In the field of professional communication, one of the most important skills that someone can have as a communication expert is the ability to artfully and covertly steer a conversation in what ever direction they determine is necessary to achieve their goal. The complexity of language leaves us with an almost infinite number of possible ways to do this. Some of the most powerful tools in the field of communication come from the field of study known as Pragmatics.
To define it, Pragmatics is the study of a natural language speaker’s ability to communicate information other than what they are explicitly stating. In other words, this is the study of certain facets of communication that surround and support, but are NOT the specific/exact verbiage used moment by moment in a communication.
Basically, this is the pursuit of the actual “Intent” in someones language. For example, the statement “You look great” can mean different things, when stated in different ways and in different situations. Much more goes into the actual understanding of the term than what the words “You look great” mean. If the person had a diaper on their head, then this would be sarcasm and not the compliment that we would expect from simply evaluating the verbiage.
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So the million dollar question comes to bear, how can you convey your information in a manner that is below the “critical thinking radar” AND still effective? Aside from hypnotic language, Presuppositions are another powerful tool to help you accomplish this…
This may seem a bit complicated, but stick with me and you’ll soon see what I mean… To learn more about Presuppositions and other information that can help you refine your own effective communication, please visit my site The Communication Expert, or if I am online, please feel free to connect with me via Skype.
