As humans we are absorbing new data and having new experiences constantly. Each new piece of data is translated through our Ladder of Inference into meaning and through judgement into intent forming a new inference - accurate or not. The skill of recognizing an inference begins by consciously examining the "facts" we hold and questioning the validity of the data (actions or words) we founded them on and the meaning we applied to that data during the split-second process referred to as Inference Creation Process.

Indications of Inferences

When people are heard to say...

- "I know...."
- "I could tell..."

They may be making an inference. Action Inquiry™ should be used to understand the actions or words that underpin the knowledge.

Inferences may in fact be the result of selective or incomplete recall of original events (what was said or done, OR NOT DONE) by someone. Besides the obvious situation where someone is only knowledgeable about part of an exchange, or heard something third-hand, there are many other possible effects that come into play when people witness an event:

• People tend to tune in and out of conversations , thereby skipping parts because they are mentally processing the content they just heard.
• Special words - usually outside their normal vocabulary, or not in keeping with the topic - may trigger precise recall, while subsequent thoughts are unclear, perhaps due to the shock triggered by the special term.
• We often have strong recall of what we said - perhaps due to the nature of us thinking about what we are going to say and how to formulate it while the conversation is going on in our presence.
• We tend to recall clearly what other key people said in an interchange, perhaps because we are intently listening to them, or focused on them. That said, we may be selective in what we recall if we are looking for them to say something in particular to align with or counter our thinking. The balance of the dialogue may be incomplete.
• We may transform what others say into synonyms and recall the synonyms, rather than the original terms. This is a form of different dictionary - altering our retention to connect with our dictionary rather than the original speakers.
• Our tendency is to recall the negative comments more frequently than positive or affirmations. This may be due to the discord being more predominant then the anticipated mainstream of the conversation.