Use Your Curiosity and Make Hypnosis Easy!

Hi Folks

There seems to be a popular notion at the moment that to be a hypnotist you need to be ‘THE HYPNOTIST’ – i.e. you need to have the attitude that you are possessed of the power to bend the minds of your subjects to your will and that all will succumb. Now whilst it is true that this kind of attitude can work and pay dividends in many cases, it also has the power to backfire built into it. In addition to that, it often simply doesn’t suit peoples characters!

Well, breath a sigh of relief because there is another way, and it harnesses the power of something that I know you have in spades!

Watch the video, and my disembodied head will explain all!

And please leave me your feedback and/or questions in the comments section.

All the very best

James

(Please Note, if you are thinking this concept is the basis for The No-Fail Protocol, it is not… although it can be utilised within it.)

httpv://youtu.be/nYDobJ-tjos

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About The Author

James Tripp

Hypnotist and Transformative Facilitator. Creator of Hypnosis Without Trance.

21 Comments

  • Howdy, James!
    Great approach. I really appreciate your “have you ever experienced hypnosis?’ and “hypnosis is more like a dance than something you DO to someone else” mind set.
    I think it’s important to know the direct method, however the more tools in the tool box the better.
    Just finished a weekend with Anthony and Kev in London. I was hoping to meet you. Maybe next time!
    Full speed ahead!
    Tim

  • macka

    March 18, 2011

    Well said James. I totally agree with you. I think some other hypnotists who say its all about confidence and inner stuff have forgooten that the confidence did not come until after they had done hypnosis. I think they unconsiously rationalised that “well im confident now and it works so it must be confidence”. I think your theory and the Big because has opened the door to other ways to get hypnosis. I think confidence definetly works and when you have it, it kind of becomes the main buy in, but for begginers its good that your looking for the buy in and you can go through different avenues instead of faking it so to speak. and I really like Jeffrey Stevens and your definition of Intention. Great Stuff always Valuable

    cheers

    macka

    • James Tripp

      March 18, 2011

      Thanks Macka

      Jeff’s a good guy – a true explorer of hypnosis. His words are often wise.

      All the very best

      James

  • J. Crit Harley, MD, C.Ht.

    March 18, 2011

    Another quick gem … thanks. jch

  • Bob Burns

    March 18, 2011

    Hi James,
    The first time I heard ‘Be the Hypnotist!’ I remember kinda’ loving it AND hating it, before going off and thinking about it. I discovered of course that it’s contextual and for both the given moment and of course; subject.
    The result is that I DO use it and it IS fantastic. However, I have found that even WITH the skills and confidence to enact this procedure I personally have changed over the years, now prefering to use any analogy or metaphor I can (by reading a little about the subject and simply by asking questions).
    For example I DO use your ‘dance analogy’ often (thankyou) but find that anything that they can relate to will work.
    In closing I’d say that ‘Be the hypnotist’ works perfectly in a street or pub situation where they’re queing up, because that seems to be the expectancy of the beast, but in a one on one situ, yes, I’d agree that it makes good sense to ask oneself “what ‘type’ of person do I have before me?” Before making the decision of whether to Zap or Hug.
    Nice clip, many thanks.

    Bob

    • James Tripp

      March 18, 2011

      ‘it makes good sense to ask oneself “what ‘type’ of person do I have before me?”

      Wise words Bob!

      ‘The Hypnotist’ approach IS fantastic for the right person in the right context, without question. It is when it is applied without sensitivity to those things that it can backfire.

      Stay well!

      J

  • Jeffrey

    March 18, 2011

    Brilliant, James. Simply brilliant. I tell all my students to fill their metaphoric ‘toolbox’ with everything they can get so they always have ‘something else’ if they should need it.

    I personally tend to just take for granted that it will work. I am THE HYPNOTIST. But I do really like the whole experimentation and curiosity frames as a way to get the experience that one needs to reach confidence and then go beyond it.

    I guess my perspective is that you can’t really change what hypnosis is. It is what it is. But you CAN change the frame to suit the occasion and the needs of the subject. And this is a fantastic way to do it.

    I have often framed it with “Let me show you something interesting (or weird) about your mind” and this has opened the door for doing hypnosis. I find people more than willing to experiment.

    I think the ‘curiosity frame’ that you proffer is an excellent tool for opening the door or bridging the gap. If there is one thing I DO know about people it’s that they will definitely want to go further if you pique their curiosity.

    Would love to do something with you and/or Anthony some day. But that is a topic for another discussion.

    • James Tripp

      March 18, 2011

      Thanks Jeff. And I look forward to that discussion!

