NLP Distance Learning

New and powerful ways of achieving learning online.

Distance Learning Example

I am often asked how the distance learning on line coaching works… so here is a sample exchange between me and one of my students. Each module is based on one or two of the chapters in my book NLP at Work. The example below was based on the Chapter—Beliefs of Excellence. Typically I ask someone to choose a Belief of Excellence that they wish to presuppose. In this case as you may see my student wanted to consider them all so for this reason I thought it could be an interesting exchange to include here.

NLP at Work (3rd edition) Chapter 14 Beliefs of Excellence—Thought Provokers

The Question 5. Which one belief of excellence would make the biggest positive difference to your life if you held it? What do you imagine would be the effect of holding this belief for you?

Student: I found this chapter really interesting so am writing about all of the beliefs rather than just one.

On the bright side, I think I already hold a lot of the beliefs:

Each person is unique—I think all my staff are unique and bring their own skills and viewpoint to the business. This probably makes my management style more collaborative than directive.

Sue: And you? In what way are you unique?

Student: Everyone makes their best choice—I believe this and tend to usually see people in a positive light as a result.

Sue: And about tricky interviewers? (referring to the students reaction to an interviewer that she had had difficulty relating to previously)

Student: There is no failure only feedback—absolutely, I like to have a culture in the office of mistakes being normal and open and honest feedback being welcomed. I’m also fine with getting feedback myself.

Sue: And in your thinking about yourself handing interviews?

Student: There is a solution to every problem—this is one of my personal mantras and really embedded in the way that my partners and I have dealt with issues that have come up as we have been building our business

Mind and body are one—I relate to this very closely as I am a keen yoga practitioner and well aware of how practicing certain postures can affect my mental and/or emotional state

Sue: Yes that comes through in your strategies…

Student: The way to understand is to do—completely relate to this—I’ve not done a great deal of formal training since qualifying, mainly because I’ve found that when I have, I have often forgotten most of what I’ve learned because I haven’t used it after coming out of the training room

We have all the resources that we need—haven’t really thought about this one before, but probably do believe it as I did a business start up on a shoestring budget with a team of 3 and was pretty confident that we could make it work between us

Sue: And generally, for example when you said at first you could not think of exemplars in one of the other questions, believe that if you can name what is that you want for example let us say confidence then you have it somewhere in your experience even if not yet in the exact context…

Student: These two I feel neutral about—I don’t have any problem with them but they don’t really resonate particularly:

What we recognise about others is true about ourselves

Sue: Interesting because you so very elegantly proved that one with your table in the other question…

Knowledge thought memory and imagination are the result of sequences and combinations of ways of filtering and storing information

Sue: Well that is the one that I am alluding to in your first answers when I ask for specific coding of your choices and thinking patterns.. this is at the heart of NLP. That there is specific structure to the way that we do what we do good and bad…

Student: The tricky ones for me are:

The person with the greatest flexibility has the greatest influence—I operate in a flexible way, but tend to think that this is a sign of weakness—ie if I was a proper business leader I would be more dogmatic and sure of my own opinions. Thinking about flexibility as a strength would be interesting.

Sue: Well you would be more flexible if you were to have dogma as an option as well for example .. so what you are saying is that you are not as flexible as you realise that you might be .. flexible means having the full range.. dogma included

Student: Behind every behaviour is a positive intention—when someone is aggressive towards me I feel personally attacked and find this really hard to deal with. This happens rarely but I have a recent example I will think about and try to reframe in a positive way.

Sue: And it doesn’t mean that they do have a positive intention just that you invent one in your thinking .. this is a bit of a mind bending one but there are examples of this in the chapter

Student: The meaning of the communication is the effect—I think I am bad at lots of things but if I look at the results they are really quite good. For example I think I have a lot of shortcomings as a business leader, but in practice have developed a successful business and have a hardworking and loyal team. I think this is the belief that if I could hold it would make the most difference to me as it would enable me to appreciate and celebrate my successes more and beat myself up about my failings less.

Sue: And to hold the belief that there is no failure only learning and feedback would result in you treating your self differently here too…