Source: Tad James and John Overdurf
Learn to expand your client’s mental model by undercutting their presuppositions through this procedure.
Step 1: Find out what the most basic assumptions are. #
- How is this a problem right now?
Step 2: Identify all of the argument’s presuppositions. #
Step 3: Determine which one or ones will have the greatest impact on the problem. #
four.Frame your response as a question, and include a solution in the message.
Step 5: Recognize your presuppositions and restate the problem. #
Step 6: End the process by posing the question. #
Example: A client says he takes the frustrations he experiences at work home with him and takes them out on his wife and kids. Presuppositions: He is unhappy at work; he does not express his frustrations at work, nor does he try to resolve the issues that lead to these frustrations; he uses repression at work and explosions at home; he is aware that his wife and kids are not causing his frustrations at work; he wants to stop taking it out on his wife and kids. Undercutting the presuppositions: “How pleased will your wife be if you ask her to assist you in finding a new job that will relieve you of the frustrations you are experiencing in your current one?” “Wouldn’t your wife and kids be willing to manage with your earning a little less money in a less stressful workplace, rather than seeing you filled with guilt and shame for taking out your work stress on them?" “Who is the one person in your job that deserves your fury?”