STUDY BOOK The power of language and actions, the basis for

COACHING: El poder del lenguaje y las acciones

Because the speaker who makes these assertions is committing himself in each case to something very different. We say that speaking is not innocent; that every time we speak we commit ourselves in one way or another to the community in which we speak and that all speaking has practical efficacy insofar as it modifies the world and the possible.

• Statements

When we make statements we do not talk about the world, we generate a new world for ourselves. The word generates a different reality. After what was said has been said, the world is not the same as before. The world is different after the statement. The action of making a statement generates a new reality which in turn leads to a new action, they are the clearest expression of the power of the word, that what is said is transformed into reality; that reality is transformed according to the will of the speaker. Statements are not related to our shared capacities of observation, they are related to power. Statements are valid or invalid according to the power of the person issuing them. A declaration implies a different kind of commitment from affirmations. When we declare something we commit ourselves to behave consistently with the new reality we have declared. When we make a statement we also commit ourselves to the validity of our statement. This means that we claim to have the authority to make such a statement and that it was made according to socially accepted norms.

Some key statements

In order to issue certain declarations it is necessary to have the proper authority. Without such authority having been granted, these declarations are neither valid nor effective. However, there is a range of statements that do not require a social grant of authority, but are associated with a person's own dignity.

5

European Open Business School