working intimately with key leaders who are in a hurry to further boost their success
The 3 Representational Systems
What Are The 3
Ways Of
Thinking
The VAK
Systems
These different ways of thinking are:
Visual (V)
You think in pictures. You represent ideas, memory and imagination as mental images.
Auditory (A)
You think in sounds. These sounds could be voices or noises…eg the sound of coffee
percolating.
Kinesthetic (K)
You represent thoughts as feelings which might be internal emotion or the thought of a physical
touch. (We can include taste and smell in this category of feelings.)
The visual system (V) can be used externally when we are looking at the outside world, or internally when we are
mentally visualising.
The auditory system (A) is used when we hear external sounds as well as when we hear internally.
The feeling sense is called the kinesthetic system (K). External kinesthetics include tactile sensations like touch,
temperature and moisture. Internal kinesthetics include remembered sensations, emotions and the inner feelings of
bodily awareness.
Visual, auditory and kinesthetic are the primary representational systems. The sense of taste, gustatory (G) and smell or
olfactory
(O),
are
not
so
important
and
are
often
included
in
the
kinesthetic
sense.
Continued on next page
Page 1
Postal: PO Box 196, North Sydney, NSW 2059, Australia
Email: [email protected] www.leadingperformance.com.au
Telephone: (02) 9960 7699 Fax: (02) 9960 8699 Mobile: 0412 030 947
working intimately with key leaders who are in a hurry to further boost their success
Representational Systems , (continued)
We Use All
Systems
We use all three of the primary systems all the time, although we are not equally aware of them all, and we tend to
favour one or two of the three.
Favoured
Systems
Some people can make clear mental images and think mainly in pictures.
Others find this viewpoint difficult. They may talk to themselves a lot. Still others base their actions mostly on their feel
for a situation.
The sense a person favours is called their “preferred system”. This means some people are naturally better, or more
talented, at particular tasks. Sometimes a particular representational system is not so well developed, and this makes
the development of some skills or activities more difficult. For example, singing is more difficult for those who can’t hear
the sounds internally.
Continued on next page
Page 2
Postal: PO Box 196, North Sydney, NSW 2059, Australia
Email: [email protected] www.leadingperformance.com.au
Telephone: (02) 9960 7699 Fax: (02) 9960 8699 Mobile: 0412 030 947
working intimately with key leaders who are in a hurry to further boost their success
Representational Systems (continued)
Which Is Best?
No one representational system is better than any other. It depends what you want to do as to which one would serve
you best. An architect’s job is easier for those who are able to make clear mental pictures. Bodyworkers tend to be more
kinesthetic. Psychoanalysts tend to be more auditory.
Recognition Of
A System
How do you recognise a person’s representational system?
Predicates
We use words to describe what we’re thinking. Phrases, adjectives, adverbs and verbs are called “predicates”.
There are five somewhat stable ways to recognise a person’s representational system.
Habitual use of one kind of predicate will indicate a person’s preferred representational system.
Eye Movements Observing a person’s eye movements could tell you a lot about their representational system.
We move our eyes in different directions in a systematic way depending on how we are thinking.
Look for patterns of eye movements in a person. Consistent patterns could give you a clue as to what representational
system is preferred.
Continued on next page
Page 3
Postal: PO Box 196, North Sydney, NSW 2059, Australia
Email: [email protected] www.leadingperformance.com.au
Telephone: (02) 9960 7699 Fax: (02) 9960 8699 Mobile: 0412 030 947
working intimately with key leaders who are in a hurry to further boost their success
Representational Systems (continued)
Breathing
People who prefer a visual representational system (V) tend to breathe higher in the chest and in a more shallow
fashion.
People who are thinking in sounds (A) breathe more evenly over the whole chest area.
Kinesthetic accessing (K) is characterised by deep breathing low in the stomach area.
Voice
A person who is thinking in visual images (V) will generally speak more quickly and at a higher pitch than someone who
is not. Images happen fast in the brain and you have to speak fast to keep up with them.
Auditory people (A) generally have a clear, expressive and resonant voice.
The voice of kinesthetics (K) tends to have a deeper tonality, and the person will typically speak slowly with long pauses.
Movement And
Gestures
A person’s movements and gestures will help you tell how a person is thinking. We often point to the sense organ which
we’re using. (V = eyes, A = ears, K = chest or abdomen.)
Continued on next page
Page 4
Postal: PO Box 196, North Sydney, NSW 2059, Australia
Email: [email protected] www.leadingperformance.com.au
Telephone: (02) 9960 7699 Fax: (02) 9960 8699 Mobile: 0412 030 947
working intimately with key leaders who are in a hurry to further boost their success
Visual Representational System
Visual Words
And Phrases
Listen for these visual words used on their own or in phrases:
Look, picture, focus, imagination, insight, scene, blank, visualise, perspective, shine, reflect, clarify, examine, eye, foresee,
illusion, illustrate, notice, outlook, reveal, preview, see, show, survey, vision, watch, reveal, hazy, dark.
