This is an examination of NLP techniques, practical exercises, and basic tuition in putting them into practice to help readers apply them to their issues.

The efficiency or otherwise of NLP can be a controversial topic, so I’m not going to review whether these techniques work or not, but instead review how well they are covered and how good the instruction is. The author is honest enough to admit these will not work for everyone and everybody needs a different approach, which immediately puts him above many others.

This is more of an introduction than a full guide and certain techniques are only touched on, such as matching and mirroring. Of the eleven short chapters, the first two chapters cover the origins of NLP, and then the book moves onto practical exercises and examples.

The English is good, with no noticeable spelling or grammar issues, and the book is written using simple, understandable, vocabulary with easy-to-follow instructions. On my copy, part of the table of contents (Chapter 6) was broken, but there were no other issues with presentation, and given the number of lists that is surprising. On the down side, there are a lot of large headers which became irritating, and the constant upbeat tone did begin to feel repetitive.

I’d have to say this is a self-help book in the classic sense. It gives practical examples, a starting point for future reading in NLP, and could be useful to anyone interested in the field or who wants to try the techniques for such things as quitting smoking.