Characterizing Internal Ways
of Representing Information
Have you ever given a sales presentation and realized that you
weren’t getting your message across very well, but you didn’t know
what to do to change it? Remember, people think differently, and
not everyone accesses information the same way.
YOUR OWN REPRESENTATIONAL SYSTEM
If you are asked, “What transportation did you use for your
last shopping expedition?” you may answer, “I drove in my
car.” Probing more deeply: “How do you know this is accu-
rate?” Of course, you remember, but howdo you remember? What
are the first details that come to mind as you recall this event? Do
you remember the view of the scenery and traffic as you were dri-
ving? Perhaps you recall the sensations of sitting in the car with
your hands on the steering wheel, or the sounds of the engine and
car radio. You probably can recall your trip in all these ways. How-
ever, which way came to awareness first for you? Now as you think
about your trip some more, which of these ways provides you with
the clearest memory and the most details? All of us use all of these
representational systems: visual, auditory, kinesthetic, smell (olfac-
tory), and taste (gustatory). However, almost everyone has one rep-
resentational system that predominates. Because the visual,
auditory and kinesthetic systems are the primary ones used in com-
munication, we will focus on them.
For all of us, our predominant representational system deter-
mines how we use language. We tend to use words and phrases that
fit with our favorite system. These words are sensory indicators and
sensory indicator phrases.
Throughout the western world, the primary representational
system used is visual. Approximately 55 percent of westerners favor
the visual representational system, perhaps due to the prevelance of
television and the Internet. Approximately 35 percent favor the
kinesthetic system, and 10 percent favor the auditory system. These
percentages vary in different countries.
We describe our internal representations using sensory indica-
tors and sensory indicator phrases. A predominately visual person
uses words like “see,” “look,” and “view.” A primarily auditory per-
son uses words like “hear,” “sound,” and “listen.” A primarily kines-
thetic person uses words like “feel,” “touch,” and “sense.” Because
Characterizing Internal Ways of Representing Information 201