A Story of Tweens and Hypnosis

This past weekend I had the privilege of performing my Hypnotic Experience show at a birthday party for an 11-year-old.  Rather than accepting gifts, the birthday girl asked her family, friends and guests to make a donation to KaBOOM!, a charitable group that constructs playgrounds in underserved communities.  She raised more than $600 for this wonderful organization.  

Admittedly, I was a bit apprehensive about this show because the tween age group is atypical for me.  Most of my entertaining is for high school and college aged students, as well as young professionals and adults.  

Would the kids demonstrate the level of focus required for hypnosis?  How would the content of my pre-talk resonate with tweens?  How would parents react to a hypnotist?  These were questions I considered as I prepared for the show.

I elected to stick with my standard approach with some minor content adjustments, based on what I believed would resonate with tweens.  The party came together well and, based on the feedback I have received from the hosts, the Hypnotic Experience was a success.

Here are a few of my thoughts:

--Kids this age are just starting to develop the attention span that makes a 45 minute to an hour hypnosis show fun.  I made the right call to streamline the pre-talk content by cutting down on a couple of the anecdotes related to applications of hypnosis.

--Similar to older kids, tweens absolutely have an interest in hypnosis.  Rather than the health and wellness, academic or athletic benefits, it’s more of a natural curiosity.

--Nearly every kid in attendance volunteered to try hypnosis, which presented some challenges for me.  Of the 25 or so kids who participated, my guess is a handful truly reached a state of hypnosis with heightened suggestibility.

--Thankfully, the birthday girl was one of the kids hypnotized which allowed me to use a basic suggestion to demonstrate her creativity.  Her friends truly enjoyed that.

While I plan to stick with my performance niche, I do anticipate having the chance to introduce hypnosis to tweens when I perform this summer at the Arlington County Fair and Burke Centre Festival.  

After Prom Partying, Springbrook Style

A parent created this awesome sign that helped point attendees to my show.

After Prom parties are a labor of love.

A group of dedicated parents invest hours of their free time during the months leading up to the event on planning, logistics, coordination and fundraising.  And then there’s the challenge of hosting and chaperoning a party that runs from midnight to the wee hours of the morning. 

 

All of this is for a group of teenagers who are in the final stretch of their senior year and anxious about what the next phase of their life may hold.

That’s why performing my “Hypnotic Experience” show at high school After Proms are perhaps the highlight of the year for me.   The kids are in a great mood, the parents are appreciative and the venues typically have a break-out room that presents the ideal environment.

My 2014 After Prom season kicked off this weekend with Springbrook High School.  Hosted at the pristine White Oak Community Recreation Center, the event featured the typical entertainment fare, including casino games, inflatables, billiards, DJ and temporary tattoo artists.

I was assigned to a well sized room with an appointment of comfortable chairs and couches.  The parents on-site then did an excellent job of promoting my show through signage and regular announcements.

The result:  a wonderfully fun evening for the kids who attended the show, the volunteers and me.

Here are a few observations:

--Although well promoted, it did take some time for me to attract a sizeable audience.  I was scheduled to start at 1:30 AM, yet gave it a few extra minutes to allow for about 40 kids to grab a seat.  I attribute much of this to the unfamiliarity with hypnosis, as many of the kids reported they had never seen (or even heard) of a hypnosis show.

--For younger audiences who typically have a limited attention span, I move more quickly through the pre-talk part of the show.  However, I always make sure to take the time to explain what hypnosis is and its applications for health, wellness, and athletic and academic performance.   I always want someone to come out of my show intrigued about hypnosis, rather than viewing it as some sort of parlor or circus trick.

--I had an amazing set of volunteers, eight of whom achieved a deep level of hypnosis.  Two volunteers in particular went incredibly deep and acted on several creative visualizations, including the American Idol competition skit.

--The instant re-induction always draws the biggest gasps from a high school audience.  Seeing a friend or classmate drop back into hypnosis through the simple “sleep” suggestion is what I like to refer to as a convincer.  Maybe there is something to this hypnosis, they conclude.

A special thanks to Karyn McCoy who hosted me and all of the parents who organized Springbrook’s After Prom.  You did an amazing job and I hope to be included at next year’s event!

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UPDATE: Karyn was kind enough to provide me a quote for my Web site.  Here is what she had to say about the Hypnotic Experience at Springbrook's After Prom party:


"Thanks so much for adding such a special event to our party. When I came in at the end, it was great to hear the students' thoughtful questions and their enthusiasm as they asked for a second show. Blessings to you for offering your time and talent to our students!"

Karyn McCoy
After Prom Committee
Springbrook High School
 

Casino games, raffles, caricature artists, food, music...and me!  Springbrook's After Prom had it all.

When an Audience Smiles

Members of the Welcome Club of Northern Virginia enjoyed my entertaining anecdotes.

In the two years that I have performed my Hypnotic Experience show I have had the pleasure of participating at community festivals, street fairs, charitable fundraisers and parties with a group of exceptional entertainers.

