ABSTRACT
A frame is one among a number of possible ways of seeing something, and a reframing is a way of seeing it differently; in effect changing its meaning. Frames typically derive their power from one or more metaphors. Paradoxically, just as metaphors are frames, so the term frame, when applied to language, is itself metaphorical. One category of frames is an argument frame. A perceptual frame presents the same reality, but different perspectives. An issue frame takes an ambiguous situation and applies a frame to define it. A final category of frame is the meta frame. This category of framing transforms the way a message is understood. Reflexive metacommunication at the beginning of a speech or essay can be highly persuasive because it frames the message to come in the way that the speaker wants it to be heard. The terms framing and reframing are ambiguous yet useful nonetheless.
