IMPLICATION

Implication is one of those subtle but powerful tools that, once you notice it, you begin to see it everywhere in effective hypnotic work.

On the face of it, implication simply means this: rather than directly stating that something will happen, you speak as if it is already true, or inevitably will be true. You assume the effect, instead of arguing for it.

In hypnosis this is especially useful, because you can lead a client’s unconscious mind by what you presuppose in your questions and comments, without ever “pushing” them directly.

Think of it as the difference between saying, “Relax now,” and asking, “What do you notice first as you begin to relax more deeply?” Both head in the same direction, but one relies on overt command, and the other on implication.

We are not asking the unconscious “if” it will respond. We are speaking as though it already is responding, and we are simply helping the client notice how.

Implication in Practice

Consider a simple deepening of trance. Rather than instructing:

“See the flowers,”

you might ask:

“What colour are the flowers?”

In the first case you are telling the client what to do.

In the second case you are assuming they can already see flowers in their mind’s eye. The question presupposes that a mental image exists. The client does not argue with “Can I see flowers?” but instead automatically searches for “What colour are they?” This is implication in action.

The same structure applies to auditory imagery:

“When you’re aware of noticing some of the sounds of nature around you, like the wind in the trees and the birds singing, just nod your head.”

This sentence quietly carries several embedded assumptions:

• The client will be capable of auditory imagination.
• There will be a moment “when” they become aware of those sounds.
• Nodding the head is a natural response to that awareness.

You will notice that the only open question is when this will occur, not if it will occur.

Why “If” and “Try” Are Problem Words

The language of implication quickly exposes certain words that tend to weaken suggestions. Two of the most problematic are:

• “If”
• “Try”

Each of these introduces doubt at precisely the point you want to build expectancy.

Compare:

“If your right hand is getting light, nod your head.”

with:

“Which one of your hands feels lighter?”

The first suggestion suggests that perhaps neither hand will feel light. It opens up failure as a valid outcome. The client’s unconscious can quite comfortably choose “no change” and still feel they have followed the instruction, because the “if” did not resolve.

The second suggestion assumes that at least one hand already feels, or will feel, lighter. The mind is directed towards a choice:

• Is it the right hand?
• Is it the left hand?

The only room for variation is “which,” not “whether.”

We can extend this further:

“You can begin to wonder which one of your hands your unconscious mind will cause to develop a lightness, and begin to float up.”

Here you are implying:

• The unconscious mind will create a feeling of lightness.
• One of the hands will begin to float.
• The client can already begin to wonder which one it will be.

Again, the shift is from:

“Will one lift?” (uncertain)

to

“Which one will lift?” (assumed).

 

“Try” works in a similar unhelpful way. Whenever we ask a client to “try” to do something, we accidentally suggest effort plus uncertainty. People often interpret “try” as permission to fail. Implication bypasses this. You speak as if the change is already underway, and all that remains is for them to notice it.

From “If” to “When” and “How”

This shift in wording underlies many elegant hypnotic openings.

Consider the difference between:

“Well, let’s try to hypnotize you now.”

and a series of questions like:

“Would you like to go into trance now or later?”
“Would you like to go into a trance standing up or sitting down?”
“Would you like to experience a light, medium or deep trance?”
“Which of you would like to be first in experiencing a trance?”
“Do you want to have your eyes open or closed when you experience trance?”

Each of these questions presupposes that:

• A trance will be experienced.
• The only choice is about timing, position, depth, sequence, or style.

This is what is known as a therapeutic double bind: all of the options lead in a useful direction. The client’s attention is moved from “Will this work on me?” toward “How do I want this to work for me?”

You can use the same principle in more obviously therapeutic contexts. For example, with a phobic client you might ask:

“Would you prefer that we get you over this problem with a rapid method that is more intense, or with a more gentle method that takes a little longer?”

Here, both alternatives are desirable and therapeutic. The implication is that they will get over the problem. The mind is invited to choose the preferred path, not to question the destination.

Implication Within Ongoing Suggestions

Implication does not only appear in initial framing; it runs throughout hypnotic language.

Take the suggestion:

“And the numbness will begin to spread slowly at first…”

Built into this are several assumptions:

• There will be numbness.
• It will spread.
• It will do so slowly at first.
• “At first” implies that at some later stage it may spread more rapidly or more widely.

The words sketch a trajectory: from initial change to progressive change. The client’s unconscious fills in the gap.

Consider another:

“Don’t go into a trance quite so rapidly.”

