Which NLP books should you read?

Can you learn NLP from a book?

Partly, yes. A book lets you understand the principles of NLP and apply many techniques to yourself: working with submodalities, creating an anchor, observing your own internal dialogue. Other skills, such as calibration and rapport, only develop with other people, and recognised certifications, such as those of the Society of NLP™, require live training. In my books, those who have attended a course find, with exercises, what they learned in the classroom: a useful support during the certification path too. While you learn what NLP is, the method generates a change in you, and the skills you acquire become competences to use in everyday life.

What is the best book on NLP for beginners?

It depends on what you are looking for. For a clear, non-technical overview, Introducing NLP by Joseph O'Connor and John Seymour. To go back to the origins, The Structure of Magic by Richard Bandler and John Grinder, the first NLP book: more demanding, but it is where you understand the model everything started from. Before you begin, the page What is NLP may help.

Are there free NLP books?

Yes, but with caution. Many PDFs of NLP books circulating for free online are unauthorised copies: besides being illegal, they are often incomplete or poorly translated. The free and legitimate alternatives are public libraries, many of which also offer digital lending, and the materials authors make available. I have prepared a free ebook, The Words That Speak For You: ten practical experiments on language, to observe how you build your experience.

What book should I read to change the mental patterns that hold me back?

Using Your Brain for a Change by Richard Bandler is the most practical text: it shows how the way we represent an experience determines its effect, and how to modify it. It works best when the pattern you want to change is already clear. If instead the same situation keeps repeating without you understanding why, the first step is to recognise the pattern while it is acting: that is the theme of Volume I of The Invisible Blade, published together with Volume II in the Premium Edition Strategic NLP. I also write about it in The Change Process Model.

Which book helps you understand and manage internal dialogue?

On internal dialogue the NLP literature is thinner than you might think, and much of the advice ends up with mindfulness books. Within NLP, Sleight of Mouth by Robert Dilts shows how language, including the language we use with ourselves, changes the meaning of what we experience. Volume I of The Invisible Blade treats internal dialogue as one of the structures that guide our choices before we notice it. An introduction is on the page Internal Dialogue.

What is a good book on NLP applied to communication, sales and negotiation?

It depends on the field. For persuasion in general, Persuasion Engineering by Richard Bandler and John La Valle. To understand why some phrases work and others do not, it helps to know the Meta Model and the Milton Model: I write about them in Persuasive Communication in Sales and Negotiation.

What book should I read to overcome fears and limiting beliefs?

On beliefs, the reference text is Beliefs by Robert Dilts, Tim Hallbom and Suzi Smith: it explains how they form and how they can be changed. For fears, NLP has developed specific techniques, such as the Fast Phobia Cure. In The Invisible Blade series, the Fast Phobia Cure is presented as a learning technique, in the part devoted to overcoming fears. For intense fears or persistent anxiety, however, a book is no substitute for a professional. See also What Is Reframing.

An NLP book for self-esteem and self-confidence?

Self-esteem is one of the most searched topics, but NLP approaches it indirectly: not as a quality to increase, but as the result of beliefs, internal states and internal dialogue. That is why the most useful books are those on these topics: Using Your Brain for a Change by Richard Bandler for working on states, and Beliefs by Robert Dilts, Tim Hallbom and Suzi Smith for beliefs. Outside NLP, The Six Pillars of Self-Esteem by Nathaniel Branden remains a reference. See also What Is an Internal State and Impostor Syndrome.

A practical book on techniques: anchors, submodalities, reframing?

On reframing, the reference text is Reframing by Richard Bandler and John Grinder. For submodalities, Using Your Brain for a Change by Bandler himself. Volume II of The Invisible Blade brings these techniques together (submodalities, anchors, Swish, Spinning Feelings, reframing) along with the context in which each one works. The basics are in What Is an Anchor and What Are Submodalities.

Which books should you read on hypnosis and the Milton Model?

The Milton Model comes from the study of Milton H. Erickson's work, and there are two reference texts: Erickson's own writings, with his case studies, and Patterns of the Hypnotic Techniques of Milton H. Erickson by Richard Bandler and John Grinder, which describes its linguistic structure. They are demanding reads, meant for those who want to understand the model in depth. Volume II of The Invisible Blade applies the Milton Model to everyday communication, sales and negotiation. The basics are in The Milton Model.

What is the best book for lasting personal change?

The most widely read book on this topic today is not about NLP: Atomic Habits by James Clear explains how small repeated changes become stable. NLP adds what habits alone do not cover: the beliefs and internal states that make a habit easy or impossible. For this step, what was said above about beliefs is useful. I write about it in Atomic Habits and Behavioural Change.

NLP books for sport and mental coaching?

In sport, NLP has entered mainly through mental coaching: goal preparation, managing pressure, accessing the right state at the moment of performance. A dedicated text is Sporting Excellence by Ted Garratt. In Italy, one of the pioneers of sports mental coaching is Livio Sgarbi, who has worked with leading athletes and coaches. For techniques that help you regain a resourceful state, see What Is an Anchor and Physiology and Mood Management.

Who are the reference authors in NLP?

The references remain the founders, Richard Bandler and John Grinder, and Robert Dilts. In Italy, where I work, Alessio Roberti has introduced and translated many of Bandler's texts, Paolo Borzacchiello is known for his work on language and sales, Livio Sgarbi, founder of Ekis, is among the pioneers of coaching, and Alessandro Mora, an Ekis coach, is the author of a book on managing emotions.

I am the author of the series The Invisible Blade – Strategic NLP and the creator of The Invisible Blade Method™. My approach is this: while you learn what NLP is, the method generates a change in you. By the end of the book, the skills and behaviours you have learned will have become competences to use in everyday life. I am an engineer and Licensed NLP Coach™ – Ekis, authorized center Society of NLP™ / Richard Bandler. Here is my profile.