Beginners' books

[Elessar]

Hi

I own NLP: The New Technology of Achievement by Steve Andreas and Charles Faulkner, and I've started to read it...its very profound but I'm not sure its what I'm looking for. I want something that will help me to interact with people, in particular females, better. The book I've seen mentioned the most for that area is Trance-Formations : Neuro-Linguistic Programming and the Structure of Hypnosis.....however it seems to be out of print. Can anyone recommend a better/equal book, or perhaps where I could get that book at retail price from?

Thanks in advance

[Merlin]

At the bottom of my FAQ page there are several book recommendations.

[Elessar]

How different is Structure of Magic to TranceFormations? The latter, being out of print, is hard to find, although I shall try the library tomorrow.

Also, are they useful to a sort-of beginner? Like I said, I've read bits of NLP The New Technology of Achievement, so I have a very basic knowledge of NLP - VERY basic....any ideas?

[Merlin]

Some of them are very good. Others not so good.
The two you bring up, Tranceformations and Structure of Magic are both specifically about hypnosis. Tranceformation is an easier read, but neither are really instruction books.

>Also, are they useful to a sort-of beginner?

That really depends on your desired outcome.
Whether you want to learn 'how to...' or whether you want to learn the potentials of hypnosis, or whether you want to learn how a particular person used his hypnosis skills, etc.

What does the 'beginner' want?
Can the beginner learn from textbooks, or does practical, hands-on work best? Etc.

[Elessar]

Some of them are very good. Others not so good.
The two you bring up, Tranceformations and Structure of Magic are both specifically about hypnosis. Tranceformation is an easier read, but neither are really instruction books.

>Also, are they useful to a sort-of beginner?

That really depends on your desired outcome.
Whether you want to learn 'how to...' or whether you want to learn the potentials of hypnosis, or whether you want to learn how a particular person used his hypnosis skills, etc.

What does the 'beginner' want?
Can the beginner learn from textbooks, or does practical, hands-on work best? Etc.
On a serious and personal level, I'd like to be more confident around other people, in particular girls. By this I don't mean I want to go down the NLp speed seduction path - but I'd like to go as far with it as many other people do naturally (as DB states in one of his books).

On a slightly less serious level I'd quite like to learn a few nice party tricks :D

[Calvin Iwema]

Trance-Formations by Bandler is priceless, as it talks about theory, inductions and utiliazation, try Ebay. I also love Heller's book, "monsters and magical sticks." These are my favorites, they are good for beginners and remain useful indefinately.

[Persuasion Skills]

Hi

All the books mentioned are good, burt as you rightly point out, they do not specifically relate to persuasion and influence.

I specialise in Ethical Covert NLP & Persuasion.

There are a number of articles on my site on

Rapport
Covert Anchoring
The secrets of attractiveness etc

I think this might be a good place to start

Regards

Marc
http://www.persuasion-skills.co.uk/

[Elessar]

I have the top bid for Trance-Formations on eBay (hadn't seen it there before) but I think it will get considerably higher than what it is at the moment.

How good is it? The item description says it has self-hypnosis and induction......does it cover influencing others though? Maybe even hypnotising others?

[Elessar]

Also can you genuinely teach yourself NLP and/or hypnosis, or do you need to do training etc.? Presumably Bandler and co didn't go to lectures to learn NLP...but then again they're geniae.

[Don]

I remember an old Bill Cosby routine where a kindergarten kid is taught, "1 and 1 is 2." The child says, "Cool. 1 and 1 is 2...What's a 2?"

There are numerous books available on NLP and hypnosis. They teach the concepts. But do you really learn the concepts so you can use them or just the theory?

Would you go to a masseur or brain surgeon who had learned it all from books? I don't think so...I wouldn't!

IMO, the great value of trainings is that you can experience what the writers talk about, experiment, get feedback from trained professionals, etc.

I would contend that you can learn ABOUT hypnosis and NLP from books. Most people should be able to use the techniques to a greater or lesser extent, too. But to achieve excellence, both training and book learning are necessary.

You're correct that Bandler and co didn't go to lectures to learn NLP. But they did work directly with people from whom they derived their techniques. I would suggest that you are every bit the genius they are, you just don't have the knowledge and tools they have...yet!

:-)

[Elessar]

I remember an old Bill Cosby routine where a kindergarten kid is taught, "1 and 1 is 2." The child says, "Cool. 1 and 1 is 2...What's a 2?"

There are numerous books available on NLP and hypnosis. They teach the concepts. But do you really learn the concepts so you can use them or just the theory?

Would you go to a masseur or brain surgeon who had learned it all from books? I don't think so...I wouldn't!

IMO, the great value of trainings is that you can experience what the writers talk about, experiment, get feedback from trained professionals, etc.

I would contend that you can learn ABOUT hypnosis and NLP from books. Most people should be able to use the techniques to a greater or lesser extent, too. But to achieve excellence, both training and book learning are necessary.

You're correct that Bandler and co didn't go to lectures to learn NLP. But they did work directly with people from whom they derived their techniques. I would suggest that you are every bit the genius they are, you just don't have the knowledge and tools they have...yet!

:-)
That makes things a bit clearer. So I could read and then cosnider training if its for me, or perhaps practice the techniques myself and develop them accordingly?

I have bought:
NLP: The technology of Achievement (Andreas and Faulkner)
Introducing NLP (O'Connor and Seymour)
The Structure Of Magic (Bandler and Grinder)

I have from the library (and these are the only ones available)
Using Your Brain (For A Change) (Bandler)
Frogs Into princes (Bandler and Grinder)
Reframing (Bandler and Grinder)

And I'm winning an eBay auction for Trance-Formations (but at £20, I think I will be outbid as Amazon sellers are charging £50+)

Is this a good start? What order should I read them in, and what kind of results should I hope for directly from reading?


Thanks everyone, I appreciate your helpful comments :)

[j0hnny#]

read the first one first... and hope your library doesn't mind you borrowing for a long time :)


don't expect excellent things from reading.... produce excellent results from what you learn... learn from your mistakes... take your time... enjoy what you read... experiment.... let the knowledge you learn unfold in the situations of your life.... keep your development 'real'... since you are working with yourself foremost, keep a check on how you are progressing....

best advice IMO... (originated from Zen Master Shunryu Suzuki in Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind - which is not an NLP or hypnosis book by the way)... retain your beginner's mind (i.e. retain the enthusiasm from which you begin).... never become an 'expert' and you will become a true master....
^)^

[Merlin]

You have a nice book collection!
How's the reading/learning coming?
Are you one who can easily learn from books?

[Elessar]

You have a nice book collection!
How's the reading/learning coming?
Are you one who can easily learn from books?
I'm reading Introducing NLP at the moment.

I CAN learn easily from books, as long as I want to and am enthusiastic about it. Otherwise it goes straight in and straight out.

[Merlin]

I personall would encourage you to read the library books.
They are a good starting point.