Hypnotic Presuppositions
This is an early chapter excerpt from sleepingirl’s book, Kinky NLP.
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There are a number of language tricks that NLP outlines in its Milton Model -- the patterns that it asserts Erickson used in his hypnosis. Presuppositions are one of the most well-known and well-used examples, both in NLP and hypnosis as a whole. Let’s take a look at what a presupposition is, how it can be used, and how to find ways to get into good language patterns to take advantage of them in our play.
What is a Presupposition?
A presupposition in its most base definition is the concept that within some utterances, a part of the statement must be assumed to be true in order to parse the statement as a whole. For example, if someone says, “Some of my cats are very affectionate,” it is presupposed that the speaker owns cats -- this wouldn’t make any sense if we didn’t accept that. A hypnotic example might be something like, “Do you think it will feel good when you go into trance?” The obvious presupposition here is that trance is going to happen at some point.
We use presuppositions all the time conversationally. NLP tries to make this very clear, especially in its discussion of them in the Meta Model, where it says that presuppositions can be a sign of obscured information that could be recovered. Like with other Meta Model patterns, we do know this isn’t always the case -- we rely on certain information being assumed in order to communicate effectively and cleanly in conversation.
Used within the context of hypnotizing someone (as the Milton Model would say), presuppositions are very fun. They can get a subject to implicitly buy-in to an idea because of the way that it is packaged, and sometimes without even realizing what they are buying into. Presuppositions, used in suggestion, often are created in such a way that they downplay the information being presupposed, although this doesn’t have to be the case. We will explore our options.
Surface Structure/Deep Structure
NLP specifically addresses presuppositions within the context of its deep/surface structure model. It says that the surface structure of the utterance -- what is literally being said -- carries assumptions on a deeper level, which might be deleted, distorted, or generalized because of the way the statement is phrased. The “deep structure” of the statement “I am going to deeply hypnotize you” contains information like there being different levels of hypnosis, the existence of both partners, a question of how or when it will happen, intention, and more. Usually, we have talked about this in the context of clarifying this information, but let’s think about how this applies within a specifically intentional setting.
When we are talking to one another, we process speech on a number of different levels. Sometimes we are thinking consciously and critically about what the other person is saying, while other times we are forming thoughts and opinions unconsciously -- without being aware of it. The surface/deep structure model is not an extremely scientific one, but it can be a helpful idea of some of the aspects of this processing. If a hypnotist says to us, “Isn’t it interesting how you relax even before you go into trance?” we hear the surface words and then on some level we have to process meaning from them.
We know that this kind of processing can be a hypnotic act, whether we are doing it purposefully or automatically. This is somewhat of the basis of how suggestive language works. Perhaps we take the word “interesting” and consider the implications: do we find our response of relaxation interesting? Does the hypnotist? What does that mean? Do we take the idea of relaxation at face value, and our processing leads us to manifesting that response or the experience of simply “noticing” parts of our body and evaluating the relaxation? Do we consciously understand the implication of going into trance? Does the mention of it cause us to go internally and look for signs, or do we take it at face value and find ourselves more “ready,” and what does that entail?
One way of conceptualizing all of this is thinking about the “transformation” between the surface structure and deep structure as an opportunity for hypnosis. A presupposition is one of these kinds of shifts; the listener may consciously hear or not hear the implication, but will arrive at some sort of conclusion about it. We will talk about how this practically applies especially within erotic hypnosis a little further in.
Forms of Presuppositions
Let’s get right into what kinds of language makes a presupposition. It is a little difficult to codify exactly what a presupposition can be in terms of sheer word choice just because presuppositions are often context-based, but there are a few ways that we can break this down. This section is an adaptation/simplification of the appendix in “Patterns of the Hypnotic Techniques of Milton H. Erickson, volume I” by Bandler and Grinder.
Existence-based (Simple)
On a basic level, language that implies the existence of someone, something, or some action is said to presuppose that existence.
Names
“Sleepingirl wrote that hypnosis is really hot.”
A person named sleepingirl exists.
Pronouns: he, him, they, them, she, her, etc.
“I saw her go into deep trance.”
There exists a person who uses she/her pronouns.
