Basic Hypnotic Language Patterns 4: Mind Read With Presupposition - by Matthew Wingett
Last month we looked at the Mind Read as an effective means of pacing and leading a client. This month, there is just one more thing that I want to add to the Mind Read pattern to make it even more effective: the presupposition. It can be used in many contexts as well as the Mind Read, but this is an opportune time to introduce it.
So, that said, what is a presupposition?
Put in straightforward terms, in hypnotic language it is a part of the sentence that presupposes some piece of information to be true already, upon which the rest of the sentence is based. It is quite a useful tool in negotiation and in sales. When badly used - that is, without sensitivity - it can also annoy the pants off of the person you are dealing with.
For example, a friend of mine recently had a young man knock on her door and offer her a much cheaper deal if only she would change her gas supplier. Except of course, he didn't word it quite like that. The way that he put it was to say something along the lines of:
"Hello, I'd like to show you how to stop losing money on your gas bill. Because, like me, you're interested in saving money. So, I want you to know that you can stop looking for a better deal on gas supply, because you've found the best deal right here. As one of our customers, you will receive the best market-compared prices from our company. You're probably already aware that, as one of our loyal customers, you get excellent customer service from us 24 hours a day. As a loyal customer, you are entitled to X - and you have the extra benefit of Y…"
My friend, something of a Neuro-Linguistic Programming expert decided to very politely set him straight.
"Yes, and when you learn how to sell with sincerity, rather than continuing to regurgitate choice phrases from a crib sheet, I'll be prepared to listen. But until then, goodbye!"
The presuppositions in the sentences above are many. Firstly, there's the presupposition that my friend was losing money in the first place. Did this salesman have evidence that she was doing so? Indeed, was he even sure that she was on a gas main? Then there is the presupposition that both customer and salesman are similar, and that the customer actually wants to save money. Maybe she doesn't. She might be an eccentric millionaire who wants to throw her money away… There are plenty more presuppositions above that you'll find easily, others less easily...
Now, there's no doubt that presuppositions can be extremely helpful in pacing and leading someone into hypnotic trance. But a little bit more care than the way they were used above is far more effective.
Words and phrases that are useful to the presupposition pattern include, but are not limited to, the following:
"you can continue to…", "you can carry on…", "how much more…", "you are becoming even more…", "…has deepened…", "has grown even stronger…" and so on.
So, let's look at the sentences I used as examples in my previous article on Mind Reads:
1) "You notice how relaxed you are."
This can become:
"You notice how much more relaxed you are."
or even:
"You notice how you are becoming even more relaxed, even than before…"
2) "As you sit there, you can notice how relaxed you are."
This can become:
"As you sit there, you can notice how much more relaxed you are."
3) "As you sit there, you can wonder what will happen next."
Can become:
"As you sit there, you can continue to wonder what will happen next."
4) "As you breathe in and out, you can allow yourself to remember how good it is to be happy."
Can become:
"As you breathe in and out, you can continue to allow yourself to remember how good it is to be even more deeply happy than you are, now ."
So, that is the basic Mind Read pattern, with presuppositions built in.
Now, remember: as you continue to think about how easy it is to build the presupposition into the basic Mind Read pattern, you'll become even more aware of how easy it is to do!
Well, that's it for this month.
Till next time!
Copyright 2009, Matthew Wingett.
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(For further information on hypnotic language patterns, see Patterns of the Hypnotic Techniques of Milton H Erickson Vol 1, by R Bandler and J Grinder.)
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