Submodalities in NLP are the fine-grained qualities of your internal images, sounds and feelings — brightness, size, distance, volume, location — that determine how much impact a memory or thought carries. Two people can picture the same event, but the one who sees it big, bright and close feels it far more strongly. This guide explains what submodalities are, how changing them changes feeling, and how to try it yourself.
What are submodalities?
In NLP the senses we think in — visual, auditory, kinaesthetic — are called representational systems, or modalities. Submodalities are their sub-qualities: not just that you picture something, but how bright, how big, how near it is. These details are the “code” your mind uses to tell an intense memory from a trivial one, and they can be adjusted like the settings on a screen.
Submodalities at a glance
| What they are | The fine qualities of inner images, sounds and feelings |
| Examples | Brightness, size, distance, volume, location, temperature |
| Why they matter | They encode how much emotional impact something has |
| Used in | The swish pattern and many change techniques |
| Popularised by | Richard Bandler, Using Your Brain for a Change (1985) |
The main submodalities
| System | Qualities you can change |
|---|---|
| Visual | Brightness, size, distance, colour vs. black & white, still vs. moving, focus |
| Auditory | Volume, tempo, pitch, location, tone of voice |
| Kinaesthetic | Location in the body, intensity, temperature, movement, pressure |
How do submodalities change how you feel?
Changing a submodality changes the feeling attached to it, because the feeling is partly coded in those very qualities. Take a worry, notice its picture, then shrink it, drain the colour and push it far away — for most people the worry loosens its grip. Do the reverse with a good memory and it grows more vivid. Nothing about the facts changes; only the coding does.
How to explore submodalities: 4 steps
- Pick an experience. Choose a mildly unpleasant memory to practise with — not a traumatic one.
- Notice its submodalities. Is the image big or small? Bright or dim? Near or far? Where’s the feeling in your body?
- Change one. Shrink the image, dim it, move it further away. Common mistake: changing everything at once — you learn more by testing one quality at a time.
- Notice the effect. Check whether the feeling shifted. The submodality that changes the feeling most is the one worth working with.
How we use submodalities in Lisbon
The first time most students really believe submodalities work is when they take a nagging worry, push the image to the far corner of the room and watch it go quiet — in seconds, with no analysis. It surprises them every time. The mind was always adjusting these dials; we just hand people the controls.
Related terms: representational systems, the swish pattern and anchoring. Back to the full NLP glossary. See also: what NLP is and all NLP techniques.
Sources: Richard Bandler, Using Your Brain — for a Change (1985).
This glossary is educational and reflects a coaching perspective. For traumatic memories, work with a qualified professional rather than experimenting alone.
Frequently asked questions
What are submodalities in simple terms?
They’re the “settings” of your inner experience — how bright, big, near, loud or intense a memory or thought is. They’re the fine detail underneath seeing, hearing and feeling.
Can you give examples of submodalities?
Visual: brightness, size, distance. Auditory: volume, tempo, location of a sound. Kinaesthetic: where a feeling sits in the body, its intensity and temperature.
How do submodalities change feelings?
Because the feeling is partly coded in those qualities. Shrinking and dimming a worrying image usually softens the worry; brightening and enlarging a good memory usually strengthens it.
What is a critical submodality?
It’s the one quality that, when changed, shifts the feeling the most for you — often distance or brightness. Finding it makes change faster and more reliable.
How do submodalities relate to the swish pattern?
The swish pattern is built on submodalities: it rapidly changes the size and brightness of two images to swap an unwanted response for a desired one.
