, kinesthetic (feelings), olfactory (smell) and gustatory (taste) senses.

4. The resources an individual needs to effect change are already within them.

5. The map is not the territory.

6. The positive worth of the individual is held constant while the value and appropriateness of internal and / or external behaviour is questioned.

7. There is a positive intention motivating every behaviour; and a context in which every behaviour has value.

8. Successful communicators accept and utilise all communication / behaviour presented to them.

9. Feedback versus faliure – all results and behaviours are achievements, whether they are desired outcomes for a given task / context or not.

NLP stands on four foundational pillars

· Rapport

Rapport is not about being liked; it’s about creating a relationship whereby the other person feels fundamentally understood by you, so they trust you, so you can ethically influence them for their own good.

· Sensory Awareness

Understanding how each individual encodes their experience of the external environment helps us to join them where they are – see the world through their eyes. We work with the 5 primary senses and many more “sub-modalities” to work at levels of incredible depth of detail. In fact we understand how people access their map which represents reality for them.

· Outcome Thinking

If any of us have worked on formulating goals or targets for our personal lives or work projects we may have heard of the acronym SMART which stands for S Measurable A Realistic Timed however in NLP because we are concerned with reality and human behaviour we look for “well formed outcomes” those which are in our control, not dependent upon circumstances we are unable to influence. The brain naturally and chemically creates a state of motivation towards a well formed outcome which in turn builds desire in the mind and drives behaviour.

As we build up our skills in understanding human behaviour we can begin to identify how the best people achieve their peak performance be it in work or sport. This is their STRATEGY FOR SUCCESS and in NLP there are ways of actually recording in detail the stages of a successful strategy so that anyone can replicate it. This is called MODELLING. Many of the most sucessful people don’t actually realise they have a strategy as it is embeded or hard-wired in their mind-programming but through careful observation and detailed enquiry these strategies can be recorded and copied.

This way the person retains their individuality but installs the success strategy only in a way that is right for them, in accordance with their values and belief system – called “ECOLOGY”.

Modelling works because the brain seeks to complete laid down internal templates through matching with patterns in the external environment. That’s why we seek to complete projects and when we do we are satisfied, unless we push further by laying down new templates which require us to seek further completions. Some people do, others don’t and it is important to understand the difference because this is the secret of MOTIVATION.

· Behavioural Flexibility

Someone once said, “If you always do what you’ve always done, you’ll always get what you’ve always got”.

Orbital Management

07/07/2011 16:03:00

ORBITAL MANAGEMENT SYSTEM Business management beyond the hierarchy · Higher profit potential · Lower costs · Less absenteeism · Increased personal productivity · Enhanced job satisfaction · Super-committed employees · Opportunities for individual and corporate growth and creativity How is this achieved? Orbital Management System is not a hierarchy, not a vertical ladder, not heavy on administration. With no line management supervision is kept to a minimum which is a big step towards an organisation’s goal of 80% of resources being focussed on productivity and customer service. Utilising a simple management a working environment is created to enable instant praise or correction. Productivity is measured on outcomes rather than targets. Turnover and profits increase based on employees’ self-motivation and performance. What is the ORBITAL MANAGEMENT SYSTEM? A global and flexible single plane structure Equal levels of responsibility rotating around higher levels of responsibility All levels depend on the centre – independent yet interdependent Enables freedom for the individual to flow within and without orbits Unlimited potential for individual freedom to undertake various tasks and growth experiences Offers potential for centralised or dispersed organisational structures Why is ORBITAL MANAGEMENT SYSTEM unique? There’s only one way to find out – ask us for an awareness session. A half day presentation and initial scoping exercise is available from only £1,500. This offer includes 10 unique aspects of Orbital Management which enabled the system to work successfully and productively in the USA for over 25 years. Anyone can re-structure their organisation but Orbital Management System offers the keys to successful implementation of a radical and democratic environment not available anywhere else.

Performance excellence

11/28/2010 18:00:00

Using Anchors to create desired emotional states

1 The Circle of Excellence

The technique can be used to summon up confidence in a crisis or produce best performance in public.

Examples: Public speaking, interview, sporting event, examination, first date.

It works by allowing you to use a “trigger”, in this case stepping forward into an imaginary circle, usually accompanied by some form of hand gesture such as pinching the thumb and forefinger together, to boost a positive state of mind when under pressure.

Work through the following steps to create your own Circle of Excellence:

It helps to do this exercise with a coach or partner who will talk you through the actions as this will help you to be free to concentrate on noticing and recognising the subtle inner changes you will begin to utilise to gain control of your inner states.

Begin by standing up and drawing an imaginary circle on the floor in front of you. Make it wide enough to step into.

1 Staying outside the circle identify the state of mind you want to anchor and tell your partner what that is in your own words. Be specific. For example instead of using nominalisations such as “confidence” you may specify that you want to be “clear headed” or “in control”.

