Conversational Hypnosis
What Is Conversational Hypnosis?
Firstly, It is a skill you can learn. Conversational hypnosis uses a natural state we all experience every single day. One of the greatest hypnotherapists that ever lived was Milton Erickson. Through many years of trial and error he realised we were open to trance states far more readily than previously thought. This led to what is now called ‘conversational hypnosis’. This was completely against the way it had always been done previously; that is by eye fixation and relaxation methods and so on. Erickson knew there was more to it. Due to the crippling conditions of polio he had endured in his life he developed such an acute sense of analysing human behaviour, that he saw what no-one else had. He saw we responded in other ways than those which we accept of part of our normal lives. Of course NLP plays a large part in conversational hypnosis, you might also have heard it being called covert hypnosis.
Not What You Say…
Erickson realised it wasn’t just what you say, but how you say it. He saw that there were a myriad of different ways of communicating, and he knew that only our sub-conscious minds would normally be able to pick up on this. For the most part, we were unaware of this even taking place in our inner minds. Tonal shifts, pauses and subtle inflections when we spoke, gave rise to one of mankinds greatest natural phenomenon. Conversational hypnosis was born. We now had a way to be able to communicate with a person’s subconscious mind, and, when they are willing, to get them in a hypnotic state.
There was and is no need to have the eyes closed. One of the main benefits of this technique is to bypass resistance in clients who might be wrongly afraid of how hypnosis works. We need to understand that the hypnotic state as seen in most peoples eyes, is nothing like the popular misconceptions told to therapists. Hypnosis is an everyday state, someting we ALL experience even if we dont call it that. As to further in this page, when we refer to hypnosis or trance states you might see it with ‘ ‘ around the word.
Iti s important to remember that we cannot make anyone do anything against their normal pattern of behaviour. As far as Erickson went, for the most part he was dealing with people who had come to him for help. Even if some of those people did NOT want hypnosis as they saw it, they did want his help. When you have experienced conversational hypnosis, you are not forced to be aware that you have even ‘been in a trance state’.
How To Use Conversational Hypnosis For Influence
Although we cannot make people do things they do not agree with, such as reveal the pin number to their credit card, the question of how much we can influence is a different matter. Mentalists or mind magicians make much use of using certain techniques to plant words into peoples minds or persuade them to say/pick this or that. Sales people who are successful often use such persuasion tactics, even if they do not know how they are using them. Remember, conversational hypnosis is derived from a natural phenomenon that we all possess the abiltiy to make use of. So, yes you too can learn how to make people go along with what you are saying. Not all the time of course, but there is definitely scope for improvment.
Techniques:
Get in rapport. This is key. If you can get in rapport with someone, you can learn to ‘pace’ then ‘lead’ them. To gain more rapport, find common ground and discuss it with them. 2 main things are to match and mirror. To match is to do what they do (cross legs when they cross legs), to mirror is to be a mirror image of them. These things must be done with subtlety, or you will immediately lose any rapport that was there. The person you are with must not know you are doing these actions, it should not be overt. This is of course part of covert hypnosis.
Learn to copy their breathing pattern, i.e breathe as deeply or lightly as they breathe. Speak at the same speed and with the same tone as they do.
People like people who smile a lot. Also, you can learn to take what they say and very gently rephrase it and say it back to them. This is used by counsellors and many therapists, and can create a profound sense of rapport with a person- this technique is often called paraphrasing.
Anchoring An excellent technique but will need practising. You can discuss a happy time they might have had, then ligtly touch their shoulder (if appropriate). This is called an anchor. After you can can create several successive anchors, when you again ‘fire’ the anchor, it is possible to elicit that same state previously gained just by firing the anchor.
Yes set Asking 4 or 5 questions in a row that can only have a yes as an answer, often gives the final question a yes where before it might not have been answered yes. This is often used as a tactic by sales people.
Now You Have Rapport
When you have learned the above you can more easily ‘pace’ someone. Then you can ‘lead’ them gently where you want the conversation to go. There are too many ways to use conversational hypnosis to list here, but lets assume you want to get someone to follow your wishes. You have to say everything with absolute confidence, any hesitation in your voice will be picked up by the other persons subconscious mind. You have to expect that they will do what you want.
Hypnotic language uses pauses more than normal speech, also confusion statements lead a person to question in their mind what that meant. Non- sequitirs or illogical statements have the same effect. Try and work out what ‘language’ that person uses. That is the type of words they use. If you use similar words, this facilitates the persuasiveness. Speak in the future tense, as if you know this will happen. Make the other person feel like you 2 are the same, these are all using the inner minds power. When you try these things you might be amazed how easily you can get someone to bend to your thinking.
Be realistic, like anything- the more you practise the better you ll get.
As ever, join in the conversation and leave your thoughts….