My brain hurt at the end of my lunch with Chris Collingwood – but in a very good way.

Chris was the 32nd person I’ve met on my quest to have lunch with 500 strangers. Chris teaches NLP (neuro-linguistic programming), which dominated our lunch conversation.

NLP is a discipline that involves detecting patterns of behaviour and language, so you can better understand yourself and others.

Chris stumbled upon NLP in 1979, three years after it had been invented in America. At the time, Chris had a job with a magazine distributor, and, during the course of his duties, would read magazines that looked interesting. One day, he picked up a copy of Psychology Today and read an article about a mysterious new discipline called NLP. He was hooked immediately, and has been studying, practising and teaching NLP ever since.

Chris was kind enough to give me a crash course on NLP during our lunch. I had to concentrate so hard to understand all the fascinating new ideas that it wasn’t long before my brain started hurting.

Chris and NLP make a perfect combination, because he’s a big thinker with a voracious appetite for learning. Psychology, science and technology really excite him.