2 Step into the circle and remember a time when you were in that particular state. Fully return to that time, vividly, as if you were there. See what you saw, hear what you heard and appreciate the feelings arising in that situation. Make sure you are fully associated, seeing through your eyes, hearing through your ears, notice the scents and smells and appreciate all the feelings.

3 When you are fully engaged in that experience, hold the thought and anchor it by pinching the thumb and forefinger of the right hand together and as you do so, and as you squeeze tighter, imagine that whole experience becoming twice as strong and make the colours brighter, the sounds louder and richer and experience the sensations of the feelings spreading throughout your body.

4 Step out of the circle and repeat step 2 and 3 recalling a second experience where you were in the same best state. Once you’ve completed that, step out of the circle.

5 Think of a time in the future when this best state will be useful to you.

6 Step into the circle imagining the success of the future event, firing off the hand anchor at the same time. Fully engage in the situation, see through your eyes, hear through your ears and fully appreciate how good that feels as you perform at your very best.

7 Practice this in different future scenarios until you have complete control over that best performance state and you are aware of it returning every time you imagine stepping into that circle.

The Practical Power of NLP

11/28/2010 17:58:00

The Practical Power of NLP

Thinking on purpose Exercise 1

Taking control of your memory

Happy days!

1 Think of a day when you were truly happy

2 Go to that time now, see what you see, hear what you hear and notice how you feel when you bring that memory back.

3 If the memory is a picture, adjust its quality by making it bigger, brighter and bringing it closer. If you’re observing yourself, try stepping into the picture to see if this makes you feel even better.

(Association enables you to increase the positive emotion and feelings).

4 Notice any sounds that may have been in the memory at the time. Does making them louder, moving them inside or outside your head increase the positive feelings?

5 Notice the feelings you have, if any. Where in your body are you experiencing them? Do they have a colour? Texture or weight? Does moving the location of the feelings or changing their colour, texture and weight alter those feelings? Adjust these parameters to enhance the feelings.

What you are working with is the fine tuning controls that change the encoded patterns stored in the brain. You are re-programming your neurology.

This way you can diminish the effect f negative memories and heighten the joyful ones.

From unpleasant to pleasant

1 Think of a memory that is only marginally unpleasant

2 Notice the pictures, sounds, feelings that come up

3 If you are in the picture, step out and become an observer

(By dissociating, you can watch yourself as if on a film and adjust the picture and sounds)

4 Adjust the sounds; turn them down or Mickey Mouse an unpleasant voice

5 Adjust the picture; make it smaller, darker and black and white.

Endorphin button.

Now elicit a three really good memories, give them code words, stack them, intensify them and anchor them with a big red button which you just keep pressing to release more and more happy chemicals.

How can housing associations respond to the government's requirement for co-regulation?

11/28/2010 17:56:00

Orbitalsuccessfor Housing Providers

Co-regulation scoping and implementation

Co-regulation is dependent on a successful relationship between providers of housing and their tenants using tenant scrutiny and engagement.

The government review of social housing regulation specifically states that “the principle of co-regulation should be retained and enhanced” which demonstrates the importance of getting this right across the sector. It emphasises that fundamental responsibility for effective service delivery lies with the landlord.

Successful providers will be enabling their tenants to:

ü Look at the performance and decision making of the provider

ü Examine and question organisational strategy

ü Make recommendations

ü Provide extra accountability and challenge

ü Link boards and resident panels

ü Get involved in agreeing local offers

Providers should demonstrate the effectiveness of their co-regulation in practice including:

ü How they enable tenants from all backgrounds to shape service delivery

ü Details of level of scrutiny and influence in practice

ü Details of how these levels of scrutiny and influence are agreed with tenants

ü Evidence of success including performance indicators and testimonials from service users.

ü Details of learning outcomes, key successes, lessons learnt

ü Details of obligations under equality legislation, supported housing, young people and those from protected characteristics under the Equality Act 2010 are included

ü Details of Value for Money and the impact on cost and efficiency of approach to co-regulation.

You will need proposals to disseminate your successful approach to co-regulation including:

ü A clear and comprehensive plan for dissemination, milestones and outputs

ü Details of learning events

ü Details of invitees

ü How tenants would be involved

Providers involved in co-regulation will be:

· Housing Associations

· ALMOS

· Co-operative / tenant management organisations

· Local Authorities

Orbitalsuccess for Housing Providers provides co-regulation scoping and implementation planning tools.

Influence mapping for partners, customers, tenants, residents

Through tenat scrutiny and challenge via co-regulation activities you will:

ü Improve performance

ü Improve Services

ü Improve efficiency

ü Improve services

ü Improve satisfaction

ü Improve value for money

With Orbitalsuccess for Housing Providers you will:

ü Focus outputs and outcomes which benefit tenants and support co-regulation

ü Increase understanding between partners

ü Clarify planning and thinking

ü Have a clear vehicle for planning and storming

Orbitalsuccess is for Housing Providers who want to do co-regulation very well indeed!