NLP and Communication

“One cannot not communicate,” said Paul Watzlawick. And indeed, every interaction is shaped by communication, and numerous NLP formats deal with how to influence communication in one's favor. When it comes to NLP, many people usually mean the area that deals with communication. In fact, NLP and communication are hardly separable. The connection between NLP and communication is already reflected in the name (“linguistic”) and runs through all levels of training.

The basis of the topic of NLP and communication is the establishment and maintenance of rapport, which means that one is “on the same wavelength” with one’s conversation partners. The combination of NLP and communication helps an NLP practitioner to deliberately bring about this state, rather than leaving it to chance.

Rapport is achieved by creating a sense of familiarity with the conversation partner. This is done by adapting to their body language and speech patterns, for which several methods are introduced from the very beginning in the field of NLP and communication. Other aspects of NLP and communication deal with eliciting specific information from the other person. The techniques provided by NLP and communication range from invasive questions (which aim to uncover hidden answers) to the interpretation of body signals (which provide insight into the other person's thought processes) and include many other possibilities and means that become increasingly extensive with higher levels of training.

NLP and communication are closely linked. Those who attend an NLP training will have a special opportunity to improve their communicative skills. NLP and communication are the core topics of every seminar. NLP provides the tools, and communication is the purpose.