Welcome to the ultimate guide on hypnosis training.
In this 3-part guide, you’ll be taken on a journey.
One that will reveal what type of hypnosis training you should do in order to go from being a novice to hypnosis master.
While accomplishing the latter will take longer than the time it will take to read this guide (sorry, this isn’t a quick fix to mastery) you’ll get a very clear idea of how you can hone, improve and advance your skills as a hypnotist.
In essence, consider it as your complete guide to hypnosis training. A road map that’ll arm you with insider tips, resources and training programs to transform you into a confident and proficient hypnotist.
To answer this question, you first need to identify why you want to use hypnosis.
If you want to become a professional hypnotherapist to help people overcome problems such as fears, phobias and mental illnesses, it’s recommended that you use a variety of training methods, such as: online hypnosis training programs, attend live training seminars, get your hypnotherapy certification, and if you want to really master hypnosis, that you get your hypnotherapy diploma.
But if you just want to learn hypnosis to improve the way you communicate, or to become more influential in your everyday life, there are a host of online training programs that will certainly help you reach your goal (some of which are listed in this article). You can also join local hypnosis Meetup groups, or attend a live hypnosis training seminar to further help hone your skills.
Now let’s take a look at each of these training methods below…
PART 1: Beginner’s Guide To Hypnosis Training
Let us be the first to congratulate you on embarking on this meaningful and worthwhile journey.
As you’re probably already aware, hypnosis is a powerful change work tool that can be used to not only positively transform your own life – but the lives of your family, friends, community and, well, the world.
Yes, really – the world. We’re not exaggerating here – we believe it to be true.
And if you too have even an inkling that this is possible – and you share this positive intention – then we’ve got good news for you.
Because you’re about to learn how you can become the kind of hypnotist who’s able to spark powerful and lasting transformations in others.
And because you’re about to get your feet wet, we thought it would be a good opportunity to briefly share the backstory of the founder of the Hypnosis Training Academy, Igor Ledochowski.
You see, Igor wasn’t always a master hypnotist. In fact, he used to be a lawyer.
So his road to mastery hasn’t always been plain sailing. He’s come across many obstacles in his path to mastery.
But the best part about this?
Since starting the Hypnosis Training Academy, Igor’s mission has been to openly share what’s worked for him (and what hasn’t).
So whether you want to learn ethical conversational hypnosis, hypnotherapy, or self-hypnosis… or you just want to learn some basic hypnosis techniques and have fun – we’ve got your back.
When it comes to hypnosis, one tool is more powerful than all the others put together.
You might even say that, without it, hypnosis would be impossible.
And that tool is: words.
Sounds simple, doesn’t it?
To be a hypnotist, you just need to be able to use words. Anyone can do that. So why isn’t everyone able to hypnotize everybody else?
Because they aren’t just any old words.
Hypnotists use specific words and phrases to help people imagine possibilities, which means they need to choose their words with care.
We call those choice words power words (or hypnotic power words).
But here’s the thing:
Power words aren’t really anything different than the words you use on a daily basis.
Whether you’re answering the phone, talking to a neighbor, or discussing an idea with a colleague.
They’re not secret words given to hypnotists when they reach a certain level. You don’t have to be a grand master to be able to use them.
They’re not reserved for a select few who are privileged to speak them after years of study.
No.
What makes them power words isn’t necessarily the words themselves, but the way in which they’re used.
Yep, that’s really the secret behind making them "hypnotic."
Which is why we decided to expand upon this original blog post (which previously only listed 3 power words) to give you a list of 15 so you can fine-tune your hypnotic language skills – regardless of whether you’re working with a hypnosis client, or you’re looking to improve your communication skills.
(And as an added bonus... we’ll later reveal how you can up your hypnotic language repertoire with 70 different power words and phrases!)
But in the meantime, let’s discuss why...
All Words Have Built-In Magical Power
Why are words so cool?
How is it possible to use words that everybody knows and somehow put a person into a trance?
To find out, let’s briefly look at the character of words in general.
Suppose someone told you to imagine yourself biting into a lemon. Without having a lemon in your hand, you can still do it.
