Did you hear that right? I hypnotized the deaf… not the dead.
A few years ago I was touring in Upstate New York. I was on a long run of shows and having a ball.
I had a show at a very well know University and I was in the theater preparing for my show. It was just another day at the office.
Then a woman approached me and said, “Hi, I’m Lori, I’ll be signing you show.” At first I didn’t know what she meant but I quickly figured it out. She meant she would be doing sign language for a deaf person in the audience. OK. Sounds good to me.
I told her sometimes I talk fast and sometimes I talk slow and sometimes I talk weird. I was referring to using the methods of Milton Erickson but she didn’t have to know that but those patterns sometimes come off as weird.
So said, “No problem.” and I continued preparing for the show. Of course there isn’t much prep which is one of the reasons I love this business, but I was present, let’s just say that. Maybe I was doing a sound check which I like to leave up to the techs anyway.
I tell them, “If it works for your voice, it’ll work for mine.” It’s true. Nothing is worse than arriving for a sound check an the sound tech doesn’t know what he/she is doing and I have to stand there and say “testing” a couple hundred times.
When I am doing a sound check or sometimes just for my own entertainment, I will give them my special, copywritten, registered, patented and trademarked, MCA sound check. You are welcome to borrow it if you want to make people feel uncomfortable. It’s worth it.
More on hypnotizing the deaf people in a minute.
My sound special MCA soundcheck… ahem.
[su_quote cite=”Michael C. Anthony’s Patented Mic Check”]Testing 1-2-3, Check, Check, Testing 1-2, Test, Test, Testing, Checking 1-2-3, Test Test. Testes 1-2-3, Testes 1-2, Testes, Testes, Testes, Testes 1-2-3 Testicles, Testicles, Testicles 1-2, Testicles, Testicles, 1-2 Testicles 1-2 (then I grab my balls, reaching deep) … and 3[/su_quote]You’ll get one of two things using this mic check method. People will look at you like you’ve lost your mind or they’ll laugh out loud. I like both reactions. Ha
Now, where were we… oh yeah, hypnotizing the deaf.
As I’m prepping for the show another women approaches me and says, “Hi, I Candace, I’ll be signing for the volunteers.
I said “What?”
She went on to tell me that within this University is a school for the deaf and hearing impaired and they will be at the show tonight.
I wondered how am I supposed to hypnotize people that can’t hear me? I was a bit nervous and even somewhat skeptical at first.
I thought about what hypnosis really was and realized that to enter a trance you only need to receive information… in the same way you’ve always received it. If these deaf students have been unable to hear until this point then that is their reality. They are very aware how to go into hypnosis in their own way and maybe… just maybe they can enter a trance through sign language.
Hmph, let’s try it.
The show is in progress and I asked for volunteers. They came to the stage in large numbers like they always do.
Were there deaf people? I didn’t know. The only way I would find out is if I asked, so I did.
“Are there any volunteers that will be watching the signer tonight? If so, raise your hand.”
I could already tell I had some deaf volunteers as they were watching the signer anyway.
6 hands went up out of 30 people.
I gave them some special instructions. I told them that to continually watch the signer and if the signer says to “close your eyes” I want you to keep your eyes open and keep watch the signer.
I will say that what followed even blew my mind. I watched the deaf people for than the rest of the volunteers.
I went through the suggestibility tests and they responded perfectly.
I went into the induction and they fell to the floor without breaking eye contact with the signer.
They experienced everything. I was in awe! This is much better than getting punched in the face on stage a couple weeks earlier.
I was careful with my wording and made sure I didn’t say “listen to this” or “hear this” etc. as that could break rapport as they don’t know what things sound like.
In the end, they experienced it all. They felt insects all over their bodies when I suggested it, they saw snakes and had great hallucination.
When the dance music started I just told them music will be playing and to dance like they’ve never danced before even if you don’t hear anything.
It was amazing and it even taught this experienced hypnotist a thing or two… or three that night.
The show ended and many more deaf people came from the audience asking for autographs. This means the other signer did her job and they all followed along perfectly.
It was a great night!
After the show I headed to the hospital to get that third testicle checked out. Ha
