27 A Writing Lesson from the World’s Greatest Hypnotist
P
ull up a chair and sit down. Relax. Let me tell you a brief story
about the world’s greatest hypnotist and how he learned an
important secret about writing.
Milton Erickson was legendary. He was considered the foremost
practitioner of hypnosis and became famous for his unique induc-
tion methods. Supposedly Erickson could put you into a trance
with a story—or by even shaking your hand. His innovative ap-
proaches to curing people have led to numerous books by him and
about him. Erickson himself was one of the three people who in-
spired the creation of Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP), a
new field of communication and behavioral study.
Erickson was often asked to write papers about hypnosis and
medical treatment. One day he faced a particularly difficult paper
and wasn’t sure how to write it. What this colorful psychiatrist did
was brilliant.
Erickson put himself into a hypnotic trance and asked his un-ccc_hypnotic_112-114_ch27.qxd 11/3/06 3:03 PM Page 112