Predicates (Visual) List / Predicates (Auditory) List /...

Instructions #

The sensory-based language patterns that people use to represent their thoughts and experiences are referred to as predicates.

Predicates are classified into three types: visual (V), auditory (A), and kinesthetic (K), which represent the primary sensory systems through which people perceive and process information.

Understanding predicates is useful in NLP because it reveals a person’s preferred representational system and how they mentally process information.

NLP practitioners can gain a better understanding of how someone constructs their subjective reality by paying attention to the predicates they use in their speech. Predicates can be useful in a variety of ways. For starters, they aid in the development of rapport with others.

Practitioners can more effectively create a connection and build rapport by matching and mirroring a person’s predicates, such as using similar sensory-based language patterns. This alignment of predicates improves communication and understanding among clients.

Second, predicates reveal information about a person’s way of thinking and processing information. Someone who frequently uses visual predicates (e.g., “I see what you mean”), for example, may prefer visual information and respond well to visual representations and imagery.

Practitioners can tailor their communication to match the person’s preferred modality by recognizing and adapting to an individual’s predominant predicates, making their messages more relatable and impactful.

Predicates can also be used to facilitate change and create more resourceful states.

Practitioners can help clients reframe their experiences and access inner resources for personal growth and transformation by guiding them to shift their predicates toward more empowering sensory representations, such as visualizing positive outcomes or using auditory predicates that reinforce desired beliefs.