Pattern interrupts and Negs: Increasing Their Effectiveness

[RobLaughter]

Someone reminded me of the "nail" neg this afternoon, which reminded me of a great little NLP/Ericksonian Hypnosis combo I used to do.

Quickly, if you're unfamiliar with pattern interrupts, the idea is that you're interrupting a pre-conditioned response which makes a second or two of blank "space" in the person's mind. A common tactic used my NLP practitioners and hypnosis enthusiasts is the handhake interrupt. In one of these methods (there are many), you go for the handshake, but the second your hands touch, you gently take their wrist, bring their hand up towards their face so their forearm is vertical, have them shift their gaze to their hand, and close their eyes, leading them verbally the whole time.

People take 1-2 seconds on average from the time they decide to perform a certain task (like shaking one's hand) to the time they begin to execute it. If you interrupt this pattern, there's a 1-2 second void to fill with any command you so desire, which is where the verbal leading comes in.

To apply this to PU in the field, one can combine this with the nail neg (or any other reason for you to take her by the hand). In every interaction, there comes a time to introduce yourself and it's perfectly natural to shake hands as you do so. Just before your hand touches hers, take her hand and gently turn it palm-down. As you're turning her wrist, tap her on the upper arm with your free hand (starts to establish an anchor that you can build upon with other interrupts later) and run the nail neg. "Nice nails, are they real?" Rather than waiting for a response, though, proceed with a command. This is ANOTHER interrupt, as she is programmed to respond to your question (she'll respond straightforwardly and honestly if you give her the chance, because you've already derailed her train of thought with the first interrupt), but she's given a totally new set of instructions.

Commands you can give while they're in this altered state, however brief, can be anything from "look at me" to "concentrate on [whatever]" as long as its in the realm of what she's reasonably comfortable with. People will reject suggestions that they're not comfortable with acting out, so sexual suggestions or commands are probably out of place for this tactic.

Note that this fits best in A2/A3, since it's really not necessary for comfort.

There are some other pattern interrupts, if you're interested. If not, just stop reading now.

One interrupt I learned from Sword after he pulled it on me in a mall is to walk up to someone with some degree of determination, hand them some small object--he used keys--and tell them to hold them and follow you. My mind instantly went blank... Afterward, he explained to my wing what he'd just done, and I didn't even have a clue that he'd done it until I shook it off.

Other more subtle, but often natural pattern interrupts include verbal techniques like stuttering and pausing. If you want to see someone hooked on every word you say, do so... very... slowly... A shift in speed and tonality can often help embed commands into sentences.

And I'm spent... If you're into this kind of thing, field test it and enjoy it. If you're not, don't waste your time telling me it won't work or it's a "lame" idea--you'll only be making fools of yourselves.

Peace,
Rob

[JimSmith]

the thing about negs like nails being real, they work if the girl has fake nails. If they're not fake, or if their hair is natural when u neg them on it, it just seems to reinforce the compliment.

"nice nails/hair, is it real?" (yes) "oh... well its still nice" --> neg wasnt effective

sometimes when i use other negs, like "Nice shirt, i just saw another girl with the same one over there, everyone must have it!" That one works alright, sometimes they actually take it as a compliment.

[RobLaughter]

the thing about negs like nails being real, they work if the girl has fake nails. If they're not fake, or if their hair is natural when u neg them on it, it just seems to reinforce the compliment.

"nice nails/hair, is it real?" (yes) "oh... well its still nice" --> neg wasnt effective

In your experience, perhaps. Asking a girl if her NATURAL nails look fake is even more effective because you're implying that they actually look fake. Step outside of your own experiences before you make such general assumptions.

However, the purpose of the post isn't to discuss negs or hair or anything of that sort. The post is dealing with pattern interrupts and their relevance to pickup.

You toss the neg out there and IMMEDIATELY hit her with a command. From there, as long as you keep talking and keep their mind busy, you can string commands and suggestions together in rapid-fire succession--the benefits being that you can quickly amp attraction, alter her state, and lead her quickly into isolation with little to no resistance.

[Jester]

This is good stuff Rob, Ive been learning about NLP stuff recently and I can see how this would work.

You could almost say that its really a tatic for generating postitive compliance easier. As whenever you were about to execute a compliance test you could pattern interrupt them first with a question of any sort and then roll straight into the CT.

Is this the lines that your going on?

[RobLaughter]

This is good stuff Rob, Ive been learning about NLP stuff recently and I can see how this would work.

You could almost say that its really a tatic for generating postitive compliance easier. As whenever you were about to execute a compliance test you could pattern interrupt them first with a question of any sort and then roll straight into the CT.

Is this the lines that your going on?

That's not really the exact direction I was taking it, but it's certainly a great application for it. I do it for my own self-indulgence, really. I'm a bit of a power freak and that's what gets me off. But your idea is great. It would certainly work.

I was actually discussing this with a rookie I took out in the field today to teach a few things to and was leading him with verbal pattern interrupts, particularly pauses. Afterward, I was examining how he felt, and what he was describing to me was feeling compelled to keep the conversation moving, but an acknowledgement of my authority in the situation and recognition that he should let me finish. I'm interested to see how this plays out in the field.

[Affection]

Pattern interrupts, whether the PUA is consciously doing it or not, are key for frame control and conpliance (A3). Some good stuff here.

The fake nails neg works whether she has fake nails or not. It's a neg if her fake nails are obviously fake, and a neg if her real nails look fake.

~~Affection

[RobLaughter]

I disagree here. Frame control is a strictly personal phenomena. Either you can back your shit up or you can't. It's that simple. Compliance, as well, can be an individual thing with each girl. Many will give it naturally when they're attracted--few will resist.

