Can I Learn NLP From a Book?

When I was a little girl, I wanted to be a ballerina.

The problem was that my parents didn’t have enough money at the time for me to take lessons. So I went to the library and took out every book I could find on ballet. I studied the history, the stories, the lives of famous ballet dancers... I even found books on the techniques and practiced daily.

But it wasn’t until I stepped foot into a real class that I actually learned ballet.

NLP is the same.

There are many books on NLP and some are even worth reading. However, until you step foot into an NLP class, you’ll never really know NLP.

A book can teach you theory, jargon, and concepts, but NLP is a “do with” process. You can only really learn NLP by doing it with other people. You need people to practice and experiment with in real time while you learn the concepts so that you get immediate feedback. You also need a trainer because you will  have questions about what you’re doing, how it works, what happened when you tried it... why it worked, or why it didn’t work.

I don’t know if you ever asked a book a question, but it doesn’t work too well.

What about online trainings? Same thing... to really learn NLP requires experimentation with other people while learning the techniques. It’s an experiential learning process.

You might be thinking... “ok Teri, you sell NLP trainings, of course you’re going to say that you can’t learn NLP from a book”. And here’s the thing... I read books on NLP before attending my live Practitioner training, and while the books had some cool concepts and ideas, I still no how to DO NLP. 

Now, I hear the same thing from students who attend my trainings:

”I had listened to some NLP audiobooks and dabbled with some techniques but had never really been successful applying them. When I took Teri’s NLP Practitioner Training, it finally made sense. Thanks to Teri and her training style, I am confident and comfortable with everything I have learned. I highly recommend Teri as a trainer or speaker to any person, business or organization.” -Stefano Cossalter

“I’ve learnt the online training hasn’t been able to give me the confidence or experience I require to take the next steps.” -C.T.

Ultimately, you can learn about NLP from a book but if you really want to learn it, and have the confidence to apply it, you need to attend a live training.

Reading books taught me what a pirouette was, but until I joined a ballet class with a qualified trainer, I couldn’t DO a pirouette.