The concept of submodalities had been part of NLP since the late 1970's, but the

y were presented primarily as a way of enhancing experiences. Although associati

on / dissociation was the key element in many of the more effective standard NLP
patterns that had been taught for years, it was not clearly described as a subm
odality shift. It was only in 1983 that Richard Bandler explicitly began to reve
al the structure of submodalities in general. He taught how submodality shifts c
ould be used to change habits (swish pattern ), change beliefs, and create motiv
ation or understanding, and how submodality thresholds could be used to break lo
cked-in patterns like compulsions, or to lock in new changes. In short, he outli
ned how submodalities comprise one way of understanding the underlying structure
of all experience.
Bandler and Grinder constructed the Representational Systems of the VAK modalit
ies with their qualities ( submodalities ). This provided a language for describing
& modeling human experiences.
The concept of submodalities arose in the field of neuro-linguistic programming
, explaining that human beings code internal experiences using aspects of their di
fferent senses.
We have five basic senses: visual, auditory, kinaesthetic , olfactory and gusta
tory. In NLP, these are referred to as representational systems or modalities. F
or each of these modalities, we can have finer distinctions. We could describe a
picture as being black and white or colour, or it could also be bright or dim.
Sounds could be loud or soft, or coming from a particular direction. Feelings co
uld be in different parts of the body or have different temperatures. Smells cou
ld be pleasant or offensive, strong or light. Taste could be sweet or bitter or
strong or mild. These finer distinctions are called submodalities and define the
qualities of our internal representations . Generally, we work with only three
modalities visual, auditory and kinaesthetic. However, you be working with a cli
ent on an issue where the olfactory or gustatory submodalities play a major role
e.g. a food issue or someone who is a chef. People have known about and worked
with submodalities for centuries. For example, Aristotle referred to qualities o
f the senses, but did not use the term submodalities.
For most people, research within NLP states that the brain often uses these str
uctural elements as a way to know how it feels about them, and what they signify i
nternally. The link is stated to be bilateral
that is, emotions attached to a me
ntal experience are affected by certain submodalities with which it is associate
d , and specific submodalities can also be affected if the emotional significanc
e changes.
The discovery that the emotion associated with a thought is often functionally
linked to the submodalities with which that thought is presented to consciousnes
s, led to a variety of brief therapy NLP interventions based upon change of thes
e key submodalities. In effect, voluntary change of submodalities on the part of
the subject was often found to alter long-term the concommitant feeling response,
paving the way for a number of change techniques based on deliberately changing
internal representations. NLP co-originator Richard Bandler in particular has m
ade extensive use of submodality manipulations in the evolution of his work.
To match these subjective distinctions, Eric Robbie (an NLP trainer) demonstrat
ed in 1984 that sub-modalities can be reliably distinguished from external behav
iour in the case of visual submodalities, subtle changes in the eye and facial m
uscles surrounding the eye are good indicators of specific visual submodalities;
in the case of auditory, subtle changes in the muscles surrounding the ears per
form the same function for auditory submodalities, and in the case of kinestheti
c, subtle changes in the musculature of the body reveal subjective variations in
that modality too.
Submodalities are key components to many of the NLP change techniques. Submodal
ities, by themselves or as part of other techniques, have been used to assist pe
ople to stop smoking, eat more of certain foods and less of others, address comp
ulsion issues, change beliefs and values , enhance motivation, move from stress
to relaxation, address phobias, etc.
What exactly is a submodality?
A submodality in neuro-linguistic programming is a distinction of form or struc

