Many hypnotists starting out get stuck on what to say to a subject once they have them in trance. My students often ask me, “How do I word a suggestion so that it has the greatest impact, for the highest level of success?”

Well, the key components of effective suggestions are Language, Tempo and Rhythm.

Let’s look at language.

The language you use with a subject is very import. I’m not just talking about the obvious, like speaking in a dialect that your subject understands, although this is important as well. I’m talking about the specific words you use, what those words mean, whether or not those words are part of the subjects internal vocabulary and for how long, and whether the language focuses on the expected positive outcome, or on the problem.

We all have a vocabulary we use to express our thoughts and views of the world we live in; however, some words have been with us much longer than others. For example, the words “House” or “Home” have been a part of our vocabulary for much longer than the words “Residence” or “Domicile” and therefore, the emotional attachment we have to the earlier, simpler words is much stronger.

There’s an old saying “Don’t use a five-dollar word if a 50-cent one will do the job.”, which means don’t use big academic words, if there is a simpler word available. For example, don’t say “Jubilant”, “Mirthful”, or “Exultant” when you can just say “Happy”. Don’t say “Intrepid”, “Sanguine” or “Undaunted” when you can simply say “Confident” or “Confidently”. Sure the other words sound more educated, and imply the same or similar meaning, however the simpler words like “Happy” and “Confident” have been part of our vocabulary for much longer and therefore are more highly emotionally charged.

During your pre-session interview, you will ask your client questions about what they want to work on. Your probing questions should be designed to discover, what positive changes the client expects to gain, and how those changes will affect their lives in a positive way (this is focusing on the positive solution or outcome, as opposed to the negative issue or behavior). Make note of exactly what their responses are and specifically, what words they use. The words they use have special meaning to them, so those are the words you will echo back to them during the change work portion of your hypnotic session.

By using your subjects own internal vocabulary during the session, you will be able to customize your suggestions specifically for their subconscious. You will be speaking “their” language and therefore have a much greater level of effectiveness and success. By focusing your suggestions on the positive outcome or solution, you give the subconscious mind something to focus on and to drive toward thereby taking energy away from the past negative behavior. Remember, “Where attention goes, energy flows” so if your suggestions are designed to have the clients subconscious mind focus on positive changes and outcomes, that is what they will experience.

Now let’s look at Tempo and Rhythm.

Speaking quickly at the beginning of an induction can be used to overload the client’s conscious mind, which encourages their subconscious mind to escape into hypnosis. The fast barrage of language patterns overloads the subject’s subconscious, creating a state of anxiety, which triggers the fight/flight/freeze process and the easiest path is to escape into hypnosis. You can achieve the same effectiveness with a slower tempo during the induction, but it takes longer and with some subjects you may lose their attention in the process.

Once your subject is in hypnosis, and you begin the change work portion of the session, slow the tempo down and lower the tone of your voice to a more soothing level. Use changes in the inflection of your voice to emphasize important words or statements. Vary the rhythm of your speech by injecting strategic pauses after each important word or phrase. The pauses allow the subjects subconscious to more efficiently process the suggestion and integrate it more deeply.

When you are ready to bring the subject out of hypnosis, gradually increase the tempo and pitch of your voice as a sort of crescendo toward the final exit from trance. You want your voice and internal state to reflect the same alertness you want your subject to experience, once they come out of trance. This helps to reduce some of the sluggishness or ‘hypnotic hangover’ that some subjects might experience from a slower, more maternal exit process.

Well, I hope you find these tips helpful. If you have additional questions, then bring them up in the next meeting and we can discuss them in more detail.

That’s all I have for now.

Michael C. White, C.Ht.