The VAK Modalities

Each individual has a preferred way in which he or she likes to receive and learn new information and experiences.

There are three main modalities or channels by which human expression takes place and through which information is absorbed. We refer to them as the \’VAK modalities\’.

These modalities, or channels if you like, are the three senses, namely sight (Visual), hearing (Auditory) and touch or feeling (Kinaesthetic).

Most people tend to have a bias towards one of these three senses when it comes to interpreting new information and representing it in their minds. We refer to that sense as the individual’s ‘primary modality’.

[box type=\”shadow\”]“A great coach will know how to engage anyone, anytime, anywhere in an empowering conversation about themselves.”

– Yours truly
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The VAK Modalities (continued)

 

Identifying the primary modality

Some people are primarily VISUAL (seeing)
Some people are primarily AUDITORY (hearing)
Some people are primarily KINAESTHETIC (feeling)

Many life coaches add to the effectiveness of their coaching by honing their skills in identifying and working with their client’s primary VAK modality.

But an understanding of the VAK modalities can be beneficial to anyone who wants to improve his or her ability to build rapport and communicate more effectively with others.

Although this can be a powerful communication technique, a word of caution is necessary. Whereas most people are strongly oriented towards a primary modality, others may have possess a relatively even number of attributes from all three modalities, showing only a slight preference if at all.

Research has shown that the percentage of the general population that shows a preference for the Visual, Auditory or Kinaesthetic modalities is roughly as follows:

VISUAL – 40%
AUDITORY – 20%
KINAESTHETIC – 40%

At the risk of ‘compartmentalising’ people unnecessarily (everyone is of course unique) it may help your understanding if we offer a generic summary of each of the modalities.

VISUAL types

People who are strongly Visual often stand – or sit forward in their chairs – with their heads and/or bodies erect, and their eyes turned up. They generally tend to breathe from the top of their lungs.

Visuals tend to be organised, neat, well groomed and orderly. They memorise best by seeing pictures and are less distracted by noise than people with other primary modalities. They often have trouble remembering verbal instructions because their minds tend to wander.

Visuals will be interested in how things look. Appearances are important to them. They tend to care about establishing eye contact and need to see you to hear you (clearly, they are not best suited to telephone coaching!)

Visual people understand what you say by what they see as you say it. They turn words into images. They are most comfortable when you paint a picture for them. They understand your words by comparing past and future images while you talk. They love diagrams, graphs and pictures.

Visuals are likely to be better with faces than with names. They make buying decisions based on how things look … so if you want to sell to a Visual you’d better look smart!

Here are a few of the typical kinds of expression that Visuals will use:

“I see what you mean”
“That’s not clear to me”
“That brightens up my day”
“I was green with envy”
“Don’t keep me in the dark”
“Point out what you mean”
“I was seeing red”
“Just give me the big picture”

AUDITORY types

People who are strongly Auditory are sound-based. They often have deep resonant voices; speak rhythmically and are deliberately concerned about how they sound.

Such people will be inclined to move their eyes sideways. They mostly breathe from the middle of their chests. They typically talk to themselves, and are easily distracted by noises. Some may move their lips when they talk to themselves.

Auditory types can repeat things back to you easily. They learn by listening and usually like music and talking on the phone. Their tone of voice is somewhat melodic, depending on the topic.

Auditory types memorise by steps, procedures and sequences. They like to be told how they are doing and respond well to a certain tone of voice or set of words. They will be interested in what you have to say and get more information from how you say things rather than by the content of your message or by what you show them.

Here are a few of the typical kinds of expression that Visuals will use:

“I hear you loud and clear.”
“Don’t give me static on this.”
“It was music to my ears.”
“It was clear as a bell.”
“It was all double talk.”
“Don’t hem and haw over the decisions.”
“We are in tune with each other.”
“I hear what you’re trying to say.”

KINAESTHETIC types

People who are kinaesthetic (spelt ‘kinesthetic’ in the US) make decisions based on how they feel rather than by what they see or hear. They tend to talk about their feelings a lot.

Kinaesthetics will typically breathe from the bottom of their lungs – you may see their stomachs move in and out when they breathe. They often move and talk ‘verrry slooowly’ because they need to get a complete sense of the information being received or imparted.

Kinaesthetic types respond to physical rewards and to touching and feeling. They will tend to stand closer to other people than Visual or Auditory people would. They memorise by physically practising things.

Kinaesthetics will be interested in how things feel, both physically and emotionally. They will feel ‘hot’ or ‘cold’ about you instantly and make quick judgements. When comfortable, they can understand you easily. They are more apt to feel temperature changes than Visual or Auditory people. Kinaesthetics shower longer, lingering in the sensations, enjoy their food longer etc.

Here are a few of the typical kinds of expression that Visuals will use:

“I get the point.”
“I can’t grasp that.”
“That strikes me as right.”
“It just doesn’t feel right.”
“I’m going to go with my gut on this one.”
“I need you to back off.”
“He rubs me up the wrong way.”
”It hit me like a ton of bricks.”

How about you?

Do you recognise yourself as being strongly biased towards one of these modalities or are you more of a blend?

Think about those close to you, those you work with and those who you may struggle to get along with.

Try adapting your language and behaviour to be more appropriate for the primary modality of the person you are wishing to get on with.

I think you’ll be amazed by how effective this can be 🙂

 

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