Re-punctuating Events

By shifting time perspectives and definitions of beginnings and endings, we can often gain a new perspective and a new set of solutions to complex, ongoing problems. This third approach to contextual reframing concerns the “punctuation” of specific events that occur within a specific context (Watzlawick, Weakland and Fisch (1974, pp. 54ff). Any series of interactions between two people, two units in an organization or two organizations can be punctuated in a variety of ways, depending on the perspective of the person or persons doing the punctuating.

One party to a conflict, for instance, might identify the absence of the other party at a critical meeting as the point when the conflict started (hence the responsibility of the other party). The second party might punctuate this same series of events quite differently: He did not attend the meeting because of the first party’s abusive behavior at a previous meeting. When did the conflict begin? Who is responsible? This all depends on how the continuous, interrelated stream of events is interpreted. Is Ralph a dreamer because other members of his department can’t get off the ground and refuse to identify ambitious goals? Or are other members of his department highly realistic because Ralph is always out there dreaming of some unattainable goal? Both are probably the case. It all depends on how the sequence of events is punctuated.

Any problem or conflict can be reframed by asking a client to consider alternative punctuation. As a professional coach, Alicia might ask Susan:

• What if you were to consider point B rather than point A to be the time when Ralph’s performance difficulties began? Would the problem look any different from this vantage point?
• What if we were to go back two months and look at some of the earlier events that might have influenced your perceptions of Ralph’s working relationships and managerial style? What might Ralph’s problem look like if we were to focus just on the events of this past week?
• What would be Ralph’s interpretation of the causes for the problems being experienced in his department right now?

A significant perceptual change can often occur through reframing long before overt change in behavior becomes readily apparent. In many instances, individuals and organizations move through periods of apparent stagnation or dormancy. They may actually be gradually re-examining and reframing their perceptions of the context within which they live and work. A major developmental spurt may follow this period of conceptual reorganization, leading an outsider to conclude that there are sequential stages of stabilization and change.