If you’re familiar with the ideas of hypnosis, you’ve probably heard of handshake induction. It is a rapid hypnotic induction technique first developed by master hypnotist Milton Erickson and is also a favored technique of stage illusionists like Derren Brown due to how impressively eye-catching it is in front of an audience. Also called handshake interruption, handshake induction relies in large part on the automatic duplication that people do with one another in the name of courtesy and courtesy.

Since people automatically respond to greeting gestures, it’s easy to see just how effective handshake induction is, as what this hypnotic technique does is interrupt someone’s handshaking pattern, creating the brief moment of confusion. needed to put someone into a trance. Trance states are a normal part of everyday life. We all go in and out of trance states on a regular basis. So the induction of the handshake itself, as used by Erickson, is a pretty subtle form of rage hypnosis, but it wears off very quickly. If you don’t use the induction, your subject will come out of it, just like they would in any other trance.

There are all sorts of handshake inductions to learn, but Erickson’s is definitely one of the more subtle, and therefore sees more use in regular settings than on stage. Erickson’s handshake induction begins with a normal firm handshake, but before the hands fully separate, the hypnotist’s grip transitions to a light touch with the thumb, as he slowly withdraws the little finger and then brushes the subject’s hand with the middle finger. As described in Rubin Battino’s book, Ericksonian approachesthe touch moves to the little finger:

As the subject’s attention follows that, it shifts to a touch with the middle finger, and then back to the thumb; the withdrawal of the handshake is stopped by this activation of attention, which establishes a state of waiting, an expectation; touch the bottom surface of the band (wrist) so lightly that it barely suggests an upward push. This is followed by a similar light downward touch, and then, I break the contact so smoothly that the subject doesn’t know exactly when; and the subject’s hand is left neither up nor down, but rather cataleptic. Sometimes I give a lateral and medial touch to make the hand even more rigidly cataleptic.

After the induction was complete, the hypnotist would guide the subject with suggestions or let the trance fade by simply engaging in further conversation.

This is basically how the handshake induction works, but it should be noted that it is not an easy induction to achieve and there are many simpler ones to learn. If you decide to try the handshake induction, I suggest you practice it with a willing participant to ensure that all the small hand gestures can be done smoothly and without hesitation before trying it on someone who doesn’t know what they’re doing. . .