Been a bit of talk on the Hypnosis Technique Exchange of late on the power of linguistic double binds, induction conundrums, and waking suggestion.

While they are not waking hypnosis, per se, Double Binds are still very powerful influence sets that create a context for near automatic compliance to the underlying presuppositions, the suggestions beneath a set of choices presented to a person. They can be extremely effective in bypassing resistance.

An example of one form of double bind so you get the idea: "Would you like to go to the dentist on Tuesday or Thursday?" Simplistic but you get the idea. The choices are free as to which day but the underlying presupposition is that you would like to go to the dentist on one of those days. If given a completely free choice you may have chosen a different day or realized you didn’t even want to go to the dentist. However, as you are given only two choices, you’re more likely to go ahead and pick one and feel good about having made the choice yourself without anyone telling you what to do. Free choices are not always free. However, when folks are given the illusion of a choice, they are more likely to accept the underlying suggestion as well as to carry it through into fruition. This can also be leveraged in with scarcity tactics. Salesmen who do cold calls and say "I will be in town next week and will come in anytime you want me to" may seem polite but they are less effective if they use a scarcity gambit (appear as if their time is valuable and limited) combined with a double bind type choice set . . . those who say "I will be in your time next week and would love to squeeze in a meeting with you, if possible, I can squeeze you in either Tuesday morning or Wednesday afternoon, which time is best for you?" are far more effective at getting first time appointments and followthrough business.  By the way, before you scratch your head too much on this . . . if the client can’t meet on the two first choices, merely offer two more and run through until you get your appointment.  However, I strongly suggest that you not go more than three choice sets (three strikes then stop) but at that point put the ball into the client’s court with a "I’m sorry we can’t seem to find a good time for both of us,  I’d really like to help you out on this so when you find a time when you are free that would work for both of us, then give me a call and I’ll see what I can do" and end the call.  Let the client then call you.  Continued fishing is wasting your time and his, if he is intrigued (and his curiousity will build as he thinks about what the devil are his competitors looking at that’s taking up your time) then he’ll call you, if not, then he is likely to have been a difficult sale anyway and you’re better off going for folks who pre-self-select anyway.

Double Binds are a form of suggestive influence in that a person is presented with free choice that they don’t notice has been limited into a set of choices they automatically choose from. Most double binds are presented as choices. While the client/subject/person feels they’re making their own free choice, their critical factor is bypassed in that by doing so they inherently accept the presupposition within the choices, that of compliance. However, the choice was never really free as the person offering the choices has prechosen them in such a way that they get looped into a happy little "catch twenty-two."

For instance, when my daughter was young and unwise to her father’s wily ways, back when bedtime was something that seemed more of a removal from playtime than anything else, I would give her a choice: "Kaye, would you like to go to bed now or in fifteen minutes?" Now, being the playful I don’t want to go to bed girl that she was, she would almost always choose the latter choice. Then when that fifteen minutes came around, she would indeed scamper off to bed as she had made the choice. It was her choice although the presupposition that she must go to bed regardless of choice went unnoticed. However, at this young and tender age, she didn’t realize her choices had been artificially limited and by being engaged in the act of choice her critical factor was set on making the choice rather than realizing there may be other options available. Of course, today, my clever daughter is indeed wise to the wily ways of her father and filled with all those contrarian ways that cause conundrums for parents when their children begin to transform into non-children and so when given a double bind choice, she almost automatically seeks a choice outside of the box presented . . . such as "now or fifteen minutes, hmmmm, how about an hour." Luckily, even though I am less able (not unable) to use these wily ways on my family, as far as they can tell, I am still able to use them on graduate students in the university "would you like to have your exam one or two weeks from now?"

So . . . "go ahead and sit down in the hypnosis chair and we’ll get started" . . . "would you like to go into hypnosis sitting or standing or lying on the floor?" . . . "would you like me to use a fast induction where you fall right into hypnosis instantly, kind of like diving into a pool, or would you rather take your time and enjoy the process for a full minute or two while going into trance when I use a slower induction?" . . . "when you think about which of these cars is best for you, do you imagine yourself owning the blue one or the red one?" . . . "which night is best for you for our date, Friday or Tuesday?" . . . of course, mileage varies based upon the rapport, circumstances, or other contextual factors . . . so . . . "excuse me, miss, will you have sex with me now or after we’ve known each other a few seconds?" might actually work for some people, it ain’t gonna work for a lot of ’em.

Some folks get wise to the double bind pretty early . . . not unlike my daughter . . . however, it is a very very powerful setup for compliance. Even those who have massively engaged critical factors will find themselves responding to it automatically as it is human nature to feel engaged in the process of making a choice, even when the choice is limited . . . most folks vote either Republican or Democrat, KMT or DPP, Frick or Frack, This or That and don’t write in new choices that are from outside the box. Our critical factors see the choice and get involved in the choice presented to us and will tend to lose sight of other possibilities, accepting whatever presuppositions the presented choices carry with them. Neat stuff.

All the best,
Brian
http://www.briandavidphillips.com