the Central London nlp group

Living NLP The newsletter of the Central London NLP Group Issue 1

Note that much of the information in past issues of Living NLP is out of date.
Text in this colour is used to indicate information that has been brought up to date.

A Shared Vision for the Future?
“Visions of the future often provide guidance and direction for our lives and our work, furnishing the motivation and impetus for change” - Robert Dilts The Blair administration's first White Paper, Excellence In Schools, is the clearest wake-up call that what-works-best politics are in, left and right ideologies out. Modelling, best practice, outcome-orientation, learning from and choosing what works best, carrots and sticks, a "can-do" enabling philosophy, and sharing of resources of excellence leap out as familiar to the most casual NLP reader. A vision of the international NLP Visionary Leadership Conference in June that by 2017 NLP will be mainstream for all areas of learning could, then, be conservative. Whatever we think of the ways that Blair and Education Minister Blunkett are trying to deliver the dream, whatever we think of them as individuals or of what they have done so far, however much we might deplore the lack of the words "feedback, not..." in their remarks about failure, it is a beginning, and a beginning which no government of this country has previously come close to declaring. In a world where NLP teachings are increasingly considered normal and mainstream, it behoves us, if NLP as a discipline is to keep any credibility, to hold up our own standards. If others are to listen to and understand what we are saying then we need to keep NLP close to its roots, as an offspring of modelling excellence.	Spot the NLP patterns and ideas... Blair: "Education, education and education" "Don't hope for change, vote for change" Blunkett: "This is a can-do government" "Cannot fail" "We will not tolerate failure; we will reward success" "The Government... will celebrate good practice and excellence" "Enabling those with direct responsibility... to achieve their highest objective"
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Creating the future of NLP
Katrina Patterson has been very active in NLP and a loyal supporter of the NLP Group for years. So it was fitting that she represented us at the Visionary Leadership Conference and Workshop in California in June. NLP trainers from all over the world gathered for two days to envision and plan the future of NLP and its contribution to the community, asking, "How can the field of NLP guide and motivate people to create healthy communities?" Then the conference opened to the public for three days, during which 22 Strategy Teams presented their dreams and action steps for community issues. They aimed to "illuminate pathways well into the next millennium". This apparently involved some dancing and singing. The work of the Conference is being collated into a "booklet" representing the "co-created dreams and plans for the future of our field, our communities and our world". It has no copyright. As Katrina was leaving Santa Cruz, we gather the booklet had already become 140 bursting pages. It will be published by Robert Dilts in the autumn. Read the full story in the next issue of Living NLP.
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Did you know...
...that Katrina is starting a section in Rapport, the magazine of the Association for NLP, on research projects involving NLP? Send details of your projects to Katrina Patterson, 34 Victoria Rd, Uxbridge, Middlesex, UB8 2TW.
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See Frank Daniels
16th September is a date for your diaries. It will be the first time Frank Daniels has visited us since 1993. Frank has been training people in NLP for 8 years and is an INLPTA trainer. He runs many of his courses in the beautiful Derbyshire countryside and also holds NLP introductory intensives in London, at an excellently-priced £75 for a weekend. Frank Daniels Associates 01773 532195
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John Grinder in town
John Grinder is in London for the first time in seven years. While he's here he'll be leading at least two seminars: 5th to 7th June with Carmen Bostic St Clair for PPD called The Substance Behind the Shadow: Pattern Detection £340 + VAT. a one-day session for the ANLP on Monday June 8th entitled A Conversation About Language, Logics and Learning - excellent value at £70, or £65 for members. PPD: 0181 201 3333, fax 205 5989 ANLP Events: 0181 806 6165
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Richard Bandler statement
The SNLP (Society of Neuro-Linguistic Programming) has published a statement by Richard Bandler about the much-discussed litigation in which he's involved. You can phone McKenna-Breen to discuss it and to enquire about the possibility of receiving a copy. Tel 0171 704 6604, Fax 0171 704 1676
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Editorial
Welcome to the first issue of Living NLP, the newsletter of the New London Practice Group. Right now we plan to issue Living NLP on an occasional basis. If there's enough response from you, the reader, we'll publish bi-monthly. We want to concentrate on the activities of the Group and the role of NLP in the community. We’ll advertise and report on practice group and other meetings, explain NLP presuppositions, techniques and patterns, and look at Ericksonian language and hypnotic techniques. Above all, we want to report on and encourage the use and promotion of NLP in everyday life. The New London Practice Group meets on Tuesday evenings at Regent’s College in Regent’s Park at 6.45 pm and finishes at 9.00pm. - Isha and Garry
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Regular sessions on modelling
On the first Tuesday of each month there will be a session on modelling on offer. So brush those cobwebs off your modelling projects, bring along your new ones, start one today - or plan one. [These sessions are no longer available]
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GET YOUR HANDS ON ALL THOSE EXPENSIVE NLP BOOKS AND TAPES - FOR FREE!