Descriptors: my partner, the woman with the glasses, etc.
“My friend told me that to them, trance feels a little floaty.”
There is a friend that exists.
Nouns
“I like pocket watches that tick loudly.”
Pocket watches exist.
Quantifiers: some, each, every, few, etc.
“Some of the responses you are having might seem new to you.”
The responses exist.
Time-based
Presuppositions that have to do with time are some of the most common forms we see in hypnosis, and one of the easiest ways to conceptualize using them.
Subordinate clauses of time: before, after, when, during, while, as, etc.
“You don’t have to do anything specific at all while you go into trance.”
Trance is happening/going to happen.
Change of time verbs/adverbs: start, continue, begin, end, stop, yet, still, anymore, etc.
“I wonder if you can just continue to give in as I take more control of your mind…”
Giving in is already happening.
Cleft sentences: it is <x> that… it was <x> that…
“It’s the way your body responds to me that makes you really crazy.”
Their body is somehow responding.
Ordinal markers: first, second, lastly, etc.
“The last thing you have to do is think to yourself, ‘yes, I want this...’”
Everything else has already been done.
Repetitive cue words: again, also, too, etc.
“Are you going to feel that little switch again, the one that flips you off?”
The switch has happened before.
Repetitive verbs/adverbs: return, repeat, restore, etc.
“Do you hear my words repeating in your cute little head?”
The words have been happening before.
Quality-based
Lastly, there are presuppositions that have to do with the qualities of something, whether remarking on it or observing it in some way that leads the listener to make assumptions about the statement.
Relative clauses: <x> that <y>... <x> who <y>... etc
“Lots of the feelings that you are getting are just simple signs of deep trance.”
The feelings exist.
Comparatives: more, less, -er, etc.
“Do you think you’re even more suggestible now?”
They were suggestible before.
Comparative as: as <x> as…
“If it’s as easy as putting you into trance, I’m sure we’ll have no problem wiping your brain all clean.”
It was easy to put them into trance.
Qualifiers: only, just, except, etc.
“Do you think anyone can control you this easily, or just me?”
You can control them easily.
Change of place verbs: come, go, left, arrived, etc.
“Your thoughts have left the part of your brain that processes them consciously.”
The thoughts used to be in a “place” that was a part of normal processing.
Change of state verbs/adverbs: transform, changed, become, etc.
“Are you turning into someone who can’t help themselves?”
They weren’t previously that kind of person.
Awareness adjectives/adverbs: realize, notice, aware, etc.
“Did you notice the way that your muscles let go as soon as I even hinted at you relaxing?”
The muscles relaxed.
Commentary adjectives/adverbs: interesting, happily, slowly, easy, etc.
“I find it so fascinating how you eagerly obey me.”
They are obeying.
Using Presuppositions in Hypnosis
One of the most oft-cited ways that presuppositions are said to be useful is in the way that they are difficult to “disagree” with or invalidate. When we think of this purely from the perspective of language, we can see how this is true in the way that presuppositions are sort of layered underneath a statement. For example, the suggestion, “Are you thinking about which part of you will go into trance first?” contains a few different layers: there is a question of awareness (the primary focus), a presupposition that trance will be felt in stages or parts, and a presupposition that trance is going to happen. Answering “yes” or “no” to the question does not invalidate the presupposition of trance. In order to “disagree” or refute that, the subject would need to parse the suggestion as a whole and then break conversational convention by not answering the question that’s being asked.
This is certainly a very useful thing, but it’s important that just like with other language patterns or hedging, we remember that the basic gut feeling someone has about our suggestions is very important and ties into the idea that hypnosis as a whole is all about the “yes set.” We want that internal evaluation of our suggestions to be something that our subject feels is congruent to their experience. If there is a part of them that responds internally like, “Wait, I’m not going to go into trance,” it doesn’t necessarily matter if they feel like they can verbally refute it.
