If you can still watch Politics you must be as Zen as F***, but watch out for these five political hypnosis tricks
Let's be honest: Politics with hypnosis is the equivalent to watching paint dry, it should remind you of stepping into a puddle with socks on, you should feel like making another cup of tea is a better way to spend your time, but if you find it an interesting combination - you will learn the tools to unhook yourself.
Today I want to share with you my first eye-opening experience, when I was learning ‘presenting’ - Kinda learning how to write like a speechwriter. You know those people who are hired to prepare and write speeches (government and private sectors hire them) but I was learning it with all the trimmings:
Anchoring - hand gestures
Stage navigation - when to walk around in between key talking points
NLP - using fancy words
Analogue Marking - Try this one at home, ‘It's awfully (pause) nice the in-laws came to visit us during our vacation’
It took ages to learn it all, and practice it. There were so many specific and highly detailed verbal cues and mannerisms that needed to be used to make our message as clear as possible. The second experience was listening to a robot, yes a robot, when shopping around for a VOIP - telesales robot, a fake caller, a robot that could call someone - and sell something. Turns out, there is a fabulous ‘political robot’ that can call people up and ask great questions about their favorite political party. I heard an elderly woman being very engaged with the robot, they had a fabulous chat for ages and she had no idea. So, you need to know this stuff is out there, so you don't get caught off guard.
Here are the, Five Hypnotic Language Techniques Used By Politicians To Stir Emotions, Form Perceptions and Gain Influence
Metaphors
The next time you're watching. Fox, CBS, BBC or Al Jazeera you might begin to notice short stories and metaphors that have an emotional kick. War Metaphors were used in Political Communication on Covid-19. I personally think its funny, who used them wisely - and who is no longer standing.
Use of militaristic metaphors were made by:
Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, the President of Portugal : “This war - because it is a real war - has been going on for a month, it started after European neighbors, and for this reason, it could take longer to reach the peak of its expression.”
Emmanuel Macron, the President of France: “We are at war. All the action of the government and of Parliament must now be turned toward the fight against the epidemic, day and night. Nothing can divert us. That is why I decided that all the ongoing reforms would be suspended, starting with the pension reform.”
Boris Johnson, Politician UK: was criticized for his “Stay Alert” campaign.
*If you’re a meme person, you can find a (joke-meme) on Google ‘Very practical, life-saving advice from the government. Sneak up, shout at the virus, then run.”.
Pedro Sánchez, the Prime-Minister of Spain:“an enemy we are still getting acquainted with”
Ursula von der Leyen, the President of the European Commission: “But what is unique about this fight is that every single one of us has a role to play. Every single one of us can help repay that debt. By keeping our distance we can slow down the spread of the virus. The numbers in the last few days have shown that we can bend the trend – but only if we all do our share.”
Donald Trump, American politician: “We continue our relentless effort to defeat the Chinese virus.”
António Guterres, the Secretary-General of the United Nations: “Our world faces a common enemy: COVID-19”
2. Winning Hearts
Politics hypnosis is an entertaining combo. Can you think of ways to make your audience feel fabulous for political influence?
example: “Let me remind you how mesmerizing you are, as a small baby, people would have stared into your adorable little eyes and wondered what you were thinking, and that is also most likely the case today. Know one knows what it's like to be you. The privilege of being you. You are a good listener, I respect you came here today, I'm confident you will vote for the right person”
3. Themes
Martin Luther King used the theme of freedom. It wasn't a typical hot summer day when Martin Luther delivered the speech of ‘I dreamed a dream’ in Washington, but oppressive heat was something that the audience was used to.
example: “I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a state sweltering with the heat of injustice, sweltering with the heat of oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice.”
4. Hypnotic Anchors
Great political leaders can anchor negative and positive emotions on their political opponents
example: The British press dubbed the future Prime Minister “Thatcher, Thatcher, milk snatcher” for sponsoring legislation to eliminate the free milk program for students over the age of seven.
5. Repetition
As soon as you take part in the emotional roller coaster, you become Pavloves dogs. It's like you're programmed to salivate even when you're not given food for dinner, only the bell has been rung. Maybe in the past you have experienced outrage when politicians you have supported do something shady and you cry "What is this story about? Is this nonsense you're kidding?” because you're anchored.
Let's be honest the first couple of people that come to mind are Trump ‘make America great again’ or ‘sad’ and Obama ‘Yes we can’, in order for me to steer clear of the US election for fear of interference, I will instead talk about Hassan Nasrallah, who is a Lebanese cleric and political leader, who would praise the Lebanese people, using repetition.
The use of superlatives soothed the rebellious voices during conflict. “Oh most honorable people, the most generous people and the most righteous people. (Speech: 29 July 2006).
When he addresses his Hezbollah followers, he uses a different set of repetition - it's a lexical phrase from God. “A victory could not have been achieved without God’s help, without God’s aid, without God’s support.” (Speech: 22 September 2006)
Same strategy is used when naming and shaming opponents.