We are all experiencing a lot of changes as the response to COVID19 has many of us practicing social distancing and learning to work from home all of a sudden. It is critical we take the time to establish a remote setup as our services are going to be hugely beneficial to our communities moving forward. Our clients come from all walks of life, and with the increase in panic and anxiety, it is important we are available to them. About half of my clients are remote clients, and their results are just as successful and transformative as in-office. Here are my top 3 tips to ensuring your remote sessions are just as effective as your in-office sessions:
Your Set-up
Getting the technology set up can be an intimidating thought, but remote sessions do not require a lot! You will need a computer or laptop, a webcam, a quality microphone, and a remote conferencing service. The service I use at Cascade Hypnosis Center is Zoom. It creates a private link for each client, and has not given me issues with connections. This service is free to our clients, but will cost a monthly fee for you.
Many computers and laptops come with built-in webcams already which is great! If you do need to buy one, don’t worry about buying the top of the line. You do not need high definition video as your voice is what is most important during remote sessions. High definition video also creates larger files, so you’ll find your storage filling up quickly. If you are going to splurge on your setup, make sure it is the audio and microphone that get priority over video.
When choosing a microphone, research quality and compatibility with your computer. Make sure you are getting a microphone meant for computer usage, usually with a USB connection. If you are shopping for a webcam with a built-in microphone, check the reviews to make sure the audio quality is crisp and clear.
2. Preparing Your Client
It is a great luxury that we can perform transformative hypnosis remotely, but we need to make sure our client has the right tools and environment to receive the benefits of successful service. This is a great thing to figure out during your free consultation! Make sure to test all technology aspects during the consultation to ensure you can focus on hypnosis during their future sessions. You may need to offer additional time for remote consultations, or even a second consultation to make sure the client can connect to Zoom without hiccups.
Clients will need to have a webcam and microphone available for use from a comfortable chair. I avoid using phones as the quality is just not quite there. The client also needs to have a private and comfortable space that is free from distractions during the session. This includes making sure kids, pets, and other family members are able to respect privacy during the scheduled time.
And of course fill your client with confidence that their remote sessions will bring them the life changing results that they are coming to you for! We get to offer them a source of guidance through what may be the hardest thing they have experienced, and most importantly empower them to see that with hypnosis and hard work they will get through this.
3. Remote Session Pointers for Hypnotists
Make sure all of your paperwork is available in electronic form to be emailed to your clients. Some programs let you fill out the paperwork on your computer, but most clients will print it off, fill it out, and then return it to you. If your client does not have access to a scanner, you can ask them to take a picture of the completed forms and send the pictures back to you. Google drive offers support to convert pictures into PDFs, but it’s also okay to just keep the pictures as well. These are for your client records and usually don’t need to be edited.
Be ready to handle distractions! While remote sessions are highly beneficial, they are also more likely to experience small distractions from kids, pets, phones, or anything else. As hypnotists, we are master improvisers, so be ready to transform a distraction into a deepening technique or direct suggestion for your client. “Each time you hear your dog bark, you feel yourself go into a deeper relaxation. Your dog loves you, and each bark sends those feelings of love through your body, from your head down to your toes.”
And always have a backup plan prepared with your client. If a call drops they should know that you will be the one to call them back, and which number you will be calling. Things happen, and when the client sees you have a plan ready, it promotes trust and confidence in you as a hypnotist.
Final Thoughts
Ask friends and family members to help you test your remote setup before offering online sessions to your clients. Test every step from video and audio, to emailing your forms and getting them back. Audio quality is the highest priority for your technology set up. Here is another blog post about remote sessions for more info. And of course the most important tool is you, the hypnotist! Thanks to your compassion, calmness, and professionalism your clients will experience positive transformations.
