that it is an opinion:
❏ This is the right way to do the job.
❏ It's bad to be inconsistent.
“According to whom?” is the key question.
This sort of statement can be received as aggressive. An
alternative way to express the same thing would be to say:
❏ I believe this is the right way to do the job.
❏ Joe thinks it's bad to be inconsistent.
Opinions as facts are value judgments, characteristic of people
who believe that their map of the world is the right one. The
owners of such statements have closed the door to the
possibility that there are other opinions, other ways to do
things. Asking the question “According to whom?” reconnects
them with their personal ownership of these views. They may
discover that the owner is someone from their past, their
parents or teachers. “It's wrong to leave food on your plate.” “I
want doesn't get.” “Children should be seen and not heard.”
According to whom? Certainly not the children in the last
example! This kind of statement is the expression of beliefs
that can imprint themselves on the receiver for life. And what I
have said in this paragraph is of course in my opinion!
Generalizations exist when you take specific experiences and
generalize them to make them true outside their particular
context. In so doing you distort your experience.
Sometimes it is important to do this. You need
generalizations as referents in language, otherwise you would
have to go into a tremendous amount of detail when you
speak. However, generalizations can still be misleading.
❏ I always catch a cold in the winter.
❏ No one ever tells you what is going on around here.
PRECISION QUESTIONS 97Opinions expressed as facts
can be aggressive