Can we use priming, like we did in the TO EXECUTE IMPOSSIBLE TO PARDON example, in legal texts?
Yes we can. I will again use a non-legal text as an example, but the principle is the same. Only it would take a much longer piece of legal writing to exemplify it.
Consider the following short story:
Mary was watching bubbles slowly rising from the air-pump in her fish-tank. She was watching them slithering up the glass and sparkling in the golden light. She came up to the french window, pulled the curtains apart and began to write on the cold steamy glass with her finger. The clock struck midnight. "Do you want a drink?" - asked John. "Yes, ________" - replied Mary.
Mary was watching bubbles slowly rising from the air-pump in her fish-tank. She was watching them slithering up the glass and sparkling in the golden light. She came up to the french window, pulled the curtains apart and began to write on the cold steamy glass with her finger. The clock struck midnight. "Do you want a drink?" - asked John. "Yes, ________" - replied Mary.
She asked for champagne, didn't she? I am quite confident you have thought about champagne because I gave you a lot of cues meant to skew your fantasy in this direction: bubbles, golden colour, France, steamy glass, midnight. However, please, note that I have never given anything close to a direct hint.
Things could have been different if the same story was laid out in a different manner: Mary was watching bubbles rushing from the air-pump in her fish-tank. It seemed that the water was boiling. She came up to the window and shivered as if with cold as her sight fell on fallen leaves floating on the little pond. "Do you want a drink?" - asked John. "Yes, ________" - replied Mary.
Things could have been different if the same story was laid out in a different manner: Mary was watching bubbles rushing from the air-pump in her fish-tank. It seemed that the water was boiling. She came up to the window and shivered as if with cold as her sight fell on fallen leaves floating on the little pond. "Do you want a drink?" - asked John. "Yes, ________" - replied Mary.
Tea was the first thing to come into mind this time. Why not other hot drinks? Because of the leaves floating on the little pond.
Imagination is a considerable power driving our decisions across different domains. If we are able to make the person we are talking to imagine something, we can make them believe it.
Imagination is a considerable power driving our decisions across different domains. If we are able to make the person we are talking to imagine something, we can make them believe it.
© All Rights Reserved. Stepan Puchkov.
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