The Wacky Question Instant Pattern Breaker

I’m constantly on the prowl for useful pattern interrupts. Breaking people’s patterns is a way underrated skill in NLP. It’s one of the MOST important skills and absolutely critical to getting anything accomplished in hypnosis. To master NLP, you must master the art of the interrupt. For that reason, you should always look out for new pattern breakers.

Let me share with you one of the easiest and highly effective pattern breakers I use on myself and others.

What about the monkeys?

Ah, you see, I just used it on you…

How about some caramel-flavored tuna with that?

There we go again…

I’m sure you’re starting to notice how this operates. And how easily you can adopt this in your own everyday language.

Was the scuba diver flying above or below the Andean condor?

Is a parachute bigger than a blue whale?

Was that a circus clown right behind you now?

Test these out on others, especially when in rapport and deeply engaged in a topic. Watch their reaction as their brain fries…

A number of NLP trainers use this technique to break participants’ patterns during exercises, especially when eliciting states. What makes it so effective is that you can use it in a rapid-fire way to really shake up someone’s mind. Generally, you’ll only need three questions in a row to completely interrupt their pattern and break their state.

Depending on the level of rapport you’ve engaged in with that person, you might even cause momentary amnesia. So you must experiment responsibly and learn how to use that tool in order to leverage its power in personal and professional situations in which you need a little edge.