Milton Model · Pattern 12 of 19
Comparative Deletion
A comparison is made while the thing being compared against is deleted.
Recover: Leaves the comparison target out, so the listener chooses it
Language skill is not permission to override choice.
Preserve meaningful consent — the listener always keeps a real option to decline.
Full ethics panelWhat it is
“It's more or less the right thing to do.” More than what? Less than what? Nothing is named, so the listener sets their own reference point.
Recognition / tip-offs
What space this leaves the listener to fill
- That a comparison holds
- That a reference point exists somewhere
- The listener supplies the reference point
How it lands for the listener
Trainer example: “It's more or less the right thing to do.”
How to construct it
Precision check: if the comparison matters — price, progress, risk — name the reference point. Deleted comparisons are how misleading claims get made.
- “Compared with what, exactly?”
- “Does this comparison need to be honest and specific here?”
Practitioner judgement: enough vagueness to invite meaning, not so much that rapport breaks.
Purposeful use — with consent
Fine for softening (“it gets easier”), unacceptable for claims about outcomes or value.
Client autonomy first — offer language the client can verify and decline.
Examples
“This gets easier as you go.”
Listener fills in There is a progression, and a reference point somewhere.
Common confusion and overlap
- Mixing it with lost performative — that one is missing the evaluator, this one the comparison target.
Practice this pattern
Hear it
0%
Unpack it
0%
Question it
0%
Build it
0%
Use it live
0%