CYBAH Ep 10: Rapid Hypnotic Induction Techniques

Hi, I’m Erika Flint.  If you're interested in learning the techniques of professional hypnotists, you're in the right place. Today, we're going to talk about rapid and instant hypnotic inductions, which are modern and effective ways to get your client into hypnosis quickly.

What is a hypnotic induction? 

An induction is a technique that takes your client from a, quote “normal” state of consciousness - to hypnosis. Classic forms of hypnotic inductions could take twenty minutes or more, and they do not include hypnotic depth testing.

Professional hypnotists use modern inductions that are Fast, Criteria Based, and include depth testing to ensure clients are at the proper depth of hypnosis before beginning the work. 

You’re probably familiar with the progressive relaxation induction. This is the one where every part of the body, more or less, is given the suggestion for relaxation. It’s like a mental massage, which can be nice. 

There’s nothing wrong with a progressive relaxation induction, I like them quite a bit when I want to relax. When I want to do nothing. However, when we want to help our clients get rid of limiting beliefs, and fears, it’s preferred to get them into hypnosis more rapidly and spend time working through the issue. 

The four hypnotic inductions every hypnotist should be familiar with include the instant induction, a rapid induction, the affect-based induction, and a conversational induction. 

An instant induction isn’t used quite as much anymore - and it’s not necessary either. Instant inductions are popular with stage and street hypnotists because they’re so DRAMATIC, 3, 2, 1, SLEEP. That style of hypnosis works, because we SURPRISE the conscious mind. And in that moment of surprise- we are HIGHLY suggestible. 

Also, if you want to work with kids, instant inductions are great because kids are fascinated by them. An instant induction is not hard to learn, you’ll just want to practice the timing. I wouldn’t spend any time on it though - unless you’re really inspired to do so for a specific reason, because it’s not necessary. 

A rapid induction is one where your client can enter into hypnosis in a few minutes. For a rapid induction, I prefer the 5-PATH induction developed by Cal Banyan and based on the Elman Induction, and The Alpha Sequence, both are great. I use 5-PATH for folks who’ve never done hypnosis or meditation before, and The Alpha Sequence for more advanced practitioners - folks who have been meditating for years, or who already have their own hypnosis practice. 

The affect-induced induction will be used ANYTIME your client presents with a lot of emotion. For example, if your client starts emoting - crying, during the pre-hypnosis interview, you’re not going to “calm her down” to start the hypnosis, no. Rather you’ll begin the hypnosis session without a formal induction. 

Because the truth is that when our clients are emotional - they are highly suggestible. Therefore, anytime your client is emotional they are ALREADY IN HYPNOSIS. and you do not need a formal induction. 

Finally, the conversational induction is an induction that can interrupt our clients' thinking pattern or cause expansion in the conscious mind offering direct access to the subconscious mind.

Now, when you’re ready to deliver a hypnotic induction it's important to use your natural voice and speak with a relatively fast cadence. Speaking too slowly allows the client's conscious mind to interfere with the hypnosis process. And having a deep, monotone voice will likely be boring and put your clients to sleep. Congruency of tone is important for delivery of hypnosis. Your voice and tone should be congruent with what you are suggesting. 

Despite what you may have learned, hypnosis It is not a performance. We love our clients and are merely helping them enter into a resourceful state. You are not trying to do hypnosis “perfectly.” 

The answers are within our clients. Our role, as hypnotists, is to create a safe and loving environment for our clients' consciousness to reveal the source or sources that continue causing the problem or adding to it.

One of the best ways to practice hypnosis is to deliver a hypnotic induction over and over to yourself - as you go into hypnosis, your client will easily follow. Get copies of the Alpha Sequence and begin practicing that now at TheAlphaSequence.com. 

I’ve got eight more modern hypnosis techniques to show you. If you haven’t already, like this video and subscribe to our channel. Also, comment below on which induction is your favorite. It might seem like a small thing but it makes a big difference for me and helps me better connect with our viewers. Thanks for watching!