Use Language with Precision in Hypnosis

Using language with precision is going to be a key factor in your abilities as a hypnotist.  When you learn and study language in a way that teaches you to manipulate it to get across exactly what you want when you want to you will be a far better hypnotist than if you were to neglect this skill.

Precision language is going to work with the other elements of language you have been studying.  It is most often easily used in the 4 Stage Protocol and can be used with almost any concept here as you are learning Conversational Hypnosis. 

Language is the number one tool you will be working with.  It is the vehicles that will take your thoughts, ideas and suggestions to the person you are working with.  Now you must learn new ways to manipulate and form those thoughts, ideas and suggestions so they serve the purpose you are looking for.

Action accelerating words are one of the new tools that will help you to create a new twist on how to add impact to your language.  As humans it is in our nature to want things as quickly and efficiently as possible.  Action accelerators are words that will create that need with in the unconscious mind. 

Action accelerators are unconsciously connected within us to feel societal pressure to give a quick and complete answer to whatever the request or question may be.  They give off the feeling that response is needed immediately in the moment.  Some good examples of how actions accelerators work and sound are the words; now, fully, quickly and immediately.  Any time you insert one of these words in a statement or question you will evoke the emotion of quick action. 

These words create a pressure for the listener to respond immediately and unconsciously.  If you are feeling hurried in your response you will often bypass the critical factor out of the feeling of urgent need to meet the request.  After the statement is made or the question is asked you are left with no time to second guess your decisions or statements.

In this alone action accelerators are very unconsciously powerful.  Because they are so powerful it is also important to consider that there are times when they are appropriate and times when they are not.  There is not hard core rule to tell you when it is ok to put this kind of pressure on a person.  This is determined by the context of the situation, the person themselves and the environment they are in mentally and physically. 

 Another way to improve precision in your language is to use Anticipation builders.  These are a great component to combine with action accelerators once you learn how to use them together.

Anticipation builders are exactly as they sound they assist you in building anticipation within your listener.  This is basically done by frustrating the response.  Consider how much more you are likely to want something after someone tells you that you cannot have it.  Think of a two year old and the way they often go on and on, “Can I have it, can I have it, how about now can I pleeeeeeease have it!”  The more you say no the more determined they are to pester you until they get it.

When you frustrate a response you are basically adding intensity to it.  Think of something that is right in front of you but you cannot have it.  There is anticipation that naturally and unconsciously starts to build within you simply because you cannot have it right now.  You know you will get it later but you want it NOW.  

As soon as this happens and you have frustrated the response, even just a little, the desire to have it will grow stronger and stronger the longer you must wait.  So what words do you use to build anticipation with in other people? 

Words that give a perception of time, eventually we will get to them.  In a moment we will go over some examples of these words, and eventually you will have a good start on this vocabulary.  Until then, keep anticipation acceleration in mind and sooner or later you will be able to recognize them in others conversations.  Finally, a little later we will gradually work them into some statements.

Now you have some samples, you have them in action and a little anticipation should have been created for you, maybe some frustration too.

You will notice these words have the ability of slowing you down, or holding you back from actually getting to the point.  This is the effect they are designed to have and there are many more words around that will do the same thing. 

As you use these words you will be building the anticipation up and adding power to that with your other language skills.  Once you have created all this mental frustration and momentum you will then use action accelerators to release the potential of your idea and there is so much activity going on unconsciously at this point that there will be very little critical factor available to analyze what you have said.

The opposite of the first two language skills here would most likely be Language Softeners.  These are another way of using precise language.  They are words that are used to soften up commands or instruction and are usually placed at the beginning or middle of statements.  They are also most likely found somewhere within the instruction.  "Close the window to keep the heat in.” Versus, “You might close the window to keep the heat in.”

Other words that you can use to soften your language are perhaps, maybe and could. The reason you will want to know and build a good vocabulary of these words is you can avoid antagonizing people.  Some people, especially those of high status, do not like to hear commands and instruction from others.  With language softeners you can make your commands sound much more like polite requests which they are much more apt to put action to.

Finally there is a way to make the failure to respond to a suggestion seem irrelevant precision in language.  This includes and is related to softening language in that the impact will make your words and actions softer, less expectant.

There is always the likelihood that a subject will not respond to a suggestion that you have given them.  When you ask people to do a thing internally like imagine or feel they may not respond and this can result in a loss of the rapport you worked so hard to build. 

The way to avoid this is to give your listener choices that are in all reality instructions.  These are statements that are soft, they are also going to be true which is where the opportunity for resistance and loss of rapport are immediately defeated.  This is ultimately done by building a yes set of choices that are really instructions. 

You could say something to the effect of, “You could imagine yourself in a boat on the water”.  There is no argument here because it is true that they could do it.  Whether or not they actually do is really irrelevant, the important thing is the flow of conversation has not been interrupted by resistance and loss of rapport.  This is a great and powerful way to introduce new ideas or suggestions to a person while avoiding resistance.

Always remember there are times when each language style is appropriate.  This applies here as there are times to be soft in direction and times to be much more direct.  Even Milton Erickson knew this and practiced it.  You will have to rely on your interpretation of the person, circumstance and context to know when the different languages are needed and will be most helpful. 

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