ture (rather than content ) within a sensory representational system. For exampl
e, regardless of the content, both external and mental images of any kind will b
e either colored or monochrome, and stationary or moving. These parameters are s
ubmodalities within the visual sense. Similarly, both remembered and actual soun
ds will be mono or stereo when experienced internally, so mono/stereo is a submo
dality of sound.
Submodalities refers to the subjective structural subdivisions within a given r
epresentational system. For example, in visual terms, common distinctions includ
e: brightness, degree of colour (saturation), size, distance, sharpness, focus,
and so on; in auditory: loudness, pitch, tonal range, distance, clarity, timbre,
and so on.
Ordinarily, one can establish these by asking questions:
This image
is it bright, or dim? Coloured or black and white? How much colour? Is
it big or small? Is it near or far? In focus, or out of focus?
This sound
is it loud or soft? Is it high pitched or low pitched? Does it have a
range? Is it near or far? Is it one point source or spread out? Where is it com
ing from? Is it clear or muffled?
That feeling in your body
where exactly is it? Does it have a size? A temperatur
e? Does it stay the same, or does it move at all? Does it have a texture? Is it
hard or soft?
NLP asserts that far from being arbitrary or unimportant, these submodalities of
ten perform a functional role, as a means by which emotions, related memories, f
elt-sense perceptions such as importance , and so on, are presented to consciousnes
s by the unconscious mind, along with thoughts or memories.
NLP asserts that amongst the many possible submodalities, there will often be a
handful of so-called critical submodalities which can functionally effect large-sc
ale change, and that they differ between people, and can be identified by observ
ation and inquiry. NLP states that a change within these critical submodalities
will often correlate with a near-immediate subjective change in the emotion or o
ther felt-sense with which a mental impression presents itself.
Submodalities are therefore seen in NLP as offering a valuable therapeutic insig
ht (or metaphor ) and potential working methods, into how the human mind interna
lly organizes and subjectively views events.
The concept of submodalities had been part of NLP since the late 1970's, but the
y were presented primarily as a way of enhancing experiences. Although associati
on / dissociation was the key element in many of the more effective standard NLP
patterns that had been taught for years, it was not clearly described as a subm
odality shift. It was only in 1983 that Richard Bandler explicitly began to reve
al the structure of submodalities in general. He taught how submodality shifts c
ould be used to change habits (swish pattern ), change beliefs, and create motiv
ation or understanding, and how submodality thresholds could be used to break lo
cked-in patterns like compulsions, or to lock in new changes. In short, he outli
ned how submodalities comprise one way of understanding the underlying structure
of all experience.
Bandler and Grinder constructed the Representational Systems of the VAK modalit
ies with their qualities ( submodalities ). This provided a language for describing
& modeling human experiences.
The concept of submodalities arose in the field of neuro-linguistic programming
, explaining that human beings code internal experiences using aspects of their di
fferent senses.
We have five basic senses: visual, auditory, kinaesthetic , olfactory and gusta
tory. In NLP, these are referred to as representational systems or modalities. F
or each of these modalities, we can have finer distinctions. We could describe a
picture as being black and white or colour, or it could also be bright or dim.
Sounds could be loud or soft, or coming from a particular direction. Feelings co
uld be in different parts of the body or have different temperatures. Smells cou