You can feel yourself biting into the yellow flesh. You can feel the juice squirting out and dripping everywhere.
You can taste the bitter citrus that almost sets your teeth on edge.
You can smell the lemony scent as it tingles your taste buds and works its way up into your nostrils.
And even without holding a lemon in your hand, or biting into it, your saliva glands somehow get activated.
That’s what words can do. They’re capable of:
Stimulating your imagination
Distracting you
Painting pictures in your mind
Activating your senses
Creating associations
Linking two things that wouldn’t normally go together
You’ve probably heard the expression "cool as a cucumber" – but does it make any sense?
Cucumbers aren’t particularly cool, unless they’re kept in the fridge. Go to any garden plot and touch one. Nope, no cooler than the pumpkin growing next door.
That’s what makes words so cool. Stick a couple together in an interesting phrase, and BAM! You’ve got a winner that everybody remembers. And once you know how hypnotic power words work, that’s what will make you a fantastic hypnotist.
The Big 5 Hypnotic Power Words
There are dozens of power words you can use, so let’s start with what we’ll call the Big 5. They are:
1. Because
Example: "You’re listening to me, you can relax, and because you’re relaxing, you can feel comfortable because comfort builds more relaxation, so you can relax even more comfortably and because you’re relaxing right now, you can feel more comfort developing inside you."
2. And
Example: "You can relax and feel comfortable, and the comfort you feel will make you relax even more, and the more you feel the comfort, the more you’ll relax. And as you relax, you’ll feel more comfortable. As you feel more comfortable, you’ll relax more and more. Relaxing more and feeling comfort is important for relaxation, so as you relax and feel comfort and relax even more and feel even more comfort."
3. As
Example: "As you listen to my voice, you can start to focus your attention inside. As your attention focuses inward, so your unconscious mind begins to take you into trance. As you breathe in and out, you will notice an ever deepening comfort starting to develop."
4. Imagine
Example: "Can you imagine going into trance? Imagine yourself drifting on a calm and beautiful river. Picture your muscles becoming loose and limp. See yourself feeling completely relaxed. Then imagine enjoying the most exquisite trance experience."
5. Which Means
Example: "You have been studying these language patterns for some time now, which means that you are learning something of tremendous value. The fact that you are reading this right now means that you are learning at the unconscious level..."
You can see that these are just ordinary words, but their power comes from how you put them to use.
Faking a smile when you meet someone you don’t particularly want to engage with.
It’s almost impossible not to at times, isn’t it?
Like you simply can’t help yourself.
As if some unseen force has taken control of your body.
It’s no big deal.
It happens to everyone.
Under normal circumstances, you wouldn’t even give it a second thought. Unless, that is, you wanted to use that information to your advantage.
What information?
The signs and signals you pick up from another person’s body language.
The trick is that they’re not always as obvious as the examples given above.
That "unseen force" is at work and they’re operating on autopilot, at an unconscious level.
But even though they don’t know they’re doing it, you can train yourself to spot it.
And when you do, and when you know what to look for, it can give you the upper hand.
It can put you in control of any situation because you’ll be able to tell almost instantly how the other person is feeling.
You’ll be able to tell what they’re thinking. You’ll be able to tell how they’re going to react and respond. Why?
Because their bodies will betray them by giving off unconscious signals.
They’ll do that at 3 specific times:
The approach - when you meet them
The duration – while you’re with them
The exit – when one or both of you leave
It doesn’t matter who they are or where they live, LA or Beijing, Melbourne or Johannesburg.
As long as their culture allows it, they’ll all unconsciously give off the same signals.
They can’t help it – it’s part of human nature. So what exactly are these signals and how can you learn to identify them?
# 1: Legs
Watch someone’s legs and you’ll discover a lot about them. A person’s legs are good indicators of what they’re really feeling. That’s because they’re furthest away from their head.
You may have noticed, for example, that when someone’s about to leave, their legs leave first. That might be because they’re in a hurry.
Or they might not like you and want to get away from you as quickly as possible. Whatever the reason, their legs will give them away.
