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| Photo by Sara Fogan Believe it or not, the "Winnovations" sketch on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno is a great example of hypnosis. |
Periodically,
Jay Leno features a segment called “Winnovations” on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. During this segment,
comedian/inventor Trevor Moore sets up his Winnovations kiosk on a busy street
at asks passers-by to try out one of his fabulous new inventions. For example, there
is a contraption that helps your own breath to grow your hair by recirculating
the carbon dioxide that you exhale in your breath into plastic tubes (the
Blow-n-Grow); another mechanism increases the flavor of your food by catapulting
it against a surface and into another container (the Flava-Putt); and The Brite
Blast will whiten your teeth by blowing intense bursts of oxygen into your
mouth.
Mr. Moore
informs the studio and television audience that none of these products actually
do any of the things they were created
to do. However, no one on the street is told or seems to know that. One by one,
they agree to test an item he has shown to them. To the apparent astonishment
of the TV audience (as evidenced by laughter and some gasps), these testers are
so convinced that the product worked the way they expected it to do, they even
agree to endorse it.
Why do they
believe him?
1. He
has authority. The inventor/vendor has a kiosk to display and market his
products, he is wearing a uniform (Winnovations T-shirt) and peddles the
product on a busy street in a major city. There are also video camera operators
on the scene to lend authenticity to his scheme.
2. He
has a message: Mr. Moore explained what each product was supposed to do
and then followed up that explanation with a logical argument about how/why the item would actually do what he
promised.
3. He
overloads the person’s subconscious mind to accept what he is saying and
suspend their disbelief about the product: The inventor does this by utilizing
a systematic “patter” (fast talk) to convey information about his products. He
uses the tone of his voice and the cadence of his speech, as well as perfectly
timed head nods and facial expressions, to support and encourage the person in
believing that the product is having the desired effect.
Radio and television advertisements use the same kinds of techniques to
sell their wares. So do salespeople in department stores or at the mall, a card
dealer in a Las Vegas Casino. Remember, these strategies will be more or less
effective—or not effective, at all—depending on your suggestibility and
willingness to go along with or “buy” what is being sold.
This is hypnosis.
Sara R. Fogan, C.Ht. is a certified hypnotherapist based in
Southern California. She graduated with honors from the Hypnosis Motivation
Institute in 2005. For more information about Calminsense Hypnotherapy®
and to set up an appointment, please
visit http://www.calminsensehypnotherapy.com/.
