Hypnosis Demo = Epic Succeed

...well, maybe not epic succeed, but definitely a good time, and I like using that phrase.

As is, Pet Ferret chose to back out of the demonstration - after considering it, she decided that she just wasn't ready to open up to strangers that way. Things got more complicated when Georgie had to mangle her schedule to get to the demo on time. So, no two-person scenes happened at the demonstration, although a lot of cool things did.

The turnout for the demo was predominantly women, which I find fascinating from a gender-theorist perspective. Hypnotism in general (not just the fetish) is often gendered as a feminine area (whether it's the sexy assistant brought up to be hypnotized on stage, the damsel in distress controlled by the evil villain, or the enchanting hypnotic seductress). It was intriguing to see that reflected in the attendance.

I started the demonstration with a lecture on what hypnosis is, trying to address all of the common misconceptions while providing realistic expectations of what is and is not possible with it. I also tried to address as many safety and ethics issues as possible (I skipped some in my nervousness, which bugs me still - at least they got addressed in the handout that all of the attendees received). I felt that I did a great job in being personable and knowledgeable, in answering questions and not letting my penchant for tangents get the better of me too often.

I brought Georgie up for the demonstration. She had given me permission to use more physical contact during the demo - so I cuddled up with the intention of adding to her relaxation during the reinduction process. I used the pocket watch here for dramatic effect - she described the process to me afterward by saying that she felt performance anxiety going under in front of an audience, but ultimately decided, fuck it, and relaxed for me. Unfortunately, she had some trouble getting quite as relaxed as she had last time - after I brought her back up, she stated that my proximity distracted her because she had an aversion to the smell of cissexual men (even clean and nice ones like myself!). That got a nice laugh out of the audience, at least! I rolled with it, moving myself away to allow her greater comfort.

I moved the demo into a demonstration of triggers, first freezing and posing her for the audience before putting her back under. The next routine was inspired by this blog post, as per Georgie's request - both of her hands were turned into proxies for her vulva et al. I brought up a mutual friend, Eve, to help me work her over - this got a laugh as she told Eve to go harder and then doubled over in pleasure. After finishing, she clapped her hands together - only to get a jolt, since the suggestion was in effect until she went back under. I resisted the horrible urge to make a "self-tribadism" joke, on the grounds that probably nobody would have gotten it.

I finished off Georgie's part of the demonstration by repeating the same bondage + orgasm scene described in the two posts about her trial session. I'm told that some of the onlookers had very amusing reactions to this, but I sadly did not notice because I was way into my hypnotist's trance.

Next, I brought up Pandora, who volunteered to be hypnotized without prior preparation. The two of us had met up and chatted a few days prior, and had discussed ideas for the demo over Fetlife. She's a LARPer, had done meditation, and enjoyed being a sub - so, as I told her, there was no chance in hell she would not go under well. I was right. >:) I put her under with the Elman Induction, helpfully pointing out the steps to the audience along the way.

Since she had that LARP and acting experience, I decided to differentiate her section from Georgie's by focusing on role play suggestions. I first turned her into a kitty, and she gave some very nice purrs as I petted her, scratched her neck, tickled her chin. Next, she became a bimbo - her friends in the audience stared wide-eyed as she started twirling her hair and staring vapidly. She didn't get too into the role, though - as we discussed in front of the audience when I brought her out. She commented that the role just wasn't comfortable, and I took the moment to note that playing to a hypntoee's preferences will always result in a better scene - and playing against them will be unsatisfactory for all involved, to say the least.

[Honestly? I'm not even INTO the whole bimbo thing. I just thought it would be cool to demonstrate a role play suggestion, and I happened to be familiar with that one since it's so popular in the hypno-community. She was cool with it in theory, even if she found it not-so-appealing to try.]

I finished Pandora's section off with another orgasm demonstration, since she really wanted to have one. I tried giving her the same type of suggestions as Georgie, only to find that she didn't respond to the idea of increasing sensitivity at all. So, I switched gears and gave her the suggestion that she would instead focus on a memory of a truly outstanding orgasm, savor the memory and bring those sensations right into the present once I tapped her on the forehead. Indeed, she began shifting and breathing heavily as I focused on building up her arousal (as opposed to her sensitivity), and then, as she nodded that she was ready, tapped her forehead and brought her to climax.

I continued answering audience questions for a while then, addressing some very cool discussion about different methods of trancing, different possibilities for play, and other bits of info about the whole hypnotism process.

I finished things up with a demonstration of instant inductions. ...at least, that was the plan. I brought Eve up for another cold induction, and proceeded to epically fail at doing a handshake induction. Twice. Then I tried to give her a butterfly hand induction, but she didn't go under - she did feel something, though, as if she was about to go under and then snapped awake. I commented that my nervousness probably got in the way of my timing, and that instant inductions were never my forte to begin with (they're useful now and then, but I find a slow, gradual induction both more rewarding and more effective on most occasions).

Mercifully, my goof was not recorded on the video of the demonstration. I think I would die of embarrassment if I had to watch that again when playing the video back for my friends.

I had a blast afterward, making small talk with all of the different people who came - with the previous back-up demonstration subject who found that she was able to come at the last minute, with the submissive of one of my pen pals from the community, with someone I recognized from a non-kinky context, with someone I had seen around at the munches and never got to talk to, with Pandora's boyfriend to muse on how her personal quirks affected her going under. I very much played the social moth, flitting from one conversation to the next depending on how fun it looked to join in - I do that sometimes. Like I said - a blast.

All in all - I think I did a pretty decent job. Not a great job, but a decent one! I'm proud of it, especially since I'm quite a bit younger than most of the people who come in to do presentations for the group.

Once the event was over, Georgie, Eve, and I headed back to Georgie's place for some additional fun...at least some of which will be the subject of a future blog post. :)