Coaching with NLP For Dummies®

Establishing the Differences between Coaching and NLP

People often ask me what the difference is between working with a coach and working with an NLP Practitioner or Master Practitioner. Employing a coach is a creative and collaborative relationship that focuses on incremental and continuous change. Coaching works with subtle fine-tuning to encourage a different way of thinking, being and doing. Hiring an NLP practitioner is more likely to be for a one-off session to address a particular issue around personal change. An NLP client may experience a dramatic breakthrough at a single intensive session, while coaching tends to have its ups and downs over a period of sessions. Indeed, an individual coaching session may not seem important at the time, yet it contributes to some deeper understanding in the longer term.

Coaches come from very different disciplines and schools of training. What makes the best stand out is that they are not wedded to one approach; they remain hungry for learning. To be a coach requires you to look at yourself, to do the inner work of self-reflection and personal growth. You need to demonstrate the services you offer by ‘walking the talk’ yourself and investing in your own on-going coaching.

People often hire an NLP-trained coach because they want someone with the steadfastness required to go to hard places, someone able to explore the challenging emotional reasons that drive behaviour. Potential clients may have heard about particular NLP tools and techniques, ...