If you’re a hypnotist or hypnotherapist, or you’re simply learning more about hypnosis, then it’s likely you have heard of ‘rapid inductions’. But what are rapid inductions and how do they work?
What is rapid induction hypnosis?
Rapid inductions are a type of ‘hypnotic induction‘ – the hypnotic induction refers to the method(s) used to hypnotise people. There are many different types of hypnotic induction. Some are slow and take more time to complete than others. Rapid inductions refer to those inductions that take a very short amount of time.
The amount of time a rapid induction takes can vary, depending on the induction of choice. As a good rule of thumb; the duration of a rapid induction will usually be measured in seconds rather than minutes. Yes, you can hypnotise someone that quickly! In fact, this is true whether you are using rapid induction hypnosis with hypnotherapy clients, during a stage hypnosis show, or even for impromptu ‘street hypnosis‘ demonstrations! Rapid inductions can be used by any type of hypnotist and in almost any setting, making them a very flexible tool used by many of the best hypnotists and hypnotherapists in the world!
What are instant inductions?
As well as rapid inductions, you may have also stumbled across the term; ‘instant inductions’ or ‘instant hypnosis’. Now, some people will say that an instant induction is faster than a rapid induction. However, in reality, whether you call it an instant induction, a rapid induction, a snap induction, a speed induction, a fast induction, a power induction, or something else, it is really just a ‘semantics’ issue at that point.
Why is that? Well, it’s because there is no universally accepted terminology to label fast hypnotic inductions based on how quick they are. If an induction takes less than a minute, it’s generally thought of as a rapid hypnotic induction (or instant/speed/fast/etc.). If it takes much longer, then it’s just a ‘standard’ hypnotic induction.
Some rapid inductions can take just a few seconds (even just one or two!), where others can be half a minute or even a minute long. These are still very rapid in contrast to a ‘progressive’ induction (sometimes known as a ‘PMR’), which can take anything from five minutes to fifteen minutes plus!
In reality, the label is not as important as the process itself. Call your rapid inductions whatever you like, at the end of the day, regardless of the moniker, you’ll be hypnotising people in seconds rather than minutes!
What are the best rapid induction techniques?
There are a vast range of rapid hypnosis techniques and instant induction methods out there. Also, for each of those techniques, there will be a number of different permutations and variations depending on where you learn them or who is teaching them. However, as a quick overview, here is a list of the majority of rapid induction methods. This list was taken from my Instant Hypnosis and Rapid Inductions Guidebook (available now on Amazon in paperback, hardback and Kindle formats).
- Arm Pull Rapid Induction
- Butterfly Fingers Rapid Induction
- Drop-Back/Fall-Back Rapid Induction (& Chair Drop-back)
- Elman Three-Handshake Rapid Induction
- Ericksonian Arm Levitation Rapid Induction
- Eye Fixation Rapid Induction
- Eye Fixation Induction (Pocket Watch)
- Eye Fixation Induction (Pendulum)
- Fractionation Rapid Induction
- Hand Drop/Eight-Word Rapid Induction
- Handshake Interrupt Rapid Induction (Fast Version)
- Handshake Interrupt Rapid Induction (NLP Version)
- Magnetic Hands Rapid Induction
- Non-Verbal/Silent Rapid Induction
- Rapid Confusion Rapid Induction
- Rapid Progressive Rapid Induction
- Suggestibility Test Rapid Inductions & Other Variations
As you can see, there are many different rapid inductions to choose from. No one induction is ‘better’ than another. That said, generally you will find that by learning and practicing different rapid inductions, you will come to favour certain rapid hypnosis approaches in some situations, and different ones in others.
The sheer number of rapid induction options gives you a fantastic amount of flexibility in your hypnotising process. In fact, those hypnotists and hypnotherapists who are not using rapid inductions with their therapy clients are definitely missing out (and here’s why).
How does rapid induction hypnosis work?
Unlike ‘standard’ hypnotic inductions, which most often rely on relaxation and acceptance of suggestion in order to hypnotise someone, instant inductions and rapid hypnosis techniques are a little different.
