Backing up Blog Post Part 4 from DrakeG's blog

Welcome back. I hope everyone is excited, because today we are talking about the Pretalk. This is the time and place for the hypnotist and the subject to get on the same page about what the goal of the session is. This step is a great time for the subject to get any questions they have answered and for the hypnotist to explain the plan. Now the exact format and content of the pretalk will vary from person to person, but here are some points to consider. As always this is just based on my own experience and opinions.
There are several goals accomplished during the pretalk. First is educational. Hypnosis is a subject that has been often misrepresented in media as we discussed last time. So the subject probably has some misconceptions about hypnosis, including how it works and what it can and can’t do. The hypnotist is likely to ask the subject what their experience with hypnotism is. For most people, it is going to mainly be what they have seen on TV or if they have been to a stage show. Tip for the hypnotists in the audience, ask what the subject’s experience is rather than what they know. What they know is a vaguer question that is likely to take longer to answer, be full of the above misconceptions, and mostly a waste of time. If you ask for experience it will quickly let you gauge their knowledge level and let you give them correct information since you are the expert.
The next goal is for the subject to let the hypnotist know what they need help with. There are plenty of things that hypnotism can help with including but not limited to motivation, changing habits, pain relief, relaxation, and weight management. The subject should be detailed about what they want to achieve and the hypnotist should take note of not only what the person wants, but key phrases that the subject uses to describe it. The subject should also while describing the issue be able to convincingly say, something needs to change, I am what needs to change, and it needs to change now. If not, any changes that are made are less likely to stick as the person isn’t ready to change.
Once the hypnotist knows what the subject wants, they will need to discuss the business side of the deal. How many sessions does the hypnotist think it will take, how much does it cost, is it per session or is it for the whole process. Many changes are done in a single session, but some may take multiple sessions. For example, I handle weight management as 4 sessions, each focusing on a different aspect of things that can affect it. Scheduling the actual session might also be needed. The general rule is that if you go in person to do a pretalk, the session will be right after. While if you are doing it remotely the session will likely be scheduled for another day. This is mainly due to the fact that it is seen as a waste of time to have someone drive somewhere for a 15-30 minute conversation.
Finally the hypnotist wants to build trust and rapport with the subject. As we discussed previously, the more the subject believes the hypnotist can do, the more they actually can do.  By covering all of the above points in a knowledgeable and professional manner as well as showing themselves to be an expert, you can build trust and rapport. There are additional methods that a hypnotist can use to gain rapport. Earlier I mentioned the hypnotist should note some key phrases that the subject used. Building rapport is one of the reasons why. If the hypnotist repeats the subject's own words back to them, they subconsciously start to agree with them more because they sound familiar.
This brings us to the end of the pretalk. These short 15-30 minutes lays a lot of ground work to allow the session to go smoothly. Next time we will be discussing susceptibility tests, I look forward to seeing you there. If you have any questions or want to schedule a session please go to the Contact section.