I see what you mean
I am looking closely at the idea
We see eye to eye
I have a hazy notion
He has a blind spot
Show me what you mean
You’ll look back on this and laugh
This will shed some light on the matter
It colours his view of life
It appears to me
Beyond a shadow of doubt
Taking a dim view
The future looks bright
The solution flashed before his eyes
Mind’s eye
Sight for sore eyes
Continued on next page
Page 5
Postal: PO Box 196, North Sydney, NSW 2059, Australia
Email: [email protected] www.leadingperformance.com.au
Telephone: (02) 9960 7699 Fax: (02) 9960 8699 Mobile: 0412 030 947
working intimately with key leaders who are in a hurry to further boost their success
Visual Representational System (continued)
Visuals’ Eye
Movements
As you look at another person:
Visual constructed images
Visuals In
Summary
Visual remembered images
•
Look up a lot when they think
•
Speak quickly and in higher pitch
•
Gesture with hands held high
•
Breathe rapidly, shallowly, high in the chest
Page 6
Postal: PO Box 196, North Sydney, NSW 2059, Australia
Email: [email protected] www.leadingperformance.com.au
Telephone: (02) 9960 7699 Fax: (02) 9960 8699 Mobile: 0412 030 947
working intimately with key leaders who are in a hurry to further boost their success
Auditory Representational System
Auditory Words Listen for these auditory words used on their own or in phrases:
And Phrases
Say, accent, rhythm, loud, tone, resonate, sound, monotonous, deaf, ring, ask, audible, clear, discuss, proclaim, remark,
listen, ring, shout, speechless, vocal, tell, silence, dissonant, harmonious, shrill, quiet, dumb.
On the same wavelength
Living in harmony
A lot of mumbo jumbo
Turn a deaf ear
Rings a bell
Calling the tune
Music to my ears
Word for word
Unheard-of
Clearly expressed
Give an audience
Hold your tongue
In a manner of speaking
Loud and clear
Continued on next page
Page 7
Postal: PO Box 196, North Sydney, NSW 2059, Australia
Email: [email protected] www.leadingperformance.com.au
Telephone: (02) 9960 7699 Fax: (02) 9960 8699 Mobile: 0412 030 947
working intimately with key leaders who are in a hurry to further boost their success
Auditory Representational System (continued)
Auditorys’ Eye
Movements
As you look at another person:
Created sounds
Auditorys
In Summary
Remembered sounds
•
Head is to the side a lot
•
Speak with resonance, have a clear expressive voice, speak in lower tones
•
Gesture with hands at mid-torso
•
Breathe slower, evenly, in the middle of the chest
Page 8
Postal: PO Box 196, North Sydney, NSW 2059, Australia
Email: [email protected] www.leadingperformance.com.au
Telephone: (02) 9960 7699 Fax: (02) 9960 8699 Mobile: 0412 030 947
working intimately with key leaders who are in a hurry to further boost their success
Kinesthetic Representational System
Kinesthetic
Words And
Phrases
Listen for these kinesthetic words used on their own or in phrases:
Touch, handle, contact, push, rub, solid, warm, cold, rough, tackle, push, pressure, sensitive, stress, tangible, tension, touch,
concrete, gentle, grasp, hold, scrape, suffer, heavy, smooth.
I will get in touch with you
I can grasp that idea
Hold on a second
I feel it in my bones
A warm-hearted man — A cool customer
Thick-skinned
Scratch the surface
I can’t put my finger on it
Going to pieces
Control yourself
Firm foundation
Heated argument
Smooth operator
Continued on next page
Page 9
Postal: PO Box 196, North Sydney, NSW 2059, Australia
Email: [email protected] www.leadingperformance.com.au
Telephone: (02) 9960 7699 Fax: (02) 9960 8699 Mobile: 0412 030 947
working intimately with key leaders who are in a hurry to further boost their success
Kinesthetic Representational System (continued)
Kinesthetics’
As you look at another person:
Eye Movements
Internal dialogue
Kinesthetics
In Summary
Feelings & bodily sensations
•
Look down and to their right a lot when they think
•
Speak in deep tones, speak slowly with pauses
•
Gesture a lot, holding their hands lower, and they touch themselves a lot
•
Breathe deeper, from the abdomen
Page 10
Postal: PO Box 196, North Sydney, NSW 2059, Australia
Email: [email protected] www.leadingperformance.com.au
Telephone: (02) 9960 7699 Fax: (02) 9960 8699 Mobile: 0412 030 947
working intimately with key leaders who are in a hurry to further boost their success
Your Representational System
Instructions
“We don’t see things the way they are. We see
things the way we are.”
~ Joan Borysenko
Think about the item, person or place described and the element(s) that come to mind when you read each of the
following questions.
Indicate how clearly the elements come to mind, by using the following scale, inserting your number next to the a, b,
and c letters for each question.
2
Question 1
Question 2
Very easily
1
Somewhat easily
0
Not very easily
Petrol
a. =
…
an image of some sort eg a car, a petrol station?
b. =
…
a sound, eg the sound of petrol pouring into a tank, the sound of an explosion?
c. =
…
a touch, eg the feel of the pump handle?
