Plenty of people think that politicians are “trained” in NLP and are using some kind of super secret wicked powerful manipulation to woo the voters.
That’s how they get away with such ridiculous shenanigans that would quickly land you are I in the clink.
But are they really using NLP?
Yes, and no.
See, NLP wasn’t created in a laboratory. It wasn’t designed by scientists as a “new” form of communication.
It was reverse engineered from folks that were ALREADY good at being very, very persuasive.
Take the idea of “pacing and leading,” generally thought to be an “NLP” technique.
But if you crack open the Bible, and read some of St. Paul’s letters, you’ll see plenty of “pacing and leading.”
See, St. Paul was a salesman. Some say the “greatest salesman who ever lived.” Whether you believe in the truth of what he was selling is beside the point.
The structure of his letters contain a lot of what you might refer to as “NLP Copywriting.”
Other communicators, throughout time, have been naturally gifted at persuasion. Just like any other skill, those that are really, really good at it don’t usually consciously know WHY they are good at it.
Obviously, a skill like NLP is a tool, to be used for good (St. Paul) or evil (pick any current politician).
But do they KNOW they are using NLP? Have they been trained?
Not likely.
The genius of NLP is it codifies what was once “mysterious,” so that with some practice, anybody (YOU!) can learn it and become just as hypnotically persuasive as the best politicians.