THE RONNING GUIDE TO MODERN STAGE HYPNOSIS by Geoffrey Ronning has been receiving a lot of great reviews, some going so far as to say that it can replace the "bible" of the field, Ormond McGill's "The New Encyclopedia of Stage Hypnotism." I read this book with high hopes that something could replace the very dated (based on a book originally published over 50 years ago) McGill volume. I hope this review will answer that question along with giving people more insight into what is in this book.

To perhaps settle the question, "The Ronning Guide" is the perfect FIRST book for any budding stage hypnotist. It is direct and highly focused. It is in no way as Encyclopedic as McGill's book, nor does it pretend to be. It makes a great modern complement to McGill, or perhaps you could say that McGill makes a great encyclopedic complement to Ronning. In short, I would not give up one for the other.

The Ronning Guide is written in a modern, NLPish style, constantly encouraging and brimming over with enthusiasm for an obviously loved art, skill, and profession. It has numerous examples of things that worked (and things that didn't work so well), giving real (as opposed to theoretical) examples to emphasize the material.

Note that I said this is the perfect "first" book on stage hypnosis. Some people reading this may conclude that by this I mean it is a book only appropriate for beginners. I would disagree. It is more of a filled-in outline that will direct any person in becoming a great stage hypnotist.

One of the first things the book gives is the "top 5 reasons hypnotists fail to achieve success." This, on its own, is worth the price of the book, not because it reveals any great secrets, but because it points out why stage hypnotists and hypnotherapists fail to succeed:
1) Poor or no real hypnosis training/education.
2) No commitment to continual education and improvement
3) Not creating your own style
4) Lack of marketing knowledge
5) Trying to learn from a variety of teachers at once instead of learning from one and then moving to another

Ronning goes on to tell you exactly what you need to do in your stage show, but does not insist on only one way to do it. This gives you models for setting up shows while allowing you to develop your own approach. For example, he points out you should begin by relaxing the audience. He gives suggestions for how to do this, but leaves it open for you to find other means. Included in the book are numerous exercises. They are not intended to test if you have learned the material, but rather try to get you to open your mind to alternative you can create.

When people talk to me about what a person needs to learn to become a stage hypnotist, I always mention that besides learning how to hypnotize and developing skits, you also need to learn sales and marketing and stage presence and vocal development. Ronning adds to this some very practical information, from how and why to set up the chairs to the placement of your P.A. speakers. He gives different examples for each. I believe this information is very important for stage hypnotists and usually overlooked during training and in books.

Yes, the book includes information on how to hypnotize, skits to use, and how to design programs. Ronning includes how to design different shows for different audiences and even looks at whether you should include stunts based on post-hypnotic suggestions for a particular audience. The book is always respectful to the reader and clear that you should be respectful to the people you hypnotize (as well as looking out for their safety).

About 150 (out of the book's 385) pages of this well-bound book consists of contributions from other successful hypnotists. Normally I don't like this type of addition because it sounds like an AA meeting with people testifying to their success. Luckily, The Ronning Guide doesn't fall into that pit. The contributions add tips and insights that I found to range from humorous to highly helpful.

If you haven't guessed, I really like this book and recommend it highly. However, it does have lots of problems, many of which will come from readers who think it's complete. This is not the fault of the book. Rather, it is the fault of those who assume that reading any single book will make you an expert in any field. [I refer to such people as IROBs: I Read One Book.]

But there are also problems within the book. I am writing this in the hope that Mr. Ronning will read this and consider making changes in future editions. First, the book desperately needs to be edited. Second, a book such as this should have an index. Third, the book appears to have been designed by an amateur using Microsoft Word or another word processing application. The quality of the content and binding deserves professional typesetting.

The other major problem I had with the book is the assumption of ease for things that are really far more complex. For example, he suggests that you can very quickly get bookings. The basic concept behind this is great, but the practicality is lacking. Ronning writes, ""Step One: Create a list of all the "local" venues that may need to boost their business...Step Two: Visit the venues on different nights..." While the basic concept is great, it could take many months to accomplish this, not a few weeks as the book describes. The working out of this concept will need to be altered to fit your needs.

In the section on Back Of the Room (BOR) sales (something that is very important), Ronning advises you to write a book and sell it after the shows. He says nothing about how to write a book, what to do if you're not a good writer, what to include in the book, how to get it published or how to self-publish, etc. He advises that you make hypnotherapy CDs on one of seven topics and to use royalty-free music on them to make them sound more professional. However, he doesn't say how to record them, doesn't give scripts, doesn't share where to obtain the music, etc.

This is why I believe "The Ronning Guide to Modern Stage Hypnosis" is a great FIRST book. It doesn't give everything you need to know, but it clearly points out what you need to learn. It encourages you to be self-actualizing as a stage hypnotists and urges you to get the additional training and information you need. If someone is teaching a training in stage hypnosis, this would be a great training manual for the course. It would be up to the trainer to fill in what is missing.

On a school scale of F for fails to achieve its goals to A+ for more than achieves its purposes, I give this book a strong B and a thorough recommendation. It's not the "end all and be all" of stage hypnosis books, but for its purpose of getting you out on the stage and entertaining (and nothing else), it's currently the best there is.