The following list offers the top 10 NLP books I recommend you read. Once you're done, you will have a good grasp on what the field has been about for the past few decades.

What can you expect from reading the NLP books on this list?

Here are the criteria I used to put together this list:

• Practical: each of these NLP books offers effective techniques and strategies that you can learn and apply rapidly. Not all may be easy to learn, but you can learn them.
• Well-written: you will not find any dud on this list.
• Grounded: nowadays, you will find countless websites on the internet selling you NLP as the ultimate panacea to solve all your problems. NLP is like a hammer: it only works in the hands of a skilled carpenter. These NLP books won't BS you.
• Generative: these books will also help you discover more about yourself and your skills.

Without further due, let's get to...

The Top 10 NLP Books You Should Read

For each book, I tell you a quick overview of the ideas it contains and why you should read it.

(Just so you know, the links to the books are affiliate links. I get a tiny commission should you choose to purchase the book.)

I call NLP at work the most straight forward of NLP books currently available on the market. I often recommend it as a way of introducing NLP to novices.

In the first part of the book, Sue provides one of the clearest descriptions of the field that I have ever come across. If you get the book only to read this part, it will certainly be worth your investment. It has summaries, checklists and case-studies. The information is thoughtfully and carefully package to maximize what you get out of it.

NLP is more than techniques. There's a spirit behind it, and this great book offers it.

Congruence

Let's begin with one of the most important and compelling arguments for it: Sue Knight is known in the NLP community as a congruent teacher. While it may seem like too subtle of an ingredient to make a difference, it means a lot when it comes to the "grounded" criterion. You can trust that you can realistically apply the material she teaches because she lives it. This integrated approach informs her entire body of work.

Modeling

Secondly, Sue Knight understands implicit and explicitly the core discipline of NLP: modeling. This comes out clearly in his book. She translates the principles of NLP into the workplace by finding exemplars and outstanding performers, distilling their thinking and behavioral patterns into simple models and sharing them with others.

Simplification

She uses this approach in the book. She seasons every chapter with story after story that illustrate the principles and patterns in action. Anyone who has come close to NLP understands how complicated the field is. Her approach helps simplify the topics so that newcomers can immediately learn and begin to put what they learn into practice.

I suggest you first give it a full read-through. Then, start using it as a reference manual and dip into it, reading bits and pieces to address the specific challenges you may be confronting at a time.

2) Words that change minds,
by Shelle Rose Charvet

What if you could know instantly how to speak to someone in a way that motivates him or her? And what if you could only give someone a task that he or she would do well? And what if you could instruct someone to do something in way that appeals to him or her?

You can. This is the book that will teach you how to do it.

I recommend this NLP book to any serious student of communication who wants to take that extra step. This book shows you how to choose the words you use carefully, whether speaking or writing, so as to maximize your impact on the person you communicate with.

Metaprograms

Of all NLP books, this is the classic on metaprograms and their application in business. It presents meta-programs in a simple, understandable and highly readable way.

It's organized around Roger Bailey's work, which he eventually turned into the LAB Profile. It offers many powerful, actionable strategies, and is well-written, original, easily understood, practical, and full of illustrative anecdotes.

So, what are metaprograms, what is the LAB Profile, and why should you care?

The best way to understand this is to explain is backwards.

LAB in "LAB Profile" stands for "Language And Behavior." The LAB Profile consists in a comprehensive series of questions to elicit 13 specific metaprograms from someone. Bailey chose these 13 patterns because they are easy to elicit conversationally by asking natural questions. Moreover, they have meaningful application in the business world. It is no coincidence they are also useful in personal life. The LAB Profile looks specifically for patterns that indicate a person's motivation style and working style.

Filters we use daily

"Metaprogram" is the term used in NLP to label the content-free "filters" we apply in our everyday life and use to make up our model of the world.

Knowing this helps you understand how that person works in a team, what kind of instruction they need to receive, and what they expect from their coworkers. Knowing the rule structure of two people helps mediate between them and facilitate their working together.

Flexibility in your communication

This book will give you flexibility to communicate with others regardless of the nature of the relationship. Shelle teaches that when you're speaking with someone, you almost always want to pay attention to the structure of their answer instead of the content.

If you're new to the idea of "knowing who" you are talking to so you can "match" their language, you will find it brilliant.

