You were doing NLP before you could talk!

I always remind beginning NLP enthusiasts that NLP is all based on things we're already doing naturally. It's just that a bunch of very clever people took the time to really observe what was going on and codify it for us to use.

Turns out, even newborns are savvy to calibration and rapport techniques!

Researchers at University of Würzburg in Germany have discovered that newborn babies from different language-speaking groups cry in the same vocal patterns that their parents speak in. So babies form French-speaking households cry in French vocal patterns, and the ones from German speaking parents cry with German tonality. (Ach du libe!) Said one of the researchers: "Newborns are probably highly motivated to imitate their mother's behavior in order to attract her and hence to foster bonding."

In NLP lingo we'd say they're calibrating the mothers tonality and applying rapport techniques to foster the bond.

So easy a child could do it!

Read the full article here:

http://www.livescience.com/culture/091105-baby-language.html

Self-Hypnosis Basics

Here's a great way to get started in self-hypnosis. The attached PDF is very basic, but really all you need to get started. It's based on the note from two successive sessions we did on the topic. The first page describes the method to bring yourself into a hypnotic trance, and the second describes a good way to get started in crafting suggestions to yourself. I recommend practicing the self hypnosis method for at least a week, or until you feel you can bring yourself into a comfortable, relaxed trance state reliably. Take your time! you'll know when you have it because you'll really enjoy the trance state when you achieve it. Once you've got the self-hypnosis down pat, you can explore crafting suggestions that are right for you. Remember that the suggestions should feel good, and out you into your goal. Don't say "I want to stop smoking," say "I enjoy being a non-smoker." Try one suggestion for about 2-3 weeks, or until you feel good results. You can play with different suggestions until you find the ones that work best for you, and remember, it's different for everybody! I love feedback, so feel free to share questions, comments and experiences. Self Hypnosis Basics (You'll be able to read it, or download it as a PDF or word doc).

True Lies

Here's a great little article on NPR about a new way to approach interrogations to ascertain the truth. Most of the sort of things that are "giveaways" in the movies are just that--dramatic devices. Nervousness, confusion, and so forth aren't proof of lies. In fact, We've all probably experienced liars in the workplace and found thay are typically the smoothest most "believable." How do you tell truth from fiction? There are a few key elements to pay attention to, particularly for NLP fans: --Notice how they expand the scope of the interrogation to collect information rather than just elicit a confession (reframe). --Notice they way they establish a baseline for the truth, so they can calibrate further answers from the suspect (calibration). --Notice the way they open up the suspect's defense by interrupting the suspect's pattern by making them tell the story in a way other than expected(pattern interrupt). http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=111809280 If peole would like me to go into some of the skills presented here and some of my own experiences with truth and liars, send me an email.

Touch communicates emotion!

OK, most of us probably already knew that touch communicates emotion to some degree, but a researcher at DePauw University has gone ahead and put some scientific validation to it. Matthew J. Hertenstein, Ph.D. has been researching the way we communicate emotion through voice, facial expression and touch, and discovered some amazing things. He's correlated the likelyhood of divorce based on the degree to which the spouses smile in photographs, analyzed the importance of touch to developing children and how they pick up emotionsal reactions from adults, and most interesting, is discovering to what degree we can interperet a person's emotions purely by thier touch! Check out his site: http://www.depauw.edu/learn/lab/media/

VIDEOS!

It's about time! I've done hypnosis in every conceivable place: bars, restaurants, streets, bookstores... But I've never done it on video, but I've been wanting to. Well, I finally did it. Started to, anyway. We had some technical difficulties with the sound the first time 'round. I'm looking forward to doing a lot more--I had a great time, and everybody I worked with really enjoyed it and felt great. Please check 'em out and tell me what you think. For you technically minded hypnotists: I used a very short and direct approach and equally short direct pretalk (the approach actually took longer!), a fairly quick induction, about a minute's deepeners, 2-3 fractionations, a very general suggestion to feel great and relaxed and so forth, and brought them back, and talked about the experience with them for a few minutes after. The entire experience averaged about six minutes each.