ld be pleasant or offensive, strong or light. Taste could be sweet or bitter or

strong or mild. These finer distinctions are called submodalities and define the
qualities of our internal representations . Generally, we work with only three
modalities
visual, auditory and kinaesthetic. However, you be working with a cli
ent on an issue where the olfactory or gustatory submodalities play a major role
e.g. a food issue or someone who is a chef. People have known about and worked
with submodalities for centuries. For example, Aristotle referred to qualities o
f the senses, but did not use the term submodalities.
For most people, research within NLP states that the brain often uses these str
uctural elements as a way to know how it feels about them, and what they signify i
nternally. The link is stated to be bilateral
that is, emotions attached to a me
ntal experience are affected by certain submodalities with which it is associate
d , and specific submodalities can also be affected if the emotional significanc
e changes.
The discovery that the emotion associated with a thought is often functionally
linked to the submodalities with which that thought is presented to consciousnes
s, led to a variety of brief therapy NLP interventions based upon change of thes
e key submodalities. In effect, voluntary change of submodalities on the part of
the subject was often found to alter long-term the concommitant feeling response,
paving the way for a number of change techniques based on deliberately changing
internal representations. NLP co-originator Richard Bandler in particular has m
ade extensive use of submodality manipulations in the evolution of his work.
To match these subjective distinctions, Eric Robbie (an NLP trainer) demonstrat
ed in 1984 that sub-modalities can be reliably distinguished from external behav
iour in the case of visual submodalities, subtle changes in the eye and facial m
uscles surrounding the eye are good indicators of specific visual submodalities;
in the case of auditory, subtle changes in the muscles surrounding the ears per
form the same function for auditory submodalities, and in the case of kinestheti
c, subtle changes in the musculature of the body reveal subjective variations in
that modality too.
Submodalities are key components to many of the NLP change techniques. Submodal
ities, by themselves or as part of other techniques, have been used to assist pe
ople to stop smoking, eat more of certain foods and less of others, address comp
ulsion issues, change beliefs and values , enhance motivation, move from stress
to relaxation, address phobias, etc.
What exactly is a submodality?
A submodality in neuro-linguistic programming is a distinction of form or struc
ture (rather than content ) within a sensory representational system. For exampl
e, regardless of the content, both external and mental images of any kind will b
e either colored or monochrome, and stationary or moving. These parameters are s
ubmodalities within the visual sense. Similarly, both remembered and actual soun
ds will be mono or stereo when experienced internally, so mono/stereo is a submo
dality of sound.
Submodalities refers to the subjective structural subdivisions within a given r
epresentational system. For example, in visual terms, common distinctions includ
e: brightness, degree of colour (saturation), size, distance, sharpness, focus,
and so on; in auditory: loudness, pitch, tonal range, distance, clarity, timbre,
and so on.
Ordinarily, one can establish these by asking questions:
This image
is it bright, or dim? Coloured or black and white? How much colour? Is
it big or small? Is it near or far? In focus, or out of focus?
This sound
is it loud or soft? Is it high pitched or low pitched? Does it have a
range? Is it near or far? Is it one point source or spread out? Where is it com
ing from? Is it clear or muffled?
That feeling in your body
where exactly is it? Does it have a size? A temperatur
e? Does it stay the same, or does it move at all? Does it have a texture? Is it
hard or soft?
NLP asserts that far from being arbitrary or unimportant, these submodalities of
ten perform a functional role, as a means by which emotions, related memories, f

elt-sense perceptions such as importance , and so on, are presented to consciousnes