They’ll point a foot in the direction they want to go. The same thing happens with the arms. When you’re driving a car and you see something that grabs your attention, often your arms will drift over in that direction, taking the steering wheel and the car with it.
Unconsciously you feel the need to move towards whatever it is. Same with the legs.
A person’s legs will tell you more about what they’re feeling than their facial expression, their words, or their tone of voice.
Why?
Because they have a better awareness of their words which determine their facial expressions and are able to control them more.
#2: Torso
The word torso comes from the Latin thyrsus, meaning stalk.
This is the trunk area of the body that contains the vital organs. That’s why sculptors include it with the head when they create a bust.
But unlike statues, the torso is actually quite flexible.
It can twist and turn. It can bend forward and back. And like the legs, it’s one of those areas we have less conscious control over. So if someone turns their torso away from you, they could be unconsciously saying they want to leave.
Or they could be feeling threatened and displaying a primitive instinct to protect their vital organs.
Or it might be that they just don’t like you.
Of course, if it’s someone they really don’t like, they’ll go even further and turn their back on them. Or give you the “cold shoulder.”
#3: Arms & Hands
Generally speaking, your arms and hands help you express yourself.
You might use them to help someone visualize what you’re talking about.
Saying “I caught a fish and it was this big” for instance, spreading your arms to give them a rough idea.
But you also use them in less obvious ways. So when you’re feeling confident, you might open your arms up wide.
When you’re nervous, you might wring your hands together.
When you’re bored or impatient, you might drum your fingers on the table or shove your hands in your pockets.
It can be easier to spot these signals because people tend to keep their hands in front of their torso, especially when they’re sitting down. When you meet someone for the first time, it’s common to extend a hand.
But what if they don’t? Are they being defensive? Are they socially awkward?
Is there some cultural phenomenon at work that you’re not aware of?
Likewise, someone who crosses their arms could be creating a barrier between you and them, or they could just be very relaxed so you have to look for other signals as well to determine which one it is.
Where the arms are concerned, it’s a lot to do with stress and comfort levels. The more open and expansive a person’s arms are, the more relaxed they feel.
When they’re feeling stressed, however, that’s when they might cross their arms or keep them tucked in close to their body.
Imagine, just for a moment, that you are your hypnosis subject.
That you're in a conversation with "you" trying to listen to the story that you're telling.
What words are standing out?
How is the story piquing your interest?
Is your story grasping your attention enough to stop you from thinking about how you wish that you had eaten lunch beforehand, for example?
And how, to make up for missing it, you're going to devour one of those fresh baguette sandwiches from that new French restaurant next to your office.
Wait. You had that yesterday. Maybe you'll treat yourself to the duck...
So, is it working?
Is your story enough to compete with a hungry stomach?
A cold office?
Or any of the other things that creep into someone's mind when a story is lacking that je-ne-sais-quoi.
Or otherwise put, when boredom has crept in - and the listener would prefer to create their own story in their head... rather than listening to yours.
Ouch.
We're all guilty of it.
An unintentional technique to occupy the conscious mind and keep it entertained... when it has decided that it no longer is.
And while this has its advantages when you're stuck without a book on a long train ride, for example, it spells disaster if your hypnosis subjects are doing the same... when in fact you think you're practicing conversational hypnosis.
So, it begs the question, how do you get good at telling stories so you become a fantastic conversational hypnotist?
Fortunately, the answer is easy.
You start by telling stories. And lots of them.
The more stories you tell, the better your storytelling skills will become.
Filled with drama and adventure. Overflowing with emotion.
Packed with personal change.
Believe it or not, even the most mundane story can be turned into a gripping tale.
And that makes storytelling the perfect vehicle for conversational hypnosis.
Turning an everyday event into a riveting experience. Keeping your subject enthralled. Getting past their conscious critical mind and easing them into trance, naturally.
Making your stories, well, hypnotic. Once you know how to do that, you can turn ordinary events that you might otherwise think are boring into spellbinding yarns.
So how do you it? By making sure every story has a number of crucial, basic ingredients...
The 3 Basic Ingredients Every Story Needs
To tell a good story that holds your subject's attention, it needs to include the following:
1. A Sequence Of Events
This is not necessarily the beginning, middle, and end of traditional stories. All it means is that the story has to be a sequence of events.