Would you like to... Read NLP books before other members of the Group get their mitts on them... Bag those NLP tapes - and nobody objects... Read any number of NLP books FREE in the comfort of your own home... ALWAYS have FIRST CHOICE of books and tapes from the Group's library... Order NLP books and tapes and let us pay for them? NOW YOU CAN!  Speak to Garry Knight about what's entailed in becoming the Group's librarian.
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Are you a member of ANLP?
Think you can't afford it? The Association for NLP is the main independent body representing the NLP community in the UK. It's also a central organisation from which non-NLPers and the media can find out more about NLP. The cost of membership is reduced if you are unwaged, to just £30 per annum instead of the usual £50. Membership gets you a substantial entry in the ANLP Directory, four packed-full issues of Rapport magazine a year, and reduced rates at the twice-yearly conferences. To join ANLP, or get more details, write to Caroline Coughlan, PO Box 78, Stourbridge, West Midlands, DY8 2YP, or phone 01384 443935 (weekdays 9am to 1pm, otherwise answerphone).
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Get creative
Got an idea for a session you'd like to run? Or for one you'd like to go to? Speak to: Niels Thomas on 0207 226 9482.
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Wanted: People to lead introductory sessions
Do you have the rapport skills, patience, awareness and habit of good NLP practice to run an introductory session for newcomers to NLP? Do you have integrated NLP skills and can you be a good role model? Are you able and willing to present a model of NLP consistent with that taught in Practitioner training? Perhaps you're already experienced in introducing people to NLP, or experienced in facilitating NLP workshops and feel ready to run a session for beginners. Then the organising committee are keen to hear from you. Please phone the programme coordinator Niels Thomas on 0207 226 9482.
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Richmond NLP Group
The Richmond group is a showcase for NLP for people who are interested but not necessarily practitioners. All sessions are accessible to beginners. Andy Smith says, "This is a warm, supportive, enthusiastic group. All our speakers have been well received." They take care that their speakers are ones whom they have at least heard are good, and most sessions are interactive. Experienced NLPers like Andy get a lot out of the evenings too. Meetings are every Thursday 7pm to 9pm at the Effective Life Centre, Sun Alley, Richmond. Admission £4. They will soon be finding a new venue. Phone Nick Driscoll 0181 941 8165 to go on the mailing list. Web site: http://www.trance.dircon.co.uk/richmond.html
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Cutting the cost of Practitioner training
by Ian McLaren, Rapport Magazine's Events Diary Coordinator Big commitment NLP Practitioner training is expensive because an ANLP-approved training means having at least 125 hours of face-to-face tuition. Often there will be a trainer or assistant for every two or three students. There must be two certified NLP trainers present at the assessment. Typically, you would expect to pay well over £1,000 in addition to your travelling expenses, meals and accommodation. Training styles It is important to decide the type and style of training that you want, and who you want to train with, before committing yourself to spending a lot. It is worth getting to see the trainers in action at practice group meetings, seminars or the ANLP Conference. Accelerated learning There are two main types of Practitioner training: conventional and accelerated. With accelerated learning, NLP techniques are used to teach NLP very fast. Hypnotic techniques, home study tapes and other aids to unconscious learning are used so that techniques are powerfully installed. The drawback is the limited amount of practice time available. Accelerated courses usually have less than half the contact time of conventional ones. The ANLP does not currently recognise accelerated trainings for full membership, but if you do not need to become a full ANLP member then you could consider this type of training. We would suggest regular attendance at a practice group afterwards to gain experience. South East supplement Where you train can make a difference to the cost. Courses tend to be cheaper outside the South East of England, and cheaper in educational premises or hospitals than in conference centres or top hotels. You may find that a residential course in a college in the North can work out cheaper than commuting twenty times to a Central London hotel. Discounts Many training companies have a discount policy. If you are a pensioner, a student, unemployed, disabled or low-paid, ask if you qualify for a rebate. These can be as much as 50% off the quoted price. Getting the money The best way to fund NLP Practitioner training is to get your employer to pay for it. Many companies now see the value of NLP techniques for personnel, sales and marketing, general management and customer contact staff. Persuade them to send you on a course, or arrange for an in-house training. Otherwise, try your bank for a training loan or ask about special schemes. Cheaper deals These are just a selection from the programmes that have been sent to us. Please check with the companies for full details. The cheapest in our files at the moment is a seven-day course in Central London from McKenna, Breen (0181 348 0629) featuring Richard Bandler (£469). Centre NLP (0116 287 3356) in Leicester has ten-day courses for £600. Cricket Kemp of NLP North East (012683 51934) is running an ANLP Practitioner training with a Teaching and Learning focus. Starts 4 October in Ealing (10 weekends). Full price £700, with discounts for working teachers. Graham Morris at Training Changes in Cheltenham offers a ten-weekend course at £840 with substantial early-bird discounts. Another course inspired by Penny and James is run by Organisational Healing (01925 861600) in Warrington. This extensive autumn course includes a community project, and costs £800 (£400 unwaged).