Your best friend
a. =
…
a sound, eg the sound of their voice?
b. =
…
an emotion, eg your feelings towards them?
c. =
…
an image, eg what they look like or a place you have been to with them?
Page 11
Postal: PO Box 196, North Sydney, NSW 2059, Australia
Email: [email protected] www.leadingperformance.com.au
Telephone: (02) 9960 7699 Fax: (02) 9960 8699 Mobile: 0412 030 947
working intimately with key leaders who are in a hurry to further boost their success
Your Representational System (continued)
Question 3
Question 4
Question 5
Question 6
The way you would m ost like to spend your tim e
a. =
…
the sounds associated with doing this, eg the sound of people’s voices or the sounds of the environment?
b =
…
an image, eg where you would be or who you would be with?
c =
…
a touch or an emotion, eg how you feel when you think of spending your time this way
W hat you did yesterday
a. =
…
an image or picture, eg the scene of where you were?
b =
…
a sound or maybe a conversation?
c =
…
a touch, sensation or emotion?
A time you didn’t enjoy very much.
a. =
…
a sound, eg what you heard or what you were saying to yourself?
b =
…
an image, eg of what was happening or what you could imagine?
c =
…
a touch, eg the feel of something, or an emotion, eg how you felt at the time?
Your favourite restaurant.
a. =
…
a touch or emotion, eg how you felt being there?
b =
…
what you see, eg the people you are with, your surroundings?
c =
…
what you hear, eg the conversation, the music?
Continued on next page
Page 12
Postal: PO Box 196, North Sydney, NSW 2059, Australia
Email: [email protected] www.leadingperformance.com.au
Telephone: (02) 9960 7699 Fax: (02) 9960 8699 Mobile: 0412 030 947
working intimately with key leaders who are in a hurry to further boost their success
Your Representational System (continued)
Question 7
Question 8
Question 9
Question 10
Som ething from your early childhood.
a. =
…
a touch or an emotion?
b =
c =
…
…
an image?
sounds or voices?
Your work.
a. =
…
a sound, eg of equipment or voices?
b =
c =
…
…
an image, eg the picture of what you do?
a touch or an emotion, eg the texture of what you can feel or how you feel about your work?
W here you m ight be tom orrow .
a. =
b =
…
…
an image or picture?
an emotion or touch?
c =
…
a sound?
Som ething you find difficult to do.
a. =
…
an image or picture?
b =
c =
…
…
a sound or an inner conversation?
an associated emotion or a touch?
Continued on next page
Page 13
Postal: PO Box 196, North Sydney, NSW 2059, Australia
Email: [email protected] www.leadingperformance.com.au
Telephone: (02) 9960 7699 Fax: (02) 9960 8699 Mobile: 0412 030 947
working intimately with key leaders who are in a hurry to further boost their success
Your Representational System (continued)
Question 11
Question 12
Som ething you find rewarding.
a. =
b =
…
…
an emotion, eg a feeling of satisfaction or a touch, eg the physical sensation of a sport?
a sound, eg what you say to yourself or the sound of voices or your environment?
c =
…
an image, eg of what it looks like?
Som ething you find am using.
a. =
b =
…
…
a sound, eg what someone says or what you hear?
an image, eg something or someone you see?
c =
…
an emotion, eg the sensation of amusement, or a physical touch, eg the feel of something?
Page 14
Postal: PO Box 196, North Sydney, NSW 2059, Australia
Email: [email protected] www.leadingperformance.com.au
Telephone: (02) 9960 7699 Fax: (02) 9960 8699 Mobile: 0412 030 947
working intimately with key leaders who are in a hurry to further boost their success
Analysis of Your Preferred Representational Systems
“One of the most important results you can bring
into the world is the you that you really want to
be.”
~ Robert Fritz
Write in the points you selected for each answer.
Visual
Auditory
Feelings
1.
a. =
…
b.
=
…
c. =
…
2.
c. =
…
a.
=
…
b. =
…
3.
b. =
…
a.
=
…
c. =
…
4.
a. =
…
b.
=
…
c. =
…
5.
b. =
…
a.
=
…
c. =
…
6.
b. =
…
c.
=
…
a. =
…
7.
b. =
…
c.
=
…
a. =
…
8.
b. =
…
a.
=
…
c. =
…
9.
a. =
…
c.
=
…
b. =
…
10.
a. =
…
b.
=
…
c. =
…
11.
c. =
…
b.
=
…
a. =
…
12.
b. =
…
a.
=
…
c. =
…
…
…
…
Now add up the points in each column. These total scores indicate your preferred representational system(s), ie the
higher the score, the more likely you are to use this sense as a way of processing information. (There are no right
answers.)
Page 15
Postal: PO Box 196, North Sydney, NSW 2059, Australia
Email: [email protected] www.leadingperformance.com.au
Telephone: (02) 9960 7699 Fax: (02) 9960 8699 Mobile: 0412 030 947