Milton Erickson - Language Skills.pdf - Milton Erickson - enigma72

Language Skills

As the System/Process model of the communication process implies, the act of

communicating presupposes a degree of cooperation between the sender and

receiver, including an assumption that in using language, each will follow

certain rules.

The grammatical rules of a language help stabilize the language and improve

its ability to communicate across the barriers of time and distance. In general,

communication in business, and especially written communication in business,

employs what has come to be known as Standard English.

In business and in most professions in the United States, language is

considered correct when it follows the rules of Standard English for spelling,

grammar, and mechanics (punctuation) and uses words according to their

dictionary definitions. Although it is widely acknowledged that the accepted

meanings of words change over time and that rules of usage may change as

well, differences from the current standard are usually noticed—and noticed

unfavorably.

For this reason, you will do well to know the fundamentals of Standard

English. Having the fundamentals under control will also allow you to

communicate quickly and easily with the confidence that comes from knowing

that your audience is unlikely to find errors in your writing and speech.

Fundamentals

The fundamentals of Standard English include such aspects of usage as the

meaning and use of words, the functions and types of sentences, and the

relationships between sentences.

Definitions of Words

Although the meanings of words can and do change over time, most readers

and listeners will expect you to use words the way they are defined in a

dictionary. Failure to do so is typically called an error in diction , whereas

using an inappropriate word for a given context (calling something cheap

when inexpensive would be more appropriate) is typically called word choice.

Faulty Diction:

• Finding a $50 bill in the street was really fortuitous. [Instead of

fortunate or lucky.]

• The automobile was still young when it received its first scratch.

[Instead of new.]

• The fruit basket is for your amusement. [Instead of enjoyment.]

• Please edit the letter to improve its errors. [Instead of correct.]

Last update: 21 August 2002

Faulty Word Choice:

• He was convicted of drunk driving. [Instead of drunken or driving

while drunk.]

• Did you get my letter? [Instead of receive.]

• I feel that we should install a new computer system. [Instead of think.]

• Please pick the one you like best. [Instead of select.]

Note, for example, that feel, believe, and think do not mean the same thing and

that they should not be used interchangeably. Feel refers to an emotion only;

believe refers to an acceptance based on faith (emotion) supported by an

element of reason, and think refers to a conclusion based on evidence. The

word you elect to use in a sentence serves as a signal to your audience for the

quality of the information you are providing, with the highest quality being

based on the logical consideration implied by the word think:

• I feel that we should invest in new laptop computers.

• I believe that we should invest in new laptop computers.

• I think that we should invest in new laptop computers.

Parts of Speech

Words are used in sentences according to grammatical function. While some

words can perform more than one function, most cannot. The possible uses of

a word are governed by its part of speech. Nouns and pronouns , for example,

function as subjects, objects, and complements in sentences, while verbs serve

as predicates. Adjectives modify nouns and pronouns, and adverbs modify

verbs, adjectives, and other adverbs.

Conjunctions join elements, and prepositions indicate relationships.

Sentence Classifications

Sentences may be classified according to function or structure.

Function: A sentence may have one of the following functions or purposes:

Declarative sentences make statements. Interrogative sentences ask questions.

Imperative sentences give commands, and exclamatory sentences express

strong emotion.

Structure: Sentences may also be classified according to structure. Simple

sentences contain only one independent clause , with one subject (which may

be a compound subject ) and one predicate (verb), which may be a

compound predicate. Compound sentences contain more than one

independent clause joined by a conjunction or a semicolon.

Complex sentences contain one independent clause and one dependent or

subordinate clause (a clause that cannot stand alone as a sentence).

Compound complex sentences consist of at least two independent clauses and

one or more dependent clauses.

Sentence Structure. Because sentences are the basic unit of verbal

communication (both oral and written), a good understanding of sentence

structure is essential. To be a sentence, for example, a group of words needs at

least one subject and verb and must express a complete thought.

Where words and word groups ( phrases and clauses ) are placed in a sentence,

how they are used, and their relationship to each other (as indicated by

placement; punctuation; and such relationship words as conjunctions,

prepositions, and subordinating adverbs and conjunctive adverbs ) may

influence the meaning of the sentence.

Phrases (a word group without its own subject and predicate) and clauses (a

word group containing its own subject and predicate) in sentences may be

either restrictive (essential) or nonrestrictive (unessential) in a sentence.

Restrictive clauses define or limit the term being modified:

• Restrictive phrase: The car with the flat tire is in the garage. [Defines

which car out of several is in the garage.]

• Nonrestrictive phrase: The car, now with a flat tire, is in the garage.

[Refers to a specific car which now happens to have a flat tire.]

• Restrictive clause: My secretary who smokes too much does sloppy

work. [The person has more than one secretary and the one who

smokes too much does sloppy work.]

• Nonrestrictive clause: My secretary, who smokes too much, does

sloppy work. [The person has one secretary who smokes and does

sloppy work.]

Transition and Coherence. The full expression of an idea typically requires

more than one sentence, and the logic with which sentences are connected is

typically considered a fundamental skill. Transition refers to the way in

which sentences and ideas are connected to each other, and coherence refers

to the way groups of sentences focus on a topic.

