Most people don’t understand hypnosis. Even fewer understand the concept of doing it covertly, through a seemingly ordinary conversation. So let’s talk a bit about what hypnosis is, and what it is not.
Hypnosis is not about being unconsciously under the influence of a hypnotist and following all his orders. What you witness in the cinemas is not true. If it is a live performance, hypnosis happens because the subjects are willing and they really want to be hypnotized. And that is also the reason why they really follow the seemingly absurd instructions being given them. Covert hypnosis is totally different from this.
Ok, so what is hypnosis, really? It is easily defined as a focus state of awareness. When someone is in a hypnotic state, they are very open to suggestion.
Most certainly you have been in a hypnotic trance hundreds of times during your life. You may just not have any clue that it was happening. Do you remember taking a long journey in the car? You know how you just “zone out” while driving and your unconscious mind drives automatically? Or how about how your body tenses up during a scary part of a movie. All of those reactions are forms of hypnosis.
How does someone create hypnosis as part of an everyday conversation? First they need to get into rapport with the other person. Once this happens, you want to get the other person intensely focused on something. This usually happens through artful language, and careful observation.
One simple way to do this is to tell a story. If you tell a compelling story with vivid detail, your subject will be focused in on every aspect of the story. You will be controlling his focus. This causes trance. This opens his mind to suggestion. Once a state of trance is formed, you move to the suggestion phase.
However, deep trance is not the usual effect of covert hypnosis. It usually results in only a light trance. But this is all you need. Most people might not even recognize the trance. A good hypnotist will certainly recognize the signs, though.
Therapeutic hypnosis, on the other hand, does tend to result in a very deep trance. This is because in therapy, the subject knows he is going to do hypnosis. He is a willing participant. He wants to fix a problem, and wants to learn how to go deeply into hypnosis.
You can use covert hypnosis for influencing people to do things. You can help someone make a big decision, or change something major in their life. You can use it to build friendships, or close business deals. There are endless possibilities.
So how does one continue to learn all this? Try reading books about Ericksonian Hypnosis. But to hasten your learning process, audio courses are better. You could investigate courses such as “The Art of Covert Hypnosis” or “The Power of Conversational Hypnosis”. You may also try attending seminars which are run by respected hypnotists. If you are really serious about learning, seminars are the best way to learn. But they cost more.
Here is what we recommend for learning hypnosis. The best self hypnosis products we've come across are by Dr. Mike Mandel. Get them here recordings.
For learning how to do hypnosis (including covert or conversational hypnosis), I recommend Igor Ledochowski.
To see our entire list of hypnosis downloads visit this page
