Street Hypnosis

Street Hypnosis – Getting Started
Interest is increasing in a new, amazing activity known as “Street Hypnosis”. Unlike clinical hypnosis, in street hypnosis, a hypnotist puts a person into a rapid trance and has him or her perform fun activities for the amusement of the crowd on the street. Street Hypnosis is actually quite an old activity. Street hypnosis has been around since the eighteenth century when performers used Mesmerism on the street to entertain the crowds. An argument could be made that hypnosis would have died out hundreds of years ago if performers hadn’t kept the art alive by doing street hypnosis. So how does one get started in street hypnosis?
First you should learn basic hypnosis.The “Dave Elman Three-Minute Routine”, as described in his book, “Hypnotherapy” is one of the easiest and most effective inductions there is. This induction is so easy to use, that all you need is the ability to read aloud and a willing volunteer. This induction,as the name implies takes only three minutes to produce a deep trance in most willing volunteers. It’s best to practice this basic induction with a willing volunteer in a private, quiet place. Hypnosis can still occur on a noisy street, but it is better learned in a more conducive atmosphere. A family member or close friend may not always be such a good subject. This person knows you well and may have a difficult time believing that you can hypnotize him or her. His or her belief in your ability is important in producing trance. Because of this, an acquaintance is often a better subject than someone very close to you.
After the induction, the next step is known as “deepening”, and this is done to stabilize the trance state and make sure the subject will remain in hypnosis. An easy deepening technique can be counting slowly from ten down to one, saying each number as the subject exhales each breath. After the induction and deepening procedure, you can begin the street hypnosis demonstration.
Safety is an all important part of street hypnosis. You should always protect your subject from injury, and never ask a him or her to do something that could possibly cause harm. The rule of thumb is, if the demonstration might possibly injure this person if he or she was not in hypnosis, it can still do the same damage in hypnosis.
Many street hypnotists use even faster inductions known as instants and “super rapid inductions”, and these will be the topic of later articles. The “three-minute routine” is the most reliable way to produce hypnosis and is especially suited to subjects who might not be good candidates for the faster inductions. Always carefully read the safety chapter of any hypnosis book you study. If you learn how to safely induce and emerge your subjects, this will give you a good base from which to build your street hypnosis performance.