      J

  • Thanks James for reminding us that softly, softly is a very effective approach. To use a slighlty less offensive message to animal lovers, in particular cats. I am one but hven’t taken offence.
    You trap more flies with honey than you do with vinegear.

    • James Tripp

      March 18, 2011

      Thanks John

      You do indeed trap more cats with honey than with vinegar… no wait, that’s not it…

      All the very best

      James

  • Hi James, Thanks for another simple yet powerfully informative blog.

    “How curious are you about hypnosis?”, “just notice what happens” are great phrases that help draw the other person into the experience with no pressure for them to perform.
    Thanks again.

    • Jeffrey

      March 19, 2011

      Hello Roger, good comment. I have found two of the most powerful words for moving the subject inside are ‘imagine’ and ‘wonder’. And both become far more powerful when put into question form.

      Examples:
      “What would it be like to imagine you were drifting into a place where you could let go…”

      “Did you ever wonder what hypnosis would seem like… inside your mind… inside your body…?”(This one has the flaw of being a yes/no question.)

      “I wonder what it would be like to imagine going deep inside to a place to wonder about things all around you…” (I used this once as part of a larger inside/outside fractionation that left the person completely unable to move.)

      Ain’t hypnosis fun? 😉

  • Darío Piera

    March 19, 2011

    Thanks again for sharing gems like this James. A little bit that can reframe the whole approach an inner set-up.

    • James Tripp

      March 19, 2011

      Thanks Dario – hope you are well?

      J

  • Hey James, you never fail to amaze me! Good stuff buddy.

    Antonio

    p.s. lets get you on a podcast really soon. I’d really love to get you to do an impromptu hypnosis session to help people to be more curious while doing hypnosis. Whatcha think?

  • Thanks James, really enjoyed this video. I think that’s a very useful frame – it’s one that I find suits me too and I think you articulted it really well.

    I’m now wondering how much you think there’s a dichotomy between the authoritative “I am the Hypnotist – do my bidding” approach and a more permissive “Let’s try something intereting” approach. It seems to me that you could take a very high status, directive approach but still frame it as “let’s try something” rather than “this WILL happen when I snap my fingers.” Similarly you could use quite a gentle non-confrontational frame but use it to create a context where you can give direct, authoritative directions, because that’s just appropriate for what you’re trying.

    That’s come out pretty rambling – I guess what I mean is I’m interested in how much you can mix high status behaviour with permissive language and vice versa, and how much you can tailor actions and attitudes to suit the individual in front of you. I reckon so long as you’re giving clear, congruent signals there’s a lot of potential in mixing different approaches in this way.

    Thanks again, this one’s really got me thinking.

    • James Tripp

      March 28, 2011

      Hi Daniel

      Good to hear from you, and glad that you like the ‘curiosity’ positioning.

      When I utilise the ‘curiosity’ in this way, I am still coming from the place of being the clear leader in the ‘dance’, so I don’t really see it a s a permissive approach as such… just one that re-orders the meanings that get attached to the events in a much more useful way. It’s really just about creating room to move in a way that doesn’t undermine the power of the process… in many ways it allows you to be MORE direct in the delivery of suggestions.

      All the best

      James

  • Mark

    March 20, 2011

    Hi James, i use the curiosity frame when teaching NLP, usually i leave an old treasure chest in the room but never mention or talk about it until someone always asks at the end of the course what’s in the chest? I invite the person to open it take out an sealed envelope and read to the class what it says ” My gift to you is curiosity” It will keep you young and give you a Why in your life- Logotherapy
    I had never thought of using it in a hypnosis setting until your blog, thanks for the gem
    Regards Mark

  • James Tripp

    March 28, 2011

    Hi Mark

    Yes, the whole curiosity thing does come from NLP!

    Love the treasure chest idea!

    All the very best

    James

  • Georgios

    September 16, 2011

    Thanks for the information James i will add it in my toolkit!

  • Michael

    March 28, 2012

    I feel this post is HUGE and of critical importance especially for those hypnotists who rely on the power and confidence based approach. Being both a hypnotist and a client, I can say with complete certainty that there are those of us who have already had enough domineering-ness in our lives. The powerful and confident approach doesn’t have to be – but can be – a trap that leads to not noticing feedback loops with the client. It can – in my experience – lead so far as to end up blaming the client who “is not doing / is not willing to do the work”, or even constructing a no-set with a client. The implications of that are probably obvious. I wholeheartedly support your idea of using that approach when it’s valuable, while also having the flexibility to be authentically curious about what is going on with the other person. Bravo.

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