Practical context

What makes this Shelle's book valuable is that she places every metaprogram in a practical context. She offers an overview of each meta program but also goes into practical details, such as:

• what questions to use to elicit a person's position on any of the meta programs discussed
• how to identify what meta program positions are best suited to a given job
• and how to frame a job or product advert so that it "speaks to" the optimum audience

Street-level examples

She also provides a myriad examples and real-life anecdotes that showcase the metaprograms at work, and how you can apply them to situations at work.

They come in handy when you need to establish rapport and have people listen to you, understand you, and even agree with you. Above all, the book flows in an excited (and exciting) style that gives the impression that she had a lot fun writing it.

3) Sleight of mouth,
by Robert Dilts

Back in 1982, Steve Andreas edited the transcript of a seminar by Richard Bandler and John Grinder into a book titled "Reframing". In that book, which became an NLP classic, Bandler and Grinder discuss two types of reframing, Meaning & Context. They also teach a change protocol that they call Six Step Reframing, designed to be used in a therapeutic context.

With Sleight Of Mouth, Robert Dilts has packaged all the reframing patterns into a single elegant model that you can use conversationally.

Few seminal NLP books are as practical as this one.

Belief Change

Sleight of Mouth is all about changing beliefs and the transformation of meaning. Robert Dilts takes the NLP universe of language patterns from the "mysical heights" and magically transforms it into knowledge that novices can comprehend in just a day.

He used to say that he named the book, "Sleight of Mouth" because it was about performing verbal magic. It wasn't his intention to teach elaborate tricks to deceive people.

Single word reframes

For instance, the single word reframe consists in relabeling an experience from "Hard" to "Challenging." While both labels tag the very same experience with the notion of difficulty, they carry different emotional implications. One presupposes that it can be overcome with some degree of resourcefulness while the other does not.

Another example found in the book is how words such as "But", "And" and "Even Though" can completely alter the emotional undertone of a sentence.

For instance:

• I like James but he is really tall.
• I like James and he is really tall.
• I like James even though he is really tall.

Can you feel the slight shift in nuance from one sentence to the other? Each phrase shifts the frame through which the listener perceives what you have to say about James.

Key concepts in reframing

Besides the single word reframe, Robert Dilts goes into key concepts such as:

• Chunking
• Values
• Hierarchy of criteria
• The structure of beliefs
• Thought viruses

He also provides you with practice exercises so that you can assimilate the concepts into your behavior.

Would you like to get a direct, practical book to get you started with NLP within the context of your work? If you work in a business, this one may just be the perfect book for you.

NLP concepts and techniques, when leveraged in the context of business, can transform performance both at an individual and team level. This practical manual to NLP in professional contexts will help you become more flexible, more influential, and more successful, whatever career path you are taking.

In Business NLP for Dummies, you will find the most useful concepts and practical activities from the world of NLP. All of them are chunked into perfect bite-sized pieces and categorized so you can assimilate them quickly. This book also ranks among the first to bring the concept of clean language to the mainstream.

Clear instructions

Throughout the book, Cooper focuses tightly on a realistic and pragmatic approach to using NLP. She offers simple, step-by-step instructions so you can learn to change yourself, and in turn influence others around you.

Great for novices

She stays away from all the hypey, mysterious mumbo jumbo that many have associated to NLP. She doesn't cover either any sort of lingustic trickery and manipulation. I found this a fine approach to welcome beginning students to the field.

Business NLP for Dummies make NLP concepts more easily understandable. Cooper offers plenty of references, sources and links, which creates a nice trail to follow for students wishing to explore along the field.

Mind Lines is Michael Hall's top selling book of all times, although he calls his particular brand of NLP "Neurosemantics."

If you have never heard or read about Meta-States, I suggest you first brush up on the concept before diving into this one. Mind-Lines demonstrates how to leverage the Meta-Model and the Meta-States model for conversational reframing. Using this model, you can change meaning for influence in communication.

Creation of meaning

Human beings are meaning-making machines. Most do not pay attention to all the meanings that they create. This book gets into the weeds of it in fine details. It is packed with information so you may want to take your time and read it in bits.

Michael Hall offers that when you create meaning, this meaning in turn creates the frame of reference, or the lens, through which you view reality around you.

For example:

• If you have lived through a lot of pain during your childhood, you may have created meanings through which the world might appear as a scary place — even if there is no real danger present.
• If you lived through a lot of joy during your childhood, you may have created meanings through which you view the world as a safe place.

The frame you place around external occurrences create your experience of those occurrences.

