15 What Is Hypnosis?
R
ecently I interviewed Dan Kennedy, famous marketing con-
sultant. During the course of our chat, Dan said, “You can’t go
very far in business without learning a little hypnosis.”
I was surprised. Not because of the statement, but because of
who said it. I never realized Dan knew the importance of hypnosis.
The truth is, understanding hypnosis helps you understand the
mind of your reader.
People are self-centered. That’s not negative. That’s reality. They
walk around in their own trance. Their bundle of experiences, be-
liefs, thoughts, and actions create a unique world where they live,
move, and breathe. Each of us, in short, is in a hypnotic state. We’ll
never admit it. But we’re in it.
The first step in writing Hypnotic Copy is understanding the
mind of your reader. That mind is notfocused on your writing.
That mind is absorbed with its own concerns. In order for you to
make contact, you have to enter that mind where it already is.
All good hypnotists know this. In order for any hypnotist to lead
you into a state of relaxed awareness—which is what hypnosis is—
they have to meet you where you are mentally.
They have to make what’s called “an agreement” with you: You
agree that the hypnotist can relax you, and the hypnotist can then
do it. Without this unspoken agreement, hypnosis is not likely to
happen.