Which words should you use to cause covert hypnosis?
One way to really change the way someone feels about something is to use words that make the person see the thing in a different way. I call this reframing.
The classic example of reframing is the glass is not half empty, its half full. In this reframe you are trying to get the person to see the positive side of things, and not focus on the negative side.
The way someone views more complex things can also be reframed and thus, viewed differently by very simple word changes in a sentence. Let’s look at some examples. Think about these different sentences:
Its beautiful outside today, but its going to be cloudy tomorrow.
Its beautiful outside today, and its going to be cloudy tomorrow.
Its beautiful outside today, even though its going to be cloudy tomorrow.
Although each sentence says basically the same thing, just by changing a word or two you change the way you feel about each day. Reread these sentences and see how each one makes you feel about the weather, both for today and tomorrow. See the difference?
There can be many ways to reframe things.
By using words that enlarge the frame, the person you are speaking with will focus on the big picture.
Here’s an example that might sound very familiar. Someone is shopping for shoes and is concerned about the price because she knows she can get a better price across town. You might say, Wow, imagine getting those shoes for such a reasonable price without having to spend all the gas and time to go across town.
Also, the context of the situation can be reframed.
Friend: Boy! I wanted to go to the beach, but listen to that wind outside… it won’t be nice today.
You: You’re right. It wouldn’t be any fun just sitting on the beach in this kind of wind, but what must the waves be like? I bet it’ll be great for surfing.
The content reframe is another kind of reframe.
Can you believe what jerks there are! That guy just passed by and he must have been doing a hundred miles per hour.
You: He was going pretty fast. He had his emergency lights on, maybe he is going to the hospital.
See how someone’s attitude can really be changed simply by the words you use?
Reframing is powerful and it is a kind of conversational hypnosis.
When you reframe things you actually distract the persons conscious mind and force him to think deeper and listen to his subconscious mind.
There is no obvious hypnotic trance here like you would see in overt hypnosis, but nevertheless, this use of words in conversational hypnosis causes the listener to respond to things using her subconscious mind.
Learn more about conversational hypnosis and reframing, and try it out.
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