What is the final step in hypnotic influence and persuasion?
The conclusion of the process and perhaps the most vital step in your performance as a hypnotist-influencer is sealing the gates.
This final step ensures that your hypnotic suggestions will remain intact in your subject’s subconscious mind, which will allow you to influence him even if you’re not around.
In clinical hypnotherapy, the closing process is called “hypnotic amnesia” where the hypnotherapist commands the subject to forget everything that he has heard or imagined during the session.
This is done so that client does not overanalyze what has taken place.
If over-analysis occurs, the conscious mind can pull out the hypnotic suggestions and reject them after the hypnosis session.
The same risk is present for hypnotist-influencers who systematically implant hypnotic suggestions while persuading or influencing others.
It’s important to realize that your message is never truly “safe” from the conscious mind’s rigorous filters and there is always a chance that despite your best efforts, your message might be discarded after the interaction.
To minimize this risk, I have prepared hypnotic language patterns that will allow you to seal your hypnotic message, either through sociological conditioning or through the use of tools from the discipline of clinical hypnotherapy. It is my sincere hope that this chapter will allow you to practice hypnotic influence more effectively.
Sealing Pattern: “The Power of Future Action”
Subconscious Trigger Pattern
Have you ever thought why organized belief systems have such a strong and lasting impact on people?
The reason why large systems tend to have such a lasting effect on people is that these systems tend to implant numerous subconscious triggers in their members. These subconscious triggers come in a myriad of forms, from words, images and even raw emotions.
The Subconscious Trigger Pattern is a type of “insurance” that your subject will at least remember you and your message after you have parted ways.
After a while, your subject will forget the statements that led to the creation of the triggered behavior itself.
The elements of this pattern are as follows:
Context + Reinforced Hypnotic Trance + Suggested Action + Hypnotic Trigger
Notice that the Subconscious Trigger Pattern requires that you reinforce the trance that you have already induced in the beginning.
The reason for this is quite simple: people tend to experience hypnotic trances in varying intensities. Unless your subject is truly focused on you, it’s possible that he has been moving in and out of the trance since the beginning of the interaction.
Wavering attention or focus is normal; after all, we all have pressing issues that tend to have a life of their own, especially if these issues involve problems that require urgent solutions.
That’s why you need to make sure that your subject is fully immersed in a hypnotic trance before you set the actual subconscious trigger.
Because if you don’t, there is a possibility that this pattern may not work as effectively as it should.
Examples:
“Now that you know more about secondhand cars and what you should look out for, every time you see a nice car you’ll remember our shop right? Give us a call soon!”
“We always miss you when you’re off to college. I know that pumpkin pie is your favorite snack so when you smell it anywhere I want you to remember that we’re always happily waiting for a text or call from you.”
Analysis:
Like other hypnotic patterns, the elements of the Subconscious Trigger Pattern can be used interchangeably. As long as you’ve properly induced hypnosis in your subject, you can switch around the order of the direct address and the placement of the actual trigger and suggested action.
The only strict rule when applying this particular pattern is to always create a strong association before setting the action that the subject will perform when the trigger or stimulus is present.
Since the Subconscious Trigger Pattern is a post-hypnotic technique, you should make your final hypnotic suggestion count. If possible, make your final hypnotic suggestion more direct so that the subject will know exactly what to do when the trigger stimulus is present.
The Challenge Pattern
The Challenge Pattern is all about reversing the previous roles that the subject and influencer have played since the beginning of the interaction.
You may have noticed that from the first step in The Hypnotic Language Formula I have reminded you repeatedly not to directly oppose your subject in any way, because there’s a chance that your actual message might be rejected.
When an interaction is about to end, the situation shifts and the hypnotist-influencer gains more freedom in terms of challenging the subject’s idea.
The Challenge Pattern is an advanced hypnotic language pattern that invokes the subject’s ideals, beliefs and values.
When a person’s core belief system is challenged, he becomes more energized and if you state things properly, he just might respond in a beneficial manner.
The Challenge Pattern directly associates your idea or proposal with a belief or value that you were able to learn during the actual conversation. When this new connection is made, you challenge your subject to live up to his own belief or value by accepting and acting upon your idea or proposal.
The formula of the Challenge Pattern is:
Context + Subject’s Belief/Values + Direct Association + Challenge
Important Note: It is very common for a person’s demeanor to change when he sets out to oppose or challenge someone. I ask that you control your emotions and your choice of words even if you’re actually challenging your subject.
There is no need to be mean or hostile when using this pattern. In fact, the more ideal approach is to be as positive and kind as possible so as to disable your subject’s conscious filters.
The moment your subject’s conscious filters detect that you are changing your role and you are now projecting yourself as an adversary or challenger, your subject may suddenly decide that your message is unacceptable and he loses nothing by rejecting it.
