How Understanding Communication Modalities Can Transform Your Sales and Team Performance
One of the most overlooked, yet most powerful, principles in business is understanding how people take in information. Whether you’re communicating with a customer, a team member, a supplier or a prospect, your ability to convey information in a way they naturally absorb it can dramatically improve trust, clarity, and conversion.
At Entrepreneurial Business School (EBS), we teach the three core communication modalities every business owner and salesperson must understand: Visual, Auditory, and Kinesthetic.
When you recognise these modalities and learn to adapt your communication style, your sales outcomes, team engagement, and customer relationships improve almost instantly.
The Three Communication Modalities
1. Visual Communicators
Visual people take in information by seeing it. They prefer:
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Diagrams
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Flip charts
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Written notes
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Demonstrations
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Videos
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Clear visual instructions
If you’re explaining a concept to a highly visual individual, talking alone won’t cut it, they need something to look at.
Many business owners are visual without realising it. If you love whiteboards, charts, or sketching ideas out, you’re likely one of them.
2. Auditory Communicators
Auditory people learn best through hearing. They absorb information when someone:
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Speaks clearly
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Explains verbally
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Uses tone and pacing
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Describes processes step-by-step
These people thrive in conversations, training sessions, or audio-based content like podcasts and phone consultations.
3. Kinesthetic Communicators
Kinesthetic communicators rely on touch, feel, and physical experience. They prefer:
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Hands-on demonstrations
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Testing or feeling products
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Engaging with materials
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Using physical cues
This modality is especially important in sales. If you’re selling a physical product to a kinesthetic buyer, letting them touch, feel or test it will make all the difference.
Why This Matters in Sales
Understanding communication modalities can lift your sales strike rate dramatically.
Imagine you’re selling a car:
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Visual buyer: Show them the vehicle, the layout, the design, and the colour.
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Auditory buyer: Let them hear the engine, the stereo, and your explanation.
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Kinesthetic buyer: Encourage them to sit inside, touch the materials, and experience the feel of the car.
The same applies to every product, service, and sales environment.
When you communicate in the modality the buyer prefers, they feel understood, and people buy when they feel understood.
How to Identify a Person’s Communication Modality
There’s no perfect science, but there are strong indicators – especially eye movement:
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Visual: Eyes look upward when thinking or recalling information.
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Auditory: Eyes move left to right when processing sound or conversation.
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Kinesthetic: Eyes look downward; hands often move as they talk.
Watch for these cues when you ask a question that requires thought, the response is usually immediate and reliable.
Aligning Your Sales Process With All Modalities
The best sales systems cater to all three modalities. In your process, ensure you have:
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Visual elements: videos, diagrams, printed materials, demonstrations
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Auditory elements: strong verbal explanations, tone variation, stories
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Kinesthetic elements: samples, physical materials, interactive experiences
Even subtle details like the thickness of a printed brochure can influence a kinesthetic buyer.
At EBS, our own team uses VAK profiling internally. Each team member’s profile is displayed outside their office to help others communicate more effectively and the improvement in clarity and alignment is significant.
Why This Principle Works
When you tailor communication to match how a person naturally processes information, everything improves; sales performance, understanding, rapport, and decision-making. This principle can boost your conversion rate by several percentage points with almost no additional cost or complexity.
It’s not about talking more, it’s about communicating smarter.
Final Thoughts
Communication modalities are a powerful tool in both sales and leadership. When you understand whether someone is visual, auditory or kinesthetic, you can adapt your approach to create stronger connections and more effective conversations.
Start paying attention to cues, refine your sales process to include all three modalities, and watch your communication and results transform.