For example, imagine someone ordering a burger:
"He called, he ordered, he ate."
It's a sequence of events, but it's not a story. It's the basis for a story, which you can expand on.
"He was hungry, so he called, ordered a burger, and ate it."
2. A Break In The Sequence
Breaking up the original sequence of events is a simple way to extend any story. It acts as a trigger to tell the unconscious mind that a story is on the way.
To do it, just extend the time period in which the sequence of events occurs:
"He was working late, trying to get his report finished, but he just couldn't concentrate. He was too hungry. He knew he wouldn't be able to continue until he had something to eat."
3. An Emotional Change
In order for your story to have the right impact, there needs to be an emotional change.
There has to be a shift in emotions that alters one of the story's characters in some way. This shift acts as a signal to your listener that the story has reached a satisfying conclusion.
"He was working late, trying to get his report finished, but he just couldn't concentrate. He was too hungry. He knew he wouldn't be able to continue until he had something to eat.
So he picked up the phone, ordered a burger, and devoured it with pleasure.
Just what he needed.
He felt so good, in fact, that he decided he'd done enough work for one night. Instead, he took off his shoes, put his feet up, and let himself relax."
The other thing to remember is that any story you tell, as a rule of thumb, should be based in reality.
It needs to be something that actually happened, to you or to somebody else. That's what gives it its ring of truth and helps your listener identify with whatever's going on.
To pay tribute to an American great, each January a federal holiday is celebrated in the name of Martin Luther King, Jr.
So while this article is part homage to this holiday, it is also to recognize the powerful hypnotic techniques that were at play in MLK’s history-changing speech, "I Have A Dream."
And while MLK may not have knowingly used hypnotic language, it’s clear from this speech that he had a keen understanding of the persuasive power of words.
If you haven’t had the opportunity to watch it before, you can check it out here:
The whole point behind hypnosis and hypnotic language can be summed up using the ABS formula, which is:
A - absorb attention
B - bypass the critical factor
S - stimulate the unconscious mind
Regular readers will already be familiar with this formula, so here’s a quick recap of how it works.
In order to be able to hypnotize someone, you need to get their attention. If you can’t get their attention, then they won’t be listening to what you have to say.
And unless they’re listening, you won’t be able to communicate with them on any level. One sure-fire way to get their attention is through the use of hypnotic language.
Once you’ve got their attention, your next task is to bypass their critical mind. That’s the part of the conscious mind that’s always criticizing, analyzing, and rejecting information.
It thinks logically and rationally, blocking messages so they can’t make their way into the unconscious mind, the place where creativity, imagination, inspiration, motivation and insight reside.
Hypnotic phrases, themes and power words are the perfect tools to access it.
As soon as that part of the conscious, critical mind is bypassed, you’re able to start communicating directly with the unconscious.
You might recognize this as the process that takes someone into a hypnotic trance, to a stage where it’s possible to make suggestions that will lead their thinking and future actions in a particular direction.
You can achieve this by making good use of hypnotic themes.
Clearly, Martin Luther King, Jr. wasn’t trying to hypnotize his audience in the strict sense of the word. And yet, much of this famous speech has a great deal of hypnotic power.
Let’s take a closer look at the speech and see if we can identify some of the techniques found within it.
Hidden Hypnotic Techniques In The "I Have A Dream" Speech
1. Hypnotic Themes
Looking at the speech as a whole, you can see that there are a number of hypnotic themes that permeate it.
A hypnotic theme is simply an idea, like relaxation, comfort, potential, success, and so on. In the context of this speech, the themes that run through it include the notions of freedom, independence, unity, equality and justice.
That makes absolute sense, since MLK gave the speech exactly 100 years after Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation.
The theme of freedom begins on the very first line.
The word "freedom" is repeated no less than twenty times in total, with the shorter version "free" appearing an additional five times.
That’s what you’d expect in a speech designed to help put an end to segregation and inequality.
Ironically, the word independence only shows up once in a reference to the Declaration of Independence.
Naturally, though, if someone has their freedom, that implies they’ve also got their independence. So the theme of independence is present even if not stated outright.
