FAQ File 4 of 5 (01/08): Stage Hypnosis FAQ...
(Stage hypnosis FAQ last revised 2/8/05)

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Article on Stage Hypnosis
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WHY IS STAGE HYPNOSIS IMPORTANT TO CLINICAL HYPNOSIS?

by Jerry Valley, M.A.C.P.

My office in Methuen, Massachusetts is busy as a result of several
sources.  One, of course, is from referrals of satisfied clients.  The
second source is from the "Yellow Pages."  It seems that if you are in
the "Yellow Pages," the general public assumes two things:  1. You are
good at what you do.  2. That you are ethical and reliable.  Then
there is advertising in the newspapers, magazines, flyers etc.

However, in the last 10 years and particularly in the last 2 years,
one of the driving forces in attracting new clients has been the stage
shows.  People have been attending stage hypnosis shows in greater
numbers than ever before.  Right now, there are many very good stage
hypnotists, "One on Every Corner," who do promote the clinical
opportunities at each and every show.  At first glimpse, it appears
that having so many stage hypnotists will flood the market.  Let me
tell you that we, and many stage hypnotists, are busier now than we
have been in the past.  Why?  Because when hypnosis is getting public
exposure, it whets the public's appetite to see more and many will
also seek out a good, certified hypnotherapist.  Even when there is a
"raunchy" show, people are prone to go and see anther hypnotists
performing in the area.  Whether it be curiosity or just to
compare??.?????they ey go.

Stage shows today are generating more discussion and interest amongst
people than ever before.  It is a catalyst for the acceptance of
hypnosis when done in an ethical manner.

Yes, yes, we do have some idiots running around doing horrendous stage
show, but that is what you will find in just about any profession.
This is America with free enterprise.

So why is stage hypnosis so popular today?  Because people want to try
it, and where can they
do it so easily that with a professional stage hypnotist. Then they
become curious.

What's happening now in the year 2003 is that the exposure of hypnosis
via the stage is, more than ever, calling the public's attention to a
viable and powerful source within a person that can be tapped for
greater achievements.  Of course, we have fun on stage, but we also we
also endeavor to treat subjects with courtesy and respect yet, at the
same time, unleash their innermost, subdued talents.

There are more stage hypnotists performing now than in any time in
history?and why is that?

The hypnosis show has charm, wide appeal and lets the audience in on
what is going to happen.  The audiences love it!  Nothing is funnier
than audience participation.  Art Linkletter had a television show
called "People Are Funny."  He would put people into funny skits, like
we do, and just give them some room to become someone who they
normally are not.  He literally gave them a license to perform.

When people volunteer for a show, they put into the stage hypnotist's
hands their most prized possession???..t??..their minds.  If the
hypnotist is ethical and professional, he/she does everything to
ensure that the subjects, as well as the audience, have a great time.

Therefore, we as stage hypnotists have the duty to perform and
enthrall those audiences that seek enjoyment, and if in the process we
are able to convince a few skeptics, then we get a bonus.

These are some of the great hypnotists that have influenced me in
developing the show that I had the pleasure of performing on the award-
winning television show "20/20."

Sam Vine, who passed away in 1992, was perhaps the finest stage
hypnotist that I have ever had the pleasure to observe, follow and
borrow routines from. Sam was my friend and my mentor. He had a unique
quality in that he never presented any magic or jokes, just pure and
simple hypnosis. He had the ability to put subjects more deeply into
hypnosis than I have ever seen in any other stage show.  He was a
gentleman.

Harry Arons, founder and leader of AAEH, the Association to Advance
Ethical Hypnosis was my first classroom teacher and he really got the
ball rolling.  He was a fine man and had many, many years of
invaluable experience which he shared with many.

Ormond McGill, the "Dean of American Hypnotists," has traveled the
world more than any other stage hypnotist and has authored over 32
books on hypnosis.  It was my distinct pleasure to
be teaching with this "Giant." Also, he was such a great humanitarian
during his life.

In summation, may I suggest to those hypnotherapists who have not
utilized any stage shows, to
consider doing lecture/demonstrations that are appropriate for smaller
groups like Kiwanis, Lions,
K of C, Exchange Clubs, Sons of Italy and many other groups that are
always seeking speakers.
When you show them just some very simple experiments, you will
motivate them to seek self-improvement through your clinical
programs.  Try it, it works!

Jerry Valley

2/17/2001
Jerry Valley & Ormond McGill present the Masters Ultimate Stage
Hypnosis Seminar in Las Vegas in June, 2005 Call 1-800-418-9664

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STAGE HYPNOSIS FAQ
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Written by a former stage hypnotist who wishes to remain anonymous

The following FAQ on Stage Hypnosis was written for reference purposes
only. It is not meant as the only word on stage hypnosis. It is only
opinion and definitely should not be taken as legal advice about the
field.

What is Stage Hypnosis?