s by the unconscious mind, along with thoughts or memories.
NLP asserts that amongst the many possible submodalities, there will often be a
handful of so-called critical submodalities which can functionally effect large-sc
ale change, and that they differ between people, and can be identified by observ
ation and inquiry. NLP states that a change within these critical submodalities
will often correlate with a near-immediate subjective change in the emotion or o
ther felt-sense with which a mental impression presents itself.
Submodalities are therefore seen in NLP as offering a valuable therapeutic insig
ht (or metaphor ) and potential working methods, into how the human mind interna
lly organizes and subjectively views events.
The concept of submodalities had been part of NLP since the late 1970's, but the
y were presented primarily as a way of enhancing experiences. Although associati
on / dissociation was the key element in many of the more effective standard NLP
patterns that had been taught for years, it was not clearly described as a subm
odality shift. It was only in 1983 that Richard Bandler explicitly began to reve
al the structure of submodalities in general. He taught how submodality shifts c
ould be used to change habits (swish pattern ), change beliefs, and create motiv
ation or understanding, and how submodality thresholds could be used to break lo
cked-in patterns like compulsions, or to lock in new changes. In short, he outli
ned how submodalities comprise one way of understanding the underlying structure
of all experience.
Bandler and Grinder constructed the Representational Systems of the VAK modalit
ies with their qualities ( submodalities ). This provided a language for describing
& modeling human experiences.
The concept of submodalities arose in the field of neuro-linguistic programming
, explaining that human beings code internal experiences using aspects of their di
fferent senses.
We have five basic senses: visual, auditory, kinaesthetic , olfactory and gusta
tory. In NLP, these are referred to as representational systems or modalities. F
or each of these modalities, we can have finer distinctions. We could describe a
picture as being black and white or colour, or it could also be bright or dim.
Sounds could be loud or soft, or coming from a particular direction. Feelings co
uld be in different parts of the body or have different temperatures. Smells cou
ld be pleasant or offensive, strong or light. Taste could be sweet or bitter or
strong or mild. These finer distinctions are called submodalities and define the
qualities of our internal representations . Generally, we work with only three
modalities visual, auditory and kinaesthetic. However, you be working with a cli
ent on an issue where the olfactory or gustatory submodalities play a major role
e.g. a food issue or someone who is a chef. People have known about and worked
with submodalities for centuries. For example, Aristotle referred to qualities o
f the senses, but did not use the term submodalities.
For most people, research within NLP states that the brain often uses these str
uctural elements as a way to know how it feels about them, and what they signify i
nternally. The link is stated to be bilateral
that is, emotions attached to a me
ntal experience are affected by certain submodalities with which it is associate
d , and specific submodalities can also be affected if the emotional significanc
e changes.
The discovery that the emotion associated with a thought is often functionally
linked to the submodalities with which that thought is presented to consciousnes
s, led to a variety of brief therapy NLP interventions based upon change of thes
e key submodalities. In effect, voluntary change of submodalities on the part of
the subject was often found to alter long-term the concommitant feeling response,
paving the way for a number of change techniques based on deliberately changing
internal representations. NLP co-originator Richard Bandler in particular has m
ade extensive use of submodality manipulations in the evolution of his work.
To match these subjective distinctions, Eric Robbie (an NLP trainer) demonstrat

ed in 1984 that sub-modalities can be reliably distinguished from external behav

iour
in the case of visual submodalities, subtle changes in the eye and facial m
uscles surrounding the eye are good indicators of specific visual submodalities;
in the case of auditory, subtle changes in the muscles surrounding the ears per
form the same function for auditory submodalities, and in the case of kinestheti
c, subtle changes in the musculature of the body reveal subjective variations in
that modality too.
Submodalities are key components to many of the NLP change techniques. Submodal
ities, by themselves or as part of other techniques, have been used to assist pe
ople to stop smoking, eat more of certain foods and less of others, address comp
ulsion issues, change beliefs and values , enhance motivation, move from stress
to relaxation, address phobias, etc.
What exactly is a submodality?
A submodality in neuro-linguistic programming is a distinction of form or struc
ture (rather than content ) within a sensory representational system. For exampl
e, regardless of the content, both external and mental images of any kind will b
e either colored or monochrome, and stationary or moving. These parameters are s
ubmodalities within the visual sense. Similarly, both remembered and actual soun
ds will be mono or stereo when experienced internally, so mono/stereo is a submo
dality of sound.
Submodalities refers to the subjective structural subdivisions within a given r
epresentational system. For example, in visual terms, common distinctions includ
e: brightness, degree of colour (saturation), size, distance, sharpness, focus,
and so on; in auditory: loudness, pitch, tonal range, distance, clarity, timbre,
and so on.
Ordinarily, one can establish these by asking questions:
This image
is it bright, or dim? Coloured or black and white? How much colour? Is
it big or small? Is it near or far? In focus, or out of focus?
This sound
is it loud or soft? Is it high pitched or low pitched? Does it have a
range? Is it near or far? Is it one point source or spread out? Where is it com
ing from? Is it clear or muffled?
That feeling in your body
where exactly is it? Does it have a size? A temperatur
e? Does it stay the same, or does it move at all? Does it have a texture? Is it
hard or soft?
NLP asserts that far from being arbitrary or unimportant, these submodalities of
ten perform a functional role, as a means by which emotions, related memories, f
elt-sense perceptions such as importance , and so on, are presented to consciousnes
s by the unconscious mind, along with thoughts or memories.
NLP asserts that amongst the many possible submodalities, there will often be a
handful of so-called critical submodalities which can functionally effect large-sc
ale change, and that they differ between people, and can be identified by observ
ation and inquiry. NLP states that a change within these critical submodalities
will often correlate with a near-immediate subjective change in the emotion or o
ther felt-sense with which a mental impression presents itself.
Submodalities are therefore seen in NLP as offering a valuable therapeutic insig
ht (or metaphor ) and potential working methods, into how the human mind interna
lly organizes and subjectively views events.
The concept of submodalities had been part of NLP since the late 1970's, but the
y were presented primarily as a way of enhancing experiences. Although associati
on / dissociation was the key element in many of the more effective standard NLP
patterns that had been taught for years, it was not clearly described as a subm
odality shift. It was only in 1983 that Richard Bandler explicitly began to reve
al the structure of submodalities in general. He taught how submodality shifts c
ould be used to change habits (swish pattern ), change beliefs, and create motiv
ation or understanding, and how submodality thresholds could be used to break lo
cked-in patterns like compulsions, or to lock in new changes. In short, he outli