What’s the most universal sign of unity?
The act of joining hands.
To make this even more poignant, the text refers to boys and girls from both ethnic backgrounds joining hands "as sisters and brothers."
The speech concludes with another reference to the act of joining hands, this time stating that "all of God’s children, black men and white men, Jews and gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing" - showing clearly the need to put aside our differences and start treating each other as equal human beings.
Where equality and justice are concerned, King uses a number of techniques to drive these themes home. He quotes the famous line from the Declaration of Independence that "all men are created equal." The word "justice" appears in the speech eight times, making listeners aware of two important facts:
That all Americans, regardless of the color of their skin, are entitled to the same privileges and considerations
That black Americans have been waiting patiently for their "justice" for 100 years
2. Metaphors
This speech is nothing short of a master class in the use of metaphor.
King paints pictures with words as skillfully as if he’d been given a paintbrush and every shade of pigment under the sun.
There are so many examples, in fact, that there isn’t room in this article to discuss every one of them.
Instead, here’s a list of some of the most potent and descriptive metaphors that still resonate with anyone who listens to the speech:
Seared in the flames of withering injustice
Crippled by the manacles of segregation and the chains of discrimination
A lonely island of poverty in the midst of a vast ocean of material prosperity
Rise from the dark and desolate valley of segregation to the sunlit path of racial justice
From the quicksands of racial injustice to the solid rock of brotherhood
The sweltering summer of the Negro’s legitimate discontent - (note the allusion and comparison to Shakespeare’s speech from Richard III, "now is the winter of our discontent")
Drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred
Until justice rolls down like waters and righteousness like a mighty stream - (a couple of similes, but equally as provocative)
Hew out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope
Transform the jangling discords of our nation into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood
You’ll also notice how some of these metaphors do more than paint pictures: they also make a stark contrast between two extremes, such as the stone of hope versus the mountain of despair.
3. Anaphora
In case you haven’t heard of it before, anaphora is a rhetorical term that refers to the repetition of words at the beginning (and sometimes the end) of phrases.
The most often quoted example of this is the phrase "I have a dream" which appears eight times in successive sentences.
Other uses of the device include the following:
One hundred years later
Now is the time
We can never (cannot) be satisfied
Let freedom ring
As you probably realize, repetition is a useful tool that helps activate the hypnotic state.
It can have the same effect as a mother gently sending her child to sleep with the back and forth movement of a rocking chair.
In the hands of a great speech writer, the repetition of key phrases helps bury significant ideas into the minds of listeners, making sure they take away as much of the message as possible.
4. Power Words
We’ve seen how the speech makes extensive use of metaphors to implant pictures into the unconscious mind.
Not close-ups, but vast landscapes needed to embrace those large universal themes mentioned earlier.
You may have heard of power words.
They’re words such as: and, because, as well as, imagine, and remember.
These are simple words that get repeated to help you create your own pattern of hypnotic language.
What you may not be so familiar with is the Hypnotic Language Shortcut System (or HLSS).
The HLSS is a collection of cards with 70 power words organized into a number of different suits and categories.
The cards are colored according to their designation, so that RED suit stands for imagination, GREEN suit for linkage, ORANGE suit for need, and so on.
On one side of the card you’ll find the power word (such as imagine) while on the other side you’ll find several sentences giving examples of how to use the word in a hypnotic language context.
Let’s get back to the ABS formula.
Each of the categories contained within the HLSS cards is designed to address one of the 3 parts of the formula, i.e. to absorb attention,bypass the critical factor, or stimulate the unconscious mind.
The question is, how do those criteria apply to one of the most famous speeches in history?
To find out, we’ll see if we can match up elements of the speech to the various HLSS categories, in an effort to discover which power words MLK made use of.
Read on to know more about the hypnotic power words and how they can influence people, like, MLK's speech on "I have a Dream" Visit here »
If you ever wanted to know how to make your hypnotic language more convincing, more persuasive, and more inspiring, you could do a lot worse than to study this speech.
You might even benefit from reading it out loud a few times. More than 50 years after it was written and delivered, its message is just as stirring, evocative, motivational and hypnotic as ever.
