When I mentioned NLP techniques to a client last week he all but threw up his hands in horror and said: “That’s about influencing people. I don’t want to do that.”
For a person who runs a large team it was somewhat curious that he didn’t show a more open mind about learning influencing skills. But, then again, it depends what you mean by influencing. If your view is that to influence you need to get someone out of their mind, out of control, and then make them do something they do not want to do, then I am on your side and against that type of influencing, if indeed it is possible.
Perhaps I should refer here to one of my favourite quotes from ex-USA President Dwight D. Eisenhower: “Leadership is the art of getting someone else to do something you want done because he wants to do it.”
To get people to do things because they want to do them requires persuasion and influence.
When we talk about influencing in NLP we are talking about the subtle use of language and body language to create a feeling of empathy within our audience so that they will feel comfortable with the message we are delivering.
In my next article I will tell you more about the ways that you can subtly influence others simply by understanding their thinking patterns.