So, the above example would likely be most effective when the subject is expecting trance on some level, or open to the possibility of it. In this way, we can connect presuppositions with the idea of pacing and leading -- we want to “pace” our partners by providing suggestions that track with their experience (at first, and consistently throughout) as we also “lead.” Suggestions with presuppositions often have the quality of being misdirective -- as with the above example, the presupposition of trance happening is somewhat obscured by the overarching question: “Are you thinking about this?” However, it’s important that we as the hypnotist consider it as part of our pacing. We want the presuppositions, however hidden or plain they might be, to also yield a response from the subject where they feel like it makes sense and is plausible or consistent with what they are expecting or experiencing. In this way, context is very important.
How to Think About Presuppositions
It is certainly helpful to list out all of the different linguistic forms of presuppositions to be able to get a handle on how they look and sound in speech. But we don’t necessarily want to go through hypnosis thinking about the minutiae of language we are using to mess with our partners. So, while becoming familiar with each specific pattern can be helpful, there are other methods we can use to become more fluent with presuppositions as a whole.
One of the best things to do with any language pattern is to learn how to look for them in normal speech -- whether looking for them in the way that you naturally talk or the way that others talk to you. Even in writing, like this one. It’s a great exercise to listen or read and try to identify what is being said. You don’t have to perfectly fit sentences into their exact word patterns, but thinking about the three basic categories we outlined -- presupposing through existence of something, timing, or quality -- might be a way that you can wrap your mind around recognizing where these patterns come up.
Similarly, when you are speaking hypnotically to your partner, this is what you can keep in mind. Think about the layers of what you are communicating -- for example, if you are trying to make suggestions of arousal to someone, you have options of how to structure that. The “arousal” is the underlying message you want to get through. You could “package” it through assumed existence (“You can feel some of that arousal”), a matter of timing, (“Before you feel arousal” or “How that arousal starts to flood your mind”), or question of awareness or quality (“Do you notice the arousal” or “That insistent arousal”).
We talked briefly about how presuppositions are sometimes about misdirection. In all of these cases, you can see that there is that quality of misdirection when the presupposition is applied. It is sort of like taking the emphasis or attention away from the actual message of the suggestion and moving it to all of the things that might be surrounding the suggestion. Perhaps the actual message is “You will feel arousal,” which is a perfectly legitimate hypnotic suggestion. But when we presuppose that, that message is no longer the focal point. So when you are giving a suggestion or listening for presuppositions in language, it can also be helpful to pay attention to where the actual emphasis is and where your or their attention is directed in a statement.
One last note to make is that presuppositions are often exactly what we expect when we are keyed into listening for “sneaky hypnotic language.” This means that they can be easy to spot, especially when they are being used in a very traditional hypnotic way or setting. This is not a deal-breaker or bad by any means, and we will talk about that. But if you want your presuppositions to sound more conversational or natural, one of the best things you can do is learn how you use them in your everyday speech. This goes for all conversational hypnosis; it’s not that there is a prescribed way of speaking hypnotically that makes it “conversational”; the most effective thing to do is simply have your hypnosis sound more like your normal speaking. Becoming aware of the way that you personally use presuppositions during a regular conversation will key you in more to how you can use them most naturally during hypnosis.
Non-Sneaky Presuppositions
NLP talks a lot about presuppositions as something that clients or listeners are often unaware of -- and that is usually something that is emphasized, whether in recommendation of delivery or discussion of how the language pattern functions. However, within hypnokink, we are in a unique position where oftentimes our partners know hypnotic language when they hear it. This could be because we encourage subjects to learn just as hypnotists do, or because they are looking for it, or simply because it is a “know it when you hear it” kind of thing.
Does this mean that presuppositions lose their potency with a knowing subject? Of course not. However, it is helpful to move away from the assumption that presuppositions must be covert. Much of the time, especially with hypnokinksters, many subjects will get excited by hearing “sneaky hypnotic language” -- it’s a part of the fantasy and trope.
Many of us are familiar with the bright smile our partners get when we tag on a “...yet” at the end of a tease. This is one way to think about how we can take advantage of the expectation of a presupposition. It is flirty; it is nuanced based on our shared grammar. It is recognition that our partners speak the same language that we do and that we are able to celebrate that with them. Some subjects may be frustrated occasionally that they “see it coming,” and this is something you can work with them on; reframing it as an opportunity for connection, or as a time for their brain to even hyperfocus and get stuck in loops about the language might be fun.
