Submodalities

Representational systems is the term we use in NLP to refer to our sensory systems.

So we talk about our visual (V), auditory (A), including our self talk (Auditory digital or Ad) and kinesthetic (K), systems or VAK.

Let's take a moment and consider how we think of a happy memory. Perhaps a picture comes to mind of a favorite vacation, a dear friend, a beloved family member...

Focus on that picture for a moment: 

• Now make it brighter. How does that impact on the emotional impact of the memory?
  
• Move the picture closer. How does that change your feelings?
• Make the picture bigger. How does that affect it?

The brightness, location and size of a picture are known as the submodalities of the picture. 

Each representational system (VAK) has its own set of submodalities. 

In NLP we believe that our brains code information according to certain submodalities. For example, we may code experiences as pictures of the events. We may then keep pictures relating to memories, or past events, on one side of our body, and pictures relating to goals or other future events on the other side of our body.

The most important of these submodalities are known as the driving submodalities. Driving submodalities are the submodalities that our brain uses to code information. By changing these submodalities we can change the meaning or the intensity of the experience.

For example, if we move the picture of a memory further away, we may decrease the emotional intensity of the memory.

We will explore the submodalities of each representational system in other postings.

Shawn

NLP training in New York