You may have heard of NLP. You may know a little bit about it.
But how can NLP affect your career?
Neuro-Linguistic Programming, or NLP, is an approach that identifies different communication styles: visual, auditory, auditory digital, and kinesthetic. The NLP models are valuable for us because understanding communication styles will help you build up and move forward in your career, whether you’re looking for job advancement or want to attract more clients and contracts.
Photo courtesy of JZPARRISH. All rights reserved.
How NLP helps – Hint: It’s about Communicating More Effectively.
From a representational system point of view, the whole point of communication is to build rapport, build reputation, and to become more flexible.
When you understand how you and others communicate, it will be easier to build rapport in not only a career setting, but in all other areas of your life. Part of the dictionary definition of rapport is around relation and connecting, especially intense harmonious accord.
It’s a wonderful thing to create stronger affinity, as that helps create alliances, which we all know are critical in business. Camaraderie and support tie into that as well.
Rapport assists you in so many different business-building ways, and there are a number of key areas within the NLP model for this.
As you better understand the communication styles of yourself and others, you’ll also learn to be more flexible. And the more flexible you are, the greater success you’ll have in your business and in your career.
Image courtesy of Boris Savluc. All Rights Reserved.
Bend or Break … It’s Your Choice
In our daily lives we’re faced with opportunities to grow or stagnate. This is true of your personality in every area of your life.
With your wife you can be short with her about not being able to find the tupperware lid. Or you can breathe, look for it, and then gently ask her instead. NLP is a process of being deliberate about choosing the right words for talking with someone else.
There’s an analogy that that demonstrates this well. Imagine a tree that’s in a giant windstorm. A tree that refuses to bend or be flexible in any way. Well, that tree is likely going to break or snap. The tree that’s flexible and adaptable, however, is going to bend with the changing winds.
Ultimately, the buck stops with you. NLP is a tool that you can use to guide the course of your career (and life). But you have to be willing to use it.