Establishing yourself as the hypnotist!

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Permalink Reply by Graham Fitz on September 6, 2008 at 6:04am

Hi Amanda.
Just been re-reading your original post on this thread and i may be wrong but i think your talking about how you can convince people twice your age that you are a hypnotist in a street situation ? This doubt comes from the fact that you are only 21 and 5' 3" so you don't think they will take you seriously.
I think you can make the things you see as problems work for you.
When your out on the street, initially just approach guys about your own age, with a sweet smile and lots of eye contact, i know it's not quite PC but they will be falling over themselves to help out a pretty girl and be your volunteers.
NOTE Don't go for groups of guys as they will tend to show off to each other and spoil things, aim for no more than three together or preferably just two.
Then do your hypnosis being careful not to embarass them.The crowd that gathers to watch will obviously be interested in what your doing and some of them will be "Twice your age" they will SEE and KNOW that you are "The Hypnotist" then you can approach them with confidence.
Stay safe.
Graham.

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Permalink Reply by Sheila M. Street, CI CH M.NLP on September 6, 2008 at 7:29am

Graham: About the only two words of advice you've provided - "Stay safe" - are the only ones in your advice to Amanda that I can agree upon. It is definitely NOT a safe thing to do for a young woman, no matter how hypnotically talented, to be approaching any group of guys (even two or three) on the street. At least not in most Canadian cities! I think, too, in most larger Canadian cities, it would probably be illegal to do this, as there are regulations of what can and cannot be done on a public sidewalk or even in parks. Certainly check with your local by-laws before you do anything on public property.

Amanda: You don't need to prove anything to anyone older than yourself, especially your family. As for the public, if you act professional, dress like a professional (not, as you suggested, appearing like a punk kid), and approach your career as a hypnotist in a professional manner, this will eliminate most of the "she's too young looking to be any good at this" mind-sets of anyone amenable toward hypnosis - and the ones who staunchly aren't amenable won't ever be convinced anyways, so don't waste your time on them.

Good luck!
Sheila

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Permalink Reply by Graham Fitz on September 6, 2008 at 9:34am

SHEILA. May i point out that my reply to Amanda was not refering to just wandering up to people ad-hoc in the street, licences and such have been discussed by previous posters to Amanda's threads so i know she is aware of the need for them.In reality the advice was intended for use in licenced situations like fairs etc with signage, cameraman and security.
I agree with you Sheila that safety is paramount.
Regards.
Graham

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Permalink Reply by Sheila M. Street, CI CH M.NLP on September 6, 2008 at 11:31am

Gee, Graham, I must have misread your post.......

"When your out on the street, initially just approach guys about your own age, with a sweet smile and lots of eye contact," and "aim for no more than three together or preferably just two" and "Then do your hypnosis being careful not to embarass them. The crowd that gathers to watch will obviously be interested in what your doing" etc.. I doubt very much that the "out on the street" scenario included "licenced situations like fairs etc with signage, cameraman and security."

Glad you agree safety is paramount, at least. :)

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Permalink Reply by Conrad Cook on September 6, 2008 at 1:06pm

"Stay safe" - are the only ones in your advice to Amanda that I can agree upon. It is definitely NOT a safe thing to do for a young woman, no matter how hypnotically talented, to be approaching any group of guys (even two or three) on the street. At least not in most Canadian cities! I think, too, in most larger Canadian cities, it would probably be illegal to do this, as there are regulations of what can and cannot be done on a public sidewalk or even in parks.

It isn't *safe* in Canada for a 21 year old woman to start talking to guys on the street? --It isn't *legal*?!

Is crime so rife in the cities of Saskatchewa that a young lady can't strike up conversation with a couple of guys for fear of getting dragged off into the shrubbery?

If she is so bold as to attempt it, will the police haul her off to jail? -- Would it be legal if she were a man?

Wow.

Amanda, maybe you could dress in drag.


Conrad.

ps - Back to the original question, as the man says, you can focus on folks a bit younger than you; and, you can get some of that temporary stuff and dye your hair and eyebrows grey. You could probably raise your apparent age to as much as a young 40.

C.

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Permalink Reply by Sheila M. Street, CI CH M.NLP on September 6, 2008 at 3:41pm

Conrad, you somewhat twisted the idea I was expressing regards the legality of doing hypnosis in public without a permit, NOT the legality of talking to someone. And no, it isn't really a good idea for young women to be just going up to strangers (particularly young men in groups) on the streets. Perhaps it might be different in a small town in Saskatchewan, but certainly it would not be safe in places like Metro Toronto or Vancouver.

Besides, the question had to do with people taking her seriously as a hypnotist, and I think in order for that to happen, she's going to want to act more professional than this. Perceptions may be different in New York State, but Canadians are not quite that laid back, and this could very well be part of the reason her family, in particular, are having problems with her new "career".

Let me put it to you this way: If you had a young daughter, and there was potential danger in what she was doing, wouldn't you want to ensure that she wasn't putting herself in the way of those potential dangers? Given the prevalence in Canadian cities, across the board, for young women disappearing off the streets, innocently or otherwise, to either disappear completely or be found dead in out-of-the-way places, I think any young woman looking to do "street hypnosis" is asking for trouble.

That you, Conrad, could joke about this, certainly leaves questions about you in my mind on a lot of levels.

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Permalink Reply by Conrad Cook on September 6, 2008 at 6:04pm

Ah, now you're villifying me. That answers some questions about you. On a lot of levels.

As do the scare quotes you put around hypnotism as a "carreer."

Amanda, I trust you know how to handle yourself in the venues in which you intend to operate; and that you're able to ensure, to a reasonable degree, that the venue you're in is safe. Generally, don't permit yourself to be isolated with strangers.

(And, y'know, if you're paranoid, you can move to the States and carry a gun.)

Amanda, do you know what it means to demonstrate value? Do you know how to structure opportunities?


Conrad.

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Permalink Reply by Graham Fitz on September 6, 2008 at 7:01pm

No Sheila you did not misread my post.
What you did do was fail to understand that the term "street hypnosis" applies to any situation outside of the hypnotherapy office and certainly does cover "licenced situations like fairs etc with signage, cameramen and security" It also covers anywhere from church halls to a tent on the front lawn.
I was definately not advocating that Amanda should stand alone on a street corner accosting passing men.
I repeat safety is paramount.
Graham.

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Permalink Reply by chris john on September 6, 2008 at 6:23am

the only person who needs confidence... is you.

not sure who mentioned magic to you, but thats just silly.
also,not everyone can do that or is even interested..its a completely different field.

just use a good rapour, and add a little mirroring whilst your talking.
disspell some of the myths for them.

you'll do fine.

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Permalink Reply by James Hazlerig on September 6, 2008 at 6:56pm

When I was twenty-one years old, I had to walk into a college classroom and teach people, some of whom were much older than I was.

Part of it was walking in with an air of confidence--not just having confidence but projecting it.

The other part was having really good patter, which definitely applies now. Work out interesting ways to explain about hypnosis. When I do street (really, street faires with my own booth), I see it as my goal to educate people about hypnosis. If someone just has a bunch of questions, that's fine. I don't pressure them to try hypnosis until they're ready.

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