To ensure good transition and coherence, group related ideas and then arrange

them in a logical order, making sure that the relationship of each sentence to

the previous one is clear and logical. Remember that a relationship that is clear

and logical in your own mind may not be clear and logical to a reader or

listener who does not have your knowledge of the subject.

Parallel Construction. Ideas are parallel when they are expressed in the same

grammatical form. Lists of words or phrases, for example, should all be

expressed in the same part of speech or grammatical form:

Not this: I’m going to tell you three things: First, use parallel

construction; second, use parallel construction; and (c) be parallel.

Say this: I’m going to tell you three things: First, use parallel

construction; second, use parallel construction; and third, use parallel

construction.

Paragraphs

A paragraph is a group of sentences arranged in logical order and focused on a

specific topic. In general, a paragraph begins with a topic sentence that makes

a statement about the subject or topic of the paragraph. The topic sentence is

followed by support sentences that describe or explain the topic sentence.

In business writing, paragraphs are usually shorter than they are in academic

or scientific writing because short paragraphs are easier to read. As a general

rule, in single-spaced documents (such as letters, memos, and email), first and

last paragraphs should be kept to no more than about 4 or 5 lines of text (lines,

not sentences), and middle paragraphs should be kept to no more than about

10 lines. Information that is “buried” in the middle of a long paragraph may be

overlooked.

In most business documents, the first and last paragraphs contain the most

important information and should be easy to read. The paragraphs in the

middle usually contain information of less importance.

Communication As Cooperation

Knowing the fundamentals will help you understand language and provide

you with a set of tools for discussing it. The rules of grammar evolved to

facilitate communication. When everybody follows the same rules, fewer

problems occur as a result of simple misunderstandings. Knowing the

fundamentals alone, however, will not make you an effective communicator. It

is, of course, possible to speak and write with absolute correctness and still be

an ineffective communicator.

Nevertheless, knowing the fundamentals will not only give you confidence in

your ability to express yourself without having to worry about the correctness

of what you are saying, but also provide you with more choices in your use of

language. A number of what have been called advanced language patterns are

based on deliberate violations of the rules of standard English. If you do not

know those rules to begin with, you can’t choose to break them deliberately to

achieve a specific communication objective.

In addition to using Standard English, you can improve your written

communication by being clear and easy to read. Further, your reader will

appreciate it if you save his or her time by being as concise as possible.

Although communication is always less than perfect, your reader will

appreciate it if you use common, well-known words when possible and use

them according to their dictionary definitions. When you don’t know for sure

what a word means, look it up before using it. Be especially careful when

using words often confused, such as affect and effect, complement and

compliment, or principal and principle.

In general, short, familiar words are more readily understood than long,

seldom-used words ( improve as compared to ameliorate). Also, avoid

technical terms and professional jargon unless you know for sure that your

readers will be familiar with the terminology.

Conciseness and brevity are not the same. Good written communication is

both concise and complete, and while shorter is often better, some messages

need to be long if they are to be fully understood. Conciseness is best achieved

by eliminating redundancies and deadwood—unnecessary words, expressions,

and sentences.

Advanced Language Patterns

There’s more to language, of course, than fundamentals. Language is the

principal bridge not only between external reality and subjective experience,

but also between one person’s subjective experience and another’s. For this

reason, it can be used to facilitate the recovery of information that has been

deleted and to clarify that which has been distorted or generalized. It can also

be used to influence and persuade.

The Metamodel:

The Metamodel is based on the work of Alfred Korzybski( Science and Sanity:

An Introduction to Non-Aristotelian Systems and General Semantics, 1933).

Korzybski thought that we could eliminate many problems by making our

verbal representations of reality more accurate by recognizing when

information being presented is incomplete, distorted, or inappropriately

generalized. Korzybski thought that we would understand each other better

(and behave more sanely) if we were clear about who, what, when, and where.

As codified by Richard Bandler and John Grinder (see The Structure of

Magic, Vols. I and II), the Metamodel focuses on the most common deletions,

distortions, and inappropriate generalizations and provides questions that will

help recover or correct such problems.

Deletions, distortions, and unwarranted generalizations are known as

violations of the Metamodel. While it is impossible for either perception or

communication to be absolutely free from deletions, distortions, and

generalizations, communication is often (but not always) facilitated when they

are minimized. The following are the most common violations:

• Unspecified nouns: Unspecified nouns are often nominalizations,

abstract nouns without external referents, such as freedom, justice,

love, trust, help, productivity, efficiency, and quality. The classic test

for a nominalization is can you put it in a wheelbarrow. If it is a noun

and you cannot put it in a wheelbarrow, it’s a nominalization.

Be aware of unspecified nouns. When an unspecified noun may cause

problems in the communication process, ask a question that will help

recover deleted information:

We need to improve our

departmental efficiency.

What do you mean by

"efficiency"?

How will we measure efficiency?

What kind of help do you need?

How specifically can I help you?

I could use a little help.

What do you mean by "quality"?

How do you know we all want

that?

We are all concerned about quality.

All computers?

How exactly are they bad for

society?

Are they bad for all societies?

Computers are bad for society.

People are our most important

resource.

All people?

Which people specifically?

How are you measuring my

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