A non sequitur is a statement presented in the form of ’cause leads to effect’, A > B, but where there is in fact no logical connection between A and B. The structure of the statement fools the listener by starting with a statement of something that is true and then specifying an outcome that […]
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Negative Suggestions
Negative suggestions are similar to conversational postulates in that they ask for one thing but really expect a different behavior. The Milton Model works because the unconscious mind does not deal with negatives well, and tends to ignore the words ‘don’t and not’ and instead focuses on the object of the sentence. The sentence ‘Don’t […]
Extended Quotation
If you attribute a suggestion to someone else this can avoid a lot of resistance from the client. By using one or more levels of quotation you can say almost anything to the client, and will probably confuse the unconscious mind in the process, making the suggestion more likely to be accepted. Milton Erickson once […]
Cause and Effect implied
Cause and Effect implied is when a person makes a statement that implies that one thing causes another, or states that one thing is true, therefore the next thing must be true. The statement may be untrue, or there may be no direct link between the one thing and the other. ‘And knowing that you […]
Analogical Marking
Analogical marking is one way of applying the Milton Model. Analogical Marking delivers hypnotic commands hidden inside normal speech as part of a conversational induction. Milton Erickson discovered that he could mix hypnotic commands into an ordinary conversation and have someone act on them provided the command words were subtly different in some way. This […]
Unspecific Verbs
Unspecific verbs sound good yet are hard to pin down. They are similar to the unspecific objects in the Milton Model. The unconscious mind accepts the word in context and supplies its own meaning. Words such as ‘wonder, change, understand, think, feel’ etc., are non-specific and can apply to anything. ‘and you may be wondering about […]
Unspecific Objects
Unspecific Objects are words that sound important but are actually quite vague and open to interpretation. Milton Model words such as ‘learnings, outcomes, resources, findings, consideration’ etc., can be used to ground almost any topic, which makes the suggestion much stronger. By using inclusive words the client finds closure from their own resources. If you […]
Unspecific Comparison
Unspecific Comparison is a typical Milton Model statement will use words to imply something, and relies on the mind being to busy listening to the next words to really question the truth or logic of the what was just heard. In a classic Milton Model statement, a comparison is made, but does not specify what […]
Inanimations
Inanimations are Milton Model statements that assign feelings or actions to things that cannot have any. Technically these are called Selectional Restriction Violations. A sofa cannot think, a plant cannot talk, but sentences can be constructed that sound that way and because our minds are specially tuned to metaphor, this type of suggestion will be […]
Creative visualization
Creative visualization is the technique of using one’s imagination to visualize specific behaviors or events occurring in one’s life. Advocates suggest creating a detailed schema of what one desires and then visualizing it over and over again with all of the senses (i.e., what do you see? what do you feel? what do you hear? […]