The use of the voice in hypnosis

Because the voice is important

The use of the voice comes into play in hypnosis, but not only. What is said, or the content of a message, catches the attention of the interlocutor for less than 10%, while the paraverbal aspect of the voice, or the way in which it is used, which emphasizes a concept rather than to another, it plays a far more important role in terms of communication.

It should also be considered that there is a strong connection between the voice and the mood of a person.

The voice is our calling card: vocality, personality and identity are closely related concepts. If our voice is elusive, low, sometimes confused and incomprehensible, it means that our personality is insecure, unstable, that we are not deeply in touch with ourselves, while a rich voice is a voice that presents a set of harmonic sounds, ups and downs, which make it full. The range of the voice is also important: a flat and monotonous voice is certainly different from a rhythmic or modulated voice. So, the more intense our thoughts and emotions are, the more intense our vocality will be.

The use of the voice in hypnosis

How essential the relationship between an individual's voice, personality and balance is well known by those who use hypnotic practices. How much the use of the voice is important in hypnosis is well known by both the hypnotized and even more so by the hypnotist or hypnotherapist, subjects who are in close relationship with each other. The psychologist or psychotherapist who uses hypnosis as a healing method knows the voice instrument in depth and in the most varied components.

Rhythm, sound, modulation, range, pauses, tone, harmony, color: all these elements must be kept in mind if we want to use the hypnotic practice to use the voice as an instrument that induces "hypnotic sleep". The rhythm of the pronunciation of certain sentences or words is, in the hypnotic induction phase, slow and rhythmic, much more than that used in a normal conversation. The more the hypnotized subject abandons the state of consciousness, the slower the pace becomes. This is because the unconscious logs the suggestion message or the direct message slower, the processing takes longer .

Each pause is carefully desired and observed. The voice of the hypnotist must therefore be calm, clear, slow, modulated. There is no difference in the male or female voice for hypnosis, although men tend to prefer to rely on a female hypnotist and vice versa.

The two main techniques of using the voice in hypnosis

The use of the voice in hypnosis is variable. The voice is not always used to induce the patient into a hypnotic trance. In fact, there are also non-verbal and silent techniques, which make use of gestures or other instruments. However, the voice is an important tool in this field, first of all in traditional hypnosis . In this case there is a text that the hypnotist reads to the patient or learns by heart; it is a standard text, result of the traditional study carried out by hypnosis following innumerable tests.

The hypnotist, however, chooses words accurately, preserving the suggestive effect of induction, with emphasis on the production of visualizations or phenomenologies. Ericksonian hypnosis also uses the voice. Milton Erickson, however, broke the patterns of traditional hypnosis, focusing on what was for him the individuality and therefore the individual problematic of the patient. Erickson, through the voice, was able to "enter" the patient, adapting to his modalities, and then directing him to new directions. This scholar and hypnotherapist used as a model the distraction techniques used by conjurers to attract and then sidetrack spectators while performing magic tricks.

Neurolinguistic programming and the use of the voice

The method of using the voice practiced by Erickson in hypnosis has also inspired scholars such as Richard Bandler and John Grinder in outlining the technique known as neurolinguistic programming. This modern technique makes the voice a relevant tool. Neurolinguistic programming is a psycho-neuro-linguistic technique that uses the word to influence human behavior.

It is a modern technique that can be abused or misused in cases of media persuasion or persuasion in doing something. But it can be effective and therapeutic, where there are problems of character or slight psychological disorders. Surely we must pay attention, as always in these practices, to those who lead them.