Answer:
Most likely talking to the patient and asking them easy questions? Basically, distracting them.
Explanation:
If the patient is distracted by thinking of something else, like answering a simple question like what their favorite animal is. Then they won't be thinking about controlling their breathing.
Also, not telling them that you're trying to assess their breathing might help because it seems like once you know a certain thing is being assessed, you do become consciously aware of it.
Hope that helped, even a little!