NLP Master Practitioner

What Is NLP Master Practitioner?

Many people ask me for the different levels of certification in the Neuro-Linguistic Programming world. For these people who are new to NLP and would like to enter into the field of accelerated learning, the NLP practitioner certification would be a first step.

​Conducted in a blended learning approach, I offer an online course of 16 hours, plus pre-study and a 7 day (broken up into 3 and 4 days) face-to-face course. Participants who want to learn NLP could very well register for this NLP course.

Why bother? Many ask me this question and continue to explain that their life is going well. I liken it to driving a Ferrari versus riding a bicycle. You will get to your destination but one will be significantly faster than the other.

Moving deeper into the field, one may feel that carrying on to the next level of NLP master practitioner is the next step. Well it certainly is. This level is also professionally certified internationally, by the Society of NLP, owned by Richard Bandler, one of the two co-founders of NLP.

At the NLP practitioner certification course, participants migrate from a layman’s mindset to one of heightened awareness. When you learn NLP, you become competent in using skills and techniques of NLP for different situations.

As familiarity of these tools become second nature and the proof is shown in results at work and home, the NLP master practitioner course may beckon. At this level you get to mastery of using NLP tools, which provide flexibility in moving seamlessly, from one process to another.

An NLP master practitioner is assessed on their depth of knowledge and mastery in applying NLP as a skill set. This mastery enables an experienced NLP master practitioner to easily blend NLP techniques to customise solutions for their clients.

​They are able to identify limiting beliefs just by listening to language a client uses. Unhelpful negative emotional programmes in clients that sabotage their best efforts to change, also become visible.

​While the NLP Practitioner certification teaches these topics, participants are not adept at them yet. An NLP master practitioner however, is an expert by the time they are certified at the end of the program:

• Time line therapy for trauma, negative emotions & beliefs
• Values that drive peoples' behaviours & motivation
• Structure & strategies behind exceptional skills
• Inner conflict and conflict resolution
• Root cause of unhelpful behaviour patterns
• Healthy beliefs for the future

An NLP master practitioner is expected to clock long hours of study, practise tools with others and do project work that demonstrates a deep understanding of the subject and techniques. This is what leads to an NLP master practitioner having a diverse array of solutions at their finger-tips to apply at work or home.

In most cases, an NLP master practitioner would also be trained in personal and business coaching skills, to complement their practice. When you learn NLP for the first time you will realise that it helps to have competence in a technical subject where NLP can be applied.

Usually people like this who attend an NLP course for the first time, experience immediate benefits. This makes them want to go deeper to see how else they can improve their lives.

They may have signed up for an NLP course in relation to a specific area such as NLP for selling or NLP for self-management. Or they could have attended an NLP practitioner certification for career development.

​From experience, I have had people attend a variety of NLP courses I offer, wanting to apply their learning to a specific aspect of life. I often get feedback that when they registered to learn NLP they never expected to gain so much more.

A case in point is a salesman I knew in Sydney who had read NLP books extensively over 5 years. He circled around me for that time, intrigued by my stories about NLP whenever we met for coffee.

I never pushed him to attend my NLP practitioner certification course as I have a belief that people will join when the time is right. He finally relented after 5 years and confessed that he had wasted precious time thinking too hard.

In his words, he said that his opportunity cost was high, in the 5 years that he had hesitated. The books he had read provided him with only 10% of his knowledge, and the NLP course the remaining 90%.

It is in the interaction with others and the highly experiential nature of the NLP practitioner certification and NLP master practitioner, that participants get to practice using their newfound skills.

Just like learning how to ride a bike, a few falls initially pave the way for a more confident rider.

Extending on from here, if a person wants to learn NLP even further to become an NLP Trainer, they need to take one more step beyond the NLP master practitioner course. At this point they are able to certify participants as NLP Practitioners and NLP Master Practitioners.

​At this point their career scope would be exponential as they would have trained their mind to think outside the box, observe with acute sensory awareness and create from nothing. This style fits entrepreneurship well, as they possess the tools to design a life that they want, from a completely clean slate.

Sylvia Fernandes is the Founder & CEO of VIA Frontiers. She is a Master Trainer of NLP who is specialised in corporate applications. She started her business in Sydney in 2002 and has been operating in the Asia Pacific Region ever since. She is currently based in Singapore. She is also the author of Bye Bye Black Cat -- Turn Your Luck Around and Realise Opportunities. Visit VIA Frontiers for more information.