TOOL - REFERENCE
Meta model cheatsheet.
All 12 meta-model violations with an example and the recovery question. Save the page or print it. Read about how to use the meta model first for context.
Deletion
Simple deletion
CLIENT SAYS
"I'm upset."
YOU ASK
"About what specifically?"
Comparative deletion
CLIENT SAYS
"It's better this way."
YOU ASK
"Better than what?"
Lack of referential index
CLIENT SAYS
"They don't respect me."
YOU ASK
"Who specifically?"
Unspecified verbs
CLIENT SAYS
"She rejected me."
YOU ASK
"Rejected you how, specifically?"
Distortion
Mind reading
CLIENT SAYS
"He thinks I'm incompetent."
YOU ASK
"How do you know?"
Cause-effect
CLIENT SAYS
"Her tone made me anxious."
YOU ASK
"How specifically does her tone cause your anxiety?"
Complex equivalence
CLIENT SAYS
"If she loved me, she would call."
YOU ASK
"How does calling mean love, specifically?"
Lost performative
CLIENT SAYS
"It's wrong to ask for help."
YOU ASK
"Who says it's wrong?"
Nominalizations
CLIENT SAYS
"We have a communication problem."
YOU ASK
"Who is failing to communicate what to whom?"
Generalization
Universal quantifiers
CLIENT SAYS
"I always mess up."
YOU ASK
"Always? Every single time?"
Modal operators of necessity
CLIENT SAYS
"I have to please everyone."
YOU ASK
"What would happen if you didn't?"
Modal operators of possibility
CLIENT SAYS
"I can't speak in public."
YOU ASK
"What stops you?"