How to Hypnotise
Explaining how to hypnotise someone in just one article is not entirely possible, yet we aim to provide you with some of the fundamental principles and some helpful tips that will make hypnosis much easier for you. The main premise to remember is that in order for your patient to have confidence in your hypnotic abilities you must have confidence in yourself.
Move forward in what you ask your patient to do slowly but very surely. If you show signs of hesitation or doubt in what you’re saying then your patient will too and the hypnosis won’t work. If you’re a nervous or awkward speaker then practice makes perfect, so try making speeches at family meals and public speaking whenever you can to give you more confidence.
Think of hypnosis as a kind of rapport between you and the individual, where you make suggestions and they respond to them. You are not controlling that individual’s mind as they are wholly concentrated on what you’re doing. It’s impossible to hypnotise a person who doesn’t want to be, so in letting you hypnotise them they’re already very receptive to what you’re going to suggest. After all, you’re the one who knows how to do it and not them, right?
When you meet your patient you’ll need to have a confident and content attitude. Try not to rush around tidying or getting drinks, muttering to yourself and looking stressed. Instead, act as if you are (even if you’re not) incredibly relaxed and as if this meeting is natural and one that you’re very familiar with. Talk to them for a while, explaining what will happen and what (if anything) they’d like to achieve from hypnosis. After this quickly ask them their opinion on something, for instance when you close the blinds ask them whether they are closed properly (even when they are not) or say “I’ve misplaced my book – I had it a moment ago. Did you see me with a blue book?” when you didn’t have one. If they say ‘yes’ then this is a big sign that this individual is easy to hypnotise because they’re already agreeing with things you’re saying, even though they’re not true.
This is not to say that you’re going to tell them lies when they are hypnotised. Quite the opposite in fact. Reassure them that when they are hypnotised you will be giving them very rational suggestions that will make complete sense in their heads and will eradicate the irrational thoughts that are causing their problems. Good questions to ask as you speak softly, slowly and confidently are ‘do you understand?’ and ‘okay?’ so that they nod, mutter in agreement or say ‘yes’; making themselves more suggestible.
There is no right and wrong in what you say to hypnotise someone, but instead the way that you say it. If someone believes that you are finding this very natural and know exactly what you’re doing then they will too and they will have no qualms about going under hypnosis. Placing your conscious mind in someone else’s hands for any length of time is daunting, so you must give them a good reason to believe that it’s the right thing to do.