Every sentence presupposes a point of view or perceptual frame. Because presuppositions are less likely to be challenged than direct statements, you can use them wisely to make sure that what you are presupposing for your patients or clients leads to a positive outcome.

Negative: You wouldn’t want to try this approach, would […]

A conversational postulate is a question asking for yes or no as a response which often presupposes and produces a behavioral response. The most common conversational postulate is Do you have the time? A literal response to the question would be either yes or no, but when asked this question, most people will look at […]

Without being aware, people often focus on the worst possible outcome. A psychological term for this perspective is awfulizing. When that is happening, what they most need is a change in perspective. You can help your patients change unhelpful perspectives in two ways: (1) Change the content of what they say, or (2) change the […]

An “embedded question” is a statement that implies a question without coming right out and asking.”I’m wondering if you can tell me more about embedded questions.” When the question is asking for sensitive information or might otherwise seems threatening, an embedded question is more likely to produce an answer than a direct question.

Direct Question: […]

When you need to distance yourself from something you wish to tell a patient, client, colleague, or someone else important to you, use a quotation that attributes the suggestion to someone else. The quotation doesn’t have to be one hundred percent accurate to be effective. Many of the quotations attributed to Einstein, for example, are […]