ned how submodalities comprise one way of understanding the underlying structure
of all experience.
Bandler and Grinder constructed the Representational Systems of the VAK modalit
ies with their qualities ( submodalities ). This provided a language for describing
& modeling human experiences.
The concept of submodalities arose in the field of neuro-linguistic programming
, explaining that human beings code internal experiences using aspects of their di
fferent senses.
We have five basic senses: visual, auditory, kinaesthetic , olfactory and gusta
tory. In NLP, these are referred to as representational systems or modalities. F
or each of these modalities, we can have finer distinctions. We could describe a
picture as being black and white or colour, or it could also be bright or dim.
Sounds could be loud or soft, or coming from a particular direction. Feelings co
uld be in different parts of the body or have different temperatures. Smells cou
ld be pleasant or offensive, strong or light. Taste could be sweet or bitter or
strong or mild. These finer distinctions are called submodalities and define the
qualities of our internal representations . Generally, we work with only three
modalities visual, auditory and kinaesthetic. However, you be working with a cli
ent on an issue where the olfactory or gustatory submodalities play a major role
e.g. a food issue or someone who is a chef. People have known about and worked
with submodalities for centuries. For example, Aristotle referred to qualities o
f the senses, but did not use the term submodalities.
For most people, research within NLP states that the brain often uses these str
uctural elements as a way to know how it feels about them, and what they signify i
nternally. The link is stated to be bilateral
that is, emotions attached to a me
ntal experience are affected by certain submodalities with which it is associate
d , and specific submodalities can also be affected if the emotional significanc
e changes.
The discovery that the emotion associated with a thought is often functionally
linked to the submodalities with which that thought is presented to consciousnes
s, led to a variety of brief therapy NLP interventions based upon change of thes
e key submodalities. In effect, voluntary change of submodalities on the part of
the subject was often found to alter long-term the concommitant feeling response,
paving the way for a number of change techniques based on deliberately changing
internal representations. NLP co-originator Richard Bandler in particular has m
ade extensive use of submodality manipulations in the evolution of his work.
To match these subjective distinctions, Eric Robbie (an NLP trainer) demonstrat
ed in 1984 that sub-modalities can be reliably distinguished from external behav
iour in the case of visual submodalities, subtle changes in the eye and facial m
uscles surrounding the eye are good indicators of specific visual submodalities;
in the case of auditory, subtle changes in the muscles surrounding the ears per
form the same function for auditory submodalities, and in the case of kinestheti
c, subtle changes in the musculature of the body reveal subjective variations in
that modality too.
Submodalities are key components to many of the NLP change techniques. Submodal
ities, by themselves or as part of other techniques, have been used to assist pe
ople to stop smoking, eat more of certain foods and less of others, address comp
ulsion issues, change beliefs and values , enhance motivation, move from stress
to relaxation, address phobias, etc.
What exactly is a submodality?
A submodality in neuro-linguistic programming is a distinction of form or struc
ture (rather than content ) within a sensory representational system. For exampl
e, regardless of the content, both external and mental images of any kind will b
e either colored or monochrome, and stationary or moving. These parameters are s
ubmodalities within the visual sense. Similarly, both remembered and actual soun
ds will be mono or stereo when experienced internally, so mono/stereo is a submo
dality of sound.
Submodalities refers to the subjective structural subdivisions within a given r
epresentational system. For example, in visual terms, common distinctions includ
e: brightness, degree of colour (saturation), size, distance, sharpness, focus,