There are three distinct categories that the majority of rapid inductions fall into:
Shock Rapid Inductions
With a shock induction, you do something that literally shocks the subject (makes them jump/puts them into ‘fight or flight’ mode), and in that split second where they are reacting to the shock, you tell them to go into hypnosis (usually with the word “sleep”). At the exact moment of the shock, a subject becomes highly suggestible and less critical of suggestions, so the suggestion to “sleep” is acted upon immediately, without the subject critically analysing what’s happening.
Confusion Rapid Inductions
Guess what you have to do for a confusion induction to work? That’s right, confuse the subject. Similar to shock inductions, the state of confusion created by a confusion induction occupies the subject’s conscious thought processes, meaning they don’t have enough cognitive processing power to critically analyse the suggestion to go into hypnosis, because they’re too busy trying not to be confused!
To perform any confusion induction, the idea is relatively simple, you give a subject too many things to do at once, then, at the point where they become overloaded and overwhelmed with it all, you tell them to “sleep”, and this suggestion to go into hypnosis becomes almost irresistible, because it means all of the unpleasant confusion will immediately stop! Confusion inductions are great for subjects who are overly analytical of the hypnosis process, because they don’t get the option to analyse the process as it’s happening.
Pattern-Interrupt Rapid Inductions
When we become used to doing something, a habitual pattern can be formed, which means we learn to respond in the same way each time without needing to consciously think about what we’re doing. For example, we brush our teeth the same way each day, and we tie our shoelaces using the same ‘pattern’. If our pre-established pattern were to be interrupted, we’d likely get confused and perhaps even have to start again.
Unconscious habitual responses can be interrupted and then leveraged to put someone into a state of hypnosis. However, there are very few pattern-interrupt inductions out there, simply because they rely on interrupting a genuine pattern (one that is happening naturally), but the pattern needs to occur at the exact time that you need it to (e.g., when you’re about to hypnotise your subject). So, because you have to be able to get the subject to do this pattern naturally and at a time of your choosing, there’s really only one type of unconscious pattern that you can use for this, and it is the ‘handshake’.
There are a couple of different variations on the ‘handshake interrupt induction’, and similar to shock and confusion inductions, the pattern interruption induction creates a moment of unexpected confusion, where the normal pattern is not completed as it should be. When this happens, the subject becomes confused, as they are not sure how to respond. At this point, they are highly suggestible and will respond well to a direct command to “sleep”.
Miscellaneous Rapid Inductions
As well as the main three categories of rapid inductions, there are some other hypnotic inductions that don’t include shock, confusion or pattern interruption elements, but are still fairly quick. These generally rely on direct suggestion and the ‘intention’ of the hypnotist. As such, these inductions are often not quite as quick as rapid inductions (but are still faster than a progressive-style induction).
Note: The overviews of each category of rapid induction provided above is featured in my Rapid Induction Guidebook, alongside full scripts and explanations for each of the different rapid inductions mentioned in this blog!
How to learn rapid induction hypnosis
If this blog has piqued your interest on the topic of rapid inductions and you’d like to learn more, firstly, check out my book (mentioned above). It is a great way to start your journey to rapid hypnosis mastery.
With rapid induction hypnosis methods, reading is fine, but practicing is mandatory. This is why my 1-day rapid hypnosis training courses are so popular. You can join me for a day of practical rapid hypnosis training, learning exactly how they work, and practicing them with other course attendees.
There really is no better way to become proficient at hypnotising people fast – you know what they say; practice makes perfect! But don’t just take my word for it, here’s what one of my past students said in her review;
“A great day learning Rapid Induction techniques with Rory. Lots of interactive practice time and clear (amusing) explanations and demonstrations. As a hypnotherapist it’s always useful to add to the toolkit and to experience varied approaches. Highly recommend.” – Anna Thomas (via TrustPilot)
For more information about my rapid induction training course, click the button below. Otherwise, if you have any questions about rapid hypnosis methods, my courses, 1-to-1 training with me (or anything else hypnosis-related for that matter), feel free to get in contact, because I’m always happy to help!
