I am happy to welcome Charles on my blog and this testimony was collected via email exchanges. Charles practices in Goa, India, and added information can be found at www.classnlp.com, Charles can also be found on LinkedIN and Skype ID: ClassNLP.
Talking4good (T4G): How did you come into contact with NLP?
Charles: I heard about NLP in a business conference in 1990. As a bit of an introvert and then employed as a computer programmer, the idea of reprogramming my brain for confidence appealed to me. My search for NLP books in bookshops and libraries at that time was fruitless. Fortunately I was put in contact with a chap in my town who ran an NLP Practice group and on attending found out that NLP books had such titles as ‘Frogs into Princes’, ‘Structure of Magic’ rather than having ‘NLP’ in the title. I joined the group in travelling to London for various evening seminars taught by the likes of Robert Dilts, Penny Tomkins, James Lawley and David Shephard.
T4G: What NLP qualification do you have? Which NLP association would your qualifications be accredited by?
Charles: I’ll tell you about my Certifications as I believe that few who are certified are actually qualified. I have a Practitioner Certification accredited by SNLP, trained by John McWhirter of Sensory Systems. A Master Practitioner accepted by ABNLP and ANLP and I am an INLPTA Registered NLP Trainer accredited by INLPTA, trained by Robert Smith, who has worked extensively with Wyatt Woodsmall.
T4G: Have you joined an NLP association?
Charles: I have joined INLPTA as the trainings I run are certificated & accredited through this organisation. I am a trainer member of ANLP International CIC and have been appointed as their Indian Ambassador.
T4G: What do you expect from those various NLP associations? (like ANLP, ABNLP, etc…)
Charles: For people like myself who have been in NLP for a while and continue to train with others for our own continual professional development it is still difficult to distinguish the good trainers from the good marketing types. It is extremely difficult and confusing for those new to NLP who are not certain about their outcomes let alone how to evaluate who is and who isn’t a good quality trainer. Organisations such as INLPTA, ABNLP and ANLP International CIC help to give some assurances to these people new to NLP, as they provide minimum standards of training and ethics which must be adhered to by members in order to distinguish themselves as NLP professionals. My main expectation then is that they provide some minimal assurances to those new to NLP and I expect that these standards will be continually raised as time goes on since NLP is dynamic. Organisations such as INLPTA regularly review their syllabus and will add to it topics which are new, ecological and produce results. ANLP provides a minimum standard for NLP courses as well as an accreditation process for custom courses. Your custom courses can be reviewed by a panel of NLP experts for it’s value within the frame of NLP, and if passed can be certified with the ANLP seal.
T4G: How do you see your role as the ANLP Indian ambassador?
Charles: It is important to know that I am a member not part of the ANLP organisation. I neither act nor speak on their behalf. I see my role essentially as a role model for Indian NLP Practitioners, in terms of quality, standards, behaviour. As ambassador I am here to promote NLP ecologically, ethically and independently of a specific NLP organisation in keeping with the values of ANLP International CIC.
T4G: What do you like best in NLP?
Charles: For me it is the most basic NLP Presuppositions and one which is often not listed. That Experience has Structure and said structure can be brought forth with words as simple as “how do you do that?” As John Grinder likes to repeat, “there is nothing you will do in NLP that is any more complex than riding a bike!”
T4G: Tell me about NLP in your work? What type of coaching do you do?
Charles: My work/passion right now is bringing quality NLP Training to India. This is about giving Indians the opportunity to train in NLP in India, as close to the source as possible. That is trainers who have worked directly with John & Richard. Within this would be coaching prospective participants to clearly define their outcomes for attending an NLP training, rather than pick a training based on the convenience of less days and less cost which may not result in the skills they want. Helping them get clear on what they really want is vital as they may not need a full Practitioner training, they may only require a shorter training specific to their area of interest, and that may be something like sales or personal development etc. I also help and encourage existing NLP Trainers in India to aspire to continual professional development, to raise standards and to adhere to a code of ethics so that soon we in India can set the benchmark in quality NLP training for the rest of the world.
T4G: Another way you’d like to use NLP?
Charles: yes! Modelling stock traders & investors who manage their own personal accounts. With technology giving rise to a higher percentage of day traders, markets become more volatile in the very short term, managing your emotional state while the market suddenly changes direction can be difficult. One strategy, I noticed, is that successful traders would essentially take multiple perceptual positions in time to unconsciously validate their decisions and change their skittish state in the present.
T4G: How is NLP present in your country?
Charles: There is a growing interest in NLP in India. It has come into the country in fits and starts by foreign trainers who are often not well trained themselves. Already the ‘accelerated’ 7 day trainings have been reduced to 5 days and I’ve heard that they sometimes run in as little as 3 days. My focus is to bring quality NLP Training to India for those who truly want to learn. Quality, defined as getting as close to the source as possible. I have brought ANLP and INLPTA into India and they set standards for both NLP training and ethics. We are working to bring John Grinder & Carmen Bostic St Clair here, probably next year to train in India, and are working with Inspiritive to bring New Code NLP to India.
T4G: What opportunity do you have to meet with other NLP practitioners?
Charles: you mean meeting face to face for practising, researching etc. not enough! However through Social Networking sites and online Discussion groups there is a rare opportunity to enter discussions with some of the great minds of the NLP world. I fully embrace and enjoy that opportunity. As Steve Andreas says, “Great minds like a think!”
T4G: What about NLP and research?
Charles: I am not involved in NLP Research although there are a number of groups who are addressing this area and doing a great job. Notably ANLP in the UK who are about to run their 3rd NLP Research Conference in 2012.
T4G: What would be your next step with NLP?
Charles: To embrace NLP New Code patterning and introduce an NLP Graduate level certification recognised by India and world wide.
T4G: A last comment to conclude?
Charles: Let us remember to focus on those who have brought NLP to our attention with integrity, for those who practice NLP with the utmost respect for others and are examples to be held up as role Models for integrating NLP patterns congruently & ecologically into everyday behaviour.
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