"Covert Hypnosis" by Kevin Hogan is an operator's manual for how to use influential unconscious communication in selling, business, relationships,and hypnotherapy. Kevin wrote "Psychology of Persuasion" and about a dozen other books. He also has a fantastic series of audio recordings that teach about the science of influence and other personal empowerment areas. I'm a big, big fan of Kevin and his work.
Which makes it sad and hard for me to say that I was disappointed with "Covert Hypnosis," but that's the truth. This book has a lot of good information in it, but it reads like a high school student was the editor. It's got quite a few typing errors, and that makes it hard to read sometimes. It also has a few points where it reads as if Kevin was dictating, not actually writing, and there's this weird vibe when I'm reading it. As a former English teacher, I know that we assemble language differently when we're speaking than when we're composing on paper. I can't say for certain that this is what happened, but that's how it reads to me at times. I literally had to stop and re-read some sections because the syntax just didn't seem right.
But it's the content that matters, right? I know some of you are thinking that, and overall I would agree, but you still have to be able to read that content and absorb it smoothly. There is a lot of great content in this book. Hogan provides a lot of info about how people make decisions and how knowing the science of decision-making can put you in a better position to influence other people's decision-making.
BUT, as someone who has bought some of Kevin's other books, I was disappointed to read some of the same material from those other books. I don't want to keep buying the same information over and over again; I want new, fresh information. The catch here is that some of what Hogan knows about hypnosis has to be repeated from book to book because it's fundamental and he can't assume that his readers know it. I get that, but what I'm really talking about are the "tricks" and techniques of influence and covert hypnosis that he discusses. It's disappointing to drop money on one of his "Science of Influence" modules, buy a copy of "Covert Persuasion" and then a copy of "Covert Hypnosis" and get the same info in all three things.
If you make your money as a salesperson, you should consider getting a copy of "Covert Hypnosis." The biggest strength of the book is it's ability to state in very clear, concise language how you should present yourself as a salesperson. Hogan has gathered information based on actual studies, and tells you how to dress, how to smell, how to move your body, how talk... the whole package. The book also provides transcripts of sessions that Hogan had with clients that demonstrate how he crafted an approach that got them to come around to his way of thinking and do what he wanted them to do for their own good. Hogan understands that people need specific directions in order to be effective at replicating successful behavior, so he provides those specific directions in his work.
In summary, if you're new to the area of covert hypnosis, this book is a good place to start. It does have a lot of good content in it. You may find the actual text bothersome in some parts because of poor editing, but if you're not a former English teacher like me it may not seem so bad. If you're pretty familiar with covert hypnosis, this may not be a necessary purchase for you. It does provide a lot of specific tactics, and it leans more toward helping salespeople, so if you're in sales this would probably be a great purchase. As someone who works with clients on personal change and improving wellness, I did get some clues about how to convince stubborn clients to change the way they think, but there wasn't as much depth on those kinds of covert hypnosis as there was for sales applications.
