Milton Patterns are language patterns derived from the work of Milton H. Erickson, the renowned hypnotherapist. They are deliberately vague and abstract, allowing the listener's unconscious mind to fill in the meaning from their own experience. In NLP, these patterns are used to communicate directly with the unconscious mind, bypass resistance, and facilitate deep change.
| Pattern | Example |
|---|---|
| Mind Read | I know you know |
| Conversation Postulate | Is this something that you can learn easily now? |
| Selection Restriction Violation | And this pen knows many things |
| Lack of Referential Index | And people can learn this easily |
| Deletion | I remember... |
| Unspecified Verb | And you can... |
| Lost Performative | It's good to know |
| Tag Question | ...can't you? |
| Embedded Command | You can easily and quickly see how to go into a trance now |
Milton Patterns are the inverse of the Meta-Model — where the Meta-Model recovers specific detail, Milton Patterns deliberately use vagueness to allow the listener to generate their own meaning.
See also: What is NLP? | What is the Meta-Model?