[RobLaughter]

A quick addendum to the original post:

A good followup to the key-holding interrupt is a direct-style "I just had to get you away from your friends" or something to that extent.

Essentially, anything that can be used to break someone's train of thought can be turned into a pattern interrupt. Making rapid-fire demands to respond to you while they're hesitating on simething can disturb that train of thought. I'm not sure how this can be adapted to pickup without seeming totally weird but here's one example.

The PUA asks a question that requires some thought--one that's perhaps a bit out of place. While the HB is thinking about it, there's a void to fill in her mind because she's been taken aback by the question and is unsure how to answer. Perhaps you can remember a time when that happened to you. Maybe it was during your grammar school days when you weren't paying attention to what the teacher was saying and you were suddenly called on, surprising you. You might have found it interesting that your mind just goes blank for a moment in a situation like that.

The PUA then repeats himself in a slightly agitated tone to compound that void in the target's mind. From there, you can give a command, followed by a string of rapid-instructions to take advantage of the pattern interrupt.

I'd love to explain the instructions in more detail, but it's difficult to do in text, as it's something you have to just roll with. Here are a couple examples from UK Mentalist Derren Brown. Keep in mind that the end results you see here are achieved through a mix of both magic and real psychological principles.

This is a great example of an interrupt followed by a series of rapid commands, particularly the first example. Keep in mind that when he says he's not really hypnotizing him, he's telling the 100% truth (for once).
http://youtube.com/watch?v=9eG8uo_WQec

Here's a pattern interrupt, followed by some feigned suggestions, but that's how it needs to roll off your tongue.
http://youtube.com/watch?v=befugtgikMg

Lastly, this is another pattern interrupt that achieves nothing more than clearing the mind of the subject so he can give her suggestions later. This state is enhanced by strong eye contact and how he positions her hand.
http://youtube.com/watch?v=lW2yKlNFFuU

Ciao,
Rob

[Yoda]

These are interesting.

When someone is compliant the first time then they're more likey to comply again, I understand that. But if the mind goes blank, then would her first act of compliance add to her inclination to comply again, since her original compliance was while she was "blanked" out?

[Diebold]

A great pattern interrupt I do at work (of all places where I test NLP. HAHA...) is when someone comes up to me and says anything, I respond "yes, mother" (if it's a male, otherwise "yes, father" if it's a female). I get the two seconds of the person just staring at me... plenty of time to insert something like "sleep, relax, etc."

It's that fucking simple to throw off peoples patterning. Try it at work. :)

[RobLaughter]

It's a stretch, but it works :-P

PS. I read the draft of your ebook. Entertaining ;-)

[Affection]

You disagree that pattern interrupts can be used to move conversation towards a favorable direction? I'm not sure I see how you can make that argument.

Women frequently get into pre-programmed patterns of conversation which leads them on a path that I don't want them to go down. Consider: interview pattern, LMR pattern, my boyfriend is sooo great pattern, etc. They've played out all these patterns before, and the typical results for the 3 listed above are thinking that the guy is boring, not having sex, and excluding the guy from consideration, respectively. Being able to take that pattern and insert an interrupt (as simple as, "Your nose wiggles when you talk... it's cute. :)") prevents the conversation from leading down that undesirable path, which is the very definition of frame control.


I disagree here. Frame control is a strictly personal phenomena. Either you can back your shit up or you can't. It's that simple. Compliance, as well, can be an individual thing with each girl. Many will give it naturally when they're attracted--few will resist.


~~Affection

[RobLaughter]

You disagree that pattern interrupts can be used to move conversation towards a favorable direction? I'm not sure I see how you can make that argument.

You twisted my words here. While that's a great tactic to win an interpersonal argument, that's not going to get us anywhere in an open discussion forum.

Perhaps we're just thinking of pattern interrupts in two different lights. I don't really consider an interjection like the "nose" bit to be an interrupt becuase while it is indeed breaking up the conversation, it's not spurring a radical shift in one's thought patterns. It's conversation within conversation, and in that capacity, there's no difference between talking about 80s dogs or some shit and talking about her nose.

I was disagreeing with your comment that interrupts are key to frame control and compliance. Perhaps there's a perceptual gap here, too. I see frame control as one's internal ability to maintain his frame--his place in the interaction--and I really can't understand how a pattern interrupt on another person can help you regulate your perception of your status in the situation... Unless you're a power-crazed sociopath like myself and get your kicks from consciously influencing people ;)

[Yoda]

Peronally I could see how it could be frame control.

You are dictating the tempo.

[Affection]

Why no radical shift? Why is an unusual handshake followed by the nails neg more of a pattern interrupt than taking a moment where she's expecting you to listen to her shit (like the last 20 guys did) and interrupting her with something completely random?

I'm not trying to be disagreeable, rather trying to examine your beliefs.


I don't really consider an interjection like the "nose" bit to be an interrupt becuase while it is indeed breaking up the conversation, it's not spurring a radical shift in one's thought patterns.


This I must disagree with. Maintaining your own frame is only a part of this complete breakfast. Sucking other people into your frame -- making them a part of your reality -- is the idea behind frame control, and interrupting patterns that allow women to drift back into their own head is critical.


I see frame control as one's internal ability to maintain his frame--his place in the interaction


~~Affection

[RobLaughter]

This I must disagree with. Maintaining your own frame is only a part of this complete breakfast. Sucking other people into your frame -- making them a part of your reality -- is the idea behind frame control...

Valid point here.