AN INTRODUCTION TO NLP: THE MODALITIES

Some Basic Concepts in Neuro-Linguistic Programming
by Tad James, M.S., Ph.D., Certified NLP Master Trainer

Copyright © 1985, 1999, 2005


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Exploring Basic Concepts in Neuro-Linguistic Programming :

Introduction to NLP
Rapport
Positive States
Anchoring
The NLP Communication Model

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Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP) is about noticing patterns. So, in NLP, we are not so much interested in content as in process. Often this is an interesting transition for us to make. The first step is to pay attention to the process of your interaction with others -- listen to the structure, watch the context, feel its form, and not get involved in the content.

THE MODALITIES

Of course, the next question then, is how specifically do you "listen to the form, watch the form, feel the form, and not get involved in the content?" The modalities are one way of categorizing exactly what a person does inside their head as they think. They are a way or a model for what a person does in their head as they make up an Internal Representation (I/R). In the process of creating NLP, Bandler and Grinder discovered that by looking at someone's eyes, you could tell HOW they think. Not what they think, but HOW they think. You can tell what they're doing inside.



(This is how they look when you're facing them.)

Based on observations by Bandler and Grinder, when people look up, they're visualizing. When they look horizontally to the left and right, they're either remembering or constructing sounds. When they look downward and to our left, they're accessing their feelings. And when they look downward and to our right, they're talking to themselves (Auditory Digital). The chard above is for a "normal" right handed person. Many left-handed people and some ambidextrous people will have eye movements that are reversed.

Vr Visual Remembered

(Visual Recall) - Seeing images from the memory, recalling things you're have seen before. QUESTION: "What color was the room you grew up in?" "What color is your bedroom now?" "What does your coat look like?"

Vc Visual Constructed

(Visual Created) - Images of things that you have never seen before. When you are making it up in their head, you are using Visual Constructed.

QUESTION: "What would your room at home look like if it were blue?" "What would your dog look like if it had the head of an elephant?"

(In addition, some people access visually by defocusing their eyes. When this happens, the eyes will usually stay in the center.)

Ar Auditory Remembered

(Auditory Recall) - Is when you remember sounds or voices that you've heard before or things that you've said to yourself before. When you ask someone, "What was the very last thing I said, they typically look in that direction.

QUESTION: "Can you remember the sound of your mother's voice?"

Ac Auditory Constructed

(Auditory Created) - Is making up sounds that you've not heard before. For example

QUESTION: "What would I sound like if I had Donald Duck's voice?" "What would Swan Lake sound like if it were played on bagpipes?"

K Kinesthetic

(Feelings, Sense of Touch) - You generally look in this direction when you're accessing your feelings

QUESTION: "What does it feel like to touch that rug?"

Ad Auditory Digital

(Talking to Yourself) - This is where your eyes move when you're having internal dialogue.

QUESTION: "Can you recite the Pledge of Allegiance?"

Typically, every time we access our brain, we move our eyes in that particular direction which facilitates our using that part of our neurology. The mind and body are absolutely interconnected, so each time we access our Visual Memory, for example, we move our eyes upward and to our left. (If you're watching someone access Visual Memory, you will see them move their eyes upward and to your right.)

Based on our model of communication, and how we make an internal representation, you'll remember that people rely on their 5 senses to make I/R's about the world around them. Internally, we also generally come to depend on one representational system or modality more than another as we access information, and also use that information to create I/R's. So, some people are using their Visual representational system more, some people use their Auditory representational system more, and some people use their Kinesthetic more than the others.

Usually an individual will prefer to use a certain modality or will use primarily a certain modality as their primary representational system. Let's go through, the three major modes of operation so you can notice what mode people are operating in, and begin to identify them. You can then begin to match the modes by using the predicates and physiology that match their representational system.

Visual

Typically, people who are in a visual mode stand, or sit, with their heads and/or bodies erect with their eyes up, and will be breathing from the top of their lungs. They often sit forward in the chair or on the edge of the chair. They tend to be more organized, neat, well-groomed and orderly. More deliberate. More appearance oriented, and sometimes quieter. Good spellers. Memorize by seeing pictures, and are less distracted by noise. Often have trouble remembering verbal instructions, and are bored by long verbal explanations because their minds tend to wander. They would rather read than be read to. A visual person will be interested in how someone looks at them, and will respond to being taken places, and being bought things. They will tend to use words like: See ya later, I want to look at it, Focus on it, Watch it, Be clear, Foggy, Picture that, Notice, Appears.

Auditory

Someone who is auditory will move their eyes sideways and also down to the right. They breathe from the middle of the chest. They typically talk to themselves, and are easily distracted by noise. They often move their lips when they say words. They can repeat things back to you easily. They may find math and writing more difficult and spoken language easier. They like music and learn by listening. They memorize by steps, procedures, and sequence. An auditory person is often interested in being told how they're doing, and responds to a certain set of words or tone of voice. They tend to use words and phrases like: Listen, Talk to, Said, Speak, Hear, and Sounds like, "Good to talk to you."

Kinesthetic

They will typically be breathing from the bottom of their lungs, so you'll see their stomach go in and out as they breathe. Their posture is often more slumped over, and they often move and talk verrrry slooowly. They will typically access their feelings and emotions to "get a feel" for what they're doing. They respond to physical rewards, and touching. They also stand close to people and touch them. They are often physically oriented people (athletes). They may move a lot, and they memorize by doing, or walking through something. They use words like: Feelings, Get in touch, Hold, Grasp, and Handle.

Those are the characteristics of the three major modes of operation. And so, the question is now, how do you use them to communicate with people? How do you communicate with someone who is primarily in one of those modes? This brings us to the subject of rapport.


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Next, let's explore some concepts that we use in NLP to produce results:

Introduction to NLP
Rapport
Positive States
Anchoring
The NLP Communication Model