Seven simple words are enough to codify all of life. These are among the first words we learn in childhood. Yet they are not understood or used well, despite their simplicity. By focusing on these primary words we can simplify and deepen our attitudes to how we live and perceive reality.
It is a system of thought based on the theory that all human communication and behaviour can be seen as an expression of 7 primary words:
No
Hello
Thank You
Goodbye
Please
Sorry
Yes
Everything we do or say can be analysed quickly and simply into these word categories and with a bit of practice it is done very easily and intuitively.
The ideas are useful in a range of ways and we can begin by seeing how well it works for us personally. The questionnaires create profiles that help a person to understand who they are and how to deal with life's challenges.
It is a simple system, easy to learn and use. It's based on simple principles and is applicable to all human activities from love affairs to business, career to parenting.
What's the point?
Even though these basic words - and the ideas they stand for - were learned early in life, there were very basic misunderstandings in the way we learned them. This has led to confusion and often the chaos and conflict that comes out of confusion. We say No - but does the message really get across? We hear Sorry - but do we really trust the sincerity of the words? We say Goodbye! in anger to a person who has hurt our feelings - yet do we mean it enough to stand by it?
The 7 words are much more than just courtesies or shorthand messages - in fact they are so fundamental that we can see that everything rests upon them. Just as a building is made secure if its foundations are strong, so our thoughts, ideas, beliefs, concepts and communications all rest upon the integrity and strength of these 7 principles.
If these 7 words are primary, the foundation stones and building blocks of our language - then if we use them wrongly, how can we ever hope to understand another or be understood properly ourselves?
Research Project
Basically, we're trying to test the system to see how it works. We know that certain types of people are weaker on some of the words and that this ties in with important issues in life. For example, it seems quite clear that unhappy people have a hard time with Goodbye, that people who pray say Yes more readily, and so on. We are looking for simple answers to life's common problems: and we need questionnaire responses to find out the facts.
We want to collect information across a range of people from different age groups, racial types, sex, educational levels, nationality and so on - hopefully tens of thousands. This will enable us to find useable clues that will tell us something about how to get more out of life. Already we know that many problems can be easily dealt with simply by choosing our words with more awareness.
The most important results will be published at some point, and this may be supplemented by commentaries from the various researchers who are using the data, some for their PhD.
Confidentiality
Our Privacy Policy
The information you give us is stored securely and is only made available to authorised personnel in the context of the research work. Your email address will not be shared with anyone else and will only be used by us, with your permission, to send information you have asked for.
Who is involved?
There is a number of research workers in various countries whose job is to collect the information and analyse the results. This team is organised by:
James Burgess is the originator and team leader
Jurgita Pabrinkyte manages the Research Project
Daniel Johnson oversees technical development
Statistical researches are validated by Brian Mistler, Florida University