Review your frames

This book will help you review the frames you have set in your life and reset the ones that disempower you. Once you do that, you can then turn around and leverage the Mind-Lines framework to powerfully communicate with and influence others.

Doing the work to master it will payoff dramatically, giving you more control of your experience and the experience of others.

And it's funny... As you read and work the magic of the Mind-Lines on yourself, you might even come up with new ones and you will feel your mind opening up. Literally, it will "blow" your mind. I experienced this first-hand.

Elegant model

Whether you appreciate Michael Hall's work or not, he pulled off a not-so-obvious tour-de-force with this work. He remodeled the sleight of mouth patterns, organizing them along the logical level system developed by Robert Dilts.

This makes for an elegant reframing model, and helps sort the language patterns so the reader can more easily remember them.

Mind Lines ranks among the best NLP books I have read, that describe the magic of NLP and the profound impact reframing limiting beliefs can have on one's life.

Superior organization

If you have the time and budget, I recommend you read "Sleight of Mouth" first, so you can understand the techniques in greater depth. Then, read Mind-Lines to learn how to best organize them for easy access and use.

A simple formula

If you understand a simple formula, you will understand how to operate Mind-Lines: External Behavior = Internal State. If you do not understand what this equation means, the following example will clarify it for you.

1. You see or hear something (External Behavior)
2. You equate that stimulus to an idea or feeling (Internal State)
3. You express that equation in your language ("Your sloppiness (External Behavior) makes me sick (Internal State).")

This book will teach you how to:

• Direct attention in 7 different directions
• Leverage 26 language patterns to transform limiting beliefs
• Apply the Meta-Model distinctions practically, to add even more specificity to your communication
• Use tranceful language naturally from within your language simply by structuring it differently

Here's a sample...

Here is an example of some of the patterns you will learn to use. Let's get back to our example from above:

"Your sloppiness makes me sick."

After you go through the book, here are some comebacks you will have available:

• Reflect back: Have you ever dressed sloppily in your life, and didn't make someone sick?
• Counter example: If I dressed sharply would that make you feel on top of the world?
• Contrast: Just because someone dresses sharply doesn't mean it makes others feel great. Just because someone dresses sloppily doesn't mean you have to feel sick, does it?
• Meta Model, Chunking down: How specifically, does my way of dressing make you sick?
• Mind Reading: How do you know to feel sick? Are my clothes tied to your stomach?
• Value: What's more important, my being here, or what I'm wearing?
• Allness: What would it be like if everyone dressed sloppily, all the time? Would it mean that you'd always feel sick? What kind of world would that be?

Of course, to use some of these effectively, you do need to be skillful at building rapport.

6) Unlimited Selling Power,
by Donald Moine and Kenneth Lloyd

The authors of this NLP book affirm that it is possible to develop top salespeople by applying the principles of NLP to sales presentations.

At the beginning of the book, the authors give some background information on hypnosis, how it works, and how it has been leveraged in counseling. Then, they demonstrate how to apply rapport, language, tonality and delivery techniques in sales contexts. While it may appear slimy on the surface, they offer very solid advice on the art of persuasion that can be applied with integrity.

Over the course of my career, I have read many books on sales techniques, and how to improve my sales skills. Most sales books talk about motivation, drive, and enthusiasm. Many offer a list of set responses for different objections.

Ultimate Selling Power, on the other hand, describes in depth how communication works and why say certain words to potential customers to guarantee we get the response we desire.

An explicit model

Unlimited Selling Power breaks down explicitly what effective salespeople have been doing implicitly for years.

It describes in detail what to say, how to say it and when to say it. It is very concise and to the point. It does not go on and on on one subject, instead it gives a lot of information. Towards the end, it shows you how to put it all together for everyday use.

New possibilities for salespeople

The average salesperson is unaware of the majority of persuasion techniques found in this book.

When I recommend this book to salespeople, they often come back to me saying that they had not heard about many of the things explained in this NLP book. Some report that what they learned here propelled them to significantly increase their results.

Taking this into account, this is the #1 of all NLP books available for understanding the use of Ericksonian conversational patterns for improved selling.

7) Persuasion Engineering,
by Richard Bandler and John LaValle

The warning at the beginning of the book really sets the tone for what's to come:

"While it may seem that some of the sentence structures in this book read as grammatically incorrect, they are written for a purpose, as NLP and grammar do not necessarily share the same structure".

Just as with Mind-Lines, don't come to this book unprepared. Make sure you read a littlebit of NLP before you sink your teeth into it.

