Progressive Relaxation In Stage Hypnosis

Comment

Comment by Buzz Collins on April 18, 2010 at 5:59am

Great comments! I think any one of us can remember the first hypnosis show we attended as a spectator. The first stage hypnotist I ever saw was Peter Reveen (who used progressive relaxation). As someone who had never seen hypnosis demonstrated in a live setting, I was - pardon the pun - mesmerized by the process. Remember what fascinated you as a spectator in the first place. The majority of your audience is usually witnessing the process for the first time as well. As the saying goes, "getting there is half the fun (or entertainment)!"

Comment by Tommy Vee on April 17, 2010 at 9:05am

Great attitude Johnie!

Comment by Johnie Fredman on April 13, 2010 at 9:18am

My initial training, many moons ago, was that a stage induction had to be completed in four minutes or less. Mine was around 2 1/2 - 3 minutes. Over the years, I have increased the amount of time I spend on the induction. While it is not a PR induction, I have found that I have better success with the longer induction and the audience seems to enjoy it.

Know yourself, know your audience, and give them more than they came for. If you do that, then how you do it really doesn't matter.

Comment by Hugh Cole on April 13, 2010 at 9:05am

Good comments by some good people, I am just curious why you think that this post should be the final word on the issue.

Comment by Richard Whitbread C.Ht on April 13, 2010 at 3:06am

I agree it is always best when your true passion for the art shines through

Comment by Tommy Vee on April 12, 2010 at 4:42am

I agree with JayDee & Jonathan. My induction is somewhere inbetween and this depends on my audience make-up and the size of the audience.

Progressive relaxation boring? To who? Other hypnotists as JayDee says? I believe, as Richard Nongard said, the audience actually enjoys the process and that's when you start to hear the ooo's and ahhhh's from them as your committee begin to collapse in their chairs.

It can be risky to use rapid or instant on every committee, in every show. I have some audiences that actually expect the PR and view the rapids as unbelievable.

I, like Terry Stokes, have been using PR forever, although, my induction has shortened a bit. It is a matter of what you are comfortable with and this is the bottom line: WAS THE AUDIENCE ENTERTAINED? That is what you are hired to do.

Have fun out there!

Comment by Jonathan Chase on April 12, 2010 at 3:43am

it is down to the hypnotists ability to make what they do dramatic and or amusing, but certainly entertaining. I guess we've all seen both but, it is about sstyle more than anything else, and finding the one that works for you. There is no right or wrong.

My preference possibly lies somewhere between the two but it is designed to be entertaining and that is the whole point after all.

Comment by James Hazlerig - HypnosisAustin on April 10, 2010 at 5:49pm

PMR doesn't have to be slow, either--I often throw a very quick PMR in as a deepener when I'm doing street hypnosis.

Comment by Richard Nongard - NLPBoard.com on April 10, 2010 at 5:06pm

I favor the PMR induction in stage hypnosis. It's easy, non-threatening and works. Terry Stokes has been using it for 40 years, and he has perhaps hypnotized more people than any other stage hypnotist in US history. Yu are 100% correct, in that our goal is to create a good show, not impress other hypnotists. A little bit of theater and drama can make the PMR quite interesting to an audience, as they see the visual "slumping" of the participants.