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Like many self-help books, The Four Agreements adopts a conversational style that allows complex ideas to be conveyed in simple terms. Some books focused on psychology and behavior, whether based on science or folk wisdom, use highly technical terms that may confuse the reader and thus defeat the purpose of it being a self-help book. Ruiz discusses many abstract ideas in this book, such as the Dream, the word, and the three-headed parasite (the Book of Law, the Judge, and the Victim). By attaching concrete labels to these concepts and using simple words that the average reader will understand, Ruiz is able to explain complicated abstractions of the human mind as if describing characters in a television show or movie. The Judge, for example, uses the common concept of a judge as a symbol for the critical parts of our mind that decide what is right and what is wrong and mete out punishments accordingly, just like a judge in a court of law.

The conversational style also makes the text much more approachable and friendly, reminiscent of a TED Talk—a recorded lecture designed to present a complex topic in a casual, entertaining format. Any portion of this book could easily be read aloud in the style of a TED Talk and sound more like an engaging conversation or speech than simply a chapter of a book. In an age where people are becoming increasingly reliant on media such as audio and video to learn information, this engaging, simple style helps to keep the reader engrossed and, more importantly, helps the reader understand the message.  

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