Creative Writer Worksheet – Modalities (PDF)
Andreea and I were discussing modalities today, and how useful it is to study them consciously in your own writing and in dialogue. They can help you rephrase problems to yourself, and understand how your friends, family and (almost as importantly) your characters represent certain memories, beliefs or experiences in their mind. I hope this 4-page worksheet will guide you in discovering more about your preferred modalities. You’ll need a friend to help you along the way! I recommend printing out 1 copy each of pages 1 and 4, and 2 copies of pages 2 and 3 (so your friend can fill out their own versions).
To give you some idea of what I mean by modalities, here’s a list of some phrases from Tony Robbins’s Awaken the Giant Within (pg. 166)…
Visual Submodalities-
That really brightens my day.
That puts things in a better perspective.
That’s a top priority.
This guy has a checkered past.
Let’s look at the big picture.
This problem keeps staring me in the face.Auditory Submodalities-
He’s constantly giving me static about that.
The problem is screaming at me.
I hear you loud and clear.
It brought everything we were doing to a screeching halt.
The guy is really offbeat.
That sounds great.
Kinesthetic Submodalities-
That guy is slimy.
The pressure’s off/the pressure’s on.
This thing is weighing on me.
I feel like I’m carrying this whole thing on my back.
This concert is really hot.
I’m absolutely immersed in this project.
Some of these seem a bit odd or outdated to me, but I think it’s a great exercise to create your own lists; that’s what page 3 of the worksheet is for! Robbins also has a great “Checklist of Possible Submodalities” (it’s page 168 in my edition) with questions that can help you explore the modalities in more detail.
Have fun!
