CONTENTS
The playscript
Sufficient detail to create the play
The playscript in "life"
Driving into sufficient detail - and true solutions!
It depends on the problem...
Use whatever fully creates the whole picture
Using it in psychology
Draft until the result is produced!
Now, the big question, will you do it?
In what areas can I use this?
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THE PLAYSCRIPT
"Go enthusiastically and determinedly to stage right, and stand on the taped x. Turn around, thrusting your finger in the air to all in the room and say ...."
Each participant knows exactly what to do....
SUFFICIENT DETAIL TO CREATE THE PLAY
To solve a problem, we must have sufficient detail.
If we say, x happened and cause z to happen, and z is an undesired outcome or reaction, it could be that there is a "y" in there that actually caused the final result.
There is further evidence that there is a "y" in there if x does not always cause z to happen.
THE PLAYSCRIPT IN "LIFE"
For instance, an important distinguishing example lies in basic psychology. Many people believe that circumstances cause the reaction - and that there is no choice in the matter. But that is uninformed thinking, at best. Some people get upset about a circumstance, and others don't; therefore, there must be something else involved in stimulating the reaction.
Animals tend to have the same reaction to a given stimulus, but people don't. The difference is that we can formulate our own "if this, then do that" programming. That programming is called "beliefs". And it is beliefs that occur in between the circumstance and the reaction. Therefore, the solution, if there is a problem, lies in correcting the beliefs that caused the problem.
And if we don't discover what those beliefs are, we cannot create a different result. (Duh!)
DRIVING INTO SUFFICIENT DETAIL - AND TRUE SOLUTIONS!
The Playscript Procedure drives the process of discovery, of making as many distinctions as possible, to a higher level so that we can create better solutions.
It is an extremely effective tool in business consulting, one which is at first questioned by the client because of its seemingly obsessive detailedness. But the results are magnificent, as we can solve things well when we have "everything on the table" to look at.
It is called The Playscipt Procedure because it is virtually identical to the process of creating a good play. To create a good play, one cannot leave out significant details as the actors will not know what to do and the stagehands will not provide what is needed at the right time.
It can look silly at times. It might look like: "I get the thought that I want to reach for the ketchup. I send a signal to the part of my brain that handles reaching and grasping. It receives the signal and sends a chemical messenger to my arm, activating the reach sequence. It starts to reach, sending the brain signals as to how it is doing as well as the eye sending signals, too. The brain sends signals to adjust the reach....At the proper time, heeding the signals, the brain sends a message to the hand to close upon the object...." Anyway, you get the idea of the detail needed and the idea of not assuming there is no detail that occurs along the way.
Of course, there are some "sequences" that we automatically assume will occur, so that we don't need to lay out the detail each time. For instance, we tell the actor to say something, but we needn't go through the detail of how he activates his voice, as he already has the sequence.
IT DEPENDS ON THE PROBLEM...
However, there may be situations that require super-detail on something that seems to be an automatic programmed sequence, such as with stutterers. In those cases, we need to go further and make more distinctions and be more exacting.
It is a matter of judgment on when to stop.
The point at which to stop is only when one has gathered sufficient detail to solve the problem. If one finds he has not solved the problem, it most often means that one is skipping part of the sequence.
USE WHATEVER FULLY CREATES THE WHOLE PICTURE
In consulting one uses diagrams so that one can see visually what is going on and so one can assure one hasn't left out something in the chain of events. In problem solving one particularly must note each part of any causal chain, as each point offers a chance to change a cause that would either lessen or eliminate the problem. (Most problems are eliminated only when we deal with the initial true cause of what happened. This is another reason we must use the idea of The Playscript Procedure - to identify what is truly the initial or most important cause.)
There is a process that is often hyped as if it were magical. Well, that is debatable. The process, however, is useful, as it is part of what Paul Harvey used to call "the rest of the story". In this case, in order for the play that is being written to be moving, it must be seen in vivid detail that is more than dry fact. We must have some emotion. The sadness in the middle of the play is fairly obvious. However, in creating the solution and the latter part of the play, we must see clearly how great if feels (have the actors actually smile and do exuberant moves or whatever). You must be able to see and sense each part of it. And it is more vivid even if you just put some pleasing smells into it - it's proven that people remember more when there sense of smell is stimulated, even if it has nothing to do with the subject!
One of the techniques that is used to draw a person into a way of being is to "mock up" in one's mind how that person would act, see, do, feel, etc., as in the piece called Visualize-Feel. In a similar piece, if you want to create an "ideal", one would use Creating The Ideal Version, using the same ideas. Devlin Steele, in his brilliant free Tools To Life website day by day life construction piece, suggests (and then gives a brilliant example) that we visualize everything in super-detail, how we feel, how our stomach feels, how our eyes feel, the people cheering you as you walk up to the stage, etc. - a more brilliant job I could not have done. A bit of an example of scripting and framing is included on the page Positive Framing And Seeing - A Form Of Visualizing. The links to these are included in the main page on From Visualization To Vision Boards.
