Factors That Influence Hypnotizability

Factors That Influence Hypnotizability

Ron Eslinger

If rapport is the fuel that is necessary to make hypnosis run, suggestion is the motor. You can put the motor in many different chassis, but you still need a motor to run that chassis, and you will definitely need fuel to make the motor run. The better the fuel, the better the motor will run.

Emile Coué in his book My Method explains his belief that delivering effective suggestions was all that was needed to bring about change. He abandoned the notion of the hypnotic session as we know it in favor of going straight for the suggestion.  As he dispensed medications he would also dispense positive suggestion as to the efficacy of the medication. He noticed that patients who received both medication and positive suggestion did better than patients who received the medication alone. Coué also instructed patients to repeat a number of times each night before going to sleep, “Every day, in every way, I am getting better and better.” This statement is the basis for the Silva Mind Control program for self-improvement.

A more modern example is The Amazing Kreskin. Kreskin, who prefers to call himself a “mentalist” rather than a hypnotist, bypasses most of the trappings associated with traditional hypnotism. Through his keen ability to build instant rapport and his remarkable delivery, he has demonstrated to millions that people can do amazing things merely through suggestion.

The art of suggestion is the art of communicating with the subconscious mind. The effective formulation and application of suggestion requires a basic understanding of the operation of the mind and subconscious discussed earlier in the chapter on the Brain.

Rapport

Rapport is one of the most important skills in interpersonal interactions. The concept of rapport is based on the notion that people like people who are like themselves and dislike people who are dislike themselves. When a person likes someone, they are much more likely to work with that person.

So, how do we establish rapport with someone? There are half a dozen key elements in establishing rapport. They are essentially the goal behaviors that will allow you to be more like the other person.

The first goal is physically mirroring the subject. The idea is to copy, even if subtly, the subject’s posture, gestures, expressions and other movements. You do not have to be right on top of the person’s movements or cross your arms the second he or she crosses their arms. You should delay for a moment, and copy their posture, etc.  After you pace the other person’s movements and posture for a while you can lead them.  Try changing your posture and see if the other person follows. This is one way to check and see if you have established rapport.

The second goal is to match the subject’s breathing. You can either pace someone’s breathing by matching your breath to theirs or you can also do things like tap a foot in time with their breath. As with physical mirroring, after you pace the person’s breathing for a while you can then begin to lead.

The third goal is to determine the subject’s primary representational system and present information in the same way.  As you pace the person’s representational system you can lead them into other representational systems. When you lead a subject into a different representational system you effectively lead them into an altered state of consciousness.

The fourth goal is to match the subject’s voice. This includes volume, tone, tempo, and the timbre (texture) of their voice.

The fifth goal is to match the size and quality of the pieces of information the person presents. Persons who deal with large less detailed pieces of information will become frustrated when presented with smaller, more detailed pieces of information. Conversely, a person who handles information in small detailed pieces will quickly become bored with someone who presents large general pieces of information.

Finally, common experience is the glue that binds us together. If we can relate to a person’s experiences, beliefs, values and interests and show we have some commonality with them they are more likely to feel a bond to us. For some the ability to build rapport seems to come naturally and almost magically. The rest of us need to practice.