I was recently talking to a friend of mine. Just general chit-chat, we hadn’t spoken for a while and were simply catching up. During the course of the conversation she mentioned a small problem she had with her business and seemed to be quite worried about just how to handle it. So I did what I do, naturally now, I asked NLP type questions and she was answering them and finding out for herself the solution she required. Then we got to talking about my business and she came out with the following statement: “But NLP business coaching is just you telling people what to do in their business!”

Well that left me speechless for a minute – and trust me that is rare!!! So….I explained that I had asked NLP questions when she had mentioned her problem and queried whether she had come up with the solution herself and asked if I had “told” her what to do? She acknowledged that that she had worked it out for herself with the help of the questions I had asked. She also acknowledged that she couldn’t think of the questions to get to a solution stage with her problem. And I explained to her that this is how NLP works in all situations, both personal and business. We, NLP Coaches, ask questions that a client wouldn’t think of asking, and they them decide whether the particular solution they come up with is appropriate or not. If not we repeat the process until the client finds an appropriate solution, for them.

What surprised me most was that when I had discussed NLP with her before she had asked lots of questions herself in an effort to understand how NLP works and had seemed to have a basic understanding of it, yet she still held onto a belief that, for business, and surprisingly not for personal life, NLP Coaching was a form of mental bullying or manipulation, until she had experienced it for herself first hand.

So to clear a few misconceptions up here are a few things that NLP Business Coaching is used for:

• Getting straight to the issue/problem with solutions in mind.
• Getting rid of that “either/or” doubt that most of us get caught up in.
• Setting clear and SMART goals.
• Developing the motivation to achieve those goals and know how to overcome the obstacles that get thrown in front of us as soon as we set them.
• Learning how to communicate with other people in English they understand.
• Learning how to build rapport and maintain it, with clients and staff alike.
• Learning how to negotiate effectively until a win/win scenario is in sight.
• Learning how to motivate others.

My friend likened it to ordinary business coaching (which it is), only with more tools in the toolbox. Her understanding of NLP and it’s uses has broadened, and I hope your’s has too.