Punctuation is unexpected yet does not ‘follow the rules’, i.e. improper pauses, connected sentences, incomplete sentences – all of which ultimately force the listener to interpreter or ‘mind read’ what the speaker is saying in an attempt to understand. “Hand me your watch how quickly you go into a deep sleep.”
Monthly Archives: March 2014
Presuppositions: Scope
Scope is when the context does not reveal the scope to which a verb or modifier applies. “Speaking to you as a changed person …” (Who is the changed person?) or “The old men and women …”
Presuppositions: Syntactic
Syntactic refers to a statement with more than one possible meaning. “shooting stars” or “leadership shows” — the syntax is uncertain within the context — is it referring to adjectives, verbs or nouns?
Presupposition: Phonological
Phonological are words with the same sound yet different meanings, such as “your” and “you’re”.
Presuppositions: Selectional Restriction Violation
Selectional Restriction Violation is the act of attributing intelligence or animation to inanimate objects. “Your chair can support you as you relax and enjoy yourself.” or “Your journal tells interesting stories.”
Presuppositions: Extended Quote
An Extended Quote is a embedded context for the delivery of information that may be in the format of a command. “Many years ago, I met a retired army Sargent who taught me many useful things. He said to me “Change is easy and can be fun”.”
Presuppositions: Unspecified Verb
An Unspecified Verb implies action without describing how the action has or will take place. “He caused the problem.”
Presuppositions: Lost Performative
Lost Performative is when someone says something that contains a rule or judgement without anyone taking responsibility for it. It can include an implication of an idea instead of a direct statement such as “Breathing is good.” A suggestion is presented to the subconscious stating that some opinion is true, but does not say how […]
Six-Step Reframe
The steps of the Six-Step Reframe technique are: 1. Identify the behavior, response or signal you want to change 2. Communicate with the part responsible for the behavior Literally talk to the part. Respectfully ask “Will the part responsible for X communicate with me consciously now?” Then carefully notice the signals or response you get. It may be words, sounds, […]
Presuppositions: The More, The More
Once some degree of rapport is established, this presupposition subtly leverages a resistant behavior as a consequence to the desired action. “The more you try to resist going into a trance, the more you find your eyes wanting to shut all by themselves.”