A ventilator control signaling method includes recording an electromyogram signal of values following one another in time and transforming the electromyogram signal into an evaluation signal by applying an evaluation function. An evaluation signal value is assigned to a signal value of the electromyogram signal in the transformation. The evaluation function is determined by a main parameter set that defines which signal value of the evaluation signal is assigned to a particular signal value of the electromyogram signal when the evaluation function is applied in the transformation. A signal value height of the evaluation signal indicates whether the electromyogram signal corresponds to a first state or a second state. A control signal is generated from signal values and is set to switch a ventilator to an inhalation or an exhalation operating mode depending on the state of the evaluation signal. A ventilator is configured to perform the method.
