Communication is at the heart of all our interactions. Did you know that there are tools available to help you communicate better and make yourself understood? VAKOG is the basis of these communication techniques, and I’d like to tell you more about it in this article.

How can I get my ideas across more effectively? How to detect lies? How to sell your projects better? What makes two people like to talk to each other and two others not?

To all these questions, there’s an important answer: VAKOG!

This article is divided into two parts: the first deals with the precise definition of this concept, the second with its practical applications.

What is VAKOG?

As you’re used to on Full of Happiness, I’d like to give you a precise definition of the term, before presenting the applications that follow from it.

VAKOG is the acronym for our 5 senses: Visual, Auditory, Kinesthetic, Olfactory and Gustatory.

To be precise, here is the definition of each of these senses:

Visual: everything you can see (sight)
Auditory: everything you can hear (hearing)
Kinesthetic (from the Greek kinesis meaning movement and aisthesis meaning sensitivity): everything you feel physically and emotionally.
Emotional: internal kinesthetic (emotion)
Physical: external kinesthetic (touch)
Olfactory: what you smell (sense of smell)
Gustatory: what you taste (taste)

Now that VAKOG has been defined, you’re probably wondering what you’re going to do with it. There’s more to come…

VAKOG APPLICATION FIELDS
VAKOG is used in many fields: NLP (Neuro-Linguistic Programming), hypnosis (classical and Ericksonian), manipulation techniques, sales, marketing, … (and many others!).

In other words, VAKOG is at the root of many of the methods and practices we use in our daily lives!

Different fields agree on three main senses: Visual, Auditory and Kinesthetic. Kinesthetic includes smell and taste. For practical applications of these concepts, we’ll simplify VAKOG to VAK (Visual, Auditory and Kinesthetic).

Still in line with the various methods derived from it, every individual (except the disabled) uses 1 or 2 VAK senses for the most part. One person will therefore be predominantly Visual, another will be predominantly Auditory, and so on. In the majority of cases, people are either Visual or Auditory.

Remember: to communicate better with a person, you need to talk to them in phase with their main system. The main system being the sense (or senses) used predominantly by the person.

HOW TO DETECT A PERSON’S PRIMARY SYSTEM?
Now that you have this information in mind, you’re probably wondering how it’s possible to subtly detect a person’s primary system? You’re not going to ask:

“Hey! I was walking on the sidewalk across the street when I saw you… I couldn’t resist talking to you! Can you tell me what your main system is so I can communicate with you properly?”

Clearly not!

There are two methods for detecting a person’s main system. These methods are complementary and confirm each other.

Please note: we’re talking about psychology and communication here, not mathematics or physics! Any conclusions we come to will be in line with our perceptions and interpretations of the other person’s signals (words and gestures). So be careful!

Here are two methods for determining a person’s main system:

Studying the words they use
Studying eye movements.
It should be noted that the study of eye movements is considered unfounded by some experimenters. However, in view of the results obtained by NLP and hypnosis, it is difficult to completely deny the effectiveness of this approach.

As I said earlier, it’s best to use both methods and check that they confirm your hypotheses.

STUDY THE PERSON’S WORDS
This method is quite simple to understand: all you have to do is pay close attention to the words the person uses. In your head, you can imagine 3 large columns (Visual, Auditory, Kinesthetic) in which you would make a cross each time the person says a word that you can “classify”.

To make things easier for you, I’ve decided to give you 3 (non-exhaustive) lists of words on which you can base your deductions.

Vocabulary used by a Visual-dominant person
Vocabulary used by an auditory-dominant person
Vocabulary used by a Kinesthetic-dominant person
These lists are of course incomplete!

It’s up to you to classify your interlocutors’ words in these three columns and deduce the main system used.

STUDY THE PERSON’S EYE MOVEMENTS
When you’re talking to someone, observe their eye movements.

This technique is based on the following assumptions:

When the subject looks to the top right or top left: he or she is visual
When the subject looks to the right or left: auditory
When the subject looks to the bottom right: kinesthetic
If you want to learn how to detect lies, VAKOG can help! Here are two new hypotheses:

When the subject looks to his right, he is considered to be constructing/inventing.
When the subject looks to his left, he is remembering / telling the truth

In this way, we can potentially use eye movements to detect lies! Be careful, however, to use this technique alongside others to confirm / refute your interpretations!

Nothing is 100% certain, these are just guidelines to be used intelligently!

But, used well… it works! Otherwise hypnosis, NLP, sales techniques and marketing techniques wouldn’t work as well, believe me! Knowing the VAKOG concept allows you to understand many techniques by looking at them from a new angle…

It has been established that some people have an inverted ocular system! They look to the right when they’re telling the truth and to the left when they’re lying… To be sure you’re not mistaken, ask the person you’re talking to to tell you what they did last weekend, for example! That way, you’ll know he’s remembering his activities and you’ll be able to deduce whether his system is inverted or not. Unless he’s lying…

Psychology is all about sensitivity!

IT’S UP TO YOU!
Would you like to improve your communication skills? Detect people who are lying to you? Apply my tips for detecting a person’s core system!