The Line Between Manipulation/Hypnosis and Influencing

This is in answer to someone who is advertising Hypnosis as a Communication Strategy:

Have you looked up the meaning of manipulation in a dictionary? I will save

you some time. Here it is: "To influence or manage shrewdly or deviously:
To tamper with or falsify for personal gain."
Even if you think you are being "shrewd" with hypnosis, there is still that
element of deviousness and falsifying for personal gain. That is the part
of the use of hypnosis/manipulation/NLP that we all pay dearly for in the
business and personal marketplace. I have had three giant corporate verbal
contracts cancelled because someone higher up than our client found out our
seminars contained NLP. These cancel-ers knew enough about the reputation
of NLP to not want NLP inside their business. Who? Bell Northern
Research, Eastman Kodak and at first, IBM. I finally managed to re-sell 2 of the 3.

IBM was a close call. The executive who finally approved our contract which
lasted 19 years had written a letter to all training departments in IBM
over his signature saying that any seminar with NLP elements was to be
cancelled immediately. In response to this letter, my IBM person made an
appointment for me to meet with this executive, who was  HR Director of
IBM. This sale was definitely a test of my skills. I did not use hypnosis
nor manipulation to change his mind.

If I understand you correctly, you are  saying that hypnosis is simply a protocol for "how you perceive".  This  would be hard to defend or even impossible to defend. Here is the definition of
hypnosis: " artificially induced sleep-like condition in which an individual
is EXTREMELY RESPONSIVE to suggestions made by the hypnotist." Using
hypnosis in communication is manipulation, and that's how NLP acquired its
bad reputation.  People either love NLP or hate it.  No middle ground.  A large number of us are using NLP for positive changes in beliefs and behaviors.  I would like to teach you to be one of these good behavior advocates for these powerful skills.

My position on this is that by being skillful in rapport, outcome setting,
clear communication and using honesty, integrity, and straightforward talk,
you do not need hypnosis. Anyone who falls back on hypnosis is a
manipulator and is harming me and my business because his/her actions
affect me. All those who have signed up for the group, NLP with Integrity,
seem to agree with me. We are all trying to clean up the manipulators'
acts.

We all affect those we communicate with more than we know.
You do not need hypnosis in communication. You really only need the ability
to dovetail. This works every time.


I hope that you  recognize  hypnosis is not a protocol
for perception. It is a protocol for the hypnotist to impose his will on
the receiver. Erickson was doing therapy at his patients request; that is
not manipulation. Hypnosis is great for therapy. I assisted John Grinder
in teaching hypnosis to 60 therapists. It is definitely useful for
therapeutic interactions when all agree on its use. Manipulation is not
helping a child achieve his/her goal. That's a kind deed. Manipulation is
using the NLP strategies without regard for what the other person wants.

To end on a better note and maybe give you a chuckle:

                                            CHANGE THE WORLD

                         I've joined all these net groups who want to change the world

                         None of us want to change ourselves. Inconceivable!

                         We seem to have a chip embedded, before we're born

                         To shape others to our template, before we adjourn.

The best use of the NLP skills is on ourselves.  Then our "template" is worth teaching to someone else.