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The Communication Cycle
and Solo-auditing

In a normal session with an auditor and a pc we have a well-defined auditing comm cycle. This was covered at great length at Level Zero of Road to Clear.
In "Communication and Auditing" the steps listed are:

1. Is the pc ready to receive the command? (appearance, presence).
2. Auditor gives command to pc (What's-it line).
3. Pc looks to bank for answer (Itsa-maker line).
4. Pc receives answer from bank.
5. Pc gives answer to auditor (Itsa line).
6. Auditor acknowledges the answer.
7. Auditor sees that pc received the ack (attention).
8. New cycle beginning with (1).

This pattern is very basic but has to be understood conceptually and adapted to the Solo-auditing situation to be workable in Solo.

The Difference
The difference in the basic set-up is obvious. In a normal session two persons are present and there is a physical distance between them. Without the use of TR 0-4 nothing is going to happen. The Solo-auditor is not  trying to copy that. The Solo-auditor is not  trying to act as two different people as one actor reading a script of a session probably would. An actor would mock himself up as an auditor, give the command, move a step or two on the stage; mock himself up as a pc and answer the question as the pc. Solo-auditing does not consist of trying to act out two different people or roles, nor is talking to oneself part of Solo-auditing.

In Solo-auditing the auditing question or auditing command is provided in the materials. The commands will be in printed form and occasionally as handwritten instructions from the Solo C/S, who in turn has picked them from printed materials.

The Solo-auditor has to ensure he understands the auditing command before running it. He has to clear the command in other words. In Solo this step is different in practice. As soon as Solo-auditor understands the command (dictionary or not) is when the instant read occurs. The Solo-auditor can't clear each word and then put it together as a sentence that is then checked on the Meter. It's all there on the page at first glance.

He then has to concentrate and silently intend the meaning of the auditing command as to impinge on his case. On a charged command he will get a response or answer from his case. He pays attention to the response and finishes the cycle on the Solo-auditing comm cycle. That is the acknowledgment step.

The Solo-auditing comm cycle is thus better described as carrying out and finishing cycles of action. The Meter plays an important role in Solo as a read tells the Solo-auditor that charge has been contacted and restimulated. When the reaction is worked out of the process and the desired EP is reached (normally an F/N - sometimes simply flat)  that process cycle is completed.

The Solo-auditor has to realize some other differences: the instant he understands the command is the same instant the command has been given to the pc. In other words, his Meter reading has to be very sharp as the read may happen way before he has gone through all the formal steps of normal auditing.

Also, the Solo-auditor should use a piece of paper to cover up the commands not yet given. He uses the paper as a ruler and moves it down one line at the time to uncover the next command - and not be distracted by future commands.

No Spoken Commands
The Solo-auditor does not use spoken commands. The communication is done on a thought or intention level. There is a process where the Solo-auditor calls a list of items aloud. But that is an exception. The general rule is that it is done silently.

Reading the Meter
Reading the Meter correctly as a Solo-auditor presents a challenge. We have the definition of a reading command as the command reading instantly when it is first cleared or when given to the pc. Since the Solo-auditor basically gets the meaning of the command when he first looks at it he has to be able to catch any read at this point without fail. In other words, he has to be able to read the command and keep an eye on the needle at the same time.

To be able to do that he has to arrange his Meter and materials correctly on the table in front of him. When auditing something heavily charged the read may re-appear when the command is called again. But when auditing rudiments or a prepared list the read may not repeat. Unless the Solo-auditor catches the read as it appears the first time he may get himself into trouble, leaving charged questions behind.  Even thinking of it as an origination, "Oh, I hope I don't have an ARC Break (F)" would be a valid instant read.

We know in normal auditing that a question can read on a misunderstood word and give an invalid read. This can also happen in Solo-auditing, but is rare as the question should already have been cleared in the theory. The only exception would then be on some very long Advanced Ability Level command sheets (platens) as these are not studied in advance.  The handling for clearing up misunderstoods on those is however given in the materials for that Level.

Solo Drills
The Solo Drills get the Solo-auditor familiar with all these parts of Solo-auditing. Doing them repeatedly he gets an in-depth understanding and skill in handling the tools. The Drills are much like a pianist doing basic scales over and over. This is done to get the pianist's hands in physical shape and get the mechanics of playing the piano down on a subconscious level so he now can concentrate on the music. 

In Solo the skills of the Drills have to become second nature to the Solo-auditor in order to deliver a smooth and effective session. When he has all these skills down cold he can relax about the tools and mechanics of it all he can do Solo-auditing and be fully In-session as a pc as well.