This sentence implies that the subject is already entering trance and that the rate is something that might need moderating. Even as you appear to slow things down, you are affirming that the process is in motion.

Or:

“We won’t do anything to get you over your problem today, but will simply give you the opportunity to experience hypnosis and see how soothing and calming it is.”

Hidden within this are multiple implications:

• You will experience hypnosis.
• It will be soothing and calming.
• Getting over the problem is expected at a later point.

You are pacing the client’s readiness while still pointing clearly toward a future resolution.

Implication and Future Orientation

Implication is also a powerful way to hint at a positive future without directly confronting resistance.

For instance, suggesting to a terminally ill patient or a chronic psychiatric patient that they send you a recipe when they return home quietly presupposes:

• They will leave the hospital.
• There will be a future in which they are thinking of ordinary, everyday things.
• Communication between you will continue beyond the current setting.

The specific content (a recipe) is not the point; it is the natural, lived-in quality of the future implied.

Even a simple question like:

“Have you ever been in a trance before?”

can carry an implicit suggestion:

• You are about to enter a hypnotic state now.
• Trance is something that you can experience, and perhaps already have experienced.

On the surface you are simply inquiring about history. At the level of implication you are preparing the ground for a present-moment experience.

Double Binds as Structured Implications

We have already touched on therapeutic double binds, but it is worth drawing out how deeply they rely on implication.

Consider:

“Do you want to get over that habit this week or next? That may seem too soon. Perhaps you’d like a longer period of time like three or four weeks.”

Within these sentences you imply that:

• The habit will be overcome.
• It will be within a matter of weeks.
• The only question is which specific time frame feels comfortable.

By offering alternatives that all move toward the desired outcome, you also give the client a sense of control and choice. Resistance has less ground to stand on, because it is not being asked “Will you change?” but rather “How fast would you like this to happen?”

Another example:

“Before today’s interview is over your unconscious mind will find a safe and constructive way of communicating something important to your conscious mind. And you really don’t know how or when you will tell it. Now or later.”

This set of suggestions:

• Presupposes that the unconscious mind will indeed find a safe and constructive way of communicating.
• States that something important will be conveyed.
• Allows that the conscious mind does not yet know “how” or “when.”
• Leaves the timing open: “Now or later.”

The conscious mind is relieved of the pressure to perform. The unconscious is assigned a task, with the outcome taken for granted. The implication is that something important is already on its way to awareness.

“If” to “When”: A Simple but Powerful Shift

Throughout all these examples, a consistent pattern emerges:

• “If” questions open the door to not changing.
• “When” and “how” questions assume change and explore its details.

This simple linguistic shift, moving from “if” to “when” and “how”, is a core skill in crafting hypnotic language. It allows you to:

• Honour the client’s autonomy by not forcing a specific response.
• Bypass unhelpful doubt simply by not naming it.
• Shape expectations so that movement toward change feels natural and inevitable.

Even when dealing with more sensitive topics, such as sexual functioning or intimate experiences, you can use implication by framing your language in terms of “when” certain responses occur, or “how” the unconscious mind will generate particular experiences (for example, in the context of induced erotic dreams), rather than whether they will happen at all.

The Hypnotherapist as “Mental Locksmith”

When you begin to listen for implication, you will notice that master hypnotherapists rarely rely on a single suggestion. Instead, they offer a series of subtly layered implications, options, and double binds.

You might think of this as a “scattergun” approach:

• Many small, gentle suggestions.
• Each one slightly different in form.
• All aimed in the same therapeutic direction.

From the client’s point of view these suggestions feel casual, almost incidental. There is no sense of being pressured or pushed. Because the implications are woven into everyday language, the conscious mind tends not to resist them. It may not even recognise them as suggestions.

Meanwhile, the hypnotherapist is paying close attention.

Much like a locksmith testing different keys in a complex lock, the practitioner:

• Offers one form of implication.
• Watches for tiny shifts in facial expression, posture, or breathing.
• Tries another approach.
• Notices when something “clicks.”

The client’s unconscious response, an easing of tension, a spontaneous nod, a change in skin tone, is the sign that a particular form of wording has resonated. The right “key” has met the right “lock.”

In this way, implication is not just a language trick. It is an attitude:

• A way of assuming that the client can change.
• A way of speaking that honours their unconscious resources.
• A way of guiding, rather than forcing.

By carefully choosing words that imply the outcome you and your client desire, you create a conversational environment in which change becomes not a question of “if” but a natural unfolding of “when” and “how.”