Mandrake the magician waves his hands and the guns in the hands of the big bad men turn into sticks. This is what hypnotism brings to mind in most people.
Hypnosis is a technique used to influence and induce a person by means of actions, words and visuals to do what he normally would not.
Conversational hypnosis is different from conventional hypnosis. Here instead of bringing the person to a trance like state, the hypnotist strikes up a simple conversation with the subject and influences the person without his knowledge. This helps to overcome any resistance to hypnotism the subject may have. This type of hypnotism is also called covert hypnotism as it is done covertly with the subject not being any wiser.
Conversational hypnosis uses specific patterns and techniques in language and suggestions to interact with the subject and find a solution to the problem being faced. Here the subject need not be aware about bring influenced. The hypnotist using specific language patterns delves into the sub conscious of the subject without making him unconscious or fall into a trance like state.
There are three stages in conversational hypnotism. In the first stage the hypnotist builds a rapport with the person being induced. He does this by simply agreeing with whatever the person says. By empathizing he makes the client comfortable and instills confidence in himself.
The next stage is to confuse or distract the subject. With an absurd question or statement he removes the problems temporarily from the mind of his subject. This makes the client responsive to him because his subconscious is now very receptive.
The third stage is to put a proposition or suggestion which can be a solution to the problem. The hypnotist gently guides him towards the alternative with the suggestion. This helps the client to deal with the problem positively. There is a lot of power in suggestions when the recipient is in a receptive state of mind.
Conversational hypnotism is commonly employed by self help gurus and unfortunately, also by con men. But since this is usually practiced on a group rather than one to one, it is not very successful for a long period and the listener reverts back to his previous behavior. For it to be successful and bring about permanent behavioral changes the sessions should be one to one. Also it does not really work on unsure and unconfident people. It works more easily on employees rather than employers.
It is a painless and easy technique which can be used as a treatment of various disorders and behavioral problems without any side effect.