Loved Me/Hated Me - High Schoolers Rate the Hypnotic Experience

Comedy is subjective. 

The success of a show is influenced by audience demographics, environment, situation and the vibe in the room.  Of course, my ability, timing and rhythm also have an impact.

Engaging audience at Welcome Club of No. Virginia show.

On-stage as a performer I benefit from real-time feedback.  Does the audience laugh?  Is there a more muted reaction?  Or, are we talking crickets?

This is helpful and allows me to shape (and reshape) the content of my show.  However, I am rarely provided a more comprehensive review.

Then, there is the whole hypnosis thing.  My Hypnotic Experience show is a unique twist on a traditional casino or comedy club act.  I use entertaining stories to highlight the power of positive visualization.

Some people though have little interest in hypnosis or may even be turned off by it, influenced by long-standing misconceptions (i.e. it is mind control).  This too can color how I’m received and reviewed as an entertainer.

Each year I have the privilege of guest speaking at a number of high schools in the Washington, DC area as part of the health or psychology curriculum.  My longest standing relationship is with a health educator at Walt Whitman High School in Bethesda, Maryland.  I look forward to visiting her classes each semester because the kids are smart, talented, engaged and brutally candid in their assessment.

I’ve included below verbatim reviews of my talk from earlier this month.  I scored well with most of the students, yet flamed out with a few.

It has me thinking about how to continue to grow and improve.  Ironically, that is one of the key points of my talk.

Loved Me

“He actually hypnotized me into having a positive attitude.”

“He is an awesome performer.  I could totally see how he’s a stand up comic.  He was so funny.  I actually had a good night sleep and woke up restored.”

“I thought it was a really unique experience to be hypnotized while in school.  It really helped me feel better all day.”

“I thought your performance was really de-stressing and I think it’s a great tool to use every day so you can achieve inner peace.”

“Really fun, interactive activity.  Creates an atmosphere for together-ness.”

“I thought the presentation yesterday was great.  I did my homework with a smile on my face.”

“Usually, I get about 8 (maybe 7) hours of sleep.  Last night I got about 8.5 – 9 hours.  I feel less tired.”

“It was awesome.  You’re really good at your job.  Very funny too.  Also, I had the best sleep last night, so thank you.”

“Great job!  I really enjoyed the class and I think the hypnotism really worked.  I had a great rest of my day.”

“The hypnosis really helped relieve stress and anxiety that I struggle with.  I really want to do it again.”

“That was the most relaxing class I have ever had.”

“His speech was amazing.  And it was new to me to see how hypnosis works in real life.”

Hated Me

“Waste of time.  I have an eight period day, so I forfeit my lunch for this.  It’s a joke.”

“The hypnosis did not work for me and the attempt made me slightly more stressed and restless for the rest of the day and night.”

“I freaked out during the hypnosis thing.”

“I felt uncomfortable when he whispered way too close to me with my eyes shut.”

“Talk less.”

“Yesterday’s experience was not as affected as promised.”

“It was funny, but I don’t think the hypnotizing worked because I had awful sleep and an even worse stomach ache.  But, other than that, I thought it was very funny and interesting.”

Riding a Hypnotic High

Hypnotic Experience for 20s/30s Social Group: a successful performance demands preparation and professionalism.

When asked, I characterize the role of an entertainer as a challenging, rewarding and brutally humbling experience.  Ultimately, success requires understanding the expectations of the audience, and making sure you deliver through preparation and professionalism.

For most shows, things come together well and the audience rewards you by having a wonderful time and (hopefully) learning a bit about the health and wellness benefits of hypnosis.  I have had performances though that skidded off-track and left performer and audience feeling unfilled.

It happens…you learn…move on…and stay positive.

It has been three years since I introduced my “Hypnotic Experience” show and I’ve had the good fortune of performing before a diverse and eclectic group of audiences.  There has been high school and college students, athletes, musicians, boy scouts, young professionals, retirees and…yes…even burlesque dancers.

During the past eight weeks, I’ve enjoyed an incredible high because of a series of well received and popular shows.  Check out the audience feedback from my performance for the 20/30s Social Group and 30s/40s Group.