This outcome sounds irrational but remember: rationality is determined subjectively! Again, what seems irrational to you may sound/look completely rational and acceptable to your subject.
Examples:
“You said that you were not afraid of change. Now is the time to embrace your belief in change for the better. This new system is guaranteed to bring the changes that you need in your life.”
“I remember that you love your family very much. What better way to show your love than by quitting booze and tobacco? You can show them your love right now by starting the process of recovery from these two harmful substances.”
“Our manager told me that you were one of the best employees around and you didn’t accept anything less than excellent. We need you now because our manager has had an accident and we are without a good leader. Are you up for it?”
Social Sealing: The Power of Society’s Codes
Part of your training as a hypnotist-influencer is to master not only hypnotic tools but also societal codes that can create an overwhelming need to comply.
Certain societal codes have a strong, inescapable impact on individuals, much like hypnotic suggestions after a deep trance state has been induced.
It’s time to roll up your sleeves once again and shift your attention to a new set of patterns that you can use to influence and persuade others.
Consider this your “crash course” in the sociology of persuasion!
Social Pattern 1: Obligation and Reciprocation What does reciprocation have to do with influence?
Reciprocation is an unwritten and universal social code that dictates that when a person does something that provides you with a benefit, you are obliged to do the same for him, either immediately after or at a future date if you are unable to do so at the present time.
Common expressions in Western culture such as “return the favor”,
“much obliged” and “I owe you one” are all rooted in the principle of reciprocation and the personal obligation to do so, no matter what the situation may be.
The essential linguistic pattern that will activate this social code is:
Premise + Action + Subject’s Benefit
The point of using this social pattern is you’re going to make your subject more likely to accept your proposal because you did something that benefited him, even if he didn’t ask you to do it. Of course, it’s essential that you inform him of the benefit you created
for him in a way that doesn’t make it appear that you want him to be indebted to you.
That’s why you have to reestablish the context first, to make sure that you’re both on the same page, before creating the logical premise that would make it appear that your action would be the logical and decent thing to do.
You achieve several things at once when you make use of this social code:
1. You establish further harmony and goodwill with the people you interact with.
2. You subconsciously condition your subject to be more generous with the way he interacts with you.
3. You’re able to create the perfect environment for an “exchange of benefits” to take place.
Examples:
1. “I was driving through the neighborhood and thought I’d stop by this neat antique shop. I remembered you and got you a Tiki-inspired statuette for your living room.”
2. “Before we came here we figured we’d give your business a boost. We’re giving you a free trial copy of our invoicing software that you can try out for a full 3 months.”
3. “I wanted you to remember all the good things that could come out of this business deal so here are 2 tickets for Saturday’s classical performance on 5th Avenue. Use them or not, they’re yours.”
Important Note: There are situations where people try to avoid random gifts because they are aware of the rule of reciprocity. You must be firm in establishing that whatever you are giving the subject is completely out of your goodwill and kindness and you will not accept it if it is returned.
Once you have established that the gift can be kept by the subject no matter what happens, the rule of reciprocity comes alive and the subject’s future actions will be influenced by this rule.
Some people ignore the rule of reciprocity, citing their own unique values and beliefs.
This is unavoidable as the rule of reciprocity is simply a universal code, not a law. However, you will see that in the majority of cases, people will respond favorably to you if you give them something first.
Social Pattern 2: Triggering Instinctual Commitment
In a previous chapter we talked about the consistency principle, where a person commits to a specific action or mode of thought because he has made smaller commitments prior to being asked to commit to something that requires the expenditure of more personal resources.
By virtue of the consistency principle, a subject would feel responsible for pushing through with his commitment to an idea or proposal because he has already accepted smaller responsibilities or he has agreed to some aspects of the proposed idea.
You can trigger further commitment in your subject by making use of a time-tested technique from the field of sociology: evidencing social proof.
Social proof can lend a high degree of validity and credibility to a statement, idea, proposal or plan of action. The logic behind social proof is simple: people tend to follow where others have gone before.
This is tied to our instinctual desire to belong and our universal belief in the rule of the majority.
People may say from time to time that “the masses” aren’t particularly intelligent or decisive, but in terms of ascertaining what is safe and acceptable, people still rely on what other people say or do.
This automatic referencing is a clear sign that despite the amazing and almost innumerable advances in modern civilization, we are still very similar to our nature-loving ancestors a few thousand years ago.
It appears that Home sapiens will always be Homo sapiens even if we have substituted stone tools for smart phones.
How can you trigger commitment in a person?