The point is to create a script that you can read and in the process "see" how great you'll feel when the solution is implemented. For instance, the panicky person would read a script, over and over and over, about how "I feel so calm in that same situation. I could never visualize in my highest hopes how great this is to feel the power of knowing that I am an equal to every person on the planet and that I have my own power and that I do not need approval from others...." etc., etc.
Won't you add and create that in your own Playscript? You are, after all, the author and you can write whatever you wish, even if it is pure fantasy. Why not?!!!!
USING IT IN PSYCHOLOGY
Of particular note is the process of attempting to complete The Playscript Procedure for a psychological problem, notably most often related to fear and fear reactions.
In this case, the subject (person who is experiencing the fear) attempts to describe what occurred to the counselor/consultant who is attempting to get all the details straight. Most try to do this in their brain, which often is not the proper approach. Additionally, the subject seems to resist writing things down and/or going into detail, as it seems "hard" (and to some people it means looking fear in the face and experiencing it, but that is a necessary step to solving it!).
The proper way to do this lies in doing several drafts of The Playscript Procedure, where we are not finished until the "good ending" is achieved. Of course, the drama occurs in the middle of the play, with the latter part of the play being about the discovery of something that works better, leading to a life where one is happy forever. (The latter is possible, with, of course, some interruptions and stuff to deal with in life, but with overall happiness as an ongoing process.)
So, now down to the "brass tacks" (detail), the architectural plan of how this terror was built....
Though it is possible for the counselor to record the conversation with the subject and then have it transcribed, the usual requirement is that the subject write it out in as much detail as possible. (I used to do this in management consulting, as their efforts would reduce the amount of hours I would spend and it would save very large amounts of money in consulting fees. However, it was not easy to convince them to do this, as they often felt they didn't have the time. But, seemingly miraculously, they did have the time. And the ultimate solutions we came up with saved huge amounts of time, stress, and money.)
DRAFT UNTIL THE RESULT IS PRODUCED
With the first draft from the subject, the counselor can apply his/her more indepth knowledge and distinctions to "tease out" (to bring out details) more parts of the play that must have occurred for getting the results that the subject ended up with.
From that, the consultant usually would write the second draft, so that it could be reviewed by the subject (in this case the subject is like the writer of a book, with the counselor being the writer of the screen play). The subject would add any more detail and/or correct some details that the consultant had to put in there because they seemed to be what fit there. That is the third draft.
Then the third draft is reviewed with the consultant, who then asks more questions to get more detail. Often, the consultant will have to define certain things for the subject and/or explain certain concepts, so that the subject can then know better what to provide and/or can understand the questions better.
And the process goes on until it is written out so well that it is completely understandable by a third party looking at it and eventually the final solution is written into the play - and it is complete.
Yes, we must "keep going" through all the drafts, which is the pain most authors feel in writing but a necessary part of the process. And the resulting play (solution) is so well worth it.
Know also that for a play to have a great ending, we cannot stop writing it at the tragedy/drama part, as we will then just have the sequence that lead up to the terrible feelings. Essentially, the last part of the play is a "rewrite" of all the details so that we come through everything that creates the great ending - something we can repeat over and over to continue to get great endings.
So, dear reader, determine what is important enough in your life that you would finally like to solve instead of having it repeat and then begin this process.
Seeming to contradict myself, I will note that the solution often comes up before the whole play is written. And finding the solution is the whole point of this procedure, so it is the indicator that we need go no further (unless we want to write a "playbook" for others who experience this problem to use to find a solution).
NOW, THE BIG QUESTION, WILL YOU DO IT?
Please consider using this for any big problems that occur in your life, your business, your relationships, your health, etc.
It will dramatically alter your life forever, as you will truly solve the problem at the root cause and not just have a temporary "solution" in solving the symptoms of the moment.
IN WHAT AREAS CAN I USE THIS?
The most important area is in correcting a person's erroneous beliefs that are causing "suffering". Using The Playscript Procedure, at least through the third draft is necessary on all important beliefs that are problems. See Changing Beliefs - Step By Step. Just try it on one of them and see if you might want to try it on all the other major ones!
Anything where you achieved an undesired result. In a relationship, where somebody become angry, particularly you, The Playscript Procedure can tease out those assumptions and/or those unseen elements that are the hidden factors in seemingly irrational results in relationships.
A form of "drawing out" detail that is less time consuming than The Playscript Procedure, but very useful, is the "Rational Analysis" form. Also the Breakdown/Breakthrough format helps draw out more details.
The Playscript Producure can be used in any area that you want to problem solve in. See the Problem Solving main page to broaden your concept of what it applies to and how to apply any of the techniques to problem solving.
