OK, as you now know, there are certain sequences you must follow in order for covert hypnosis to be successfully utilized. Every technique has to be used at a proper time and progression of a conversation. One of such sequences that we described in the previous post goes as follows:
Attention --> Rapport --> Captivation (trance induction) --> Suggestions <--> Calibration
Now let's look at two examples where a legitimate covert hypnosis technique was used, but at an improper point of the conversation:
When I had a lot of knowledge but very little experience with covert hypnosis (back in the days :) ), I was very eager to try out all the neat language patterns and other techniques. For some reason, I thought night clubs were the easiest places to practise my skills (later it turned out that loud music really doesn't help with much of this...). So, when I came to the club, I looked around for suitable targets and quickly spotted a cute girl that was sitting near the dance floor by herself.
I pumped myself up and approached her. Seemingly accidentally and uninterested, I sat besides her and, like her, watched people dancing for a few moments. She was enjoying the music and was slightly moving to the beats. I told myself: "This is it, you can do it!" and I begun the conversation...
Me: "Isn't it funny how music can sometimes evoke those warm and pleasant feelings inside you that just make you happy to be here... with me, that's how it works, how about you?"
Her: "What?"
Me (louder): "Khm... Isn't it funny how music can sometimes evoke those warm and pleasant feelings inside you that just make you happy to be here... with me, that's how it works, how about you?"
Her (a bit confused and after a short silence): "Yeah, it really depends on what drugs you're on, dude." She laughed and left to find her friends.
Obviously I wasn't happy with my result. I was also confused, I mean I even had the tonality and congruence going on! I really felt and expressed those feelings while talking about them. What went wrong?
Here's what: I started with the wrong kind of suggestions at this certain point of conversation. I didn't build any rapport and I didn't captivate her even a bit. All I did was get some partial attention. Another problem was the context. I didn't set the correct frame for this kind of conversation. And since this was a night club, she interpreted it as me being drunk or on drugs instead of really experiencing what I was talking about.
Later that night I got myself to try that line again on another girl. This time I sat near her and started moving in a similar way as she was. Very soon she noticed that, looked at me and smiled. I smiled back and we did some funny moves together. I then leaned towards her and said the same thing as before. She agreed with me, smiled and we had a pleasant short conversation and she was seemingly attracted and was touching me a lot. Unfortunately her friend came and demanded she goes dance with her. She just said: "See you later" and went. She was looking at me a lot during dancing, but I didn't follow up...
Anyway, this interaction was better than the previous one because I established some rapport at first (notice how quickly you can do this -- a few looks, some dance moves and you're already in some rapport). Also, since we both enjoyed the music and expressed it with moving to the beats and with smiling, the frame was right to do that particular pattern.
OK, in the next post I'll share the next bad example of going for the wrong suggestions at the improper point of conversation...
