Instant NLP - The Power Of The Pause

NLP stands for Neuro-Linguistic Programming. The techniques of NLP are based in psychology and hypnosis. I have been using these techniques on other people and myself for years to improve my life and theirs.

Controlling someone without their knowledge does not have to be a bad thing. Think about it. You could help a friend end their self destructive behavior. That would be a good thing wouldn't it? You could motivate your children to do better in school without openly nagging and criticizing. That would be really good wouldn't it? So NLP is a really good thing isn't it?

If you can see the obvious manipulation in the above paragraph you already know and probably use some NLP without realizing it.  Neuro Linguistic Programming is simply put using words, inflection and body language to influence someones thought process. To make them think that your idea is their own. They obey because they think it was their idea.

There are far too many techniques to cover in one short article, but this is one you can start using immediately. The power of the pause. It has to do with the way our brains process language. Some people believe that listening is like reading. One word after the other stop at the period and digest the meaning and then begin the next sentence. Nothing could be further from the truth.  We don't talk in sentences. We talk in phrases, and we listen in phrases. While our conscious mind thinks we are listening to the whole sentence our unconscious mind is processing each phrase and gleaning meaning from the tone inflection and a million other subtle things we don't consciously notice.

A pause and sudden restart causes a mental hiccup in our language processor. Allowing a skilled user of NLP to slip in a hypnotic suggestion. Such as:

"Don't (pause) feel guilty about it. You know you shouldn't (pause) feel like you have to make it up to me."

The conscious mind hears the whole statement. The unconscious has a hiccup and processes the command. "...feel guilty about it." "...feel like you have to make it up to me."

This also works with positive statements. "You have good reason to (pause) be proud of your accomplishment." "You should should (pause) feel confident. You know (pause) you are very good at this."

Why not just say these words of encouragement without the pause? Because the conscious mind can resist. We all have doubt swirling around in our heads. We think about what could go wrong and how embarrassed we will be if it does. The conscious mind is nervous and afraid. The unconscious simply processes what it hears. The unconscious simply does as it's told. Tell it to feel and it feels. Tell it to doubt and it doubts.

Neuro Linguistic Programming can be a powerful tool to get what you want out of life. To heal or to hurt, so use it wisely. Make someone your slave and you will end up with him dependent on you, unable to make the simplest choice without your input.