Vol. 9 – February 28, 2005
Ericksonian Hypnotic Language Patterns
Pattern 10. Truisms —
Truisms are like Bread and Butter. You can make a meal out of them if you have to. They are a perfect setup for embedded commands. They are statements that are true on the surface and contain embedded commands beneath the surface.
A. About Time
“People, sooner or later, do experience a delightful feeling of relief from their cares and woes.”
“Sometime, you will enjoy a deep and meaningful trance experience.”
B. About Sensations
“Most people enjoy the feeling of a nice hot shower.”
“Everyone has had the experience when you drift off to sleep and you’re not quite awake and not quite asleep.”
C. About Abilities
“You don’t have to learn how to employ these skills to feel confident.”
“You are able to relax you hands completely.”
“A person is able to hear all kinds of meaning in one sentence.”
“Some People…You may…One might…You could…learn all sorts of different possibilities for truisms.”
D. Adding the ‘you know’ clause
implies in an ambiguous way that you knew this already.
“People can, you know, learn rapidly and easily, even without knowing that they’re learning.”
Now, you’re probably wondering how you can get good at using truisms.
People can, you know, write your own examples. The best way to learn is by doing. Write them out. Practice.
Like the New York City cop who was asked, “How do you get to Carnegie Hall?”
“Practice, Practice, Practice.”
Say them aloud to a human being with the proper tonal shift. (See lesson One if you need more clarity on that)
Use them on banktellers: “Some people will, sooner or later, feel good and smile.”
Use them on your kids, your parents, your servants, your masters.
Use them.
Have fun. See you next week.
