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Chapter 11 - Manipul—Ehem… Influence 1

Jason sat up in his hospital bed, his mind racing as he mulled over his recent choices and everything that was happening around him. This doctor was way too nosy! It seemed now that Jason had no choice.

He was going to have to use the techniques.

Anyway, it was time to really test out the knowledge he had gotten and use it to get his way. This was the perfect opportunity to use the NLP techniques. Convincing the doctor he was fine wasn't anything difficult. 

Here in this somewhat sterile, somewhat smelly room, he was going to dive into unknown territory and prove to himself just what was possible with NLP and CBT. 

As the doctor, an older man with salt and pepper hair and a tired look seemed deep in thought, glanced at the information on the sheets, mumbling to himself about how this was impossible and that was somewhat crazy and all that, Jason took a deep breath.

He had learned a lot in the Mentality and Ideas Volume 1 book and the most important principle was something that had a lot to do with what happened even before someone decided to influence someone else.

The Mentality involved in Influence was all about Curiosity and Open-Mindedness, Rapport Building, and Intentional Movement and Behaviour. 

What Jason was effectively doing was trying to make sure that his actions went well. What he was doing was ensuring that he always got what he wanted and nothing else. And all of it was about Mentality.

He first had to be curious about others, otherwise, how would he even begin to understand them? He had to be fully present in situations, and conversations, he had to observe them, and watch every movement, however simple, however complicated. That was everything he had to do all the time.

And then Jason would continue by making the other side feel comfortable. He would build Rapport, build Trust with them. And this was all about trying to get them to be open enough to reveal more of themselves, while also being open enough to accept ideas.

The third step was Jason effectively understanding his own Intentions. Jason had to use his intentions to define what outcome he wanted and then flexibly control the situation to go towards his outcome. 

These three things, Curiosity, Rapport, and Intention, were incredibly important in Jason's quest to influence the Doctor to see his perspective. Luckily, Jason had been doing these things the whole time.

Maybe it was because he was now a Master Programmer, or maybe it was the fact that he was in the moment, but he could recall everything the doctor had been doing, from his body language to his manner of speaking. Everything was going to be useful to Jason. 

Anyway, it was time.

After steadying his breath, Jason snapped his fingers softly.

This was a simple action, but it was more than that. It was something he had inadvertently anchored into place before. See, anchors were associations between actions and states of mind, and that was what he had done previously when he snapped his fingers, bringing the doctor into a dazed state.

Jason had learned then, that the doctor could be brought into a dazed state of mind, and that was why he was doing it now. This dazed state was also a partially hypnotic state that would make the doctor more susceptible to suggestion. 

Jason watched as right after he snapped his fingers, the doctor's expressions softened, and the wrinkles of doubt lessened on his face, as the doctor turned to him. As soon as that happened, Jason began speaking with confidence.

"Doc," Jason began, matching the doctor's weary posture. This was something called Mirroring, and it was effectively matching someone's body language. The principle was that human beings were selfish creatures and they liked it when others were like them. 

By matching his body language he was making it such that the Doctor would be like him, and this would help him win the doctor over by building a closeness, thus increasing the chance of suggestion.

"I get it…I see you value honesty, so I will be honest with you. You're here to make sure people like me don't walk out of here in worse shape than we came in. But I promise. I feel better than ever. 

Trust me when I say this. I could not believe it either. I even pinched my cheek the same way I pinched the ass of that one ex of mine. It is unbelievable." Jason held the doctor's gaze, each word was laced with a calmness and cadence that felt like truth, even to him.

And even at that moment, he was doing more of that Mirroring. What he was effectively doing was Mirroring the Doctor's tone and speaking type. He was using the doctor's type of language against him and this would make the doctor feel almost like he was talking to himself, and thus make it more believable to him on a subconscious level.

"Sure the meds made me feel a bit out of it, but right now? I feel fine. Actually, I feel better than fine. That's why I asked to leave earlier. As you can tell, there must have been a mistake somewhere. I was wondering if I should leave right now, or later after you check with someone else."

After Jason said this, he gazed at the doctor, his eyes innocent, even after he had used a technique called double binding. Asking if he was going to leave "now" or "later" did not change the fact that he was going to leave. 

The question was not "if" he was going to leave, but "when". This forced the doctor to only see one solution. And that was the solution that benefited Jason.

The doctor's brow furrowed slightly, but Jason caught it before the doubt could settle in. See, his [Concepts and Techniques Volume 1A] also had a section on body language cues, and Jason could pick them up easily. That was why as soon as he noticed it, he did not even allow it to bloom into other thoughts.

Adding a lighthearted tone to his voice, Jason said, "Turns out I'm tougher than I thought. I wish I could get smacked upside the face. I really do. Because sometimes miracles happen and we never believe them to be true. However, they really happen. Like this time."

Here, Jason was making the doctor recall that humorous thing he was saying about getting smacked by someone in his youth and then deciding to be a doctor after seeing a smoking hot nurse. As long as he could be around smoking hot nurses all that then that was enough for him.

That was what the doctor said jokingly only moments before. And yet, being made to recall it in the same type of language, made the doctor relax a bit. Jason had even added a presupposition, an unprovable statement, by the end just to drive his point home, telling the doctor it was a miracle.

Now that he had said all this, it was time to give the doctor a valid explanation. The doctor was not going to just accept miracles. He was someone who lived in the world of evidence, of facts, of observations. Jason was going to give him that.