Using presupposition with purpose
What is a presupposition and how is it useful?
Presuppositions imply certain things, pre supposing outcomes or ideas, one way of thinking about them is to consider what must be true in order for the statement to makes sense. These are a natural part of language which when used with purpose can greatly accelerate your ability to influence the people around you. Often we understand that if we are coaching or mentoring someone that being clear on our outcome is and important part of getting great results and it is also worth thinking about where in our day to day lives you can use the skill of presupposition with purpose. All communication is purposeful so as a skilled communicator you can appreciate the importance of defining purposes in every interaction.
The following questions, ideas etc are primarily designed for you to use in coaching situations but, as you read through you may begin to appreciate the power of purposeful presuppositions in all areas of life.
Question generation through presupposition
What do I want to achieve?
What information do I want?
What questions can I ask that will provide that information?
What is presupposed in the questions?
Advanced presuppositions in language
Sorting / Processing
Difference How has it changed, What is new, How’s it different
Same What is this like, How is X like Y, What does this have in common with that
Time
Past Yesterday, Did, Had, Done, Since, Before
Present Today, Have, Now, Here
Future Tomorrow, Shall, Might, Will, Going to, Consider
Spatial
Location This/That Here/There
Functional relationships Above/Below In/Out On/Off
Measurement quantifiers More/Less Some/Few All/Nothing
Tips for coaching / influence and motivation
1. Have a goal in mind
2. Start before you start
3. Be in rapport
4. Use a gentle tone of voice as you enquire
5. Use softeners
“I wonder if…..”
“Can you tell me….”
“I’m curious to know…..”
“I’d like to ask you….”
6. From time to time repeat back their words – they must be exact – their exact words.
7. Use time effectively, sometimes the best information comes after a long pause.
8. Use time and space language to build in future convincers
9. Review changes in past tense “When we began you thought X now you think Y ?”
10. Set future outcomes in future tense “Where and when might his be useful? “Can you see where this could be useful?”
Consider something you’d like to feel more freedom over.
How is it different when this problem becomes that problem?
For fun you could now go through the first few paragraphs and see how many presuppositions you can identify. What might I have been presupposing about you and these ideas?
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