Hypnotic Stories with James Hazlerig

This week, I offer up two stories about win-win negotiation: One from Aesop, and one from Erickson, though I put the good doctor in a Biblical disguise. The stories were recorded during a class I taught called "How to Teach Anger Management in Recovery." It is a live recording, so I hope you'll overlook a few pops. Also, I answer a question from the mail bag: "How do I know when my story is being effective for change?"

In this interview, your host James Hazlerig talks with Guest Storyteller Mercedes Herman about how she collects and crafts stories for change. Responding to a challenge, Mercedes creates a metaphorical story for James on the spot.

Smoking cessation is one of the bread-and-butter niches for hypnotic practitioners everywhere. In this episode, Master Storyteller James Hazlerig explores some of the metaphors and stories he's used to help his clients free themselves from tobacco.

"Ships are safe in the harbor, but that's not what ships are for." In this episode, James Hazlerig shares an actual recording he made for a client coping with a fear of success--or at least with many of the situations success would bring with it, including public speaking opportunities. This example shows how to combine storytelling and metaphor with more conventional hypnosis techniques, such as direct suggestion and future pacing. The client is a fan of The Secret and the Law of Attraction, so James utilizes that information to build the hypnotic work.

As one of "The Flying Jameses," Master Storyteller Hazlerig is known for loving zip lines. In this episode, he reaches into the archives for a story about what zip lines mean to him and how he overcame his fear of heights.