NLP &
Submodalities
Mentoring
CPD & Supervision
NLP
• What is NLP
– N Neurology The Mind &
how we think
– L Linguistics How we use
language &
how it
affects us
– P Programming How we
sequence
out actions
to achieve
our goals
Presumptions of NLP
• People respond to their
experiences rather than
reality itself.
• Having a choice is better
than not having a choice.
• People make the best
choice they can at the
time.
• People work perfectly.
• All actions have a purpose.
Presumptions of NLP
• All behaviours have a
positive intent.
• The unconscious mind
balances the conscious; its
not malicious.
• The meaning of
communication is not simply
what we intend, but also
the response we get.
• We already have all the
resources we need.
Presumptions of NLP
• Mind and body form a
system. They are
different expressions of
the same person.
• We process all information
through our senses.
• Modelling successful
performance leads to
excellence.
• If you want to understand,
act.
Presumptions & Sub
Modalities
• We process all information
through our senses.
– NLP is based on how we use
our senses. We pay
attention to the outside
world, and process the
information it provides,
through our five senses
• Mind and body form a
system.
– How we process information
affects how we act and how
we act informs the way we
process information.
The Senses & Sub
Modalities
• We have five senses.
–
–
–
–
–
Visual
Auditory
Kinesthetic
Olfactory
Gustatory
Seeing
Hearing
Feeling
Smelling
Tasting
• The first three senses are
the main senses and are in
constant use. The latter
two senses are used less
often.
Representational
Systems
• Just as we hear, taste,
touch and smell the outside
world, we recreate create
those sense sensations in
our mind.
– The Kinesthetic System:
Made up of our internal and
external feelings of touch
and bodily awareness. It
includes our sense of
balance, our emotion
– Some systems believe that
Gustatory and Olfactory are
part of the kinesthetic
system
Representational
Systems
– Visual System: Creating
internal pictures, visualise,
daydream fantasize and
imagine
– Auditory System: This is a
mixture of sounds and words.
Creating music in your head,
using your internal voice to
coach you or rehearing the
voices of people that you
know.
Representational
Systems
– Olfactory System:
Remembered and created
smells
– Gustatory System:
Remembered and created
tastes
Cues to preferred
Systems: Language
• Our representational
system often leak into our
language.
• To make communication
easier with people who
have different preferred
representational styles to
you by ‘translating’
– Taking an idea and
expressing it in different
representational systems.
Sensory Language
• Visual Predicates
– Look, picture, imagination,
insight, scene, blank,
visualisation, perspective,
shine, reflect, clarify,
examine, eye, focus, forsee,
illusion, notice, outlook,
preview, see, show, survey,
vision, watch, reveal, hazy,
dark, appearance, brilliant,
colourful, dim, glimpse,
highlight, illustrate, insight,
obscure, overshadow,
overview, sparkle, spotlight,
vivid, mirror
Sensory Language
• Auditory Predicates
– Say accent rhythm loud
tone resonate sound
monotonous deaf ask
auditable pitch clear discuss
proclaim cry remark listen
ring shout sigh squeak
speechless click croak vocal
whisper tell silence
dissonant hum hush mute
harmonious shrill quiet dumb
question rumble comment
call melodious tone whine
harmony deaf tune musical
acoustic buzz cackle
dialogue echo growl
Sensory Language
• Kinesthetic Predicates
– Touch handle balance break
cold feel firm grab contact
grasp push rub hard hit
tickle tight solid hot jump
pressure run warm rough
tackle seize push sharp
pressure sensitive stress
soft sticky stuck tap
tangible tension vibrate
touch walk concrete gentle
grasp hold scrape solid
suffer heavy smooth
Sensory Language
• Olfactory Predicates
– Scented smelly stale fishy
fragrant, nosey smoky fresh
musky
• Gustatory Predicates
– Sour bitter salty juicy sweet
spicy toothsome mouthwatering minty nausea
nauseating sugary gall
succulent chew chewy
Non Sensory
Language
• Unspecific words
– Decide think remember know
mediate recognise attend
understand evaluate process
decided learn motivate
change conscious consider
assume choose outcome goals
model programme resource
thing theory idea sequence
result logic memory future
past present condition
connection competence
consequence
Cues to Preferred
Systems: Language
• Exercise One
• Work with a colleague,
take 5 min each to talk
about what you did last
night.
– Listen to your colleague,
noting what language they
use most often.
– What system do you think
they prefer?
Cues to Preferred
Systems: Interests
• Interests:
– Visual preference: drawing,
interior design, drawing,
fashion, the visual arts,
television and film.
– Auditory preference:
language, writing, drama,
music, training and lecturing
– Kinesthetic preference:
Sports, gymnastics,
athletics, cooking, crafts,
chocolatiers and perfumers
Cues to Preferred
Systems: Other
• Body language, voice tone,
breathing patterns, voice
tone and eye movements
– Visual: Defocused eyes, or
looking up. Rapid speech,
high and clear tone. High,
shallow breathing in the top
part of the chest. Tense
body posture, often with
neck extension.
– Auditory: Eyes focus on the
midline. Medium pace speech
with melodious tone (often
with an underlying rhythm.
Cues to Preferred
Systems
Breathing in the middle part
of the chest cavity.
Rhythmic body movements.
Head may be tilted to one
side, as if listening on the
telephone.
– Kinesthetic: Eye movements
are often downwards and to
the right. Voice tone is
often is low or deep, speech
is slow and soft often with
pauses. Breathing is deep and
from the abdomen. Relaxed
body posture and might make
gestures to the abdomen
Cues to Preferred
System: Other
• Exercise Two
• Having seen my
presentation style
–
–
–
–
–
my body movements
my body posture
my voice
my speech patterns
my breathing patterns
• What does this tell you
about my preferred
system?
Cues to Preferred
Systems:
Eye Movements
Constructing
feelings
Eye Accessing Cues
• Exercise One
– Working in pairs ask each
other some of the questions
below and watch their eye
movement WHILE THEY
ARE THINKING. Do their
eyes move where the
diagram predicts?
• What colour is your front
door? (v)
• What is it like to bite into an
orange? (g)
• Can you hear your favourite
piece of music in your head?
(a)
Eye Accessing Cues
• What does it feel like to be
happy? (k)
• What is it like to feel wool
next to your skin? (k)
• Imagine a purple triangle in a
red square. (v)
• What would a chainsaw sound
like when cutting through
corrugated iron? (a)
• What would your bedroom look
like with spotted wallpaper?
(v)
• Imagine the smell of freshly
cooked bread (o)
• Which of your friends has the
longest hair? (v)
Eye Accessing Cues
• Now ask your co-worker to
‘remember your last
holiday’
– Where do their eyes move?
• This should tell you
something about your coworker’s preferred style.
What does it tell you?