Michael Beale writes of Business NLP and Hypnosis for Communication:

Would you consider it strange that many successful business people are attending master-classes on Hypnosis each year? There are many reasons why people attend such courses. One reason that appeals to the business community is the process of understanding the basic principles of hypnosis in order to expand their own communication toolset.

He’s right on the money. The majority of hypnotic and neurolinguistic programming workshops out there are indeed aimed at business folks in some regard. Of course, they are also valuable for a ton of other reasons but in the past few years, the applications of a number of the skill sets to business situations have become very evident.

Aspiring managers from a wide range of disciplines from business coaches, change managers, sales managers and account directors to accountants and actuaries attend hypnotic influence master-classes each year. It’s a way of adding to their communications ‘tool kit’ and building on their intuitive and creative skills.

No, Beale is not talking about hypnotizing your customers into buying your product or anything so nefarious as that. Rather there are some more realistic skills that are immediately applicable to the business environment.
Benefits in understanding the basic principles of hypnosis:

1. Improving your general communication skills
2. Improving your communication skills in relation to specific business areas e.g. presenting, executive and business coaching, sales, consulting, leadership and negotiation
3. Developing the ability to entertain
4. Help with issues like ‘smoking’ ‘weight loss’ and ‘confidence’
5. Personal development and generative change

From a business point of view 1, 2 & 5 are the most relevant; much of business involves communication skills and even a small improvement can make a difference to performance. Personal development and generative change makes a pervasive improvement to the results you produce; if you’re comfortable and true to yourself you’ll tend to work better and automatically influence others in a positive way.

The power of hypnosis:

1. Hypnosis is natural and is about using resources that we all have
2. Hypnosis is about developing better conscious/unconscious communication
3. Hypnosis is normally about helping yourself or others focus your attention or manage your state in a more useful way. There are times to focus away from discomfort and times to develop states that enable you to access more mental resources
4. ‘Personal connection’ is more important than any technique

You’ve heard it before – the essential factor is the ability to listen and be ever aware of what’s occurring.

The Hypnosis Skill Set:

1. Agreeing outcomes
2. Managing your emotional state
3. Developing rapport
4. Use of language, including rhythm and tone as well as the impact of words
5. The impact of stories
6. Specific techniques

These are many of the basic skills that anyone involved in ‘influence’ will already have developed or partially developed. It is also why learning about hypnosis can help those who rely on communicating effectively in business,

Learning about hypnosis is a valuable aid to improving your communication skills. As with any skill the more you practice the better you get. Learning and communicating with others involves learning about yourself; this needs personal courage. The rewards, however, are significant. It is not essential to become an expert hypnotist to increase your communication and intuition skills.

Of course, hypnosis is also useful for much more . . . but the specific applications to business are becoming more and more apparent to folks wishing to improve their general communication skills as well as to those who wish to improve particular skill sets.

While dealing with confidence building and removing speaking anxieties has long been an application of hypnotherapy for business, the potential is much greater.

Folks in Taipei, looking for a competent and qualified hypnotherapist should feel free to contact me or browse the Taipei hypnosis resource pages.