A Pragmatic Guide To Communication & Change.pdf - NLP Info Centre

Modal operators. Modal operator is a linguistic term meaning "modal operator" or "mode
of operation." They define the boundaries of the person's model of the world. To extend
beyond these boundaries is to invite some catastrophic expectation over which the
speaker believes he has no control. Bringing this expectation into the conscious
awareness of the speaker enables him to test and evaluate its validity. If the limit is found
to be unreasonable, the boundaries can be removed from that portion of the speaker's
model of the world. This process gives the speaker more choices about his thoughts and
feelings. It expands his awareness and allows him to develop alternative behaviors in
response to similar situations. The two types of modal operators are described below.
1. Modal operators of necessity are exemplified by the imperative "should." For
example, someone might say, "I really should be more flexible at times like this." The
appropriate Meta Model response is, "What do you think would happen if you weren't
more flexible?" This form of question requires that the speaker bring into awareness the
underlying catastrophic expectation that elicited the original statement. If he determines
that it is valid, that the limit is appropriate and functional, then he can choose to retain it
as useful. If, however, it turns out to be a limit which is causing him undue pain or is
preventing more appropriate behavior or growth, then it can be explored for its functional
elements or discarded in the light of new choices. The illustration below shows both the
modal operator of necessity and the Catastrophic expectation. The two arc often not
presented together, and sometimes the speaker is surprised to discover lust what his
expectation is.
nominalizations. Such phrases as "statistics demonstrate," and "studies have shown," as
well as "The situation calls for," and "Under the present circumstances," are combined
with an incredible array of legal jargon. This is quite common coming from a person
whose preferred representational system is the digital system.
As I walked up to the young lady on the bench, she wiped a tear from her eye and asked,
"Why does my husband always hurt me?"
Unspecified Verbs
All verbs are unspecified in that they only symbolize an experience or process; they are
not that experience or process. However, for our purposes, there are degrees of specificity
within the group of words we call verbs. For example, to say that someone "touched" me
is much more generalized than to say that someone "caressed" me. Both verbs imply
contact with my person; however, the verb "caressed" is more specific about the kind of
contact involved, Another example of the use of unspecified verbs is given in the
following scene:
T
for it. 'Pile potential for creating a mis 91 representation of the situation is much less likely
when we ask for the information. If we try to "make up" the missing material, we might
decide, for example, that the young lady was beaten by her husband. Or we might guess
that he has been mean to her and she is talking about an emotional "hurt." Either way, we
won't know for sure without asking.
The following illustration provides an example of the potential unpleasant effects of such
nonspecific communication patterns. In this case, the unspecified verb is "show."
Other examples of this violation and appropriate respouses are:
Speaker: "I feel bad."