Suggestibility is often misunderstood as gullibility. Gullibility is being naïve or easily fooled. Suggestibility is the ability to absorb new ideas and can be correlated with a high IQ. That means that smarter people with good imaginations tend to be less gullible and more suggestible. A good leader is someone who is highly suggestible. The good leader will absorb all the ideas/solutions presented to him/her and then make a decision based on what is right for the situation if they already have the knowledge to know which suggestions are right and which are wrong. If the leader needs to learn more before deciding then all suggestions will remain on his/her mind until he/she can eliminate the ones that research don’t confirm. Being suggestible has nothing to do with mind control. A gullible person will accept all suggestions without any investigation. Being suggestible is not only a sign of intelligence but it shows your imagination is strong as well. Being 100% suggestible means that you can absorb new ideas easily – with fear or doubt – and then you can sort the false from the true and take action accordingly. So being highly suggestible is a very desirable trait for success. In hypnosis suggestions are made for changing habits or ideas or even beliefs. These suggestions are absorbed into the subconscious mind. Anything that doesn’t fit with a person’s knowledge base will be rejected. That is why hypnotist’s make many suggestions in each session so that at least 15-20% of the suggestions make it through to the subconscious mind so at least some change takes place. It’s also why you need several hypnosis sessions for serious problems and have to work with your hypnotists to tailor the suggestions to your liking. Stage Hypnosis Suggestibility Many hypnotists do imagination exercises before a stage show to determine which audience members are highly suggestible. If the person follows the imagination exercises properly (and meet some other criteria such as desire for attention) then a stage hypnotist will note these individuals to call on for the show. Ask most participants in a stage hypnosis show and they will tell you that they were aware of what the hypnotist said and felt motivated to follow along. If the stage hypnotist had said something that went against any individuals beliefs or values then the suggestions wouldn’t work. That is why stage hypnotists stick with silly suggestions like barking like a dog or clucking like a chicken as it is something any person would do when having fun with friends. Best part is that being on stage and ‘under control of a hypnotist’ gives a person an excuse to let go and act crazy. Many people are repressed or big attention seekers and these people are easy to notice and make perfect volunteers for a stage show. A stage hypnotist preselects volunteers through imagination exercises and body language long before any volunteers are asked to come on stage. Only the ones who showed the right character type for a stage show are selected from the raised hands of the volunteers. |
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