Tools to be a better coach: discover representational systems

A summary of the different representational systems and their implications in coaching.

Being a truly active listener, knowing how to ask the right questions and give good feedback are three skills that a coach must master in order to be able to perform effectively in the coaching process. But there are many other skills and tools that coaches can learn and develop to do their job even better.

Thus, more and more coaches are opting for training in NLP (Neuro Linguistic Programming), a system that allows us to understand how we configure our thoughts, emotions and ways of communicating, which is undoubtedly a plus to increase the understanding of the mental map and the behavior of the coachee.

Among the different tools or knowledge that NLP provides and that substantially multiplies the success of the coach's work, are the following the so-called representational systemsThey help to understand how the coachee perceives reality and, therefore, facilitate the coach to provide a better accompaniment.

What are NLP representational systems.

We perceive the world around us through our senses. These are responsible for capturing the information and transmitting it by nerve impulses to our brain, which analyzes it and generates anwhich analyzes it and generates a response.

Therefore, the senses are the ones that provide us with the information we need to relate to the environment: reality is an interpretation of the information we experience through our senses.

What is important here is that everyone has their own specific way of capturing this information.. Although we use the 5 senses continuously, in each person one of them dominates unconsciously in the collection of data. That is to say, each person, when faced with the same reality, depending on which sense he or she uses more prominently than the others, will make a different representation of it. This is what NLP calls representational systems, which it classifies as visual, kinesthetic, auditory and digital.

Characteristics of the different representational systems

Some of the general the general characteristics of the pure forms of each representational system (remember that we do not present only one, but one stands out over the others), would be the following.

1. Visual

A visual person:

• Remembers more what he/she seesHe remembers faces, for example, but not names.

• He speaks in visual terms: 'at a glance', 'it is well seen', etc.

• When she speaks of concepts such as freedom or love, she does so with an image of it in mind, not a sensation.

• She is energetic, orderly and takes care of her appearance.

• She speaks loud, clear and fast and gesticulates a lot to 'draw' what she says.

• She thinks and learns fast, but also forgets at the same speed.

• His body posture is straight, with an elevated gaze and head upright.

• 2. Kinesthetic

  A kinesthetic person:

  • Records his experiences with his body, with his feelings, thus remembers and produces it.
  • He uses sensory expressions"heated discussion", "balm for the soul", etc.
  • She is relaxed, moves slower and seeks comfort, even in her appearance.
  • Her voice is slow, soft in volume and she sighs a lot.
  • He learns slowly, but when he does, it is forever.
  • He desires the closeness of people: he touches you when he greets you.
  • His body posture is somewhat submissive, with shoulders and head forward.

  3. Digital

  A digital person:

  • Is logical, barely shows emotions and what matters most to him are words..
  • They are goal-driven and truth is their motto.
  • He keeps his distance from others because he does not like to be touched.
  • His tone of voice is monotonous and repetitive and he prefers not to look into the eyes when conversing or listening.
  • His posture is shoulders up and head forward and he tends to look straight ahead.

  4. Auditory

  An auditory person:

  • The most important thing for her is sound.He uses it to create experiences.
  • He pays attention to what others say and remembers it. That is why he uses expressions such as: "this is unheard", "let's turn a deaf ear", etc.
  • She is quiet, has a very nice voice, does not like strident noises and her appearance is informal.
  • Her posture is similar to digital and she doesn't look to listen: she puts her ear to you.

  The implications of this for coaching

  If a coach knows in depth these characteristics and other details of the representational systems, detecting the system that predominates in his coachee, can better understand how that person perceives reality and can therefore and, therefore, will be able to establish a better attunement with his coachee, which leaves the way very smooth for the coaching process to be a success.

  Want to become a coach with NLP training?

  At D'Arte Human & Business School we make sure that the coaches who train with us leave our school with the NLP competencies that will give them a plus of quality in their professional work.

  Therefore, in our Master in Professional Coaching, students not only study the theoretical bases of coaching and its methodology, but they are trained as NLP Practitioners, which allows them to approach and delve into the fundamentals of Linguistic Programming, including representational systems.