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Training Report
Sue Beddoe reports on her Practitioner training with Training Changes I am Sue Beddoe; I work with people who have offending behaviour. I was first told about NLP by Graham Morris. We had worked together briefly when Graham ran assertiveness training for people I was working with. When he ran a Practitioner training I decided to go I lived in Hereford, worked full time and was a single parent, so London training was not possible for me. And Graham's training was cheaper. I had previously completed a foundation training with him. “There is no area in my life that this training has not affected.” I realise now what an excellent training I received - it took place over months, every other or third weekend, which I could fit in with all my other commitments. In this training my life started to open up - I felt alive and free for the first time in my life. It also enhanced my work. There was and is no area in my life that this training has not affected. It has given a quality, a deep understanding of myself and others. And a plea It would be very nice if people would write to me about NLP - there are not many of us in this neck of the woods! Sue Beddoe, 71 Bulmer Ave., Hereford HR1 1EJ. [Sue went on to do her Master Practitioner training with Sensory Systems. We'll bring you a full report in a later issue] Training Changes 01242 580640 or 0370 740748 The Editors would like to hear from any of our readers about their experiences with NLP training, good or bad, so we can pass the information on to others.
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So you're an NLPer
So, how has your knowledge and use of NLP expanded your everyday effectiveness? What are you doing that directly impacts the quality of people's lives? What is it that you are contributing to others simply by the way you communicate? To put it simply, how are you making a difference? In line with the NLP Group's policy of supporting and promoting the use of NLP in the community, we'd like to know how you're using NLP, both within the community, and in your own personal life. Write in and let us know...
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Free voice and presentation coaching
Do you want to extend the flexibility of your voice, and use it better? Would you like individual coaching from a teacher who was herself taught by the top voice coach in the world? And would you like to improve or brush up your presentation skills? If you are prepared to host or lead a practice session for the NLP Group, then the free coaching is yours. Marysia Kurowski (Isha) is an NLP Master Practitioner, a stage performer and teacher of many years, and voice-trained with Patsy Rodenburg. NLP Practitioner, hypnotherapist and trainer Caz Sheldon writes: "Isha is an excellent, knowledgeable coach. I discovered a range of pitch and expressiveness I hadn't realised I possessed and was delighted to discover how easy it was to increase volume and projection".
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Summer session al fresco on the grass
All levels - 26th August Ian McLaren, Master Practitioner, business counsellor and coach, will be running a session in which, it's rumoured, hands will be held and some innocent bodies will be required to feel their way around the College grounds. We'll be advised to utilise our rapport, language, sensory acuity and leadership skills if we are ever to find our way home. Isha says she's looking forward to spotting the violations. Could be a new slant on the word team.
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Free publicity
If you are offering free services or employment, then we can give you free publicity. We might even be able to give you an article. The service or employment must be NLP-related in order to qualify, and the free publicity is available only to those people who normally receive Living NLP. To find out more, e-mail Garry.
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Volunteers wanted
Do you like to feel one of a family? Does the idea of being an active member of the NLP community excite you? Why not volunteer to give us a hand, either on a regular basis or simply by approaching committee members when you arrive on a Tuesday night? No offer of help is too small.
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Submitting articles
We welcome articles about the Group and about the NLP community. If you want to contribute to Living NLP, you can send your article by e-mail, in plain text format, Rich Text Format, MS Word (2, 6, 95 or 97) format, Lotus WordPro format, or Windows WordPad format. Alternatively, you can e-mail it in plain text or HTML format to: editor@nlpgroup.freeserve.co.uk.
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