In this episode, Ruckus and James explore the idea of showmanship and performance in effective changework, drawing connections between hypnosis, shamanism, acting, and public speaking. The conversation covers practical techniques for incorporating performance elements into coaching and therapy, the distinction between information versus evocation, and how practitioners can expand their communication repertoire to create greater impact with clients.

Timestamps

[00:00:00] Introduction to showmanship and performance in change work

[00:01:00] Why performers make better hypnotists - magic vs therapy backgrounds

[00:01:45] The roots of showmanship in shamanism - "The Death and Resurrection Show"

[00:02:30] Performance as suggestion beyond just words

[00:03:30] Historical hypnotists and the ritual experience

[00:05:00] Bandler vs Grinder - performer vs academic approaches

[00:06:00] On-stage vs off-stage personas in hypnosis

[00:06:15] Playing "one across" vs "one up" - Erickson as performer

[00:08:45] Information versus evocation in communication

[00:09:45] Performance pieces and marking significance

[00:10:30] Street hypnosis and "witch doctoring" techniques

[00:12:00] Head, heart, and gut - using tone for energy shifts

[00:13:15] Ed Jacobs and impact therapy - standing out vs blending in

[00:14:15] David Grove's quadrant model - conversational vs psychoactive

[00:16:15] Steve Chandler - comedy preparation for coaching weekends

[00:18:15] Martin Luther King Jr. and the power of moving people

[00:19:45] The Meisner method - learning lines vs bringing them to life

[00:21:00] Hypnotic language delivery examples

[00:23:00] Acting and oratory training vs technique training

[00:24:00] Theater, Toastmasters, and NLP trainer development

[00:26:30] Teaching screenwriting with hypnotic language

[00:27:30] Bandler and Grinder - "shell vs nut" in Erickson's work

[00:28:45] Tai Chi teaching with Milton language patterns

[00:31:15] Analog marking - feeling artificial at first

[00:32:15] Clint Eastwood and Christopher Walken's performance styles

[00:33:00] Anticipation hooks and pausing techniques

[00:34:00] Storytelling order and performance impact

[00:35:45] Pre-verbal sounds and emotional responses

[00:37:00] Parking ticket story - nonverbal communication power

[00:38:30] Jerry Spence and emotional communication

[00:40:30] Animal sounds exercise for emotional release

[00:42:00] Film pitching vs writing skills comparison

[00:43:15] Willingness to perform - overcoming comfort zones

[00:44:00] "Shatning" - William Shatner as performance model

[00:46:15] Modeling and deep trance identification

[00:47:30] Steve Chandler - "Practice makes the unnatural, natural"

[00:48:15] Comedian mimicry and implicit learning

[00:49:00] Comic timing as implicit vs explicit knowledge

[00:50:45] Modeling Darren Brown and Richard Osterlind

[00:51:30] Aesthetics vs pragmatics in hypnosis style

[00:53:45] Closing thoughts on performance in change work

In this episode of Changeworking, Ruckus and James Tripp dive deep into one of the most fundamental aspects of human psychology: identity. They explore how who you think you are directly shapes how you behave, and why all meaningful change work requires some shift in identity. Ruckus discovers that simply changing the language from "identity" to "self-concept" produces completely different answers about himself—revealing the hidden power of words to unlock new perspectives. James shares why he believes "self-concept is destiny" and how our maps of self and world interact to create our sense of safety. Plus, Ruckus tells a surprising personal story from his own therapy sessions about a part of him that was sabotaging his progress because it feared losing its sense of who he was.

[00:00:45] What is identity and how does it affect changework?
[00:04:00] How identity stabilizes our way of being and limits what we see as possible
[00:05:30] The interaction between our map of self and map of the world
[00:06:30] "Self-concept is destiny" - how beliefs about ourselves change everything
[00:08:45] Using identity-level questions in change work
[00:12:52] Are identity, self-concept, and ego all the same thing?
[00:15:15] Ruckus's personal discovery - how different words unlock different answers
[00:19:45] The power of language to evoke rather than just inform
[00:24:00] Robert Kegan's "new language culture" and getting unstuck
[00:27:30] Why there's no "getting identity right" - it must constantly evolve
[00:29:15] Working with veterans - when old identity no longer fits new life
[00:31:30] Should practitioners work directly on identity or indirectly?
[00:35:15] Ruckus's therapy story - the part that sabotaged progress to preserve identity
[00:37:00] The fear of losing yourself and "investing in loss"
[00:40:00] Seven different ways to ask about identity

What does it really mean when a client “goes psychoactive”? In this episode, Ruckus and James explore how deep engagement emerges — not from force, but from slowing down, dropping judgment, and leaning into possibility. From metaphors to memory reconsolidation, this conversation unpacks what makes transformation feel alive.

00:00 – Intro: What is psychoactive facilitation?
01:00 – James shares the origins of the term from David Grove’s quadrant model
05:00 – The difference between being in a state vs. describing one
09:00 – Ruckus connects psychoactive facilitation to immersive, imaginal states
14:00 – Psychoactive facilitation is dynamic dreaming — trance as co-creation
19:30 – Where psychoactive states meet changework
22:45 – How to tell when a client is going psychoactive
26:00 – Letting go of “what should happen” to allow emergence
31:30 – Being oriented toward possibility = psychoactive facilitation
35:00 – Creating conditions for unconscious engagement
41:50 – Stacking the odds toward psychoactive facilitation
44:00 – Closing thoughts and outro

Email: changeworkingpod@gmail.com

Website: www.clientshifts.com

Changeworking is produced by Ruckus Skye.

#podcast #changework #hypnosis #nlp #coaching #coach #CoachingTools #ClientBreakthroughs