It is easy to forget about verb tenses. We’ve been using them a long time and do so automatically. What is often overlooked is that verb tenses really do orient people in time. Make a mental image of yourself for the following:
I dance. I danced. I will dance.
If you’re like most people, you made still images of yourself having danced in the past, dancing in the present, and dancing in the future. Note the way the progressive tenses — those with “ing” endings — add movement to your mental images.
I am dancing. I was dancing. I will be dancing.
Paying attention to the verb tenses your clients or patients are using lets you know how they are orienting their problems and solutions in time. Using verb tenses also gives you a way to help them move from a “stuck” state to a state moving in a better direction:
Patient: My back really hurts.
Doctor: How long has your back been hurting?
Doctor: [After an intervention] How much better is your back feeling now?
While language alone won’t cure everything, using the right verb tense can help you help your clients or patients add movement to their stuck states and open them to the possibility of a better future.
Send your questions about how other-than-conscious communication skills can hurt or help your patients and clients to Joel P. Bowman (Joel@SCS-Matters.com) or Debra Basham (Debra@SCS-Matters.com), co-developers of Subtle Communication Systems. We will provide answers to those for you. For more information about Neurolinguistic Programming (NLP), Hypnosis or Hypnotherapy, or about the Imagine Healing Process, visit:http://ImagineHealing.info or http://SurgicalSupport.info.
Healing with Language: Your Key to Effective Mind-Body Communication is available for a limited time for $10 plus $5 shipping within the U.S. For volume orders and overseas shipping, check with Debra. See the Table of Contents and List of Exercises in PDF format for more information about this comprehensive text and training manual.