Application of NLP in organizations
10 September 2008“Neuro” refers to the neurological processes of sensing. These pertain to seeing, hearing, feeling, tasting and smelling. “Linguistic” refers to the way we utilise language. “Programming” in Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP), refers to the way we organise our beliefs, thoughts and actions. These three put together can help us bring about changes in behaviour and outcome.
There are many variants in the way NLP is practised. Most approaches follow a four-step model in the implementation. This consists of:
- Decide on what you want to do
- Carry out the action pertaining to it
- Check the outcome. Is it what you wanted? Did it work for you?
- If not, do something different.
NLP calls for flexibility. This stems from the philosophy that you need to change the process if what you are doing is not working. The assumption is that “if you continue to do what you are doing, you will continue to get the same results.”
Modalities
One of the most common and popular applications is changing behaviour based on modalities. We can utilise this to build a rapport with another person, to ensure that our communication is understood by the other, etc. NLP defines modalities as systems we use to form our map of the world. According to NLP, we think by representing our experiences—internally—through various means. We utilise sight, sound, feeling, taste and smell to represent experience. These are the five senses referred to as visual, auditory, kinesthetic, gustatory and olfactory.
Each representation system is termed as a modality and the qualities of the systems are termed sub-modalities. Examples of visual sub-modalities are brightness, focus, size, colour, etc; examples of auditory sub-modalities are volume, pitch, rate of speaking, etc.
Each person has a preference in deploying modalities and this affects our map of the world. It is as if each one of us has a different coloured filter in front of our eyes and hence the world looks different. If I have a red coloured filter, the world looks red to me. I can keep screaming that “the world is red” till the cows come home; yet, this may not get across to a person whose “filter is green in colour” and hence the world looks green to him or her. Similarly, it is difficult for a person who prefers the visual mode to communicate easily with one who prefers the auditory mode. Essentially, it is difficult to communicate with a person whose preferred modality is different. But, we can change our behaviour to suit the other person, if we understand the concept of modality and the way it works.
The words that we utilise while communicating give some indication about our preferences. To quote some examples:
- Visual: “I see”, “this is a blind spot”, “it is nice and colourful”, “can you throw some light on this topic?”, etc.
- Auditory: “It sounds good”, “it rings a bell”, “loud and clear”, etc.
- Kinesthetic: “Putting a finger on it”, “warm”, “trying to grasp that idea”, etc.
Eye movements also help in determining a person’s preference. We tend to move our eyes according to the representation system we are accessing. Upward eye movements indicate visual thought processes. Eye movement sideways indicates auditory processes. Downward movements indicate kinesthetic sensing or internal dialogue (self-talk).
Understanding our preferred modality and the other person’s preference can enable us to utilise language or other patterns that suit the other. This results in building rapport, effective communication, diffusing conflicts, etc. Some organisations utilise this aspect of NLP in learning programmes pertaining to interpersonal skills, team building, leadership skills, selling skills, etc.
Meta Model
Another popular concept in NLP is the ‘Meta Model’. This can be utilised in advanced programmes pertaining to communication skills. Meta model refers to the way we use language and can be deployed to communicate precise meaning. The Mad Hatter in ‘Alice in Wonderland’ explains to Alice that “I say what I mean and I mean what I say” are not the same. He tells Alice that she might as well say that “I eat what I see” is that same as “I see what I eat”. The Meta Model helps us understand how we distort language and meaning by trying to simplify communication.
We tend to generalise, omit information, not convey assumptions, etc, and thereby distort communication. Skilled use of the Meta Model enables us to communicate what we mean to and also to understand beyond surface level when another person is communicating.
There are other concepts such as pacing and leading, reframing, chunking, etc, that have various applications in learning programmes. These have application in programmes such as interviewing skills, problem solving, goal setting, coaching, counselling, etc. NLP has many powerful concepts that can be utilised in various learning programmes.
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