Submodalities

Submodalities become clear the moment you compare two experiences side by side. Take an illustrative case: a consultant who writes proposals easily but cannot make herself send invoices. Both tasks take ten minutes. One gets done the same day; the other waits for weeks.

Ask her to think of writing a proposal and describe the picture she makes, not the task. Then do the same for sending an invoice. The difference is in the coding, not the content.

Not every difference matters. The skill is finding the driver: the one or two submodalities that, when changed, carry the others with them. You test by changing one at a time. Ask her to move the invoice picture up to eye level and out to arm’s length. If her face relaxes and she says “that’s just admin”, location and distance are drivers. If nothing changes, put it back and try colour or movement.

Most people have never been asked about the qualities of their internal images, so the first answer is often “I don’t know, it’s just a thought.” Ask lightly and accept guesses: “If you did know, where would it be?” The guess is usually accurate.

• Visual: “Is there a picture? Where is it in space? How far away? Is it framed or panoramic? Colour or black and white? Still or moving? Are you in it, or looking at it?”
• Auditory: “Are there sounds or a voice? Whose voice? Where does it come from? Loud or quiet? Fast or slow?”
• Kinaesthetic: “Where do you feel it in your body? Is it heavy or light, warm or cool? Is it moving or still?”

Being in the picture (associated) or seeing yourself in it (dissociated) is often one of the strongest drivers. Associated memories tend to carry more feeling; dissociated ones feel more distant. Notice which one the person describes before you suggest anything.

The free submodalities explorer takes you through these questions for two experiences of your own and lays the answers side by side, which is the easiest way to see the principle working on yourself.

Two classic NLP processes use the contrast above. Both are outlined here at a high level so you understand the logic; they are best learned with a trained practitioner.

Mapping across

1. Elicit the submodalities of the stuck experience (the invoice).
2. Elicit the submodalities of a reference experience with the response you want (the proposal).
3. Identify the drivers by testing one difference at a time.
4. Change the stuck experience’s drivers to match the reference: move it, resize it, add colour or movement.
5. Test: “Think about sending the invoice now. What’s different?” Then check in the real world.

The swish pattern

1. Identify the cue picture that starts an unwanted response, seen as if through your own eyes.
2. Build a desired self-image: you, having handled this, seen from outside so it pulls you towards it.
3. Place the cue picture big and bright, with the desired image small and dim in one corner.
4. Quickly shrink and darken the cue while the desired image grows and brightens to replace it.
5. Clear the screen, then repeat several times, faster each time. Test by thinking of the cue.

A note on evidence. People reliably describe their memories in these terms, and research on mental imagery shows that vividness and psychological distance affect how strongly we respond. Specific NLP claims about rapid, lasting change from submodality work have little controlled research behind them. Treat these as structured experiments you test against behaviour, and see a qualified clinician for phobias, trauma or anxiety. Submodalities connect closely to representational systems and timeline therapy, which applies the same coding to time.