Figuring out if someone can be hypnotized.

The majority of people can be hypnotised. There are certain factors that will influence suggestibility and it includes how well you visualise, your need, the situation, the hypnotist and their confidence.

More information: http://www.clinicalhypnotherapy-cardiff ... osis-test/

Many thanks for your reply. I see that if I personally have some knowledge about hypnosis, I can tell if I can or cannot be hypnotized. The interesting thing for me is can I look at a person. preferably one that I don't know, do some easy manipulations and after that know for sure how suggestible they are? Because that is what page on wikihow claims possible. Thanks for your reply again. And sorry for my English if it was bad - I'm Ukrainian.

There are lots of signs you can look for, but they're not always a sure thing. According to most of the signs, I should be easy to hypnotize, but I'm not.

The best way to tell is to hypnotize someone, even if it's just in a very light way, and they don't realize they're being hypnotized. For example, in one of his live shows, Derren Brown got several people to hold pendulums, and suggested that the pendulums would start moving. Then he picked out the people whose pendulums were moving the most. It's a simple trick, and it doesn't look like hypnosis, but it's very effective.

Thank you guys for your replies! I think I got it now.

From my understanding, everyone can be hypnotized. That is to say, everyone can come into a trance state. We do it all the time. The question should be, "Can you be hypnotized in the specific way that I want to induce them?" There are signs to look out for. That would include how suggestible is the participant is to verbal imperatives. If you give very simple commands or suggestions, will they follow it? Or are they resistant?

One test, for example, is to make a small bet with someone. Tell someone to pick a number between 1 and 100. Then you say, "If I guess right, you owe me a dollar. If I guess wrong, then I owe you a dollar." It doesn't matter if you guess right or wrong. What matters is how the person responds to the bet. If the person is open to the bet, then chances are he is suggestible. If he doesn't take the bet, then he'll be a little more resistant.

Signs could also involve bodily communication. One subtle test you can do is if you are talking with someone and you take on a certain posture or gesture (e.g. fold your arms, hold direct eye contact, smile while talking, etc.). If the person also takes on the posture/gesture, then chances are he or she is more suggestible.

Maybe, it would be more clear we are talking about, if you posted the link to the wikihow you mentioned.

It depends on their suggestibility. Some people take in information directly, and others take in information more inferentially.

For someone who is direct, you'd give suggestions like "Your arm is lifting and rising" and for inferential people you'd give suggestions like "You notice a lightness in your hand, almost as if there are many helium balloons tied around your wrist." (The inference is that if there are balloons, the hand will rise.)

Look into suggestibility testing, and figure out what the person you're working with is. If you you are too literal with an indirect person, it won't work. And vice versa.

I only do street hypnosis, and 50% of my volunteers will have hallucinations, 10% amnesia but no hallucination, 10% hand stick but no amnesia, 30% no phenomena at all.
How do I select? I don't ask people to try hypnosis, I just sit with my "free hypnosis" paper and wait people come to me. If it's a big group that is having too much fun (birthday, etc.), I refuse because they won't concentrate.
First, pretalk where I explain everything, but especially that they won't sleep and that they will be conscious (+/-2 min). This part helps me have almost nobody tell me that the induction failed. During pretalk, if someone doesn't look at me, I discard him (in my head or overtly sometimes). Then I often use magnetic fingers. I only go further with people who already have a tranced-out look after this test and who keep looking at their fingers. The eyes tell me more than the fingers in this test, but of course fingers that don't touch are immediately discarded. After instant induction, hand stick, I really insist on amnesia. If number amnesia doesn't work, I try another metaphor or another amnesia like ex-boyfriend name. I insist on amnesia because my aim is to make my volunteers hallucinate, they all love it.
People also become more suggestible if you let them wait and look at what happens to the other volunteers.