Cause and Effect
I wasn’t sure if I should write about cause and effect linkages, because using these kind of advanced language patterns can make you very persuasive.
The use of cause and effect in pacing and leading statements can be very powerful. One of the reasons it is so powerful is that many people already speak like this naturally.
The pacing statement begins with an undeniable truth:
“As you sit here…”
“This could be the most important book you will ever read…”
“There are a variety of ways to respond to a situation…”
“You are interviewing more than one candidate for this job…”
“Your desire to make more money…”
Undeniable truths are not always necessarily physical facts. Many beginners, when they learn leading and pacing statements, get hung up on including only facts which are only visually obvious. This works well in conversational hypnosis and indirect suggestion within a therapeutic setting, but persuasion settings can require more flexibility. For example, “As you breath in and out…”, “As you sit in that chair…”, and “Having your arms folded…” are very obvious undeniable truths.
Using words like “perhaps”, “may”, “can”, “could” and so on, still makes the statement an undeniable truth because it can go either way. In my second example I state that this could be the most important book you will ever read. Well, it could be, couldn’t it? You can also use their own language in a pacing statment as in my last example. If you ask a customer, “What exactly about this product interests you?” and they answer, “Well, I want to know if it can make me more money.”, then that has become an undeniable truth which you can use.
Cause and effect words include “make”, “require”, “have to”, “must”, and “cause”, but you may include any verb really, which matches the situation. Notice the following examples include presuppositions, making them even more powerful:
“you find yourself beginning to relax quickly and easily.”
“because it will cause you to make decisions leading to wonderful changes in your life.”
“which means you may have to choose between red or blue.”
“means you will be required to make a choice, and hire the right candidate.” (points to self, marks off embedded command with change in tonality)
“tells me you must absolutely recognize the power of this software.”
Now put the first and second examples together to see the full cause and effect linkages in action.
I shouldn’t have to tell you now that I’ve been using cause and effect statements throughout this post, because then you may have to read this post again to see if I’m lying.
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admin :: Jul.25.2007 :: advanced language patterns, covert hypnosis, persuasion :: 3 Comments »
Hey you really know your language… what did you study? are you a psychologist?
Anyway i liked how you presented your topic on the same type of language you were talking about… you know you could be a sales man!!
Anyway thanks for sharing
I imagine that it could become disconcerting at times to post articles and there is little response in the form of comments. And every day you think of great new material, compose the words and play with them until you are satisfied that they are in a fit state. It leads me to believe that you’ve got to have tremendous confidence in the value of what you are doing.
As I sat here and read this article on cause and effect, it was easy to imagine myself mastering the pattern. I already understand that mastery comes with practice and I have discovered in other articles more ways to practice more effectively (eg write down a sentence 100 times). Then to deliver words more effectively I’ve learned about marking off key phrases with tone and gestures. So I’ve come a long way already in just a few weeks and a few more weeks spent in this way will result in even more natural and appropriate use of persuasive patterns.
Hi Graham,
I really appreciate the comment. Sometimes I feel a bit discouraged, but I really do enjoy writing about my passion. I’ve always loved language, philosophy, and psychology.
I decided from the beginning that I would build a strong foundation, and even if I only get a few people with a serious interest in what I have to say, that is enough for me. It is comments like yours that really make me smile.
I could use these skills and develop some bogus product and make a ton of money, but that isn’t what I’m all about.
The topics I write about will never be popular with the masses. You really have to apply yourself to it just like any other skill, and unfortunately mastery and consistency are not encouraged that much in our society. It’s all about the quick fix these days. And people promise you products that deliver instant control of others, but this is a con.
It takes many years and a whole lot of practice and application just like anything else worthwhile. If it takes some years to build up a group of quality people who recognize the importance of consistency, then I’ll be around for quite some time.