Stage hypnosis is where a hypnotist chooses volunteers from the
audience, puts the volunteers into a trance using hypnosis, and then
has them perform certain silly, funny, or supposedly "amazing"
suggestions. This could be like having the volunteers believe they
are: drunk; aliens speaking a strange alien language and having
another volunteer translate the language; naked or seeing others
naked; 6-year-old children; ballet dancers-and the list goes on. All
suggestions are temporary and usually only last during the show. When
performed correctly, stage hypnosis is basically having fun with the
subconscious mind without any serious detrimental side effects. It's
all performed for entertainment and with the welfare of the volunteers
in mind. A stage hypnosis can be the most entertaining field because
it involves "real" people from the audience responding in a variety of
ways which usually makes no two shows the same.

What is the difference between stage hypnosis and clinical hypnosis?

First of all, trance is trance is trance-at least how I see it. How
you get there and what you do with it varies according to your goals.
Thus, for stage hypnosis, the goal is to have fun with the
subconscious mind to entertain the audience within an hour or so time
frame. Thus, the techniques used by stage hypnotists are more direct,
commanding, binding, and group-oriented. You're either in trance or
not. The stage hypnotist doesn't have time to adjust his or her
induction to each individual.

For therapy, however, the work is done one-on-one (usually) and
tailored to the individual. Using cooperative hypnosis, the hypnotist
is being lead by the client and vice versa. A hypnotherapist has a lot
more delicate things to deal with since your working with 1) a complex
individual, 2) something rather serious (a problem they have come to
see you for), and 3) something more long-term.

A stage hypnotist works with a group and can "spare" some people who
don't go into trance and still be successful. And, you're directly
commanding people to do things; you're not trying to help someone
solve a complex problem. However, a stage hypnotist does have to know
how to appeal to an audience and be entertaining in a show. (Just
going up on stage, hypnotizing a group, and giving commands is not
really enough.)

How does a stage hypnotist hypnotize people?

As far as how people go into trance during stage hypnosis, that is a
bit more difficult to answer since a stage hypnotist works with 10 to
15 people (maybe even more) and they are all going into trance in
different ways. There are some similarities though. Some will go into
trance because: 1) of the "awe" of a stage hypnotist ("I must be
hypnotize because he's a hypnotist and he has the 'special' power to
do so."), 2) the innate desire to "follow" commands (authority), 3)
the technique itself (persuading a person to subconsciously follow
your instructions), 4) the desire to "escape" from reality ("I've
always had this desire to get up on stage and perform, but I'm just
too nervous and shy."), and 5) others are going into trance (i.e. this
is know as 'social proof' discussed in the book "Influence-the
psychology of persuasion" and is basically the feeling of "why should
I be left behind/different?"). These are the main components, but
there are of course several others that are minor to mention here.

The relationship you build with the audience will be crucial in making
the above components work. A good stage hypnotist will keep the above
components in mind and create the correct atmosphere using the venue,
his stage presence (including voice tonality, dress, posture), and pre-
show promotion. And, on top of all of this, a stage hypnotist has to
build this "hypnotist/subject" relationship quickly and firmly to make
sure that the show is successful. He is using the relationship built
as leverage to lead the volunteers to a subconscious, suggestible
trance state where his suggestions become real to them. Most of those
hypnotized end up saying "It's like I knew what I was doing, but I
just couldn't stop myself." Why couldn't they stop themselves? Because
doing so would break the subconscious relationship that was
established.

How do I learn stage hypnosis?

As far as I know, there are no full time schools for learning just
stage hypnosis. Most stage hypnotist's probably learned their skills
from watching or working with another stage hypnotists along with
reading various books. But I suggest that anyone wanting to learn
stage hypnosis take classes and training in the basics of hypnosis
including history, conscious vs. subconscious mind, trance levels, pre-
induction, induction, suggestion, and hypnotic phenomena. Doing so
will improve your knowledge and skills in hypnosis in general which
will add more depth to your show. But keep in mind that a stage
hypnotist is not necessarily skilled in hypnotherapy. (The other way
around can also be true.) It behooves the stage hypnotist to stay away
from hypnotherapy unless properly trained in the field. Many people
will approach a stage hypnotist after a show believing that he or she
can "make" somebody stop smoking, lose weight, get rid of a phobia,
etc. The stage hypnotist does not have any special powers to do so. A
professional and ethical stage hypnotist not trained in hypnotherapy
will refer such requests to a qualified hypnotherapist.

Ormond McGill's "The New Encyclopedia of Stage Hypnosis" (ISBN#
1-899836-02-0, available at http://www.tranceworks.com/) is the
supposed authoritative book on stage hypnosis. It is quite thorough
and has a lot of examples for methods on hypnotizing and for
suggestion. I suggest you use it as a guide, but the best way is to
combine that knowledge with the practical experience you can gain from
watching other stage hypnotists or having them teach you the "tricks
of the trade".

