# Eye Patterns — Full 4-MAT Presentation Script **Presenter:** Dustin **Total Time:** ~20 minutes (plus ~30 min exercise) **Has Demo:** Yes (Eye Pattern elicitation) --- *Last updated: March 21, 2026 at 12:00 PM MT* ## 1. WHY — Motivation (~3-4 min) *Goal: Short motivational opener. Why should the audience care about eye patterns? Pull them in emotionally before teaching anything. Do not name the topic until the reveal at the end.* --- Have you ever been in a conversation with someone and you just *knew* they weren't telling you the whole truth? Not because of what they said -- the words were fine. But something about them gave it away. Something you couldn't quite put your finger on. I know you've had that experience -- all of us have, haven't we? [PERSONAL STORY PLACEHOLDER: A time you were in a conversation -- maybe with a friend, a colleague, a family member -- and you sensed something was off. You couldn't explain it logically, but your gut told you there was more to the story. Describe the moment, the feeling, the uncertainty. What did you do? Did you call it out? Did you let it go? What happened next?] You're sitting here right now, listening, and part of you already knows there is more to human communication than words. People often sense it without being able to explain it. But what if you had a way to actually *see* what was going on inside someone's head -- in real time -- without asking a single invasive question? What if, while someone was talking to you, you could watch them access a memory, construct something new, talk to themselves internally, or process a feeling -- and you could tell the difference between all of those just by paying attention? As you begin to notice what that would mean for coaching, something shifts. Instead of guessing where a client is stuck, you could actually watch them process information and know which system they were using. You could see whether they were remembering something real or constructing something new. You could catch the moment they dropped into their internal dialogue and got lost in their own head. You would not have to ask "what are you thinking?" -- you could already see it. And that's the most important skill a practitioner can develop, isn't it? Because when you understand how people access information, it goes beyond coaching. Think about parenting. Think about sales conversations. Think about any moment where understanding what is really happening inside another person's mind would change the outcome. Whether you use this with clients or in your everyday life, the ability to read what's happening inside someone's mind is something you will use forever. That map exists. It is one of the most practical, immediately usable tools in NLP. It is called **eye patterns**. And once you learn it, you will never look at another person the same way again. --- ## 2. WHAT — Information (~15 min) *Goal: The main teaching block. What eye patterns ARE -- the chart, the positions, normally vs. reverse organized, how to elicit them, nuances, and practical applications. Pull heavily from Gina's transcripts.* --- ### Why Eye Patterns Matter So what are eye patterns and why do I care? > "Have you ever noticed that people move their eyes in all kinds of different directions? Have you watched people when you talk to them and their eyes seem to dart around? Do you ever wonder why they're doing this?" There is actually a reason. When people move their eyes, they are doing things inside their head -- accessing information from different representational systems. And if I know what those patterns are and what they mean, I can use that to understand what someone is doing internally without ever having to ask. > "If you learn to use your powers of sensory acuity and you watch what the eye patterns are doing, you really can get a handle on what someone's doing inside of their head when they go to access information." This builds directly on sensory acuity and representational systems. Now I am adding another tool to my belt -- a visual map of how someone processes information in real time. --- ### Normally Organized vs. Reverse Organized Before getting into the chart itself, there is an important distinction. People are either **normally organized** or **reverse organized** when it comes to their eye patterns. > "When I say normally organized, I mean the majority of people. That's why we use the word normally organized. It's said to be about 80% or more of people in the US are organized this way." The remaining 20% or so are reverse organized. And reverse organized simply means the entire chart is flipped -- like folding the page down the center of the person's face and switching everything to the other side. > "The experience in NLP is that the person that you're looking at either has the eye patterns of someone that's normally organized or it's 100% reversed." There is no significance to being one or the other. It is about as meaningful as being left-handed or right-handed. > "There's no correlation between handedness and eye patterns. You can't do anything with that actual information. But you need to know that information to be able to use the eye patterns for the different techniques that require eye patterns." One important point: it is always one or the other. Never a mix. > "Never is VR down here or K up there. So if you start seeing stuff like that, there's either some neurological damage or some cultural conditioning. And that just means that, unfortunately, you can't really utilize this technique of NLP." --- ### The Eye Pattern Chart Now let me walk through the chart. This is for a normally organized person, *as I look at them*. That is an important distinction -- all of these positions are described from my perspective looking at the other person. > "Eye pattern charts are for when we're looking at people. So the chart is that if you were holding the chart in your hand, it would be like you kind of put it beside the person you're looking at." There are six positions, organized into three levels -- up, horizontal, and down -- on two sides: **Top level -- Visual:** - **Up and to the right** (as I look at them): Visual Remembered / Visual Recall. This is when someone is seeing images from memory -- recalling things they have actually seen before. - **Up and to the left** (as I look at them): Visual Constructed. This is when someone is making up an image they have never seen -- constructing something