The Milton Model in NLP

Ericksonian Conversational Hypnosis

  1. Mind Read: Claiming to know the thoughts or feelings of another without specifying the process by which you came to know the info.
    "I know that you are wondering..."
  2. Lost Performative: Value judgments (which may include an unspecified comparison) where the performer of the value judgment is left out.
    "And it's a good thing to wonder..."
  3. Cause and Effect: Where it is implied that one thing causes another. (Including attribution of cause outside of self.) Implied Causatives include: a. C>E makes (the verb to make)
    • If..., then...
    • As you..., then you...
    • Because...
    • Since...
  4. Complex Equivalence: Where two things are equated — as in their meanings being equivalent.
    "That means..."
  5. Any Presupposition: The linguistic equivalent of assumptions.
    "You are learning many things..."
  6. Universal Quantifier: A set of words which has a universal generalization and no referential index.
    "And all the things, all the things..."&
  7. Modal Operator: Words, which implies possibility or necessity, which often form our rules in life.
    "That you can learn..."
  8. Nominalization: Process words (including verbs), which have been frozen in time by making them into nouns.
    "Provide you with new insights, and new understandings."
  9. Unspecified Verb: Where an adjective or adverb modifier does not specify the verb.
    "And you can,"
  10. Tag Question: A question added after a statement, designed to displace resistance.
    "Can you not?"
  11. Lack of Referential Index: A phrase, which does not pick out a specific portion of the listener's experience.
    "One can, you know..."
  12. Comparitive Deletion (Unspecified Comparison): Where the comparison is made and it is not specified as to what or whom it was made.
    "And it's more or less the right thing."
  13. Pace Current Experience: Where client's verifiable, external experience is described in a way, which is undeniable.
    "You are sitting here, listening to me, looking at me, (etc.)..."
  14. Double Bind: Where the client is given two choices (both of which are preferable or desired) separated by an "or".
    "And that means that your unconscious mind is also here, and can hear (phonological ambiguity) what I say. And since that's the case, you are probably learning about this and already know more at an unconscious level than you think you do. So, it's not right for me to tell you, learn this or learn that, learn in any way you want, in any order."
  15. Conversational Postulate: The communication has the form of a question — a question to which the response is either a 'yes' or a 'no'. If I want you to do something, what else must be present so that you will do it, and out of your awareness? It allows you to choose to respond or not and avoids authoritarianism.
    "Do you feel this... (punctuation ambiguity) is something you understand?"
  16. Extended Quotes: Quotes which are extended beyond what is normally used to displace resistance.
    "Last week I was with Richard who told me about his training in 1983 at Denver when he talked to someone who said..."
  17. Selectional Restriction Violation: A sentence that is not well formed in that only humans and animals can have feelings.
    "A chair can have feelings..."
    "Remember, the walls have ears."
  18. Ambiguity:
    1. Phonological: Where two words with different meanings sound the same. IE: "Hear", "Here"
    2. Syntactic: Where the function (syntactic) of a word cannot be immediately determined from the immediate context.
      "They are visiting relatives"
      "Selling salesmen can be tricky!"
      "I am really over managing managers."
    3. Scope: Where it cannot be determined by linguistic context how much is applied to that sentence by some other portion of the sentence.
      "Speaking to you as a child..."
      "The old men & women..."
      "The disturbing noises & thoughts..."
      "The weight of your hands & feet..."
    4. Punctuation: Either the punctuation is eliminated as in a run on sentence or pauses occur in the wrong place.
      "I want you to notice your hand me the glass."
  19. Utilization: Remember to utilize all that happens or is said.
    Client says: "I am not sold."
    Response: "That's right you are not sold, yet, because you haven't asked the one question that will have you totally and completely sold."

Putting it all together:
"I know that you are wondering... and it's a good thing to wonder... because... that means... you are learning many things... and all the things, all the things... that you can learn... provide you with new insights, and new understandings. And you can, can you not? One can, you know. And it's more or less the right thing. You are sitting here, listening to me, looking at me, and that means that your unconscious mind is also here, and can hear what I say. And since that's the case, you are probably learning about this and already know more at an unconscious level than you think you do, and it's not right for me to tell him, learn this or learn that, let him learn in any way he wants, in any order. Do you feel this... is something you understand? Because, last week I was with Milton who told me about his training in 1979 in Miami when he talked to someone who said, "A chair can have feelings..."

Back to the NLP Guide

Free iPod With NLP Practitioner Enrollment!

Our NLP Trainings now come with a free 8GB iPod Nano Video packed with over 25 hours of audio and video!

This is a special bonus offer and supplies are limited. So don't wait — sign up today!

Click here to sign up for one of our upcoming live NLP seminars. Or call 800-497-6614 toll-free, or 714-408-4281 direct.