and so on; in auditory: loudness, pitch, tonal range, distance, clarity, timbre,
and so on.
Ordinarily, one can establish these by asking questions:
This image
is it bright, or dim? Coloured or black and white? How much colour? Is
it big or small? Is it near or far? In focus, or out of focus?
This sound
is it loud or soft? Is it high pitched or low pitched? Does it have a
range? Is it near or far? Is it one point source or spread out? Where is it com
ing from? Is it clear or muffled?
That feeling in your body
where exactly is it? Does it have a size? A temperatur
e? Does it stay the same, or does it move at all? Does it have a texture? Is it
hard or soft?
NLP asserts that far from being arbitrary or unimportant, these submodalities of
ten perform a functional role, as a means by which emotions, related memories, f
elt-sense perceptions such as importance , and so on, are presented to consciousnes
s by the unconscious mind, along with thoughts or memories.
NLP asserts that amongst the many possible submodalities, there will often be a
handful of so-called critical submodalities which can functionally effect large-sc
ale change, and that they differ between people, and can be identified by observ
ation and inquiry. NLP states that a change within these critical submodalities
will often correlate with a near-immediate subjective change in the emotion or o
ther felt-sense with which a mental impression presents itself.
Submodalities are therefore seen in NLP as offering a valuable therapeutic insig
ht (or metaphor ) and potential working methods, into how the human mind interna
lly organizes and subjectively views events.
The concept of submodalities had been part of NLP since the late 1970's, but the
y were presented primarily as a way of enhancing experiences. Although associati
on / dissociation was the key element in many of the more effective standard NLP
patterns that had been taught for years, it was not clearly described as a subm
odality shift. It was only in 1983 that Richard Bandler explicitly began to reve
al the structure of submodalities in general. He taught how submodality shifts c
ould be used to change habits (swish pattern ), change beliefs, and create motiv
ation or understanding, and how submodality thresholds could be used to break lo
cked-in patterns like compulsions, or to lock in new changes. In short, he outli
ned how submodalities comprise one way of understanding the underlying structure
of all experience.
Bandler and Grinder constructed the Representational Systems of the VAK modalit
ies with their qualities ( submodalities ). This provided a language for describing
& modeling human experiences.
The concept of submodalities arose in the field of neuro-linguistic programming
, explaining that human beings code internal experiences using aspects of their di
fferent senses.
We have five basic senses: visual, auditory, kinaesthetic , olfactory and gusta
tory. In NLP, these are referred to as representational systems or modalities. F
or each of these modalities, we can have finer distinctions. We could describe a
picture as being black and white or colour, or it could also be bright or dim.
Sounds could be loud or soft, or coming from a particular direction. Feelings co
uld be in different parts of the body or have different temperatures. Smells cou
ld be pleasant or offensive, strong or light. Taste could be sweet or bitter or
strong or mild. These finer distinctions are called submodalities and define the
qualities of our internal representations . Generally, we work with only three
modalities visual, auditory and kinaesthetic. However, you be working with a cli
ent on an issue where the olfactory or gustatory submodalities play a major role
e.g. a food issue or someone who is a chef. People have known about and worked
with submodalities for centuries. For example, Aristotle referred to qualities o
f the senses, but did not use the term submodalities.
For most people, research within NLP states that the brain often uses these str