new in their mind. **Middle level -- Auditory:** - **Horizontally to the right**: Auditory Remembered. This is when someone is remembering sounds or voices -- but not their own voice. It is someone else's voice in their head, or a sound they have heard before. - **Horizontally to the left**: Auditory Constructed. This is when someone is making up sounds they have never heard. **Bottom level -- Kinesthetic and Auditory Digital:** - **Down and to the left** (as I look at them): Kinesthetic. This is when someone is accessing feelings or the sense of touch. - **Down and to the right** (as I look at them): Auditory Digital / Internal Dialogue. This is someone's own voice in their head -- self-talk. Here is a memory trick. On the right side -- the recall side -- the positions spell **R-A-D**: Recall (visual), Auditory (remembered), Digital (auditory). On the left side -- the construct side -- the positions make the sound "KACK": Kinesthetic, Auditory (construct), Construct (visual). > "So recall's on the right and construct is on the left. And with recall, the bottom right corner is auditory digital. So the recall side spells the word RAD." --- ### Why Auditory Digital Gets Its Own Position Now, I might notice that auditory digital is technically a submodality of auditory. So why does it get its own position on the chart? > "It's such an important component of the internal representation. I mean, think about it. That internal dialogue that you have, that baby's running 24-7. Most of you, it runs you. So because of that, and because it's such an important component of that internal representation, and we store information in that context, it needs its own map position on the eye pattern chart." And there is an important distinction between auditory digital and auditory remembered. Auditory digital is always *my* voice in my head. Auditory remembered is *someone else's* voice in my head -- my mother's voice, my spouse's voice, a sound I heard. > "AD, when you see AD, it's always your voice in your head. And if you see AR, AC, even if you see the notation AT -- what that means is auditory tonal. When you see that in NLP, that generally is someone else's voice, not your own." --- ### Using Eye Patterns with Predicates Once I can read the chart, I can combine it with what I already know about representational system language. If a person looks up to visual recall while I am talking to them, I might say, "Do you *see* what I mean?" If someone moves their eyes horizontally, I could say, "Does that *sound* right?" If they move down into kinesthetic, I could say, "Do you get a *feel* for that?" And if they go down to auditory digital, I might say, "Does that *make sense*?" > "So having learned how to watch the eyes, you can begin then to match the predicates. And as you discover, you'll have greater and greater flexibility." This is where eye patterns become truly powerful -- they are not just an observation tool. They feed directly into rapport building by telling me which representational system someone is using *right now*, so I can match it instantly. --- ### The Quick Calibration Trick There is a small tip for getting a quick read on whether someone might be normally organized or reversed before running through formal elicitation questions. > "If you walk into a room and you're not sure and you want to guess, usually people wear their watch, if they wear a watch anymore, in the place where their auditory digital is." So a normally organized person usually wears their watch on their left wrist. A reverse organized person usually wears it on the right. It is a generalization and not always accurate, but it gives a starting point for calibration. --- ### Eliciting Eye Patterns Before I can use eye patterns with anyone, I need to determine whether they are normally organized or reverse organized. This is called **eliciting** or **detecting** eye patterns. The first step is always a **tracking test**. > "The first thing I like to do before I ask any of these questions is I like to make sure that they can access all their quadrants. So I like to do a little tracking test just to see if they can follow my finger all the way around. If I see any sort of glitching or inability to do that, I can't do an eye pattern exercise with them." Assuming they pass the tracking test, I then ask six questions -- one for each position on the chart. The key is that each question must require the person to *dig* for the information. If the memory is too recent or too easy, they will just defocus and I will not see the eye movement. > "If you make up a question, you want to make sure that it requires them to access something that's far back enough in their memory as opposed to something that's rather recent. It's got to be something where they have to dig for in order to dig up the memory and move their eyes in a certain direction." Here are the types of questions for each position: **Visual Remembered:** "What was the color of the room you grew up in?" or "What color was the first car you ever owned?" I am looking for their eyes to go up and to the right. **Visual Constructed:** "What would your car look like if it were iridescent tie-dye with polka dots?" I need them to construct an image they have never seen -- not just recall and modify, but truly build something new. Their eyes should go up and to the left. **Auditory Remembered:** "Growing up, did you have a favorite pet? What was the sound of your pet's voice?" or "Can you remember the sound of your mother's voice?" Eyes should go horizontally to the right. **Auditory Constructed:** "What would I sound like if I had Donald Duck's voice?" I want them to imagine a sound that has never existed. Eyes should go horizontally to the left. **Auditory Digital:** "Recite the seven times tables to yourself." I let them get going and then ask, "Where are you?" to confirm they were actually reciting internally. Eyes should go down and to the right. **Kinesthetic:** "What does it feel like to walk on your favorite beach without shoes?" or "What does it feel like to touch a wet rug?" Eyes should go down and to the left. --- ### Common Challenges When Eliciting There are several things that can make elicitation tricky, and I need to watch for all of them. **Speed.** Some people move their eyes extremely quickly. > "Some people move their eyes very, very quickly. So if you ask them a question and you're looking down at the paper, you're going to have missed their eye patterns. So maybe memorize the questions and even memorize the chart so that you can kind of do this on the fly." **Closed eyes.