Gerard V – Comedy Stage Hypnotist

Hypnosis is not a “special power”.  It is a skill. For the most part the hypnotist has to know a bit about how people think, and about how what he or she says will be dealt with by the thinking processes of the subject. I mention this because thinking is not as common as it [...]

I try to avoid discussing religion in the context of hypnosis or my shows because it can be a touchy subject. A while ago a woman came up to me after a show.  She was dressed in very sombre dark clothes, and I could see she had no makeup or adornments. I hadn’t noticed her [...]

Other than having a few laughs, what is hypnosis good for? You will have heard of . . .

Despite the many documented cases of people undergoing surgery under hypnosis and without anesthetic, and the many instances of clinical success in the treatment of phobias and other verifiable evidence, there are still some people who “don’t believe in hypnosis”. When questioned such people often argue that the subjects are just faking.  Can you imaging [...]

Unfortunately not, at least when it comes to physical talent.  You might be less inhibited, but if you cannot play the violin, or moonwalk, then when hypnotised you will still be unable to do those things.  However under hypnosis you might believe that you can, which is the basis for many excellent gags. You may [...]

If you want to learn hypnosis from a counseling and helping people perspective, I highly recommend Richard Bolstad. Richard is possibly the best teacher I have ever had. I cannot say for sure he is the very best only because I have been blessed with several outstandingly good teachers in my adult life. Richard has a gentle NLP based teaching style, he teaches you the same style. I did both my NLP Practitioner and NLP Master Practitioner training with Richard and his team.

For a slightly more traditional approach to hypnotherapy and the very highest standard of teaching and ethics, I’d recommend Anny Sleghten and the folk at the Alberta Institute of Hypnosis. They trade as www.success-and-more.com. Incidentally, this is where I completed my stage hypnosis certification and diploma. The stage hypno training is delivered by Attila Kun, a very successful and hilarious hypnotist and magician in his own right.

Attila is the hypnotist that pioneered the modern style of hypnotic show, and I unashamedly use many of the techniques and gags he showed me.

When you volunteer to come onto the stage, the important thing is to relax and to follow the hypnotist’s instructions. There’s little point in volunteering if you treat hypnosis as a contest of wills. The hypnotist is unlikely to overcome your resistance, and won’t even try because dealing with resistance makes for a boring show. [...]

Once you put aside the technicalities such as the venue, lighting, etc (not that you should do this lightly), there are really two main factors that determine how good a hypno show will be: The Volunteers and The Hypnotist Their Personality Some people are keen to experiment and try things out. Some are more conservative. [...]

>Hypnosis is relaxing and fun. Most people experience a feeling of freedom, like they had when they were children. This is what allows them to do playful and silly things and enjoy it! Many people report that they were aware of what was going on all along, but they just went along with it. They [...]

Yes. Amnesia is quite rare for participants in That Hypno Show, and if it occurs, we restore all your memories of the show as you leave the stage.