uctural elements as a way to know how it feels about them, and what they signify i
nternally. The link is stated to be bilateral
that is, emotions attached to a me
ntal experience are affected by certain submodalities with which it is associate
d , and specific submodalities can also be affected if the emotional significanc
e changes.
The discovery that the emotion associated with a thought is often functionally
linked to the submodalities with which that thought is presented to consciousnes
s, led to a variety of brief therapy NLP interventions based upon change of thes
e key submodalities. In effect, voluntary change of submodalities on the part of
the subject was often found to alter long-term the concommitant feeling response,
paving the way for a number of change techniques based on deliberately changing
internal representations. NLP co-originator Richard Bandler in particular has m
ade extensive use of submodality manipulations in the evolution of his work.
To match these subjective distinctions, Eric Robbie (an NLP trainer) demonstrat
ed in 1984 that sub-modalities can be reliably distinguished from external behav
iour in the case of visual submodalities, subtle changes in the eye and facial m
uscles surrounding the eye are good indicators of specific visual submodalities;
in the case of auditory, subtle changes in the muscles surrounding the ears per
form the same function for auditory submodalities, and in the case of kinestheti
c, subtle changes in the musculature of the body reveal subjective variations in
that modality too.
Submodalities are key components to many of the NLP change techniques. Submodal
ities, by themselves or as part of other techniques, have been used to assist pe
ople to stop smoking, eat more of certain foods and less of others, address comp
ulsion issues, change beliefs and values , enhance motivation, move from stress
to relaxation, address phobias, etc.
What exactly is a submodality?
A submodality in neuro-linguistic programming is a distinction of form or struc
ture (rather than content ) within a sensory representational system. For exampl
e, regardless of the content, both external and mental images of any kind will b
e either colored or monochrome, and stationary or moving. These parameters are s
ubmodalities within the visual sense. Similarly, both remembered and actual soun
ds will be mono or stereo when experienced internally, so mono/stereo is a submo
dality of sound.
Submodalities refers to the subjective structural subdivisions within a given r
epresentational system. For example, in visual terms, common distinctions includ
e: brightness, degree of colour (saturation), size, distance, sharpness, focus,
and so on; in auditory: loudness, pitch, tonal range, distance, clarity, timbre,
and so on.
Ordinarily, one can establish these by asking questions:
This image
is it bright, or dim? Coloured or black and white? How much colour? Is
it big or small? Is it near or far? In focus, or out of focus?
This sound
is it loud or soft? Is it high pitched or low pitched? Does it have a
range? Is it near or far? Is it one point source or spread out? Where is it com
ing from? Is it clear or muffled?
That feeling in your body
where exactly is it? Does it have a size? A temperatur
e? Does it stay the same, or does it move at all? Does it have a texture? Is it
hard or soft?
NLP asserts that far from being arbitrary or unimportant, these submodalities of
ten perform a functional role, as a means by which emotions, related memories, f
elt-sense perceptions such as importance , and so on, are presented to consciousnes
s by the unconscious mind, along with thoughts or memories.
NLP asserts that amongst the many possible submodalities, there will often be a
handful of so-called critical submodalities which can functionally effect large-sc
ale change, and that they differ between people, and can be identified by observ
ation and inquiry. NLP states that a change within these critical submodalities
will often correlate with a near-immediate subjective change in the emotion or o
ther felt-sense with which a mental impression presents itself.

Submodalities are therefore seen in NLP as offering a valuable therapeutic insig

ht (or metaphor ) and potential working methods, into how the human mind interna
lly organizes and subjectively views events.