Wild animals

We've all been attacked by them. It's the "8 Toxic personalities to avoid" by Brett Blumenthal. Check it out: http://shine.yahoo.com/channel/life/8-toxic-personalities-to-avoid-461078/?posted=1

Three firm handshakes

I was chatting with a hypnotist-friend of mine the other day. The conversation got around to handshake inductions and suddenly we couldn’t agree on anything—not even the principles that made it work. Turns out, we were talking about different
handshake inductions!

There are three main handshake inductions that I know of and have used, and each works according to different principles. They’re all worth getting to know and practicing frequently. In the attached document I've put down my own understanding of them, based on my experience, how I label them, and how they work.

Here they are (in a sort of historical order):
Elman’s Handshake Induction
Erickson’s Handshake Induction
Bandler’s Handshake Induction
Let’s take a closer look…

Read the whole thing by clicking here (You'll be able to read it online, or download it as a PDF or word doc).

Do we have a subconscious mind?

As a hypnotist, I spend a lot of time working on the border between the conscious and subconscious mind. So much so, that I often forget that when I talk to someone about their "subconscious mind" that they may not have an entirely clear idea of what it is. Some folks have even wondered whether it exists at all. If you dive into it from the diving board of the Internet, you'll quickly find yourself swamped with all sorts of fascinating lore about it's mysterious powers, and it's place in mythology and philosophy. Not as easy to ferret out the useful, factual, accessible skinny on the other part of the mind. In the attached essay, you'll find my take on it. I hope it will clarify a few things. At the same time, I think that it will be useful to anyone coming from either a scientific point of view or a mystical one. (I may go back and revise this again, since I'm not sure I've completely hit the mark I aimed for. Please don't hesitate to give me feedback and questions. It'll help me make it a better essay!). Read the whole thing by clicking here (You'll be able to read it online, or download it as a PDF or word doc).

Sizzling conversation now! (Conversational State Elicitation)

Make your conversations fascinating by using your subjects' own feelings! Plenty of exercises & experiments for you to go out and try. Don't take my word for it--it works! The Question, the Hook... Ever get stuck in a dry conversation that turned into a “job interview?” No feeling of connection, no enthusiasm, and you just couldn’t get that spark? Ever have a great story or a routine, but your audience was just unreceptive? No connection? People usually feel a connection when they’re both experiencing similar emotional states. Think about it. When someone “really gets into” a TV show they usually feel a connection with their favorite character. A great song makes someone feel a connection to the singer, and people in a theater can feel so connected to the hero that they forget where they are—as long as the emotional state is strong. Here’s a really easy little conversational technique to jumpstart the momentum. Read the whole thing by clicking here! (You'll be able to read it online, or download it as a PDF or word doc).

Unsinkable Anchors!

AN EASY INTRO TO THE OBSCURE ART OF ANCHORING Here’s a quick follow up to our last meet-up on the basic "how-to" of anchoring techniques. “Anchoring” is one of the most commonly found topics in NLP literature. It’s been studied and codified to the point that it seems like a very complicated and esoteric thing, and you can certainly make a study of it. But at it’s heart, it’s pretty easy. An anchor is a thing (a word, a touch a gesture or a sound) that triggers an emotion, a memory of a feeling. Did you ever hear a song on the radio that reminded you of a time, a place or a feeling form your past? Is there a food that reminds you of something from your past? Have you ever seen or heard anything that made you think or feel anything else? That’s what anchoring is all about. It’s simply creating an association in the subconscious mind. Read the whole thing by clicking here! (You'll be able to read it online, or download it as a PDF or word doc).

Welcome to Success Work!

Welcome to the blog for my Hypnosis & NLP practice. I've set this blog up to share information, experience and techniques with clients, friends and fellow hypnotists. I'm also attaching some downloadable files of techniques that anyone can use in everyday life. Expect a lot more content in the near future, including MP3s and maybe even some cool videos. I'm also one of the co-organizers of the NLP, Hypnosis and Coaching Meetup group in NYC (click on the link on the left). We've been meeting for several years now, and are open to people of all skill levels. The accent is on practice, and coming away with material you can begin to apply immediately in real life. Hope to see you there!