…and your own language

Typical local news headline: “Woman, 85, injured in collision with bus.” Why is it never the much more likely “Bus in collision with woman”?

After all it’s hardly likely that she ran along the footpath, put on a burst of speed and launched herself at the bus.

Language, how messages are worded, is central to NLP because how a message is worded determines our emotional, unconscious response to what is said. Being alert to the way a message is formed tells us a lot about the speaker. It also enables us to decide how we will take this message on board – or not.

There is the story of the Russian czar who had condemned a man to death. A plea was made to the czar for clemency. The czar refused the pardon and sent a note to the jail:

Pardon impossible. Execute immediately.

The czarina, however, was more sympathetic. She intercepted the note and changed the position of the full stop (period):

Pardon. Impossible execute immediately.

And, thus saved the man’s life.