Language Patterns

We will now learn two powerful language models:

·         The Milton model - vague language patterns, associated with the hypnosis.

·         The Meta-model - dealing more with specific meaning and asking information gathering questions.

 

Artfully vague language

'Have you got the time?' A closed question like this one grammatically invites only a yes or no answer. Yet in practice it invariably elicits the time - the outcome or intention, no doubt, of the wrongly worded question. Interestingly, it usually gets a better response than the more precise 'Would you please tell the time?'. Likewise, 'Can you move to the left a bit?' produces a similar action response, instead of the yes or no answer it literally requests. And how many times has a salesperson got an appointment by asking 'Shall we make it Thursday or would you prefer earlier in the week?' The customer tends to focus on the apparent choice, when they really didn't want to commit to any date. These common examples illustrate the way vague or general language can bring about successful outcomes in situations where more precise, correct language might fail. Often, we use such language patterns, unaware of their linguistic vagueness but instinctively aware of the likely response they will get. Here we will consider a range of such language patterns that you can use purposefully (or deliberately) to bring about communication outcomes.

 

Chunking (3)

You may need to use all three approaches, and each has its own language patterns. To chunk down. ask the question: 'What provides an example of that?' Keep repeating the question and see how far you can go. To chunk up, ask the question: 'What does that exemplify?' or 'What purpose does that have?' Again, see how far you can chunk up any word or concept. Laterally, 'What provides another example?' or 'How many can you think of?' Just by exploring the issue within a hierarchy of ideas - the big picture, the significant detail - you will access more ideas and insights.

Uptime and Downtime

 

Our inner world also forms a thinking spectrum, or continuum. At one end of the spectrum we think and act with alertness and focus externally, as when in conversation with another person. At the other end we enter our own thoughts, daydreams and inner world of reality. The former we term uptime, and the latter downtime, of which dream sleep (or, in the extreme, a coma) provides an example.

 

We constantly move up and down this thinking spectrum. At one moment we relate to everything around us and respond very consciously to sensory representations. A moment later we may reflect on something, recalling a memory or imagining a future scenario and thus go into downtime. Even when driving a car or doing something that appears to require great concentration we can enter a down-time world of our own, running on 'auto-pilot' and relying on habitual, unconscious behaviour.

Chunking (2)

In the same way you can chunk a concept down. For instance, instead of talking of a dog, you might consider a particular dog, or part of a dog (such as the paw), or something which dogs do (such as barking). Chunking sideways or laterally, you stay on the same level. Thus dogs chunk laterally to cats, cows, kangaroos or any other mammals, of which they all form a lower chunk level. Sometimes, when communicating, it helps to chunk up, and at other times you can get a better outcome by chunking down or laterally. Depending on your desired outcome or response, vague generalities may suffice. At other times you may need to deal in more detailed, specific information. On the one hand you want to 'see the big picture', or get a better perspective, and on the other hand you wish to 'focus on the detail'. Just as words can reflect our sensory preference, in the same way the words we use may also reflect the chunk sizes we use and where in a hierarchy of ideas they fall. Understanding language in this way will help you immediately in everyday communication. In negotiation or selling you will typically need flexibility within the whole spectrum, from vague to specific, big chunk to small chunk. Then, by chunking down, you may isolate any obstacles to agreement, and the particular issue that needs addressing. This may hinge on a single clause in a contract, or it might turn out to involve, when isolated, a very minor concession. You may also need to chunk down when any plan or agreement needs implementing, as generalities will not suffice at this stage. Laterally, you might compare with another deal you have done, or an example of the particular issue under consideration.

 

Chunking (1)

The hierarchy of ideas concerns the way we think and communicate in chunks' - big chunks (at a general or abstract level), or smaller chunks (to whatever level of detail we need). 'Chunking up' therefore involves lifting an idea to a higher, more general level. For example, instead of thinking of 'sheep' and 'cows', you can chunk up conceptually to 'farm animals', then further up to 'animals'. Chunking up further, you arrive at 'living things', and so on.