Submodalities

Introduction

This section explains what submodalities are and why they are important to understand.

Information about the world reaches us through our five senses, summarized as VAKOG. These senses are also referred to as modalities.

Submodalities are the finer distinctions within each sense — the smallest building blocks of subjective experience. For example, in the visual system: bright–dark, color–black and white, sharp–blurry; in the auditory system: loud–quiet, high–low, clear–muffled, etc. Every picture, sound, or feeling can be described using many submodalities.

The fascinating discovery in NLP is that changes in submodalities often have a stronger impact than changes in content. In other words, our emotions and body sensations depend more on *how* we represent something internally than on *what* we represent. This realization led Bandler and others to develop extremely effective and rapid intervention techniques.

Modalities = Representational Systems (VAKOG)
Visual	Seeing
Auditory	Hearing
Kinesthetic	Feeling
Olfactory	Smelling
Gustatory	Tasting

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Submodalities = Fine distinctions within the senses Sensory encoding of experience
Visual	bright–dark	near–far
Auditory	loud–quiet	high–low
Kinesthetic	warm–cold	hard–soft
Olfactory	pleasant	unpleasant
Gustatory	sweet–sour	fruity–bitter

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Meta-Feelings
= the emotional evaluation of sensory-coded experience

Verbal Indicators of Submodalities

Submodalities often appear in language patterns. Examples include:

I have a blurry picture of my future.
He has a bright future ahead of him.
His past is shrouded in darkness.
I’m feeling blue.
That leaves me cold.
That really fires me up.
That’s close to my heart.

Checklist of Possible Sensory Submodalities

A collection of submodalities for each sense.

Visual Submodalities

Film/Still image: Is it a film or a still image?
Color/Black and white: Is the image in color or black and white?
Right/Left/Middle: Where is the image located? right, left, center?
Top/Middle/Bottom: Is the image at the top, in the middle, or at the bottom?
Bright/Dim/Dark: Is the image bright, dim, or dark?
Life-size/Larger/Smaller: Is the image life-size, larger, or smaller?
Proximity: At what distance from you is the image?
Fast/Slow: Is the image moving fast, at a moderate pace, or slowly?
Specific viewpoint: Is there a specific element that is constantly in focus?
Your own location: Are you part of the image, or are you observing the scene from a distance?
Frame/Panorama: Does the image have a frame, or is it a panoramic shot?
3-D/2-D: Is the image three-dimensional or two-dimensional?
Special color: Is there a color that impresses you the most?
Your own perspective: Are you viewing the image from above, below, from the side, etc.?
Specific personal triggers: Are there other stimuli that trigger strong feelings in you?

Auditory Submodalities

Self/Others: Are you saying something to yourself, or are you hearing something from others?
Content: What exactly are you saying or hearing?
The way it is said: How do you say or hear it?
Volume: How loud is what is being said?
Sound character: What is the character of the sound like?
Tempo: How fast is it being said?
Source: Where do the sounds/noises come from?
Harmony/Cacophony: Are the sounds harmonious, or are there dissonances?
Regular/Irregular: Are the sounds heard regularly or irregularly?
Modulation: Is the voice modulated?
Specific Words: Are certain words emphasized?
Duration: How long can the sounds be perceived?
Uniqueness: What is so unique about these sounds?
Specific Triggers: Are there other stimuli that trigger strong emotions in you?

Kinesthetic Submodalities

Temperature Change: Has a temperature change occurred? Hot or cold?
Surface Texture: Has there been a change in surface texture? Rough or soft?
Rigid/Flexible: Is it rigid or flexible?
Vibration: Are vibrations noticeable?
Pressure: Has the pressure increased or decreased?
Pressure Source: Where was the starting point of the pressure?
Tension/Relaxation: Has the tension or relaxation increased?
Movement: Was there a movement? If so, in which direction and at what speed?
Breathing: What breathing technique? Where did it start/end?
Weight: Heavy or light?
Steady/Intervals: Are the feelings persistent, or are they triggered at intervals?
Size/Shape Change: Has the size or shape changed?
Direction: Do the feelings flow into or out of the body?
Specific Triggers: Are there other stimuli that trigger strong emotions in you?

Exercises

The power of submodalities can only be experienced through practice. Try these exercises to explore them further.

Destruction of Images

Disturbing inner pictures can be transformed or destroyed to reduce their emotional intensity. Learn more: Destruction of Images.

Destruction of Auditory Representations

Everyone has inner voices that are not always kind. With these techniques, you can transform them in a playful way. Learn more: Destruction of Auditory Representations.

The Praline Pattern

A pattern for turning something you dislike but must do into something more motivating. Learn more: The Praline Pattern.

Changing a Belief

A strategy to replace limiting beliefs with empowering ones. Learn more: Changing a Belief.

Fear Opponent

With this technique, you can shrink your fear opponent until it loses its intimidating effect.

Swish Technique

The Swish Technique helps you eliminate bad habits and build strong positive motivation.

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