When someone asks you if you can pass the salt, they are actually asking you to pass the salt, but they’re being nice about it. NLP calls this a “conversational postulate.” In hypnosis, this helps to bypass conscious resistance, and it generates an unconscious drive to act on the request or answer the question. Here are some examples:

“Can you imagine doing that?”

“Would you invite that area to relax?”

“How easily can you let your unconscious mind do this for you?”

You can use this structure in your day-to-day business. “Are you prepared to use us as a vendor?” wouldn’t exert any magic mind power over a potential customer, but it would be part of a persuasive communication pattern and an attractive bid to the customer.