POLITICIANS AND HYPNOSIS Hypnotic Language on Display

When I watched the third Presidential Debate Thursday evening the thought frequently flashed across my mind, “That’s hypnotic language!” I finally said it out-loud. “That is hypnotic language if I have ever heard hypnotic language!” My comment was on Joe Biden’s responses— the kind of language patterns which we actually teach people in NLP. We teach it for being able to create healing trances, trances for excellence, for memory, for focus, etc. The skill is that of how to actually say nothing of substance even though it sounds incredibly meaningful. It sounds meaningful because that kind of language allows people to wildly hallucinate and fill in the blanks (the ‘blank’ words).

You can also learn to detect this kind of language. How? Step back and ask yourself, “Did this person actually answer the question?” “If so, what is the answer?” In this way you can discover that the question was not answered. If the context is that of making a presentation of one’s positions or solutions, then ask, “What specifically is the person’s plan or proposal?” In NLP we know that when we reverse the Meta-Model of Language and use mind-reading statements, cause-effect statements, make presuppositional statements, use lost performatives, etc. we speak hypnotically and invite listeners to think hypnotically. Among the vague and hypnotic things Biden said were these: “Anyone responsible for that many deaths (220,000) cannot be president.” “He has no clear plan for dealing with the pandemics.” “People are learning to die with it [the virus]; we’re dying with it.” “I don’t know why this President won’t take on Putkin.” “We [the USA] had a good relationship with Hitler...” (False) “I would stop ... the oil industry pollutes, it has to be replaced...” “Nobody lost health care under Obama Care.” (False) “I never said I was against fracking.” (False)

This is actually the language that is typical of politicians. It is also what gets Trump in trouble. While he sometimes uses this language, he also gives more specifics (although not enough for my tastes, and sometimes he gets things wrong). That’s how and when the media press come down on him. They then use his answers to jump to conclusion (another hypnotic language pattern) and then mind-read (yet another one) what they assume that he “really” meant (another hypnotic language pattern). In this way they can accuse him of the very opposite of what he says.

They do that constantly with President Trump by playing the race card. Although he has denounced white race supremist views and the KKK (and there are an abundance of these video records), the media gets him by asking, “Will you denounce the racists now?” If he hesitates,

trying to get his ahead around “what part of the previous 40 denouncements do you not understand?” they say, “Ah, you hesitated! That means you are a racist!” Of course, all of that is the illogic of hypnotic language at its worse.

Actually I think President Trump should learn about hypnotic language so that he can recognize what the politicians are doing and how to defend against the manipulations. When anyone can do that, you can recognize what’s actually going on at hidden meta-levels.

On the other hand, there are many places where Trump could be much more specific. When he said that Joe Biden took millions of dollars from foreign governments, that allowed Biden to easily deny that. He said, “I did not take one cent.” Trump needed to be more specific, “Has your family or any member of the Biden family ever taken money from a foreign government?” He erred in attributing it to Joe Biden when it was Hunter Biden who took the money from Russia, Ukraine, and China.

Of course, hypnotic language does not facilitate accurate or useful information gathering. It is terrible for accessing facts and debating policy. It is wonderful for inducing states, especially states of inspiration, hope, and courage. But it can just as easily be used to induce states of fear, paranoia, gloom and doom. Biden did that, “200,000 more Americans will due by the end of the year.” Personally, I liked the bits of trance that Trump did in inducing optimism, “we have to learn to live with the virus,” “we have to open up our country, schools, etc.” I only wish he had done more of that.

For more about hypnotic language — see the two new books, Hypnotic Thinking and Hypnotic Conversations. The first is an actual book, the second is a PDF file on The Shop, www.neurosemantics.com.]