Which leads me to my next point: someone to teach you "the trade".
Whether you're studying hypnotherapy or stage hypnosis, there is
nothing more valuable that getting a mentor that is willing to work
with you on a one-on-one basis. I highly suggest that you find such a
generous person. But be minded that these people are jewels-someone
not to take advantage of and not easily found. Mentors are dedicated
to their students as long as their students take what they are
learning seriously. Missing appointments, having a lax attitude
towards the subject or mentor, or abusing what you are learning are
usually not tolerated and you will find yourself without a person to
lead you in the right direction of a successful practice or show.
Sure, you can take general classes, but a caring mentor will be able
to help you fine tune your skills.

So I have taken the classes, read the books, and went through all the
training. What's next?

Now you'll need to get the actual experience of doing a show. Get in
contact with various local organizations and ask them if they would
like a sample demonstration in hypnosis free of charge or for a
nominal fee to just cover your costs (say $100). (They may wonder why
you're giving a free demonstration. Let them know that you are using
it to promote your services in hypnosis.) This demonstration could be
more of a half-talk, half-show presentation. If you promote it this
way, you could give a thorough discussion on the subject of hypnosis
with a question and answer session (creating expectation), and then
carry out a simple demonstration up to the point you feel comfortable
with or as long as you're doing well. Use simpler suggestions in the
beginning such as eye catalepsy ("your eyes are stuck shut"), arm
catalepsy ("your arm has become a rigid bar of steel"), arm levitation
("there is a light helium balloon tied to your wrist"). The idea with
these demonstrations is to get use to performing in front of an
audience and build your credibility. Try only the suggestions you feel
comfortable with keeping in mind that post-hypnotic suggestions with
eyes open are the most difficult. Once you have some demonstrations
under your belt, you can start to advertise your shows as a
professional stage hypnotist stating something like "Hypnotist Tom
Stage has performed for various organization such as the ABC Club and
XYZ Association." Make sure you have your introduction and routine
down fairly strong before you do your first real shows. If not, you
may find yourself stumbling around on stage which will lead to a loss
of credibility which leads to the loss of people who want to follow
your suggestions.

Is stage hypnosis dangerous?

Stage hypnosis in itself is not dangerous. People hypnotized on a
stage are not doing anything that is not already built into their own
mental mechanisms. Stage hypnotists do not create anything new-we're
only building from what the volunteers already know and do. I have
heard many rumors on certain dangers of hypnosis, but after further
investigation, they turn out to be false or overly exaggerated.

The most frequent one that I have heard is the volunteer's inability
to come out of trance. This is simply not true. A person can come out
of trance at any time he or she wants. It might be, though, that the
person just is so relaxed or having so much fun or is liking the
change of reality that he or she just doesn't want to come out of
trance. The best suggestion to give to such a person is to say that at
the count of three (or whatever cue you want to use) that person will
become the prime example of a person who is wide "awake" as opposed to
"you'll be wide awake by the count of three". Special thanks to Ray
Thompson (Hypnost...@aol.com) for that one.

But let the beginning stage hypnotist beware. Your show is unique in
that you are using people from the audience who you have most likely
never met before. The more shows you do, the higher the chance you may
run into a volunteer that will act very strange (e.g. display totally
unrelated emotions like crying, hysterical laughter, etc.). An
experienced stage hypnotist will know to remove these people before
they start to have the abreaction or what to do if they've already
started to have the abreaction. For these type of people, stage
hypnosis is just a mechanism that jump starts the abreaction, but most
likely that person already had the problem to begin with-hypnosis just
gave them the chance to bring it out.

If done properly, stage hypnosis does not create a problem. A stage
hypnotist works with a large group and may not be able to spot these
people all the time. And, in this day of lawsuits and ignorance about
what hypnosis truly is, you may find yourself in a very difficult
predicament in trying to explain to a court that stage hypnosis was
not the cause of a person's own problem. On top of this, you will also
have to make sure that volunteers don't end up hurting themselves on
stage by accidentally tripping on something. (It is very difficult and
expensive to get insurance for a stage hypnosis show since insurers
are not really sure what stage hypnosis is.)

Also, be aware of how you word your suggestions. If you give a person
the suggestion "Whenever you here the word 'blue', you'll laugh
uncontrollably" and you don't nullify the suggestion before the show
if finished, that person may continue to laugh uncontrollably for
days, weeks, or months even if someone else says the cue word.
Volunteers will take your suggestions very literally. So, be careful
on how you word your suggestions during a show.

With all this in mind, for those who still want to join this very
intriguing and entertaining field, I wish you the best of luck.
Remember, you're not just a hypnotist up on the stage but you're also
a showman. Always perform with the intention to entertain while
keeping in mind the welfare of your volunteers.

FAQ File 4 of 5: Stage Hypnosis Article & FAQ...

Hypnosis FAQ last revised on January 15, 2008
FAQ Files maintained by Roy Hunter
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