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Speech-act theory shows that words can perform actions rather than merely communicate information.

“I don’t know” can end self-reflection before possible answers have time to emerge.

“If I had to guess” keeps curiosity alive without requiring immediate certainty.

J. L. Austin was an English philosopher best known for developing speech-act theory. Austin observed that words do not merely describe; at times they also perform an action.

When someone says, “I forgive you,” they are not solely communicating information about forgiveness. They are also doing something. The relationship between the two of you is different after those words have been spoken. Likewise, phrases such as “I promise,” “I apologize,” and “I accept” alter the social world between two or more individuals simply by the act of being said.

Most people move through life unaware of this power. They imagine words as sounds that carry thoughts from one person to another. But words can direct attention, assign meaning, establish identities, and most importantly for this post: determine which questions can be explored.

Therapy often involves discovering how words spoken long ago continue to live inside us. Perhaps a childhood nickname such as “drama........

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