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About Posting: Only Registered users can post new topics and replies in this forum Username: Password: I forgot my password! Message: Click Here to review the topic. [quote] On 2012-02-24 13:42, dmkraig wrote: Owen, there are a lot of assumptions and challenges to directly answer your questions. First, I'd like to look as the problems in your examples. Hypnotizing friends can be a real challenge because they don't think of you as THE HYPNOTIST (to use ANT's expression), they think of you as a friend. The guy you mention, from your description, clearly did not have control of the audience. He could have said something like, "If you're one of my friends, please stay where you are to enjoy the show." He could have worked some tests to prep the volunteers for going into hypnosis. He could have had an introduction that made it clear that no matter how you knew him, he was THE HYPNOTIST. There are many types of individual inductions. You don't reveal what individual induction(s) he used. My *guess*, and it is only a guess, is that he attempted to use the same induction on all of the volunteers. The thing is, failure breeds failure and success breeds success. Everyone who saw him fail with the first volunteer saw him as a failure, not THE HYPNOTIST. With each failure that impression increased. By the time he got to the third or fourth person he would not have been able to hypnotize anyone there. That's not to say he can't hypnotize, only that he built up his failures and gave the message to the other volunteers--on an unconscious level--that he would fail with them. There are a few solutions--in my opinion and based upon the limited amount of information you presented--to this problem. 1) He needs a better introduction 2) He needs a better pre-talk 3) He needs to work with volunteers before hypnotizing any of them. This includes sending back to the audience those who don't follow directions. 4) My assumption is that he uses just one induction format. Besides being boring to the audience, one or two failures result in a failure response to the rest of the volunteers. I would think that any trained hypnotist would know these principles, so my guess is that this guy who is "just getting started" is, at best, an IROB ("I Read One Book" and I can do it!) and really doesn't know much about hypnosis. Personally, I like that he has the cojones to put himself out there and do it. I know lots of book-learned, self-styled "experts" who don't dare go out and actually hypnotize people. I also know many people who have gone through hypnosis trainingS and still don't have the courage to hypnotize anyone. So I admire his courage. Now, however, he needs the information and training to go with that courage. In short, he should get trained. Combined with his courage he could become a great hypnotist. Now on to your question. First, about your previous work. Again, good on ya for having the courage to do this. Small places can be quite challenging due to the minimum number of potential volunteers. The key, therefore, is to get good volunteers, not just fill the seats in front. When doing a pre-talk, of course, it is common to give some "tests" such as magnetic fingers, light/heavy hands, etc. as an entertainment and as a way for people to see the power of hypnosis. But there is something else: As you are doing this LOOK AT YOUR AUDIENCE! Who is responding the best? If someone doesn't respond but jumps on stage to volunteer, it's possible that their goal is to "prove" you can't hypnotize them and actually screw you (and your show). Since they are volunteers who come up you can't force people to the stage, but you can begin by enthusiastically pointing to people (the good responders) and asking them to the stage. The implication of the way you word your question is that we have a choice of either a group induction or an individual induction. I think this is a false dichotomy. What I like to do (YMMV) is give more tests on stage and then pick a person who is most responsive for an individual induction. When the rest of the volunteers "see my power" (actually, they choose to give up their power to my suggestions), doing a group induction becomes easier. Besides the implication of your post that there is either a group or individual induction, your statement "what is your preferred method of induction" implies that professionals have one method they prefer to use. I would respectfully suggest that you discard that notion. IMO a professional needs to know many forms of induction and even create them at a moment's notice. The inductions I'll use for a group of rowdy drunks are not the same as for professional businessmen. The inductions for a group of women is not the same as for a group of college students. Generally speaking, I like to use a fast progressive relaxation, a pattern interrupt instant, and a modified Elman for the group. I'm not saying that's what I always do or that this is "the best," it just works for me. Each is modified on the fly for the group. Deepeners are used depending upon need. Respectfully, since you're asking, I would also suggest that you get some [more?] in-person training. All of these questions would not only be answered in a good training, but you'd also have a chance to practice with others and come out far more assured of yourself. It's one thing to be able to project the image that you're THE HYPNOTIST to others. It's just as important--perhaps more so--to know, beyond any doubt, that indeed, YOU ARE THE HYPNOTIST. [/quote] [HTML is Off] [BBcode is On] Options: Disable BBcode on this Post Disable Smilies on this Post

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