It’s amazing just how powerful words are and how little we recognize their enormous power to influence us. Scientific research, over and over again, validates the power of words to seduce our every action.
In the minds of children words can surface in later years, bringing with them scars of horror or bliss and happiness, and all the while not knowing their origin.
John Steinbeck’s observation was as he wrote: "These words dropped into my childish mind as if you should accidentally drop a ring into a deep well. I did not think of them much at the time, but there came a day in my life when the ring was fished up out of the well."
Unquestionable published research in journals and technical papers and the indisputable proof found in sales and marketing show that words have tremendous power. Why then do we find it so shocking that the average person has little understanding of how they impact our thinking and actions?
You are about to discover, in this article, the power of words and move beyond popular misconceptions about hypnotic communication.
Deeply embedded in the minds of many people is the notion that hypnotic communication is cleverly concealed in the body language of a person as if they were swinging a magical gold watch to get someone to go into a trance. Unfortunately, conceptions or misconceptions are equally among the well educated as with the uneducated.
Many unsuspecting people are exposed to communication techniques that are clearly structured in the exact same way hypnotists use to put their subjects into an alter state of mind. For the unwary listener, the communication may or may not have the rhythmic sound or monotone a hypnotist would use.
Nevertheless, they get charmed into the offering of the communicator. Other factors such as confidence, voice, and body language play a major role in influencing others; however, as you will read, the real power comes from words and how the words are strung together.
As you move beyond the sensationalism, experienced while watching a movie or a television show, you’ll discover that everyday words strung together have power - both fascinating and frightening.
Leaving all disagreements to the experts, about the perfect definition of hypnosis, there is little to argue about as to the structure and key components.
You could say that all communication is hypnosis. Arguably, however, all hypnosis is communication, and communicating a message hypnotically bypasses the listeners’ conscious defenses.
Structure is the key:
Hypnosis is a part of everyday life and is clearly evident in daydreaming or what many would call spacing out. You may best understand it as a silent committee meeting actively going on inside your head (silent self-talk).
Master communicators such as politicians, sales and marketing people are highly skilled at mesmerizing others. They can have you falling in love with a product by stringing the right words together – firing off the imagination of that committee meeting in your mind.
Here are several examples of hypnotic communications:
Look closely at the unsuspecting structure of how a salesperson would communicate a message that would hypnotically bypass your conscious defenses.
Salesperson’s communication may go like this:
- When you own this home you are going to love holding her in you arms, late at night, while sitting by this fireplace. You’ll cherish the wonderful memory for a lifetime.
- Imagine coming home on a cold winter night and snuggling up in front of the warmth of this fireplace.
- You are going to be very excited about the safe performance of this car and what it can do for you.
Classical hypnosis may go like this:
- As you relax more deeply on the object you’re on, it will begin to feel like you are floating back deeply into a wonderful journey.
- You’ll soon discover that your mind will readily absorb all the positive suggestions that I have given you just like a sponge absorbs water.
The structure is the same in the sales communication and classical hypnosis, but the content and verbal suggestion is quite different. All the suggestions set up expectations in the mind of the listener.
Our imaginations fill in the blanks as to what the expectations are. The choice of words and the order in which you use them has the power to change how people think and influence their actions taken.
If the sales communication was spoken in this manner:
- After you buy this house, the fireplace will be an asset on a cold winter night.
The statement is cold, dry and gives little expectation to the imagination. As a direct verbal suggestion, it’s a big drain for the imagination to try and figure out what the salesperson means by asset. Whereas in the hypnotic communication above, the listener was given several key posthypnotic suggestions. Opening up the imagination with the words such as home, snuggling up, warmth and holding her, allows the mind to spiral off into deeper fanaticism while entrancing the listener.
Direct verbal suggestions are the most commonly used by people but not necessarily the most powerful way to communicate.
Example: Direct Verbal Suggestion
- Get out this week and cast your vote for prop 1-A. You will make a difference.
Example: Hypnotic Verbal Suggestion
- When you vote this week for prop 1-A, you’ll be proud of making a positive impact and difference in how your money is spent for the education of children.
The key is to understand the psychology of verbal suggestions.
Plant them well into your communications in a nearly invisible way so that your customers cannot resist their own imagination.
It truly doesn’t matter what you are selling. The most powerful and persuasive words in the world will have little effect if not set up in the proper structure.
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Don L. Price – Coaching Minds To Succeed - Professional Speaker, Sales, Marketing & High Performance Mental Fitness Coach and Author of Secrets of Personal Marketing Power-Strategies for Achieving Greater Personal & Business Success. http://www.donlprice.com |
