Have you ever wondered what it would be like to hypnotize anyone just by talking to them? Imagine what your life would be like if you had access to a list of "secret words" that when spoken would actually get people to do what you asked them to do. Do you think that this list of "secret words" doesn't exist? The truth of the matter is that although there are certain words that actually increase your ability to influence and hypnotize people, these words aren't secret at all. As a matter of fact these are probably words that you use everyday- the question is are you using them to your best advantage?

The late Dr. Milton Erickson, generally regarded as the father of modern psychological hypnosis, was renowned for being able to hypnotize people just by talking to them in regular everyday conversations. The style of conversational hypnosis that he developed took the art and science of hypnosis to a new level. No longer did you have to have someone lie down on your couch and stare at your pocket watch in order to be put into a hypnotic trance. Using the right combination of words and tone of voice you could actually put someone into that same state- simply by talking to them.

And believe it or not there are actual words that increase the likelihood of people following your suggestions. Some of these words rely on influencing someone's subconscious mind- that is, the part of the mind that zeroes in on all of the subtle variations of words and even non verbal cues that go into our regular everday conversations. Other words take advantage of some learned behaviors that we human beings pick up when we're learning how to socialize with each other. Want a practical example?

It's a well known fact that when we ask someone to do us a favor, it helps to give a reason for the favor being asked. In a small experiment designed to demonstrate this social psychologist Ellen Langer (Langer, Blank & Chanowitz, 1978) and her co-workers asked people waiting in line to use the library copier: "Excuse me, I have five pages. May I use the Xerox machine because I'm in a rush?"

Of those that were asked this question, 94% let Langer and her co-workers skip ahead in line. When Langer left out the reason for the favor: "Excuse me, I have five pages. May I use the Xerox machine?" those that let her skip ahead dropped to 60%.

In a third trial, Langer gave a reason again, but it was a really obvious reason: "Excuse me, I have five pages. May I use the Xerox machine because I have to make some copies?" Can you guess what percentage let her skip ahead once again to use the copier?

If you guessed 93% then you are correct. It seems that even though the reason that Langer gave in the third trial provided absolutely no new information, the simple placement of the word 'because' in her request seemed to trigger an automatic response in people. Were these people "hypnotized" by the simple word "because?" Certainly not in the traditional sense of the word. But the fact that they were strongly influenced by this simple word is a testament to how powerful our words are when we are communicating with others.

Imagine having an entire arsenal of words just like this at your disposal- how powerful would your conversations become when trying to influence or hypnotize anyone into believing your ideas? Who knows- maybe you'll become as famous as Erickson in your ability to hypnotize anyone just by talking to them?