VAKOG
Dive into the sensory-specific world of your conversation partners to achieve deeper understanding and being understood. This "sensory awareness" opens up unimagined levels of communication for you.
We experience the world through our sensory organs. External stimuli, e.g., a ray of sunshine or the voice of a friend, are transmitted through our nervous system via electrical or chemical signals to our brain. There, images, sounds, and other sensations are created. These represent the external stimulus. That’s why we talk about representation systems in NLP.
Table of Contents
What does VAKOG mean? Definition
The following letters in the VAKOG system stand for:
V | visual | Seeing |
A | auditory | Hearing |
K | kinesthetic | Touching / Feeling |
O | olfactory | Smell |
G | gustatory | Taste |
According to the NLP model, people use these five sensory channels with different emphasis. Some people are very strongly visually oriented and use little information from the other channels. When people with differently dominant representation systems meet, it can lead to significant misunderstandings.
Example sentences are:
- Keep your eyes open and notice how many more phrases you can discover.
- Listen carefully and pay attention to which expressions catch your ear.
- You will find it easy to collect even more of these terms once you start noticing them.
- Soon you will develop a nose for this kind of language and truly enjoy recognizing it.
The preferred or currently dominant representation system can be recognized by the prevailing signal words or physical cues, such as speaking speed, breathing, etc. Here you will find a list of words that indicate each representation system: Three Types VAK.
Stephan Landsiedel explains: What is VAKOG?
Linguistic access cues
Linguistic access cues to a specific representation system are particularly given by the verbs, nouns, and adverbs that someone prefers to use. Such preferences for certain expressions related to seeing, hearing, feeling, smelling, and tasting can vary in different situations for the same person.
Expressions
Visual
- Seeing
- Look
- Seem
- Manageable
- Light / Dark
- Overview
- Illuminate a fact
- Opaque personality
- Unmissable
- Be lenient
- Have charisma
- Grant insights
- Possess good observational skills
Auditory
- Loud / Quiet
- That sounds good
- Deaf to something
- Banging noise
- Musical
- Shrill
- She no longer listens to me
- Hear a pin drop
- Be in harmony
- Have his peace and quiet
- It clicked
- Seeing the writing on the wall
- Endure the silence
Kinesthetic
- To feel bile rising
- to be on cloud nine
- to come back down to earth
- To hit rock bottom
- Let oneself go
- To have both feet on the ground
- Feel safe and sound
- To feel light-hearted
- My feet are asleep
- My heart aches
- My ears are ringing
- I'm breaking out in a sweat
- My heart leaps
Olfactory
- Wrinkle one`s nose
- To have a stuffed-up nose
- Runny nose
- Have a good nose for something
- To fall flat on one´s face
- To be nosey
- Something about him smells fishy
- Odorless
- to sniff
- to snoop
- Pungent
- It stinks to me
- to thumb your nose at someone
Gustatory
- Juicy
- Smacking
- Delicious
- To try
- Full-bodied
- Sweet
- To take a beating
- Have a sweet tooth
- Gourmet
- Mild
- Tasteless
VAKOG sentences
Visually oriented people sound something like this:
- Can you show me more houses in this area?
- I need to see more before I can even imagine making a decision.
- I see things a bit clearer now, but I want to take a closer look at some of your offers.
- Look, I'm not quite sure if you've shown me everything. I'm still in the dark.
Auditory people sound like this:
- Tell me more about your product. I've heard a lot of good things about it.
- I'm not satisfied with what you've told me so far. It's not the first time someone has promised me their product would last forever.
- That sounds very good. Everyone is talking about how great your product is.
- It’s the same broken record: You shout from the rooftops about being the best, but my repeated explanations—that I can’t afford your services —are met with silence. I’ll have to speak louder to cut through the noise.
Kinesthetic oriented people sound something like this:
- I need your support in this matter. I don't think I can handle it alone.
- I don't want to rush into this. I'd rather take it slow, otherwise, I might end up in a worse situation.
- I have a good feeling about this. The matter has resolved itself.
- The presentation blew me away. They really laid their cards on the table.
VAKOG phrases
Visual expressions:
- This is all happening too fast for me; I can't focus on anything.
- I can't watch this any longer.
- The world is not just black and white.
Auditory expressions:
- This is practically screaming for a new solution.
- This is too unclear for me.
- I can't hear this anymore.
- There's simply a lack of necessary harmony in the relationship.
Kinesthetic expressions:
- He is as hot as a furnace.
- She is as cold as ice.
- When I hear that, everything tightens up inside me.
- The responsibility weighs on me.
- The pressure of deadlines is unbearable.
- He is trying in vain to balance the different interests.
- During the presentation, I got chills down my spine.
- His knees start shaking, just thinking about the board meeting.
Olfactory expressions:
- To feel the breeze on yor face!
- I´ll give you a slap in the face!
- I can´t bare you!
- Don't stick your nose into other peoples affairs!
Gustatory expressions:
- To be fed up.
- Good taste doesn´t come cheap.
- It make one´s stomach turn.
- To make one's mouth water.
Sense-specific language in NLP
Exercises
The book report
Three people have read the same book and are now reporting on their experiences. Pay attention to the signal words!
- The first points out that he saw a lot in it, that the examples were well chosen to illustrate the topic, and that it was written in a brilliant style.
- The second could contradict the tone: it has a shrill prose style. He cannot resonate with the author's ideas, and he would like to tell him that.
- The third feels that the book deals with an important topic in a very balanced way. He likes the way the author touches on all key themes, and he grasped the new ideas easily.
The sales address
- Dear Sir, as we discussed on the phone, I am sending you my book set and a cassette of the last seminar. I hope the language is clear enough for you and that I hear from you again.
- Dear Sir, I have carefully looked at the clear words in your letter. I see the problem and am sending you our photo set and our video tapes. I hope you can watch these videos soon and get a good impression of us. I look forward to your prompt response. Goodbye!
- Dear Sir, I was very touched that you visited me recently. Now I can truly empathize with your feelings regarding your specific problem. Therefore, I am happy to send you my used handkerchief. At the next seminar, you can then pour your heart out to me; I wish you all the best until then. With affection and warm regards.
