Working with you to design your development programmes so that you achieve great results in the way you would like to achieve them.

For each of the following phrases, place a number next to every phrase. Use the following system to indicate your preferences.
There are no right or wrong answers.

4 = Closest to describing you, 3= Next best description. 2= Next best. 1= Least descriptive

Q1 When I make important decisions, I pay attention to:

___ My gut feeling
___ Which way sounds the best
___ What looks best to me
___ A precise review and study of the issue

Q2 During a discussion/argument, I am most likely to be influenced by:

___ The other person’s tone of voice
___ Whether or not I can see the other person’s argument
___ The logic of the other person’s argument
___ Whether or not, I am in touch with the other person’s true feelings

Q3 I most easily communicate what is going on with me by:

___ The way I dress and look
___ The feelings I share
___ The words I choose
___ The tone of my voice

Q4 It is easiest for me to:

___ Find the ideal volume and tuning on a stereo system
___ Select the most intellectually relevant point concerning an interesting subject
___ Select the most comfortable furniture
___ Select rich attractive colour combinations

Q5 I am very:

___ Attuned to the sounds of my surroundings
___ Adept at making sense of new facts and data
___ Sensitive to the way articles of clothing feel on my body
___ Responsive to colours and the way a room looks

Copy your answers from the test to the lines below:

1.___ K 2.___ A 3.___ V 4.___ A 5.___ A
  ___ A ___ V ___ K ___ D ___ D
  ___ V ___ D ___ D ___ K ___ K
  ___ D ___ K ___ A ___ V ___ V

Fill in the number associated with each letter. There will be five entries for each letter.

Question V K A D
1. _ _ _ _
2. _ _ _ _
3. _ _ _ _
4. _ _ _ _
5. _ _ _ _

Totals _ _ _ _

My most preferred system: …………………………………

My least preferred system: …………………………………..

The idea that we use different sensory systems in our communication is not new. More than 2 thousand years ago, the Greek philosopher Aristotle categorised the senses into the 5 basic classes of sight, hearing, touch, smell and taste. These 5 senses are the basis for the 5 representational systems of NLP. According to Aristotle, the 5 senses provide the mind with information about qualities about the outside world that fell into a certain ‘range’, or ‘filter’.

V: Visual

People who are visual often stand very straight, with their head up and they will usually be looking around while they are walking. They will be breathing from the top of their lungs, and their voice tone will reflect this. They often sit forward in their chair (they can see more!) and tend to be organised, neat, well groomed and orderly. They may be often thin and wiry. They memorise by seeing pictures, noise can be distracting. They often have trouble remembering verbal instructions because their minds tend to wander. A visual person will be interested in how things look; e.g. the look and layout of a document will be important. Appearances are important. They also like to have personal space. They tend to be good at art, design, the layout of documents and presentations.

When communicating with someone who has a preference for the visual system:

Show them diagrams, pictures. Use visuals when presenting to them. Use visual predicates (show, imagine, see, big picture, long term view etc.)

A: Auditory

People with a preference for auditory will tend to move their eyes from side to side. They breathe from the middle of their chest. When asked to remember an experience, they will concentrate on the sounds of the experience. Words and word games are stimulating to them. They may often be described as having ‘the gift of the gab’. They tend to talk a great deal and may often go into lengthy descriptions to explain a concept or an event. Often their hand gestures will point to their ears.

They learn by listening and like to memorise by steps, procedures and like to address information in a sequential way. They like for others to tell them about the on-going process of things. They tend to enjoy playing with words, may be interested in poetry and or music.

When communicating with someone who has a preference for the auditory system:

Match their tonality. Match their ‘words’, these will be auditory predicates (hear, listen, discuss, sound, pitch etc.) this will sound good to them, because it matches their inner reality.

K: Kinaesthetic

People with this preference will be breathing from the bottom of their lungs. They may often look down and to their right. It makes sense for someone who feels deeply to breathe deeply. Their breathing will change depending on their state.

They often move and speak slowly. They love touching and closeness. They memorise and learn best by ‘doing’ and by ‘walking through’ something.

In terms of motivation, people with this preference respond to physical rewards and touching e.g. a pat on the back.

When communicating with someone who has this preference, use his or her ‘predicates’, (get a grip, grasp the basics, get a ‘feeling’ for the project etc.). Match their way of speaking too, slowly, and breathing low.

AD: (D) Auditory Digital

A person who uses this system as a preference operates at a level of awareness above the sensory level of visual, auditory, and kinaesthetic. This person communicates in ‘computer’ mode and wants to know how the information ‘makes sense’ to them. They love logic, systems, and processes. This person will typically have a lot of internal dialogue.

When communicating with this person, match their predicates (make sense, logically speaking etc. Give them lists in order and sequence and avoid ‘fluffy language’!)

Summary:

We are all unique in our ‘maps of the world’ and how we make sense of the world around us. For you to be able to communicate easily (and be understood) it is important that you develop flexibility in your language so that you can ‘speak’ all of the languages of communication. This is a bit like speaking French when you are in France, you will increase your chances of being understood as well as developing good rapport and relationships

* Adapted from ‘the Structure of Magic’ Volume 1 &11, Bandler and Grinder.
 

  Visual See

  Auditory Hear

  Kinaesthetic Feel

  Olfactory Smell

  Gustatory Taste

  Auditory Digital Self Talk/logic