If you’ve watched Derren Brown, Britain’s “answer” to David Blaine, then you will probably know his phone trick. An suspecting member of the public answers a ringing phone in a phone booth and within seconds they fall down in a trance. That’s probably what ought to happen to someone who picks up a ringing public phone.
Assuming it’s not a hoax, Brown knows some secret babble to say into the phone that puts the person into a light and short term trance. He claims (in interview on series 1 DVD) that he says something “confusing” mixed with a suggestion.
That sounds like an average call to NTL’s helpdesk where the caller is asked to enter their number and then, some time and distorted bars of “comfort music” later, asked by a dull receptionist “can you tell me your number please?” The suggestion is that you may as well be in a trance for the next painful 5 minutes before being asked to ring another department to repeat the same charade.
Let’s say that such a phone message is possible, it seems an interesting candidate for a ringback tone. I wonder if that would work? Furthermore, what kinds of suggestion are possible? Use your imagination. Instead of “fall asleep now”, perhaps “don’t call me again” or “you must buy my product”.
I wonder if it works better on an iPhone?
8 responses so far ↓
1 John Freeze // Jan 17, 2007 at 6:49 pm
Clearly a set-up. I have personal knowledge of Hypnosis, and the only way this could work is with a subject who has been previously hypnotised and prepared with a post-hypnotic suggestion. The not so random member of the public then has to be set-up to walk by the phone booth.
2 Joe // May 10, 2007 at 1:12 am
Good explaination John. Derren did state at the beginning of the show that he mixes psychology, magic, showmanship, misdirections, etc. I guess he didn’t really cheat then.
3 Leota14 // Jun 17, 2007 at 1:14 am
Hmm I remember reading something: It said politicians sometimes use a similar tactic which might be applied, the speaker talks so fast and so aggressively that when the simple command or catch phrase is said at the end the person is relieved for the break and will readily exept it or in this case do whatever it was they were told.
4 Jonas // Jun 21, 2007 at 11:22 am
What he is really doing is he is babbling on so much at the beginning that the person he is talking to can’t have a second to talk. The person gets very confused with all of this and hopefully won’t get any of it, by being so confused and then he gives a straight order the mind of the person he is calling is so relieved to understand a sentence and does that command unconsciously.
Hope that sorted it out.
5 Andy // Aug 4, 2007 at 7:45 pm
This stunt will only work on people who are very susceptible and curious, like someone who would answer a ringing phone booth. Most people would assume it’s not for them and keep going on with their day to day life.
These sort of people are the ones most likely to respond to the methods described by Leota and Jonas.
6 Marc // Aug 21, 2007 at 9:44 pm
Strait from the channel 4 website, here is derren’s explanation:
All through the series, people mysteriously fall asleep in public phone boxes. Have they fallen prey to a disease or am I carrying out some trick of the mind on the other end of the line? There are two factors at work here.
First, the group of people subjected to the stunt are particularly suggestible. I know this simply because they chose to answer a public phone that happened to be ringing as they walked past. Most people would ignore it, assuming it was nothing to do with them.
Secondly, once the person answers, I immediately bombard them with a rapid set of confusing instructions and facts. I do this for several minutes without giving give them a break, then follow it by telling them to fall asleep. As seen on the shows, this works.
Public speakers often capitalise on the same response. Have you ever listened to a politician giving rapid-fire statistics so fast that the audience can’t possibly take them in, only to end the speech with a simple, memorable phrase? The soundbite comes as such a relief after all those facts and figures that this is all the listeners remember.
7 Dave Corbett // Aug 25, 2007 at 2:32 am
You wrote “an suspecting member of the public”.
Did you mean someone who is in on the gag or did you mean “unsuspecting”?
8 John Capps MD // Nov 24, 2007 at 7:07 pm
I believe trick is real, although I suspect there were a lot of “out-takes” or failed attempts.
First of all, MOST people who answer a ringing phone as they walk by are likely to be of a more suggestable and imaginative nature, in my opinion, and thus more subject to this type of “random” hypnotic suggestion; and also I suspect would only work on people walking alone.
Secondly, I believe his explanation of the rapid and confusing speech, interjected with his hypnotic commands, is truthful. This is similar to a common technique of practitioners of NeuroLingquistic Programming (NLP), which is a variant, if you will, of trance-inducing, hypnotic suggestion used by many in a therapeutic milieu (usually but also used for such regretible books as The Art of Seduction). (more references upon request…not a field I practice in directly but have done a great deal of reading about). JLC
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