How NLP Coaching Works

NLP and NLP Coaching started by noticing the questions of famous therapists and putting them into different groupings, which became known as the Meta Model.
The model was influenced by the famous linguist Noam Chomsky and his principle of surface structure and deep structure. Simply put, in NLP, surface structure is words, sounds, feelings and pictures while deep structure is the meaning we give those words, sounds, feelings and pictures.

Using NLP’s Meta Model in Coaching

The Meta Model presents a way of understanding how we created our inner-world and where it went ‘wrong’ by confused interpretations of ‘pivotal moments’ when we grew up. This video explains this process and how asking the ‘right’ Meta Model questions in an NLP coaching session can be truly transformative.

A statement such as ‘If they knew how much it annoyed me, they would never do it’ can be challenged using the Meta Model in a number of ways:

Never? Not once in ten years?
They? Who specifically are you referring to?
How do you know if they are aware of how much this annoys you?

These answers gain a response, which can also be challenged in a similar way. Eventually, the client makes a realisation that there are more options, and they have more power than they originally thought. The key point is the client has worked this out for themselves, as the questions are encouraging them to challenge their own thinking, rather than providing advice.

By challenging these unhelpful sentences, using carefully crafted questions, the Meta Model aims to help individuals recognise limiting beliefs and gain a clearer understanding of their experiences, and open up new possibilities for personal growth and change.

It is also a brilliant way to shine the light on problematic thinking. People often mislead themselves (negative self-talk / limiting beliefs) or mislead others (passing off their subjective opinions as truth) – the Meta Model questions quickly detect these falsehoods and help bring clarity to any situation.

When this model is learnt (and with a bit of practice) it becomes amazingly powerful and transformative.