Why is NLP relevant for coaching?

NLP stands for Neuro-Linguistic Programming, and is essentially the study of our thinking, behaviour and language patterns so we can build strategies that work for us in all areas of our lives - such as making decisions, building relationships, starting up a business or new project, inspiring and motivating others, creating a fulfilling work-life balance, improving our self-esteem and confidence, and learning how to learn. We have unconscious strategies for everything we do in life.

We at Titanium use the tools of NLP, along with other useful coaching tools, in a supportive environment to help you become conscious of what your strategies are, what works for you and what doesn't, how to refine them and use them to be more successful and achieve what you want.

The fundamentals of NLP

There are several underlying principles to NLP, called presuppositions in that we act and suppose that they are true, even if we don't know for certain. A qualified coach draws on these principles to really understand what you are saying, ask the right questions and be a supportive, impartial guide to help you achieve your own goals without interference from their own opinion. We use these principles to help you improve your confidence and self-esteem, and to understand what your goals really are and how to achieve them.

Each person is unique: There is a wealth of untapped talent in everyone and we can help to release this talent by the way we relate to people.

"The map is not the territory": people all perceive the world in their own way, and have different perspectives of the same reality - each person has a unique mental map of the world.

You create your own reality: people act as if their mental map is reality and these mental maps limit their potential more than any real constraints in the outside world.

There is no failure, only feedback: all results and behaviours are achievements whether or not they were the desired outcome for a given task or context. We must be able to learn from changing situations and learn continuously.

It is often more valuable to change processes rather than change specific content: through working on the root causes and processes underlying issues, rather than only on the specific issue itself (the content), NLP-based coaching can help you achieve more wide-reaching results more quickly.

The meaning of communication is the response you get: communication is about being understood, and involves more than just talking.

People perceive and experience everything and relate behaviour through visual (sight), auditory (hearing), kinaesthetic (touch), olfactory (smell) and gustatory (taste) senses. We experience life and communicate using all five of our senses. NLP-based coaching helps you use all your senses to raise your awareness and achieve the changes you want.

The person with the most flexibility in thinking and behaviour has the most influence. If we are doing something that isn't working, then the more choices we have, or the more flexible we can be, the more likely we are to find something that does work. As your  NLP coach I can help you identify and evaluate choices and develop your flexibility.

The positive worth of an individual is held constant while the value and appropriateness of the internal and/or external behaviour is questioned. A person's behaviour is not who they are. A person displaying an inappropriate or undesirable behaviour is not bad in themselves and they can change that behaviour. For someone to change the way they behave, or relate to others at work, for example, he or she needs to want to change and be given the opportunity to change. The opportunity may start with coaching and also needs to involve other people in his or her life so they regard him or her in this new way instead of only seeing how he or she used to be.

Behind every behaviour is a positive intention and a context in which every behaviour has value. People make the best choices available to them at the time they make it, and according to how they view the situation. Appreciating this helps us to understand and forgive - both behaviours in other people and behaviours in our own past that we want to move on from.

We have within us all the resources we will ever need to effect change or achieve what we want. A resource can be anything that helps you achieve your goal, although often it takes someone else to help you identify it. Your NLP coach helps you develop the self-awareness and confidence to make use of the resources you hold within you.