How To Manipulate Emotions | Timon Krause | TEDxFryslân

Summary

The speaker demonstrates conditioned responses using a volunteer from the audience. He touches the volunteer's arm each time he smiles or says yes, conditioning him to feel happy when his arm is touched. He explains how the brain recognizes patterns and mimics real experiences. The speaker then leads the audience through an anchoring technique to associate pressing their thumbs and forefingers together with feeling happiness. He takes them through memories that elicit happiness, instructing them to anchor the emotion to the hand gesture. Finally, he has them test the anchor and rate their happiness before and after using it.

Takeaways

• 😊 The speaker demonstrates conditioned responses through interacting with an audience member
• 💡 Conditioned responses are predictable reactions that are triggered by specific cues based on past experiences
• 🧠 Conditioned responses work due to the brain's pattern recognition and ability to mimic real experiences
• 🚀 You can elicit any response you want in yourself or others by knowing the correct trigger
• ✏️ There is a 5 step plan to create your own conditioned responses: Decide the cue and state, Find memories, Step inside the daydream, Apply the cue, Test and use
• 🏋️‍♂️ Repeatedly using the conditioned response strengthens the association between cue and response
• 😎 The speaker used conditioned responses like applause and thanks on stage without telling the audience to do so
• 🎯 Anchors refer to cues that elicit predictable responses which repeat themselves
• 💖 The speaker demonstrates anchoring happiness to putting your thumb and forefinger together
• 👍 You can anchor emotions like happiness, confidence and focus or concentration

Q & A

What is a conditioned response and how does the speaker demonstrate it at the beginning of his talk?

A conditioned response is when a certain trigger or stimulus elicits a predictable response. The speaker demonstrates this through the audience applauding every time a speaker walks on stage and the speaker saying "thank you" in response, without having been explicitly told to do so.

What childhood experience inspired the speaker to become a hypnotist/mentalist/magician?

When the speaker was 12 years old, he saw a hypnosis show at a holiday park. Seeing the hypnosis show was the most magical thing he had ever seen, and it inspired him to want to become a hypnotist, mentalist or magician himself.

What is the definition of an anchor in the context of conditioned responses?

An anchor refers to any specific cue that elicits a predictable response. A predictable response means that it repeats itself.

What are the two "secrets" about conditioning that the speaker shares?

The first secret is that if you know the correct trigger, you can elicit any response in yourself or others that you wish. The second secret is that you can set up/create new trigger-response systems at will.

What are the two "slides of mind" that allow conditioning to work?

The two slides of mind are: 1) Pattern recognition - the brain's ability to learn from past experiences and apply learned behavior to new situations 2) Action imagery - the brain's ability to mimic real experiences through imagination/visualization.

What are the 5 steps the speaker outlines for setting up your own anchor?

1) Decide on the stimulus and desired state/response 2) Find 2-3 memories where you strongly experienced that state 3) Step inside those memories/daydreams and intensify the state 4) Apply the stimulus to associate it with the state 5) Test, use and enjoy your anchor

What type of memories does the speaker recommend visualizing to set your own anchor?

The speaker recommends finding 2-3 memories where the desired emotional state (e.g. happiness) is very prominent or strong. They can be spectacular memories or even simple memories like enjoying a sandwich.

Why does the speaker walk the audience through visualizing memories in such detail (sight, sound, smell, etc)?

By having the audience focus on all their senses associated with those positive memories, it intensifies the recalled emotional state, leading to a stronger anchor.

How long does the speaker recommend holding the anchor gesture?

When first setting the anchor, the speaker instructs the audience to hold the gesture (e.g. fingers pressed together) for 3 seconds. Later when testing the anchor, they hold the gesture for 10 seconds.

How can the audience continue to strengthen their anchor over time?

The speaker explains that the more often you activate your anchor, the stronger the conditioned response will get.