Monday, December 31, 2012

The Use of The Pronoun, "I"

                                                  The pronoun, "I" is always strong. 

Question:   Yesterday, from the time you woke up until the time you went to bed, how many times did you use your name?

2nd Question:  Yesterday, from the time you woke up until the time you went to bed, how many times did you use the pronoun, "I" while speaking?

It is likely that you rarely used your own name, but used the pronoun, "I" more times than you can count.  It is used millions of times, and we are incredibly adept at using it properly.  This is why Statement Analysis calls pronouns, "instinctive" and exempt from the internal, subjective internal dictionary that we all have. 

The pronoun "I" is always strong.  It is easy to use and having used it millions of times, it is fair to say:

                               We mean what we say.  

This is why listening is an acquired skill, one that can be learned, practiced, and improved upon. 

Text Messaging

It is something that emotions grab onto, and emotions may eject as well.  We saw it in the suicide note, and we saw it in the text message from Elizabeth Johnson who used it to tell Baby Gabriel's father that she had killed Gabriel.  When she texted that she was on a plane, leaving the country, she dropped the pronoun, "I" which, given the number of text messages, allowed us to establish a base line, or reference point. 

Some examples:

1.  Missing "I" in text messages

If text messaging is in a series of messages, we can learn if it is the norm or pattern to not use the pronoun "I"; if so, if the subject does not use pronouns normally, and suddenly uses the pronoun, "I", it should signal the reader that this sentence is very important to the subject.  This is how we knew that Baby Gabriel was dead at his mother's hands, and how we knew that Johnson did not get on a plane to leave the country.  

If someone regularly uses the pronoun, "I", take careful note where it disappears. 
If someone regularly does not use the pronoun, "I", take careful note at its sudden appearance. 

2.  Strong, personal, up close issues. 

Let's say your grandchild was kidnapped.  Can you imagine anything more horrific than believing your precious little granddaughter is in the hands of a stranger and there is nothing you can do about it?  Can you imagine the feeling of helplessness?

To add to this, imagine said kidnapper actually broke into your home to grab her.  

Anyone who has ever been robbed knows just how personal and invasive this is.  It is not very common.  In common situations, sometimes the pronoun, "you" is used.

While it is your grandchild kidnapped, and your home invaded, there is nothing more personal.  

The pronoun, "I" is the expected. 

When the pronoun "I" is ejected from the language, there is a reason. 




Here is the case of Baby Ayla, whom was reported kidnapped last year, from her grandmother's home. When Phoebe DiPietro spoke to media, did she believe her grandchild was kidnapped, or did she know what actually happened to her? 

Her words reveal much: 

"You're waiting for a call from the police saying they found your granddaughter" and

"Someone has been casing your house..."

The pronoun "I"  is ejected from her language because lying is stressful.  She did not lie.  She did not say that she was waiting for the police to call her about her grandchild.  She did not say that her home was being cased.  These would have been lies, and people like to avoid direct lying.  Her pronouns tell us that she knew her house was not cased and she knew the police would never call her about her grandchild. 

She knew these things.  

This is why we say it is almost impossible for someone to lie.  It is very rare.  Instead, they edit their words to deceive while not lie directly. 

Remember the example of Hillary Clinton:




1992 Gennifer Flowers:

"It is difficult to watch the man I love be attacked...the man I respect be hurt..." but by 1998, the pronoun "I" was ejected from her language:

Monica Lewinsky:

"It is difficult when the man you love... the man you respect is attacked..."

It may have taken 8 years, but the most commonly used word in the English language has been ejected from her language.  Even in prepared statements, where one is watching her words carefully, the truth seeps out.  8 years of humiliation was more than she could bear. 

Take careful note of the pronoun "I" in all conversations.  When an issue is not common to mankind, the pronoun "I" is the norm.  When an issue is common to all of us, the pronoun, "you" is often used. 

"When you lock your keys in the car, you get frustrated."

Since many of us have had this unpleasant experience, it is common.  If the same person used the pronoun, "I", it is a signal that the frustration level was quite high.  

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

"Someone has been casing your house..."

Is that 'someone' a member of a truthful terror group whose faith lies about/in "crowd-sourcing?"

Yep, they'll be on their hands and knees confessing after that!

Anonymous said...

You don't mean robbed. You mean burgled. There is a difference.

John Mc Gowan said...
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John Mc Gowan said...
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John Mc Gowan said...
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John Mc Gowan said...
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