Punctuation Ambiguity
I was introduced to NLP in junior high briefly through a friend of my mother and then forgot about it for some years. This was in the 80’s and NLP was still predominantly used for changework. There wasn’t much talk of persuasion applications. When I was 19 years old I bought Neuro-Linguistic Programming: Volume I (The Study of the Structure of Subjective Experience) by Robert Dilts. I remember it was roughly $45, but I’d become serious about studying linguistics and its relationship to the human mind and perceptions of reality. NLP seemed like a good place to start as any.
Some weeks later I happened upon a set of Milton Erickson’s books in a used bookstore. I hungrily bought them all and locked myself up in a room for the next few weeks. After I’d read about punctuation ambiguity I couldn’t wait to go out and work it into my conversations with all my friends. My friends and I went out regularly to the cafe near the university for hours at a time, discussing language, mathematics, chess, philosophy, and history.
I remember that afternoon vividly. I walked up to their table and said, “As I look at my watch closely what I’m doing I notice it’s already 4:30pm.” They all looked at my like, “so what?” They really had no idea what I had just done. Their conscious minds had latched onto the noun and not the verb meaning of watch. I had used punctuation ambiguity successfully and slipped in a suggestion. I’d been sure someone would have picked up on the odd structure of my sentence.
Punctuation ambiguity is a word with multiple meanings, that can be both a noun and a verb, but isn’t necessarily always the case. This word is usually referred to as a pivot word. My best results have come from constructing a sentence with the pivot word ending the first part of the sentence using a noun and using the verb meaning of the same pivot word to begin the command or suggestion. A few examples should make this clear. These examples are off the top of my head, and not all that clever. Decide an outcome and spend a little time on these and no one will be the wiser. Makes you kind of wonder how much ambiguity is being used everyday to influence you through the media.
“So, you’re thinking about buying a new home in on my words closely.”
“It was crooked so I adjusted the picture yourself in my arms.”
“The fields were on fire and the sky was filled with smoke this cigarette and feel good now.”
“The stairs were a bit slippery and he said, “Open your mind your step and hold onto the railing.”
Punctuation ambiguities work well with metaphorical stories as well:
And then she wanted to know if I was going. “Going where?” I asked, unsure of the place this message deeply she was talking about.
Now, some of you may think this looks a bit strange and there’s no way someone wouldn’t notice this. I thought the exact same thing. The only time someone understood what I was doing is when I explained it to them. It is truly amazing how pivot words bypass the conscious mind so easily. Go ahead and take a few days to try it out in your daily conversations and tell me how it went.
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admin :: Jul.22.2007 :: NLP, advanced language patterns, metaphor, persuasion :: 5 Comments »
I get the noun and verb element watch closely and ‘watch’ as in your wrist watch, but don’t people notice that the sentence itself is grammatically wrong.
As I look at my / watch closely what I’m doing I notice it’s already 4:30pm.”
The break would be there right? But if you’re saying look at my _____ and then use watch as a verb it leaves the sentence hanging
“So, you’re thinking about buying a new home / in on my words closely.”
Together they don’t mean anything – so I’m confused a bit.
Please elaborate if I have missed the point of the post because it’s really a fascinating one!
“As I look at my watch closely what I’m doing I notice it’s already 4:30pm.”
Bad grammar. What did you do?
Etc… etc… How could someone NOT notice?
On the other hand, maybe more people are doing that on purpose of the exercise than on accident just because they’re bad at language. You know?
Reading about punctuation ambiguity and using it in natural conversation are two very different things.
I’ve heard many times now from others how they would surely notice such ambiguities and bad grammar.
People for the most part do not hang on your every word and analyze. In fact, most people are so absorbed in their own thinking, they are already thinking about what they’re going to say to you before while you’re talking.
The examples I used were rough. The grammar was obviously wrong, but even then it is rarely noticed, if at all. I went out this weekend and purposefully used bad grammar and punctuation ambiguity in many different situations. Nobody caught on. I then explained what I did and they were certain I did not do what I said. They told me they would of heard something so obvious.
But as I said before if you take the time, you can come up with clever grammatically correct sentences as well. Shorter suggestions using the verb may be less obvious.
Take the watch example. You could say, “As I look at my watch closely, I notice it’s time to go.” This doubles as an embedded command as well.
Say this one out loud: The fact that you’re even hear, to discover new things means that you will learn to master this more quickly.
Remember, reading about this stuff and actually having someone use this stuff on you and not being conscious of it, are two different things. I can drop hundreds of embedded commands in my daily speech, being completely obvious about it, and it is never picked up on. Unless you are aware and looking out for this stuff, you won’t hear it.
Hello Twi,
I am not sure if you understand the whole point of this article. It is not about bad grammar…
Looks simple when you see the statement put down in writing. Would be interesting if you really recognize these suggestions in a “normal” conversation.
Ningen, you didn’t *really* read my post.
Also, “would of” makes no sense. Would’ve is different. Also, was that intentional or accidental confusion (?) of hear/here?
When I’m listening, most people do make a beer run on and speak improperly like they’ve never passed the fifth grade — much less high school. I personally use fragments and often end sentences in prepositions.
I’m just saying that I’m wondering now frosty bottles if they’re doing it on purpose to influence, not because they’re sloppy.