The Bandler character

A sales training book as hilarious as this doesn't come along everyday. In typical post-90's Bandler style, this book showcases him as a crazy character who really challenges you and motivates you to really get out there and "just do it."

You may find him unlikable and disagreeable, but you love him anyways, and that alone proves that what he states works on some level. If you're not used to see Richard in action, you may want to watch a few of his videos on YouTube before you get started on this book.

Form over content

Persuasion Engineering offers a wealth of information on persuasive communication and selling, not because of the methods it teaches, but because of the way in which they are taught.

As usual, Bandler goes overboard in hopes that you will would meet him halfway. And if you go just halfway, you'll really change the way you communicate.

A modeling book

Bandler is weird in his writing, as in all his books, and that's what makes him so effective. As with most Richard Bandler books, this is a modeling book. Bandler does not share designed techniques. Instead, he shares patterns that people naturally do when things work.

This NLP book does exactly that. It covers everything from the sales process through to the close, as it happens in a natural sales setting.

Selling feelings

For novice salespeople, the book teaches you to use the communication opportunities that are right there in front of you all the time. Selling is way more simple than most trainers would have you believe. You don't need to find and dig for pain or suffering, or use a gajillion different closing techniques.

One of the greatest takeaways from Persuasion Engineering is that you are not selling a product or service. You are selling feelings. Associate those feelings to your offer and you will make sales.

Don't read literally

As usual, Bandler comes off as outrageous and hilarious at times. He has a warped sense of humor, and it will either turn you on or off. Also, do not take Bandler literally on everything he shares.

There's a passage in the book where he talks about dressing up as a priest to sell automobiles. Did that really happen? I sincerely doubt it. However, he offers that as a pattern interrupt to push the limits of our creativity and show that we set our own limits when it comes to the way we communicate.

This book also differentiates itself from other texts on influence and persuasion in that Bandler uses way more ambiguity than any author I know. Some parts of the text seem off, but it's simply the ambiguity he tries to transmit to his student, to ultimately stimulate his or her ability to leverage ambiguity in his or her communication.

Action steps

If you want actual action steps to follow after reading Persuasion Engineering, how about these:

1. Develop a simple set of questions to uncover someone's model for buying your product.
2. Craft a list of objections to inoculate against.
3. Practice ambiguities and embedding commands to increase your flexibility.

8) NLP the new technology of achievement,
by Steve Andreas and Charles Faulkner

After wading through self-help for several years, I've come to the conclusion that this is one of the best comprehensive books on the general topic of self-help.

NLP: The New Technology of Achievement guides you step-by-step through specific instructions to learn the characteristics of top achievers and create a model for unlimited success.

There is much to learn and digest in the discipline of NLP, and a good intro will go a long way to demythologizing the practice and making it approachable.

NLP workshop on paper

I like to call this book the "NLP workshop on paper." This book is simple and user friendly for the lay person who hasn't the time or money to do NLP certification workshops.

Keep in mind, NLP is best learned by doing it as opposed to reading it. NLP is not verbal; it is better done through experience. However, this book offers a solid introduction to the tools.

Easy to understand

This is the most accessible NLP book that I have had the privilege of reading and applying. As a long-time practitioner, I'm always looking for NLP books for a refresher or for new applications.

Most other comprehensive NLP books contain jargon and complicated words. Their authors use language that is not accessible for people who haven't studied NLP before. These authors chose a different path. They chose to craft a book that uses language any individual can read and understand.

Exposes the reader to many tools

It takes many tools out of the NLP toolbox to guide the student to become more confident, a better communicator, build rapport with greater ease and effectiveness, overcome phobias, learn how to better understand others and complex situations, and so on.

It gives you all of the classic techniques that they teach you in workshops such as the 'swish technique', running the backward movie and dissociation, and if you keep a journal and practice the exercises in each chapter, they build on one another and stack up to help you improve your performance.

Valuable exercises

The phobia chapter alone is worth the read for anyone with a fear, or anxiety in any situation. For someone who wants more confidence in any situation, a more positive attitude, better motivation, get over a painful memory, (who doesn't?), it's all there. There are tools and exercises and they work. This will help you take control of your mind.

This book requires time. The exercises are meant to be tried over and over until one can do them efficiently and effectively.

A unique 21-day program

In the back, you put all of the exercises into practice with a 21 day Unlimited Achievement Program. I was particularly pleased to discover it. It is a hidden gift to be used as a step-by-step resource for achieving more in business and life.

