This article explores the uses, limits and consequences of using covert hypnosis.

Using hypnosis in normal everyday settings is normally called Conversational Hypnosis or often Covert Hypnosis. It can be covert because you don’t want people to know you are doing this with them or simply because telling them would not add much to the conversation.

NLP and Hypnosis are very much connected. A general model for how your mind operates is that you have conscious and unconscious parts to your mind. The conscious part is rational, logical and is the part of your mind that you think with. Your unconscious mind is the part that stores your memories and emotions. It also has control over your muscle movements and automatic functions such as keeping blood pumping round your body, habits and automatic bits of behaviour that we all have.

If you could give direct suggestions to your unconscious mind bypassing the discerning and critical thinking faculties of your conscious mind you could have great power over people. There are obvious limitations. Your unconscious mind is geared for self preservation so it would not follow commands to stop breathing for example. But what if you could make suggestions to get excited about a particular product, or to feel attracted to particular people or even vote a particular way in an election?

It would be easier to get a wavering voter to vote for a particularly party than someone who has voted for an opposing part all their life. Getting someone of a different sexual orientation to fall in love with you is much more difficult than say someone that already finds you attractive. Whilst it becomes increasingly less effective the more covert and the further against someone’s will you go it is possible to move people a great distance using covert hypnosis. A good NLP Practitioner Course will train you in all the techniques that you need to be able to use these techniques.

The point though is whilst you can bypass a person’s conscious, rational, thinking mind you cannot get rid of it completely. This means at some point they will notice what you have done to them. They may not know how, but they are likely to breed resentment towards you because of how they feel. Say you are using covert hypnosis to mis-sell products. Your customers might initially go away happy because that was the hypnotic state you induced in them…but when they come out of it they are likely to feel cheated, manipulated and conned into buying something that they don’t want. The net result is returns, complaints and a huge loss of reputation.

Used appropriately covert hypnosis techniques can get people to access their deep desires and motivations and start to satisfy them. If I take the sales example when I find a customer with a need for a product, if I can find a way of linking the product to satisfy their needs at a deep psychological level they will feel great about the sale, the product and about me. The net result is very happy customers and a great reputation.

I guess you can start to think of some great applications for yourself, such as presenters increasing their charisma, linking fun and enjoyment to meeting friends or job satisfaction for your employees. Learn how to link people’s core values to the things that you want them to do is a key part of covert hypnosis and is very powerful. If you do this with things that are not good them they will feel cheated, if you do it in a way that moves them where they want to go you will create friends for life. A good NLP Practitioner course will show you can use covert hypnosis to get people to do what you want and thanking you for it because they also get what they want.