Chapter 16: Hypnotising Your Audience 255
Tag questions
A tag question is added to the end of a statement to invite agreement.
Tag questions are a deliberate and very effective device that distracts the
conscious mind of recipients with something they can agree with. The
effect is that the statement in front of the tag question goes directly to the
unconscious mind and is acted upon:✓ This is easy, isn’t it?
✓ Your health is important, you know?
✓ You can, can’t you?
✓ It’s time to relax, don’t you know?
Even if you never read or discover anything more about hypnosis, remember
two of the most powerful words in the English language that are also examples
of tag questions: that’s right. Don’t take our word for it; just try them out; you’ll
find that it’s virtually impossible for someone to disagree with you.Embedded commands
Embedded commands or questions are sentences that are constructed so as
to contain within them the outcome that Erickson wanted from the client, as
with the italicised parts of the following sentences:✓ ‘I’m curious about whether you will learn to relax and let yourself be
comfortable in a few moments.’
✓ ‘What is interesting is when did you last learn so easily?’
The purpose of the embedded command is to send directions straight to the
unconscious mind, without the conscious mind blocking them. Erickson used
his tone of voice to mark the commands out from the rest of the sentence: for
example, by deepening his voice for the command element.As you adopt lessons from communicators such as Erickson, remember that
although what you say is important, the way you behave (body language, tone
of voice, and so on) has the most effect.Double binds
Double binds give people a choice, but limit it. You cover the options and
assume that the result you want is going to happen:✓ ‘When will you clean up your clutter, before you’ve had lunch or after?’
(A typical one to use with messy teenagers or housemates!)
✓ ‘Would you like to order it in blue or in green?’ (How about this one in a
sales situation?)