Basic Hypnotic Language Patterns 2: Implied Causative - by Matthew Wingett

An Implied Causative is a sentence that puts together two ideas into one sentence in such a way that, somehow, you conceive of the second idea as having been caused by the first idea.  The first idea doesn't actually cause the second, it's just that there's something in the way the sentence works that implies that it causes it.  Hence the name: Implied Causative. 

 

But, before I go on, let me start with some good news: 

 

 

Okay, so now look at that last paragraph again, and think about what each of the sentences in it have in common.  I'm sure you've probably worked out that they are all Implied Causative sentences.  The one bit of the sentence isn't necessarily going to lead to the other, but somehow it sounds like it will.

 

So, how do you make an Implied Causative?  Let's take apart one of the sentences in italics above, so we can find out how to put it back together again.

 

Let's look at the first sentence:

 

 

The first thing to do is to notice the sentence has two parts, or clauses.  These parts are:

 

(clause 1)   …you consider these basic hypnotic language patterns   

 

and

 

(clause 2)     you will get a sense of exactly how to use them with elegance and precision.  

 

The two parts are then joined together by another word or set of words.  Often (but not always) the "joining together" words imply the passage of time.  These "joining together" words are called conjunctions.

 

In this case the words that act as the conjunction are:

 

(conjunction) During the time that…

 

Other related words that you might use as conjunctions include: As, When, Throughout the time that, Before, After, While etc.

 

So, to recap, the structure of the sentence is:

 

conjunction + clause 1 + clause 2.

 

You will probably have noticed by now that the structure is similar to that of the Cause-Effect language pattern.  But there is a major difference.  Whereas Cause-Effect directly states a causal connection between the two parts of the sentence, the Implied Causative only suggests or implies it.  It does it very subtly, in such a way that you unconsciously connect the two parts of the sentence and therefore unconsciously agree with it.  (That, by the way, is how the Press and politicians sneak things by you so often!)

 

In hypnosis, one of the most common ways of using the Implied Causative is in the following way:

 

 

(Notice with this example that, as with Cause-Effect, the two parts of the sentence are pacing and leading.  Clause 1 is reporting back to the hypnotic subject what they are already experiencing.  Clause 2 is leading the subject towards a particular action by giving the subject an expectation.  Though that is not always part of the Implied Causative, it is, once again, how politicians get things by you!)

 

The above hypnotic sentence appears to be a pretty uncontroversial statement.  But think about it.  It does not necessarily follow that sitting in the chair will make you feel more relaxed.  After all, the chair might be crawling with cockroaches - or about to pass a zillion volts through your body.  Or you might already be really relaxed standing up.  So it doesn't necessarily follow that the one will cause the other.  And yet, it feels right to put the two together even if they aren't directly connected.

 

"But," you might be saying, "It's pretty reasonable to consider that doing the first thing might lead to the second thing to happen.  You're not really stating that the one will cause the other, you're just saying that they are going to happen at around the same time."  I agree completely.  And that is exactly the subtlety of the Implied Causative.  The cause and effect link are not stated, but implied - and this makes it more difficult to argue with when it is done subtly.

 

To understand how strong the implication really is in the Implied Causative, think about a really unlikely connection between two clauses.  Try this one for size:

 

 

Now this sentence may or may not be true, but if you are like me, then you will have a definite sense of resistance to it (that is, if you're not in deep trance already!).  And your resistance demonstrates exactly how the structure of implication works. Why the heck should my sitting in this chair mean that Mars will move closer to Earth?!? That's what I would be thinking if I heard someone say the above sentence.

 

But, actually, the sentence does not say that sitting in the chair will cause Mars to move closer.  The sentence content simply says that two things are happening at the same time.  But the structure of the sentence implies a causation between the two separate events.  Your unconscious interprets the causal link in that way.  

 

Now, it might actually be true that at the same time you are sitting in your chair, due to natural cosmological events, it also happens by chance that Mars moves a little closer to the Earth than it was before you sat in the chair.  But that is not the point.  The point is that somehow, built into the sentence structure, there is an implication that sitting in the chair makes Mars move closer.

 

It is this unconscious tying together of two separate events which is the power of the Implied Causative.  So that when you say to a client:

 

 

You are implying them all the way into trance...

 

Now, you will notice that I "softened" this final paragraph with other little additions, such as can and allow.  Those I will talk about in a future article.

 

To finish up, I will just ask you to remember this: as you practise these patterns, you will become super-proficient at using basic hypnotic language patterns to their greatest effect.  And when you have written them out and practised speaking them, you will be a far more effective hypnotist, even than you are now!

 

Notice the effect that final paragraph had on you…  See how effective the Implied Causative is?

 

See you next time.

 

 

Copyright, 2009, Matthew Wingett

 

(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.)