Neuro Linguistic Programming

96 Part II: Winning Friends and Influencing People

to adjust your language pattern so that it aligns with those around you and

therefore build rapport through the similarity of your language pattern.

Table 6-1 lists some of the sensory-specific words and phrases – the VAK

predicates mentioned in the earlier section ‘Filtering reality’ – that you hear

people say. You can start to build up your own lists and notice which words

you say or write frequently. When you have difficulty getting through to cer-

tain people, check whether you’re stuck in a rut with your own language.

Table 6-1 VAK words and phrases

Visual Auditory Kinaesthetic

Bright, blank, clear,

colour, dim, focus,

graphics, illuminate,

insight, luminous, per-

spective, vision

Argue, ask, deaf, discuss,

loud, harmony, melody,

outspoken, question,

resonate, say, shout,

shrill, sing, tell, tone,

utter, vocal, yell

Cold, bounce, exciting,

feel, firm, flow, grasp,

movement, pushy, solid,

snap, touch, trample,

weight

It looks like... It sounds like... It feels like...

A glimpse of reality So you say We reshaped the work

We looked after our

interests

I heard it from his own

lips

Moving through

This is a new way of

seeing the world

Who’s calling the tune? It hit home

Now look here Clear as a bell Get a feel for it

This is clear cut Important to ask me Get to grips with

Sight for sore eyes Word for word Pain in the neck

Show me what you

mean

We’re on the same wave-

length

Solid as a rock

Tunnel vision Tune into this Take it one step at a time

Appears as if... Music to my ears Driving an organisation

What a bright day That strikes a chord The pressure’s on

A few olfactory and gustatory words also exist, such as the following: fra-

grant, fresh, juicy, odour, pungent, salty, smell, smoky, sour, spicy, sweet,

and whiff.

Many words in your vocabulary don’t have any link to the senses. These

words are non-sensory, and because they’re ‘neutral’ you neither connect

nor disconnect with somebody else’s modality. Neutral words include the

following: analyse, answer, ask, choose, communicate, complex, educate,

experience, favourite, imagine, learn, question, remember, transform, think,

understand, use, and wonder.