Miller's law

Miller's Law (from psychologist George Miller) goes like this:

"In order to understand what another person is saying, you must assume that it is true, and try to imagine what it could be true of."

(In an interview with Elizabeth Hall; Hall 1980)

That is: The proper response when someone says, "My toaster is talking to me!" is "What is your toaster saying?", followed by very careful and attentive listening.