In the early days of YouTube, I put up a video was me guiding people through a self-hypnosis session. That video has garnered more than a million views. Back in the early days of YouTube, though I was enamored by the feedback in the comments that people left and one of those comments always stuck out in my mind. It said, “Richard, I love watching your hypnosis videos, and the reason why is because you have a beautiful cadence and rhythm.” Of course, with a million people watching, there were some not so kind comments either. One of those comments said, “I can’t watch this guy’s videos at all because he sounds a lot like Kermit the Frog!” Like many other hypnotists, I’ve tried to find my hypnotic voice, the hypnotic voice we’re all told we should have so that we sound like a hypnotist.

We’re taught about cadence, rhythm, pitch, volume and presence and similar of those factors. We pay attention to tonality in delivering hypnotic suggestions during a hypnosis session. But I want to share with you what I’ve discovered really is the key to having the most effective hypnotic voice and it’s not your rhythm, your pitch, your rate, your speed, or any other factor.

Many of you who followed my story know that about four or five years ago, I had numerous throat difficulties. In fact, I had numerous throat surgeries and although my voice is probably recovered by about 85%, my voice isn’t as strong or as good as it used to be.

Even though my voice isn’t as strong as it used to be, the reality is I think I’m still a pretty good hypnotist and that’s because I found that the most important variable is not our rhythm, our pitch, our speed, our rate, or “Do we sound like a hypnosis recording or not?”  The most important variable is actually, “Are we communicating to our clients from a base of genuineness that rests on a foundation of compassion?”

The most important variable in your hypnotic voice is going to be genuineness and compassion. Are you practicing self-hypnosis? Are you your own best subject? If the answer to that is yes, what you’re going to be sharing with clients comes not just from a textbook or a seminar or a workshop, but actually from your heart and compassion is about sharing genuinely with other individuals, the things that have been most effective for you in your own life as well as the other clients you’ve worked with, but doing that from a standpoint of genuine care and concern. I got in this field early on as a therapist because I genuinely cared about other people. 30 years later, I’m still excited when I see people do well. Every now and then I run into somebody at Walmart or another store or restaurant and they come up to me and they’d greet me.

It’s been years since I’ve seen them, but they’re excited to see me because by coming to me, they were able to make a significant change in their life and I’m still excited by that! I love watching the clients in my office leave with success. I haven’t raised my rates, even though I’m probably one of the bestselling authors in the field of hypnosis and have a high profile in the field of hypnosis. And the reason why, is because I genuinely enjoy working with people. So I’ve kept my rates moderate, probably very similar to the other hypnotists in my area because while I earn a good living doing what I do, I genuinely enjoy the opportunity to help and work with as many people as possible. If you operate from a basis of genuineness and do so with compassion towards other people, the result is even if you have a squeaky voice, even if your rate or your pitch isn’t perfect, even if you don’t sound like a hypnosis recording or don’t like your voice, the reality is you’re still going to be an exceptional hypnotist.