9) Awaken the Giant Within,
by Anthony Robbins

This isn't an NLP book per se, but Tony Robbins' training with John Grinder and intensive work with NLP in his early days ensures that all of his work is imbued with NLP material.

Tony didn't invent the basic NLP concepts in this book -- Bandler and Grindler did in the late 70s. There are perhaps smarter NLP people than Robbins. Robbins' genius is packaging NLP in a way that made it available to everyone, not just "experts." Think of it as the "Tony Robbins NLP style."

Personal change

Quite simply, I think this is one of the best books written on the mechanics of personal change. It forces you to conduct a reality check and take a hard look in the mirror.

This book is chockful of useful techniques that work.

You are not your past

In its essence, Awaken the Giant Within teaches the following: you are a reflection of all of your past thoughts and actions, but you are not your past. It's only your mind that is stuck, leaving you in a rut.

The lessons in this book serve as the tow truck to help "you" get yourself out.

Mental structures that affect your behavior

In this book he emphasizes how beliefs, values, and your rules affect your behaviors. He links pain and pleasure as the reason why people make decisions.

For example, if an individual is overweight and desires weight loss, but links a lot more pleasure to eating unhealthy foods and pain when it comes to exercising, (s)he will have a hard time achieving that goal.

Tony Robbins gives step by step tips on how to associate pain to your bad habits so that you can ultimately stop those decisions or bad habits and make better life choices.

A thorough explanation of emotions

In his TED talk, Tony stresses how human emotion defines whether an individual break through limitation or succumbs to it. This book is the "How To" manual for understanding emotions practically and then using them to effect positive change in our lives and the lives of those around us.

The chapter on "rules" and the chapter on "emotions" by themselves will leave you feeling you got your money's worth with this book.

Quality questions

Wouldn't it be great to solve your problems using effective questioning? Tony also explains the importance of asking yourself quality questions. He describes how your mind will find whatever you tell it to seek. If you ask lousy questions, you will get lousy answers.

How language affects emotion

How about if you could better understand how your everyday language affects you emotionally? Tony explains how our every day vocabulary and metaphors can affect the way we are feeling.

For example, using the metaphor, "I hit a brick wall" means "I'm feeling stuck." Tony teaches how to break those metaphorical patterns by responding to this by saying, "Then climb over the wall" or "Then go around it."

Too much self-patting on the back

My only criticism with this book is that Robbins relies heavily on personal anecdotes (frequently in conjunction with abundant name-dropping) that can easily come off as self-congratulatory.

He describes how we can use our everyday language to benefit our daily lives.

This user-friendly guide, written by three seasoned NLP Master Practitioners and coaches, leads you on a personal journey in using and applying NLP in everyday life. Through their real-life stories, you will experience the NLP strategies you need to achieve specific results in business and in life.

As you read NLP: The Essential Guide, you'll find yourself thinking in new ways and applying the techniques to your own personal challenges and opportunities for greater satisfaction.

A useful synthesis

This book has helped me put it the entire field together. It takes all the information from Practitioner and Master Practitioner level trainings, and then some, and puts it in proper perspective, order and understanding.

The exercises are described so that the reader can experience the benefits of the portion of NLP being taught. Think of this book as a working manual to be returned to time and time again for new insights and tools in helping yourself and others to obtain the positive lives and behaviors they seek.

Highly practical

The first section takes you through a step by step mini-course in NLP, that is punctuated along the way with exercises to do before you read ahead.

These exercises make the written content come alive in a personal way so that the information is experienced and not just experienced intellectually.

Section two connects NLP to how we relate to others. The authors stick to the point and do not get tangential in telling a lot of stories to illustrate their points. You don't have to pick through a lot of unnecessary 'rambling' to get to the 'meat' of the book.

A primer on emotional intelligence

Nowadays, emotional intelligence is quite fashionable. However, very few of these psychologists can articulate clearly how to apply their findings and what exactly we need to do to become more emotionally intelligent.

These NLP authors really hone in on how to apply proven techniques to build emotional intelligence.

Innovative format

Being an avid kindle reader, I have noticed that publishers sometimes fail to bridge paper to digital formats. They succeeded wildly with this NLP book.

It offers a great many cross links, live and active, inside the text. It also links in many places to the NLP comprehensive website, along with several other resources, both in text and video format.

Talk about over delivering! I did not expect it and valued it highly.

Summary

I hope you appreciated this review of the top 10 NLP books for influence and top performance.

If you did, please share it with people who will benefit from it.