The linguistic formula that will help you accomplish this is:
Declaration + Social Proof + Suggested Action
Obviously, this particular pattern will require some research and strategizing to make your statement/s plausible. Here are some examples of statements that are crafted using this pattern:
1. “You should start exercising as soon as possible. Scientists from over 12 countries say that people who don’t exercise, especially those who are above the age of 35, have a 50% risk of suffering from a sudden heart attack.
Current statistics show that more than 40% of all adults in US are now in the overweight and obese categories. Do you want to be part of the statistics?
Why not accompany me in my morning runs? You don’t have to run very fast at all. Running is good cardio and we’ll have an hour or two by ourselves. What do you think?”
2. “Helping out with our charity fundraiser is definitely an excellent choice.
Right now we have over 300 active members from the local community and many of them are from your age group.
They help out because the work is light, meaningful and most of all, you’ll get to meet new friends. If meeting new friends is not your cup of tea then you will definitely be satisfied knowing that your volunteer work and donations will benefit good causes.
Please sign your name and telephone number here if you’re coming this Saturday? It’s just for a few hours by the way, and there’ll be free snacks and drinks for everyone who is coming!”
3. “Providing our department with additional air-conditioning units will help boost employee productivity significantly. Several companies in the state have invested 2%-3% of their profits to improve the working condition of their employees. I think this observable trend is very timely and it will do the company a lot of good.”
Social Pattern 3: Increasing Your Likability
Let’s face it: we tend to be persuaded or influenced more when we are in the presence of someone that we like at least a little bit.
Your likability as a speaker has an inverse relationship with your subject’s resistance level. The more your subject likes you, the less likely that he will openly resist your message, idea or proposal.
How can you make a subject like you?
There are several linguistic tactics that you can use to improve your level of likability when you’re interacting with someone that you need to persuade or influence:
1. “We’re the same!” – Stating obvious and not so obvious similarities is the simplest way to break down resistance. In fact, similarity is one of the main driving forces behind rapport-building techniques.
If you’ve read some materials on hypnosis or NLP before, you may have come across techniques such as “matching and mirroring”.
These techniques allow the influencer to establish a level of similarity with the subject, to facilitate the process of persuasion.
2. “You sure are {insert positive trait here}!” – Another simple yet brutally effective way to increase your likability is by giving your subject sincere compliments. Compliments appeal directly to your subject’s ego – as long as you keep them genuine and believable!
Generally speaking, compliments are best received when the subject believes that they truly deserve the compliment.
Some individuals react rather harshly to excessive compliments so be careful – study your subject closely before formulating a compliment that you think he will find acceptable and pleasurable to hear.
Pleasure is the first thing that people feel when they hear a good compliment!
3. “Hey, did you know that we’re somehow connected?” – Humans are social beings and as a species, we accord a lot of value when some sort of connection or linkage is established during a conversation.
Showing someone that you are somehow similar is effective, but establishing a direct connection is even more powerful in terms of influencing your subject.
The direct connection can be as simple as knowing one of the subject’s friends or being aware of his company because you’ve done business with someone from the same organization.
Again, this technique will require some research and additional effort on your part, but it will all be worth it once you see that your subject is more willing to cooperate with you once the clear connections are established.
Exclusive Bonus: The Hypnotic-Influencer’s Cheat Sheet
Now that you’ve completed The Hypnotic Language Formula and the
“boot camp” of patterns and examples, it’s time for some relaxation:
your very own cheat sheet!
This cheat sheet will help refresh your memory when you think you’ve forgotten a few things. It is my sincere hope that you enjoy reviewing our lessons as much as I’ve enjoyed writing them!
1. CHANGE – The ultimate goal of communication is to create change in your subject. If you put this at the top of your priority list as a hypnotist-influencer, you will be miles ahead of other students of influence.
2. ADAPTABILITY – Masters of influence are extremely adaptable and patient individuals. They know that at the end of the day, it’s your flexibility that will win you a continuous stream of “yeses” from you people that you interact with.
Being adaptable also means that you have to be very observant of your subject’s words and actions. It’s never enough to simply have a master plan. Your master plan would be of little value if you don’t know how to apply it dynamically to the actual situation at hand.
There will also be times when the best laid plans turn out to be the worst laid ones because of a detail that you failed to take into account.
Don’t let these situations drag you down. Instead, learn from them and use a variety of strategies to accomplish your target outcome.
3. MENTAL LENSES – Mental lenses represent how people view and understand the world. Initially, you would have to switch the current lens of your subject so that he would view you as a natural leader. In the beginning, this is all that truly matters.
If your subject doesn’t see you as his leader, he would not be motivated to agree with you and follow your proposals. You would do the same if you were in your subject’s position, wouldn’t you?
We all need leaders in our lives. Natural leaders are very rare and so
We all need leaders in our lives. Natural leaders are very rare and so