As opposed to obscuring the presupposed information, as we’ve been talking about, you can also emphasize it. This is something you can do nonverbally; changing your tone, creating pauses that highlight what you are saying, or using touch to mark the importance of something. You can also do this explicitly verbally as well -- pointing out to someone the nuance in what you said as a way to get them to focus on it can be very effective. A simple, “Did you notice the fun language I’m using to get your brain all excited?” can do wonders; you can even explain exactly how it works (or how you want it to work) in order to get them to buy into your suggestions. “So nice that I said ‘when,’ isn’t it? So you immediately focus on anticipating, on knowing that that makes your mind go into a specific pattern of waiting and accepting?”
Certainly, this changes the way that someone processes. It is now that the attention shift happens, but the presupposition is what the subject is being directed to. Perhaps in some situations, that actually makes other parts of the suggestion obscured, or perhaps it causes them to hyperfixate on the whole thing. Or something else. It’s a great opportunity to pay attention to how someone responds and use their own brains “against” them.
Compound Presuppositions and Suggestions in the Milton Model
Presuppositions don’t have to be singular; after all, hypnotic patter is rarely simplistic or formulaic, and focusing exclusively on one language pattern is not indicative of how hypnotic language works in practice. Bandler and Grinder also note that when Erickson used them, he would often stack many on top of one another. They have said things like “this is to confuse the conscious mind,” and that is one way to conceptualize it, albeit a metaphorical explanation. We could think about it as a sort of shotgun approach, sometimes relying on our partners to pick up on parts of the suggestion but not others. None of these are perfect examples of how presuppositions work in hypnotic language, but it’s OK to use them as metaphors as long as they aren’t limiting or taken as universal fact.
And of course, presuppositions don’t happen in a vacuum. It may be helpful to close this article out by looking at an example of a suggestion and take apart what we see in it. Take the example, “When you finally realize that you’re slowly, helplessly turning into a doll, it’s because of that part of you that is accepting my words just right…” Clearly, there is a lot going on here. Let’s examine it.
“When you finally realize” presupposes that realization will happen
“Realize” presupposes that becoming a doll is happening, the only question is the subject’s awareness of it
“Slowly, helplessly” give a commentary of quality to the presupposition that transformation is happening
“Turning into a doll” presupposes that there is change (they were not a doll before)
“That part of you that is accepting” presupposes existence of a specific part of them for this suggestion
That is certainly a significant amount of presupposing happening, and that may not even be all of it. But there is even more in this suggestion as well, linguistic patterns that the Milton Model describes.
“When you finally realize… it’s because” is a cause and effect pattern; it’s implied that one thing begets another
“Part of you” is a nominalization; there is no actual, objective part of a person that does what is being described
“Accepting my words” is an unspecified verb; it doesn’t describe a distinct, concrete action
And even more, there is a lot of ambiguity in this suggestion as we have described previously, in order to best cover our bases and create a statement that is easy to identify with.
“That part of you” does not specify which part; it leaves it open to interpretation
“Accepting my words just right” does not describe how this is happening, just that it is happening in the “right” way
All of this commentary within a suggestion. To some degree, this is representative of NLP; NLP aims to break down the communication that we use and the suggestions that we give to a lot of specific moving parts. Sometimes, this is needlessly complex theorizing about what goes into hypnotic language. Others, it is helpful introspection. There should be no rules about how to conceptualize what makes up a suggestion; more so, you should take the techniques that are helpful and make sense to you.
In Conclusion
Presuppositions are enormously fun and sort of the poster child of what we think of when we consider sneaky hypnotic language as an aspect of NLP. Hopefully, this gives a more broad understanding of what they actually are and how they work both in regular speech as well as hypnotic patter. Remember that presuppositions are a matter of attention direction and processing, and find strategies to listen for them; it will help you use them smoothly and effectively.
Bibliography
Bandler, R., & Grinder, J. (1975). Patterns of the Hypnotic Techniques of Milton H. Erickson, M.D. (Vol. I). Cupertino, CA: Meta Publications.
Mind Tools, Co. (2019, August 28). Presuppositions. Retrieved November 20, 2020, from https://www.mindtools.co.th/personal-development/neuro-linguistic-programming/presuppositions/
