Did a show last night in a pub. Had about 40-ish people show up. This was scheduled after a big college football game that ran over which caused about a 30 minute delay waiting on people to show up. Midwest people REALLY love their college football!!

So, I am walking around the crowd that came on time making friends and chatting it up. A big rush of people came in and the show went underway.

I had the video recorder going and as I was announced on stage, I noticed it stopped recording for some reason. Can't just walk back off and figure it out. I go through my stand up routine and as I bring the volunteers on stage, I hear my PC playing its shutdown music. Since my music is on my PC for the induction and the rest of the show, this is a problem ( I use my cell phone to remote into my PC so I have total control ). I go through my induction , which, I usually put one or two in with a speed induction and the rest in with fixation for the visual affect.

I have no background music for the induction. Every little noise is amplified in this place...people setting their glasses back down on their tables, clearing their throats, etc. I am doing it by my voice alone and throwing in the "you may hear....this ensures you are getting relaxed".... trying to us everything to my advantage. I had 10 people on stage, I was only able to get 2 people hypnotized. I had some others that were just about there,but, due to no background music, it was really hard.

I tried speed inductions on the rest and 3 more went in. 5 people is good, I can work with this.....but, those same 3 people went hypno-lazy on me. Absolutely no response. So I am working with the original 2 I had hypnotized, which were great responders....thankfully.

Back to my PC....this has quite a bit of my show on it as I use a lot of music for skits and those skits have to have music.

I posted this for those who are new and are wondering what to do when all goes wrong. Its the old addage, the show must go on. After the show, people came up to me as usual and they were impresed and entertained. There were a couple people that mentioned their were amazed that I was still able to pull it off with everything that went wrong.

This means people often times are aware when something is not "right", but, as long as you keep your cool, you can save almost any situation.-Shane

If that much of your show depends on your music you are making a serious mistake.

Plus you are doing it the hard way I think. There are SO many ways to get this done with nothing more than an I-Pod.

Incidently when they do not go under the 1st time, why highlight it by failure again? Let it go you had 2 go with 2. That is where you ended up in the end right? Why take away from the show by trying again and failing? MOST times they won't go in at any real level and that highlights your failure. If you let it go, then it looks like you wanted only 2.

Danny, I have no fear. This is because I have an endless supply of banter and the ability to turn what most performers consider failure into more comedy.

The IPod idea is great....but, what if the audio controls to the house are not close? Remoting in to my PC gives me a great range. This particular house has a Crows nest for audio controls. I didn't have a 50 ft cable to cover it.

Yes, and I ended up with the same 2 people. Unfortunately, the other 3 went hypnolazy. Who would have guessed all 3 would go there. No big deal. It wasn't a failure. I will take that chance. Even without the music, I have over 3 hours worth of skits. I like the music parts and most people do too.


Maybe its because the way I learned this originally. I have already made all the biggest mistakes many years ago. Why is it so many hypnotists are scared? - Shane

Hypnolazy is what usually happens when they are forced like that. Who would have guessed? Certainly I would have.

It is almost certain to happen.

I have done it before with no issues. Its not forced. I ask them if they are interested... which is redundant. Obviously they are... they volunteered.

My post wasn't made for grounds of criticism. Danny, I thought you would have been the last person to do so, especially regarding your posts made in other threads regarding how the show must go on.

This was intended to be a post showing those that are new to this that almost any situation can be turned into a positive if you keep your cool and work with what you have.- Shane

Dude it is not critical, it is showing you that in general it is not such a great idea to go back like that.

If you did not want feedback, but it on a blog LOL. Sorry.

Generally if it does not work the first time, it will not help much to keep going at it. Why accentuate the problem?

But yea show must go on, sorry. Didn't mean to add helpful advice here sorry.

Danny, I truly apologize if you meant it with sincerity. Its just that I see so many posts in this forum with people really cutting each other down.

Just like many other professions, you can talk to 5 people and get 5 different opinions. Unfortunately, some people use those opportunities to belittle others to make themselves feel good. I see people call others failures for going beyond what they themselves are willing or comfortable with.

Take a chance!! The most that will happen is that it will not work. You CAN use this to your advantage with some wit and crafty manipulation. I see so many people talk about fear of failing. You will fail. It is inevitable. A true crafstman can work through this. -Shane

Sorry but I do not have the time to worry about cutting anyone down.

After 6 nights a week for the past 15 or so years, I have found it much better to move along rather than try to somehow cojole people into compliance only to have them fail later. It serves no real purpose. The percentages are against you.

I am telling you that it is theatrically poor to basically beg people (Allbeit in a polite manner.) to stay on the stage. It is a VERY rare case in which they turn into a super star. The vast majority of other cases it takes away from your prestige, and it tells people things are not quite going the way you would like.

You say "a true craftsman can work through this". Well it is not about working through it. The point is that a true 'artist' does not worry or do it for those reasons. It is about doing the best show you can. The percentages are not really with you looking good. When you do this 6 nights a week, it matters.

Almost every post I see on this place is about the hypnotist and about how they feel or what not, when in reality it does not have much to do with the performer but the volunteers and the audience.

Posted: Sep 12, 2010 5:32pm
Oh I also have to vehemently disagree with what you claim is the most that can happen. The worst is that the ones who are in doubt they should be and you have NO show. It is called "modeling behavior" and can be a quite powerful tool. It can also work against you in a very bad way.

In the end simple snappy banter does not feed the bulldog.

First off, its not begging as you put it. The fixation didn't work because of all the little noises going on in the background. There were 2 people that I just about had there and thought for sure this would get them.

I apologized for the technical difficulties, made a joke and moved on.

I then said," Would you like to try the speed induction like the first two people?" They all looked at me with anticipation and said " Yes ". You could see in their eyes they were excited to try this. And since I already did this successfully with the first two people, the seed was planted. Now tell me how this was a bad move.

A true craftsman CAN work through this. Things will happen beyond our control and expectations. As someone who does shows six nights a week for 15 years, you should know this better than anyone.-Shane

Yea my bad. Modeling behavior is BS. Should have remembered that.

Since day one, I have always worked with a DJ/Stage manager. I have him with me every show, and have someone on stand by as a backup. He knows my show as a good as I do. He sets up my stage, deals with the venue management, controls the lighting and music during my show, and cleans up afterwards. He does all the dirty work, and leaves to me to concentrate on my stage work. I also have given him basic hypnosis training, so he can aid if needed during the show. Ie, dismissing volunteers, safety etc. I couldn't imagine doing a show without him. I know many of you may be thinking that this is such an unwarranted expense. I pay him $120 per show to do all the above. You should be charging more than enough to cover that cost easilly. Say you charge $1800 for a show - $125 is a great price to pay to have peace of mind that everything is going to run smoothly. Additionly, you look more proffesional when you show up with someone. The audience doesn't see you fumbling around in the tech booth with wires and setting up chairs. Remember, hypnosis is very much based on perception. Every little thing you do contributes, or detracts from the quality and success of your performance.

I agree with everything you say RSD. Unfortunately, I am not that big yet to pull those prices. I am getting there....-Shane

I always had a mate or family member that came with me to all my shows. Even at the very start.

Usually they were really happy to do it. I gave them a small fee but they liked coming to the shows anyway.