NLP (Neuro-Linguistic Programming)
NLP is defined as a practical model of the processes we experience to experience reality.
NEURO refers to how our mind perceive the information through our five senses ( Visual, Auditory, Kinesthetic, Olfactory, Gustatory) LINGUISTIC refers to how we understand and interpret information through verbal and nonverbal communication PROGRAMMING refers to how we re-present the perceived message in our mind and how it manifests into behaviour. This model can then be analyzed to eliminate any problems faced by the individual. We can also model the positive or successful aspects of our behavior or those of another person, and reproduce that model and apply on our negative aspects in order to change or improve them.
HISTORY:
NLP originated when Richard Bandler, a student at University of California, Santa Cruz, was listening to and selecting portions of taped therapy sessions of the late Gestalt therapist Fritz Perls as a project for Robert Spitzer.[18][19] Bandler believed he recognized particular word and sentence structures which facilitated the acceptance of Perls' therapeutic suggestions. Bandler took this idea to one of his university lecturers, John Grinder, a linguist. Together they studied Perls' via tape and observed a second therapist Virginia Satir to produce what they termed the meta model, a model for gathering information and challenging a client's language and underlying thinking.[20]
The meta model was presented in 1975 in two volumes, The Structure of Magic I: A Book About Language and Therapy and The Structure of Magic II: A Book About Communication and Change, in which the authors expressed their belief that the therapeutic "magic" as performed in therapy by Perls and Satir, and by performers in any complex human activity, had structure that could be learned by others given the appropriate models. They believed that implicit in the behavior of Perls and Satir was the ability to challenge distortion, generalization and deletion in a client's language.
METHODS:
some Neuro-linguistic Programming methods have been designed by heavy influence from techniques used in other fields as well.

One of the methods included in Neuro-linguistic training is anchoring. This method relies on the fact that individuals usually form an anchor or make an association between an emotional state of mind or a feeling and a sight, sound, smell or touch. Using anchoring technique, a therapist trained in Neuro-linguistic courses can deliberately create an anchor for a patient, and then trigger the particular unique stimulus to help the patient access desired emotions or a target state of mind. Anchoring technique is said to have been derived from the family therapy of Virginia Satir and incorporated in Neuro-linguistic programming.

Another method of Neuro-linguistic Programming uses the swish method where a train of thought of an individual is modified such than undesirable behavior can be converted to a desirable one. A visual cue is usually used to get rid of unwanted habits such as smoking, drinking, addiction, over eating etc.. Audible sounds are sometimes added to the visual image to enhance the effect of the method. For example, an individual thinks of a negative aspect that he wants to improve, and then picturize himself to have a positive quality. Every time he comes across the negative image, he will swish it into the positive one, eliminating his fears, addiction or worries.
WHO USES NLP? :
Businesses can use NLP to foster world-class sales and customer service - and to implement organizational change effectively. Educators can study the verbal and nonverbal language of every child to identify how each one learns best. As classrooms become increasingly diverse, NLP skills are becoming more essential.
Fortune 500 companies and many professions are using NLP.
They want to guarantee that their sales, customer service, trainers, facilitators, managers and executives, have a competitive edge. NLP is now required learning according to top performers in persuasion, therapy, education, management, marketing, sales, law, health care etc * Take effective action in spite of fear. * Behave confidently in any situation. * Create positive, pervasive changes. * Rapidly acquire skills and strategies. * Achieve goals elegantly and easily.