The truth is that one is usually hard work and the other – well the other just happens.

Persuasion means using reasoned argument and supplying facts to create a change of thinking in the brain of the respondent, the person being persuaded. The persuader has to convince them that whatever it is they are selling or promoting is the right thing and they need to cajole and urge. Everything they do is pre-thought and done consciously and with deliberation. Which of course means you have to keep doing it because those persuaded to get what you have will soon lose interest if you stop ‘working’ on them.

Influence however is a completely different beast. People of real influence don’t have to ‘do’ anything. Influential people are just that. They don’t need to persuade because everything they are brings in people ready to accept their stuff and to ask to get more. True an influential person can steer those who are in their influence but this happens easily and without effort. Yes this often uses persuasive language and facts and such but it’s done from a position of acceptance rather than one of reticence so you only need to do it once.

The silly thing is that it’s way harder to become a persuader than an influencer. To persuade you need to get to as many people as possible and change their minds. To become influential you need to focus yours and wait for those who think like you to find you.

Rock star Peter Buck used automatism as a defence in court. In court he has been found not guilty of assault on airline cabin crew and to be suffering from “non-insane automatism”, basically his mind is not in control of his body – although clearly something was.

In the UK the law considers hypnosis to be a form of induced “sleep” [1952 Hypnotism Act]. If that’s true then if someone commits a crime under hypnosis does that mean that they are also in a state of non-insane automatism?

The Svengali in me is wondering if it would then be possible to persuade someone to do something and both of us could claim neither was in control?

One thing is for sure. If his actions had been decided to be caused by alcohol or drugs or medicine [legal drugs such as anti-depressants which have been known to cause violent mood swings ] neither the Brewery, dealer or Doctor would be held responsible.

I look forward to your comments on this one.

I was reading a marketing blog today a friend pointed me to, when I came across this wonderful description of what you get when you grow up, talking about 5 year old Austin…
“You don’t get an evolved, new mature being. You get Austin with fifteen blankets over his head.” Johnny B. Truant

Keep this in mind next time you are suggesting anything to anyone hypnotised or not and talk as if you talking to a bright kid with scuffed knees and loads of kids-smarts. The subconscious is not stupid and does make choices even if it doesn’t reason.

Of course that means when using persuasion and influence the trick is forgetting all the grown up clever stuff and remembering what it was like when you made friends faster than an ice cream disappearing and the whole world was dead simple.

Thinking of people this way is a great way of getting rid of the jitters when talking to someone your adult self says is ‘superior’. And it’s a fabulous way of not having to think up complex intellectual arguments or even harder metaphors or stories. Just keep the language simple and you’ll get through those blankets a hell of a lot easier!

Smiles
Jonathan Chase

This video has been watched by over a quarter of a million people on YouTube alone. It is what you see.

The full story was Mike – the Victim – was bet by Andy a fellow attendee at a class I run in Wolverhampton when camcorder were still called video cameras and had a handle to turn on the side… – that he could be hypnotised even if he didn’t want to be…..

Mike took the challenge, said he could ‘resist me’ and the game was on!

Initially of course for the rest of the morning coffee break I was using the simple persuasion and influence techniques I teach in the Svengali System so preparing the way as it were and I’d built amazing Awe rapport with Mike.

Now remembering that hypnosis is the acceptance of suggestion Mike’s barrier is broken by the simple direction to “Sit’n Relax.” I then use a pattern interrupt, that’s anything that throws the conscious off balance, by looking at the class and announcing, “See? Got him!” That is a not embedded command to his subconscious. The rest is very easy.

Basically all I have to do after that is stare at him and wait for him to go under. I do silently ‘suggest’ his eyes closing by closing mine slowly instead of blinking. However he begins to giggle as he feels himself entering hypnosis for two reasons, the main one being he knew he was losing his bet, the other was he simply enjoys being zapped!

I ignore this and he stops and goes into a total state of gone out fascination just staring at me but that is crap for the camera so I said something like, “That’s right, sleep!” And tap him on the forehead, that’s when he drops his head forward and again laughs.

Anyone who tells you that a hypnotised person shouldn’t laugh or cry or even burst into song if they feel like that hasn’t hypnotised enough people!

Tomorrow I’ll put up the video most people don’t go on to watch, especially the ones who have said this is fake and that I am a fraud. You’ll see Mike is an excellent somnambulist and a damn good hypnotist to boot.

That evening, the first on the training, he went out before dinner with two other guys in the class, Andy an Army Nurse, and Max, who was from Russia and swore he was a lawyer but we all KNEW he was KGB! Any way they went into a pub and hypnotised two young ladies they’d never met before in that noisy environment using the methods they had learnt that day.

I just love it when a plan comes together!

Make today an awesome day!

Smiles
JonC

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