This week I co-hosted an event in partnership with Professionals in the City and was the featured presenter at a function attended by more than 150 members of the Wednesday Morning Group.   Both audiences were incredibly engaged, inquisitive and open to the practice of hypnosis.  I fed off this energy and enthusiasm, and delivered shows I was proud of.

In fact, one Wednesday Morning Group member wrote me a nice Email quoting feedback she received from others at the show, “He is so funny and comfortable with himself."

May is an exciting month as I’ll be performing at six high school after prom events, as well as hitting the road for a Saturday night show at the Timberline Lake Camping Resort in New Jersey.

I’ll do my best to keep this hypnotic high!

3 Shows Next Week - Each Fun and Unique

Like most entertainers, my performance schedule during the year is characterized by a series of peaks and valleys.  The peaks are stretches when my calendar is booked, while the valleys are times with few (if any) shows on the docket.

Of course, this is influenced by the timing of events and activities that are open to adding a hypnotist to the line-up of entertainment.  May and June are hectic for me because it is high school after prom season.  Fall fills up fast due to community festivals and street fairs.

Although a historically slower time for performances because of the weather, this year February has been incredibly fast paced.   Last Sunday night I headlined an event hosted by one of the most profile social groups in the Washington, DC area.  The discussion of hypnosis for healthy living drew rave reviews from the attendees.

I have three performances on the schedule next week, each unique in its focus.  I’ll visit with a group of high school students to discuss hypnosis as a tool for stress management, spend time with a lacrosse team to visualize success in athletic competition and then deliver an entertaining version of my show for a cub scout Blue & Gold banquet.

Please be sure to check out this blog later in the month because I’ll post recaps and lots of photos.

Simple focus exercise prepares volunteers for the Hypnotic Experience.  (Photo source: 20s/30s Group)

Four Take-Aways from New Year's Eve Hypnosis

Wonderful volunteers and an engaged audience enjoy "Hypnotic Experience."  That's me wearing the vest.

The last time I was awake and coherent at 3:30 AM was more than 20 years ago in college. 

Yet, that was the time on the clock when I rolled in last night after my performance of the “Hypnotic Experience” at a New Year’s Eve party at the Capital Hilton in Washington, DC.  It was a fabulous party sponsored by Professionals in the City, an organization that has hosted me at events a couple of times during the past year.

While I have performed “Hypnotic Experience” at community festivals, fundraisers and private parties, this was my initial shot at a marquee event on New Year’s Eve.  I consider the evening a success, but I also came away with some valuable lessons learned.

1.  Get a clear understanding prior to the event of the dynamics and logistics. The audio/visual requirements for Hypnotic Experience are modest, however I had assumed the hotel would provide a sound system.  Bad call by me. 

Thankfully, my contact at Professionals in the City was able to score an extra wireless microphone and speaker from one of the performing DJs.  Without it, the show would have been sunk.

2.  At a large event with many entertainment options, expect multiple interruptions during a performance.  Good news…there was healthy interest in the Hypnotic Experience show and I had a wonderful group of volunteers.

Bad news…the door in the back of the room was constantly swinging open during the show as new people came in.  The frequent interruptions and distraction made it difficult to get the volunteers to a depth of hypnosis that they would accept even the simplest suggestions.

3.  Entertainment plus guests enjoying alcohol equals hecklers.  This was a first for me and it was only an issue at my late show at 12:30 AM.  There were no audience issues during my earlier 10:30 PM performance.

My response was simply to ask a couple of people to leave the room once they became belligerent.  Thankfully, they did so, although not without creating a scene.

4.  Be flexible and go with the flow.  It quickly became apparent the environment was not going to allow for any of my volunteers to act on hypnotic suggestions.  As such, I dropped the entertainment aspect of the show and focused on the use of hypnosis to achieve positive outcomes in life (i.e. stress management, self-esteem, career advancement, etc.).

The volunteers emerged from the process feeling refreshed, energized and, most important, positive about hypnosis.  I had a line of people after each performance asking for my card.

Explaining the sleep suggestion.  Note one of my volunteers to my right in hypnosis.

The first show of the evening attracted a great crowd...and no hecklers!

Featured performer on the London Stage at Professionals in the City NY Eve Gala.