I’ve shared the stage with comedians, musicians, dancers, clowns, magicians, puppeteers, sword swallowers, jugglers and…yes…even mimes.  The best of the lot have two things in common:  1) they are professional and well prepared; and 2) they know the audience.

I have taken this to heart and follow a well defined process when gearing up for a show:

1. Schedule a prep discussion with the event host to confirm logistics, audience demographics and size, and expectations.  For instance, the organizer of tomorrow’s “J Fest” at the Jewish Community Center of Northern Virginia spent 30 minutes on the phone with me to ensure I am well set for success.

2. Based on the prep call, I map out the structure and content of the Hypnotic Experience show.  I’ll identify which jokes to use, skits to incorporate and, if needed, write new material.  I spiced up my recent hypnosis demonstration at Walter Johnson High School by writing a couple of “in good fun” jokes about a rival high school.

3. Prepare for the unexpected.  I sweated through my mid-July show for Professionals in the City because the temperature touched the high 90s.  At the Bradley Farm Haunted House show I encountered an audience younger than I anticipated.  There are curves at nearly every performance and you have to learn to roll with it. 

I love to perform and find positive feedback to be incredibly gratifying.   

However, the most important lesson I’ve taken away from other performers is that a successful show is about the audience.  When they come away with a smile and having enjoyed themselves, then it’s all good. 

After Prom Hypnosis Proves to be a Hit with Students

Held at 300 Shady Grove in Gaithersburg, MD, the After Prom party featured bowling, billiards, casino games and my Hypnotic Experience show.

Young adults, teens and tweens are typically wonderful participants in a hypnosis show.  They have creative imaginations.  They’re good when it comes to focus.  And they are comfortable following direction.

It’s with this in mind that I very much looked forward to participating at Richard Montgomery High School’s After Prom party hosted at 300 Shady Grove in Gaithersburg, MD.  I came away from the event impressed with the exceptional students I met at the party and their willingness to give hypnosis a try.

I arrived a few minutes before midnight with an expectation of staying for about 90 minutes.   At about 3:30 AM I finally called it a night having hypnotized more than 40 party goers.

Here are a few of my observations from the evening:

1.  Due to the set-up of the venue and schedule of activities, there was not an opportunity to do my “Hypnotic Experience” 90 minute stage show performance.  I selected a corner of the billiards room, introduced myself as a hypnotist to a few nearby students and then took two volunteers at a time through a hypnotic induction.  I was fortunate to have a small crowd gathered for nearly 2-1/2 hours as word of my participation spread.

2.  It was noisy with music blaring from speakers throughout the facility, and the constant smack of billiard and bowling balls.  Accordingly, I adjusted my approach to have each volunteer quickly move through the hypnotic induction with constant reminders to focus on my voice, allowing all other sounds to fade to black. 

3.  I kept the suggestions simple as well because the constant distractions might impact how volunteers responded to more complex scenarios.  Light/heavy hands…feet glued to the floor…forgetting their first name all worked well. 

4.  Most impressive for the audience was the instant inductions I used once a volunteer had slipped in to hypnosis.  As always, there were skeptics in the crowd who thought the hypnotized might be playing along.  A volunteer’s immediate response to the “sleep now” suggestion generated the most reaction from the crowd.

Parent volunteers organized a wonderfully successful event.

5.  The parents who hosted the after prom party should be applauded for their commitment to putting on a fun, entertaining and safe evening for the students.  As the father of two sons (9 and 7), it was a nice reminder that your love and hope for your children remains strong during their teen years.

Many thanks to the parents, students and folks at 300 Shady Grove for including me in the After Prom party.  I had a blast!

The sleep suggestion instantly brings a volunteer back into hypnosis.

A Richard Montgomery High School student gives hypnosis a try.

Cherishing Mom

It’s true, even hypnotists have moms.

Thanks to mine I had an easy and care-free childhood.  I was active in team and individual sports, successful in school and part of a wonderful group of friends.

I steered clear of drugs, was never suspended from school for misbehavior and, with the exception of a few minor scrapes, rarely got into physical altercations with peers.

Yet, like most kids I dealt with a mix of anxieties, feelings of insecurities and personality flaws.  I was (and still am) hyper-competitive and often curt to others when stressed.  Plus, I had my share of verbal mix-ups with mom, often tossing typical childhood frustrations on to her.

Through it all, she was always there to listen, to offer a kind word and, when needed, splash me with a dose of reality.

For instance, when I was a sophomore in college I attempted to seriously date two women at one time.  While home on summer break, I was hanging out with one young lady at my parent’s house when the second woman unexpectedly arrived.

I pleaded with my mom to run interference by going outside and telling the second woman that I was sick and highly contagious.  My mom brushed this request aside and explained I needed to accept the situation and deal with it myself.

Yes…I was pissed at the time as both women quickly ended the relationship.  Yet, I soon realized that accountability, respect for others and commitment are all attributes of tremendous value.  It’s helped me be a better husband and father.

That’s what mom’s are for. 

Source:  PowerChurchInternational.com