A little about a stage hypnotists technique

Comedy stage hypnotists like myself like as large an audience as possible.

This gives us more scope on the type and the number of volunteers we are likely to have.

First thing I do when I arrive at a venue is to set my equipment up then just have a little walk round  out of costume to see if you can pick up what people are saying about the pending hypnotism  performance.

As I am not in costume people just arriving don't realize who I am so it often possible to get chatting to groups and often work out which ones are going to volunteer and which ones are not.

At the start of the show I talk about the types of volunteers I wish to come to the stage  and which ones I prefer not i.e. drunks, brain dead people and sceptics.

The reason why a Comedy stage hypnotist will dismiss a sceptic from a stage is not because he cannot hypnotize them, it is purely that they look for people who want to be hypnotized as the process is then quicker.

The main tests I use are the classic hand clasp technique and also the light and heavy arms test. The tests work by giving a suggestion to someone in the "wide awake" state and seeing if they have a physical reaction to what I am saying.

After the tests with the people I have left I would immediately go on to the actual hypnotic induction, such as the classic but very powerful backward fall or sit them in the chairs and carry out a progressive relaxation induction.

This depends on the type of volunteers I have for example you would not want to do a backward fall on a fragile OAP for risk of injury. After the induction usually do a bit of a deepener to deepen the trance in the volunteers, then go on to the first sketch. This is when I expel those who I believe may not be the best entertainers for the audience.

LET THE SHOW BEGIN.........