THE CONVERSATION PROTOCOL

THE CONVERSATION PROTOCOL

Communication as a Control System

What This Is

The Conversation Protocol: Communication as a Control System.

It treats communication not as expression, emotion, or persuasion, but as a control system:

a structured way to decide when speech produces outcomes and when it produces damage.

The Problem It Addresses

Most conversations fail even between intelligent people.

They fail not because of vocabulary, intelligence, or intention, but because speech is uncontrolled.

Words are released without structure, and listeners process them as threats, judgments, or status moves instead of as claims.

The result is escalation, drift, and unresolved conflict.

The Core Claim

Speech must be governed to be effective.

A sentence is not valuable because it is honest, kind, or emotional.

It is valuable only if it produces a clear next step.

Uncontrolled speech creates noise.

Controlled speech creates outcomes.

The Classification Principle

Every sentence in a conversation falls into one of three categories:

• Ask — a clear request
  

• Tell — a clear statement or boundary
  

• Noise — speech that cannot be executed
  

Noise does not require a response.

The Validation Standard

For speech to be valid, it must be:

• Good
  

• Right
  

• Safe
  

If it fails any one, the response may stop.

The Control Loop

Classify → Validate → Convert → Execute

Silence and disengagement are valid outcomes.

What This Is Not

This is not:

• Therapy
  

• Motivation
  

• Politeness training
  

• Conflict avoidance
  

Relationship to the Book

This page explains the idea.

The book The Conversation Protocol: Communication as a Control System develops it fully with structure, explanation, and examples.

Issued By

Grapher Institute.