This model shows how we communicate or behave with others. It consists of ten Modes with a central Mindful Process. We have used the term "Mode" since this differentiates the categories of behaviour from the structural ego state model mentioned previously.

The term Mode in this context dates back to 1975 with an article in the Transactional Analysis Journal by Nancy Porter (now Nancy Porter-Steele). We have developed a diagram to illustrate the concept, and colour the different Modes in red and green for those who find colour helpful as a tool. Effective communication comes from the green Modes, (just as with traffic lights, we get the go ahead when the green light comes on), and ineffective communication comes from the red Modes (as with the red traffic light, which brings us to a stop).

When we come from the green Modes we invite a positive response, and when we communicate from a red Mode, we invite a response from one of the red Modes. We have also made a link here with the OK Corral, since another way of describing this is that an OK-OK communication invites an OK-OK response - and a Not-OK communication invites a Not-OK response.

The adjectives used here are not definitive. For instance, "fussing" might better describe a person's behaviour on occasion, rather than Interfering. In some cases the Modes represent a continuum - for instance a communication from a manager could be somewhere between Structuring and Supporting.

OK Modes: Effective and Ineffective Modes