NLP in the Workplace
by John OvertonTESOL France was pleased and honoured to welcome back Mario Rinvolucri for a day dedicated to the awareness of NLP. There are many ways one could spend one's 67th birthday (ask your parents!) but Mario chose to spend his in the ample bosom of a 60-strong audience of English teachers in Paris.
Through many humanising exercises, as comfortable as an old leather armchair, Mario reminded us of the importance of keeping our teaching sensitive, touching the right buttons to stimulate our classes of individuals.
The overview he gave us of Neurolinguistic Programming was enough to prompt further study or, in my case as an impatient practitioner, simply to buy his latest book 'Unlocking Self Expression through NLP' (Delta) and start using these exercises to stimulate my students.
Put very simply we learnt that NLP was founded by investigations by Richard Bandler, a psychotherapist, and John Grinder, a professor of linguistics in the early 70s in California. Picture the shirts, the beards, the sunset conversations over chilled Pina Coladas. They studied 'great communicators' and observed the way they interacted with their subjects. From this it became clear to them that a subtle sort of mirroring takes place which could be used by others to improve empathetic communication. 'Structures and Magic' is the book featuring their discovery. English teachers, negotiators, parents, coaches and ...really anyone who communicates can benefit from their findings
They concluded that the inside is mirrored on the outside. Your neurons involuntarily respond to emotions and give a window to the soul: for instance muscles around your mouth might contract, your eyes might roll up to the left/right depending on how you picture something in your mind. Your legs might start fidgeting or crossing and, of course we all know about the defensive crossing of the arms. This would be the 'neuro' part.
Then you might use language such as 'Sounds good', 'I can't get the hang of it' or 'I see' depending on the way you see (I mean experience) the world - in sounds, feelings or pictures. From my natural tendency to use SEE, it seems I am more visual. So this is the 'linguistic' part.
The 'programming' part of the term comes from our deep-rooted internal programmes or preferences. For instance Mario explained with a global picture first, as this is part of a typical generalist French preference. This is called a meta programme. On realising that in fact most teachers present that day in Paris were in fact ‘detailist’ Anglophones he switched fairly quickly to some concrete examples to help us see the tree from the woods.
Through several exercises using the anecdote as a piece of music, subtle observation, dictation, listing, folding paper, Mario repeated a message and a method which those who know him will already be familiar with. A taster of what Pilgrim's training can give you. The very fact that repeating some of these activities was as fun now as before showed me that they have lasting power and usefulness.
I think that as warmers, free production stages of classes, gentle reviews or pace-changers, the activities that Mario used with us demonstrated how much untapped power can be accessed by using the five senses and the five skills which include interior dialogue.
By using the power of the students' imaginations true expression can come out and blockages can be broken down in a supportive classroom environment focussing on what and how they do well rather that endless soul-destroying over correction. Which of course can bring on lathophobic aphasia. (I'm so glad I slipped that one in!) It can also be helpful in building bridges with students we don't get on with too well.
To finish this little review, Mario drew our attention to the fact that the NLP is an investment. For most training in being a practitioner of NLP methods, the price is considerable. Though we all have different beliefs about what money and training is worth, the fact that Pilgrim's training courses can be heftily subsidised by an EU grant. For further details do have a look at the Pilgrims website.
Mario Rinvolucri
Mario works as a teacher and teacher trainer for Pilgrims, UK. Mario frequently contributes to The Teacher Trainer and to Humanising Language Teaching www.hltmag.co.uk His most recent teacher resource books are: Guided Visualisation, (provisional title) with Jane Arnold and Herbert Puchta (Helbling Languages - forthcoming), Creative Writing, with Christine Frank (Helbling Languages – forthcoming), Unlocking Self-expression Through NLP with Judy Baker (Delta Publishing) 2005, Multiple Intelligences in EFL with Herbert Puchta (Helbling Languages) 2005, Using the Mother Tongue, with Sheelagh Deller (Delta Publishing) 2002, Humanising Your Coursebook (Delta Publishing) 2002.