And if you’d like to learn more about hypnotic language - and perfect some of the techniques MLK used in his famous speech - we’re giving away copies of the Hypnotic Language Shortcut System for free, so get yours here.
Hypnosis works because it can do something extraordinary.
It can access the power of the human brain.
It can help switch off the conscious, critical, analytical mind and let the unconscious mind take over.
As soon as that happens, your subject can go into trance.
And once they’re in a trance, that’s when you can start helping them solve their problems.
Of course, because people can go into a trance completely on their own.
When they’re watching TV, or reading a book, or driving a car. Their thoughts drift away, almost as if their conscious mind was taking a break.
At times like that, it happens by accident. Where hypnosis is concerned, though, you want it to happen deliberately.
But how do you go about it?
Believe it or not, you can access the unconscious mind just by talking to people. You can put them in a trance with nothing more than a conversation... and without them even knowing you’re doing it.
Here are 5 powerful techniques that will enable you to achieve that.
1. Anecdote: The Hypnotic Power Of A Good Story
Can you guess how many books are published every year?
Or how many movies are released?
Probably a lot more than you think. But why so many?
Because everybody loves a good story.
Whether it’s in the form of a novel or a film. Stories have the power to transport us.
To let us experience other people’s lives.
To help us put our problems into perspective.
And one of the easiest ways to tell a story is using the anecdote, or the My Friend John format.
It doesn’t have to be John.
It could be any name, male or female, depending on the subject and the situation.
You’re simply telling a story about a friend of yours. To follow what you’re saying, the subject has to play along. To get involved.
To relive the experience with you. And if that experience involves going into a trance, and slowing down the breathing, your subject will find it difficult to resist.
Meaning you’ll get them into a trance without even trying.
Naturally, you won’t be able to use the My Friend John (or Frank, or Barbara) technique over and over on the same subject.
Instead, you can branch out into other forms of storytelling called hypnotic lectures.
These can be either direct or indirect:
Direct - This involves telling stories that allow people to have an experience. Stories about figures from history or literature. Stories that already have a natural trance theme embedded in them. Like the story of Mesmer, or the Oracle of Delphi, or Milton Erickson. Or the Thousand and One Nights, where Scheherazade stalls her own execution by telling gripping stories that end with a cliffhanger. The only way for her executioner to hear the rest of the story is to spare her life, and so each night Scheherazade finishes one tale and starts another, always leaving her audience wanting more.
Indirect - This involves distancing yourself from the story entirely. You tell it as if it’s a story you read about, or saw on TV, or found in a report, or watched in a film. Because it’s not "your" story but someone else’s, it absolves you of any responsibility. This is particularly useful if your audience is skeptical in any way, either about hypnosis or about the subject you’re presenting.
2. Irresistible Induction: Your Own Performing Monkey
Want to take the perfect subject with you everywhere you go? That’s what performers did in the old days.
To others, it appeared that they were choosing people from the audience at random. In fact, those people were paid to travel around with the performer.
If you looked, you’d find them in every show, sprinkled in among the crowd. And once people saw them being influenced, being put into a trance, it reinforced their belief in the hypnotist.
It made it easier for him to hypnotize other members of the audience.
Why?
Because while he was putting his "planted" subjects into trance, the trance state affected other members of the audience too.
But doing the same thing these days is impractical.
Paying people to follow you around from one show to another can get expensive, and it might even lead to charges of fraud or misconduct.
So instead, why not use the next best thing? Yourself.
Simply describe what it feels like when you go into trance, but change from the first person to the second person.
It will sound like you’re talking about somebody else – the way their body relaxes, the way their breathing slows down, the quiet and serenity they feel inside - when in fact you’re simply describing your own experience entering a trance.
And unless they’re made of stone, your subjects will find themselves doing the same thing.
This helps you separate experiences out so you’re able to do something with them.
But what’s really cool is this - you can do all of it just by talking. Just by holding what seems to be an ordinary conversation. Giving you the power to "talk" to the unconscious mind directly.
Welcome to the ultimate guide on hypnosis training.