** Some people close their eyes when accessing information. I can still see the eyeballs moving under the eyelids, but it is harder. If I can coach them to keep their eyes open, that helps. **Head movement.** Some people move their whole head instead of just their eyes. But this is *eye* patterns, not head patterns. I need to watch the eyes specifically. **Defocusing.** If the memory is too easy or too recent, the person will just defocus their eyes and not move them at all. > "When a person's bringing up a memory that's easy to remember, they might just defocus their eyes and not move them at all. It doesn't mean they're not moving to a certain place. It just means that the memory's right there and they don't need to access it with their eye patterns." If this happens, I just ask a different question that requires them to dig deeper. **The Auditory Digital detour.** This is one of the most common things to watch for. When I ask a question, the person might repeat the question to themselves before answering -- dropping into auditory digital first, then going to the correct access position. > "You say, what color was the room you grew up in and they go like this? And you go, wait, they went down to the right and then up to the right. So what's that all about? What they did was you asked the question, they repeated the question -- that's auditory digital -- in their head. What color was the room I grew up in? Then they go to visual recall." The military actually tried to debunk eye patterns because of this exact phenomenon. They asked high-ranking officers questions and saw them go to auditory digital first every time -- because military training involves repeating orders back. They concluded the technique did not work. But they were just seeing a two-step process. > "The general was probably what he was doing was, you know, in the army it's not uncommon to repeat your orders. So the question is what color is the room you grew up in, he looks down into the right, repeats the question to himself, then he goes to visual recall to actually recall the memory." --- ### Exceptions: Synesthesia and Cultural Factors Sometimes a person accesses one rep system in order to reach another -- that is a **synesthesia**. It is a two-step process where one step is completely unconscious. > "A synesthesia is a two-step process where one step is completely unconscious. So it's useful because, especially with kids and learning disabilities, they're accessing rep systems inappropriately to be able to do certain things like spelling or math." There are also cultural factors. If someone was raised to not make eye contact, this technique becomes difficult. And if there has been any neurological damage, the person may not be able to access all eye pattern positions. In those cases, I simply do not use the technique. > "If it doesn't work, it doesn't work and that's okay." --- ### Practical Application: Spelling Strategy One of the most powerful demonstrations of eye patterns is helping someone spell. If a child is struggling with spelling, they may be accessing kinesthetic (how the word *feels*) instead of visual recall (what the word *looks* like). The fix is simple: hold the word card up in the visual recall position and have the child look there while spelling. > "Hold the card up in visual recall so they have to move their eyes to visual recall and have them spell the word. And as they spell it, you tell them to spell it and maybe write it out in two different colors." Then have them close their eyes, spell it forward -- and then spell it backwards. When a child who has been branded "dyslexic" can suddenly spell a word backwards, everyone in the room is blown away. Because the information was always there -- it was just being accessed through the wrong channel. --- ### The Parenting Application Here is a fun, practical example. > "If you say to your kid, hey, where were you last night? And if you already know -- by the way, you already need to know if your kid is normally organized or reversed because you need to know which side when they look means recall or construct. But let's say you asked your kid where they went last night and they're normally organized. And as you're looking at them, they look up into the left and they say they went to the movies, that's visual construct. So there's a chance they're making that up. Or if they look up into the right and they say they were at their friend's house, then they were probably at their friend's house because that's visual recall." Now, that is not a lie detector -- but it is a useful piece of calibration data combined with everything else I am observing. --- ## 3. HOW — Exercise (placeholder) *Goal: Brief setup for the demo and exercise. Use "you" language here.* --- Alright, so now you know what eye patterns are, you know the chart, and you know the questions to ask. Let's see it in action. **Demo goes here.** [Dustin demonstrates a full eye pattern elicitation with a volunteer -- tracking test, six questions, determining normally organized vs. reverse organized, and mapping their chart.] Now it is your turn. You are going to get into groups of 2. One of you will be the practitioner and one will be the subject. Here is what you do: 1. Start with a tracking test -- have your partner follow your finger through all six positions to make sure they can access all quadrants. 2. Ask the six elicitation questions -- one for each position on the chart. Watch their eyes carefully and write down where they go. 3. Determine whether your partner is normally organized or reverse organized. 4. Switch roles and repeat. A few reminders: keep your eyes on your partner -- do not look down at your notes while they are answering. Memorize the questions if you can. If you do not get a clear read on a position, ask a different question for the same category. Watch for the auditory digital detour -- they may repeat your question to themselves before accessing the real answer. **Exercise goes here.** --- ## 4. WHAT IF — Future Pace (placeholder) *Goal: Self-discovery. Three questions.* --- **1. What questions do you have?** **2. What did you learn?** **3. What do I need to know?** --- --- **Word Count:** 3,132 words | **Estimated Talk Time:** ~22 minutes (at ~140 words/min medium pace)