Jenny Slate

I had some friends that went to this hypnotist to stop smoking, and I kind of love things that seem magical. And I liked that it was in Santa Monica, and I had to go near the ocean to get my brain washed out or whatever. So I went there. And I went on a Thursday, and I got hypnotized.

American Actress

Keith Barry

Once people enjoy what I do, I don't mind if they call me a magician or an illusionist or a hypnotist, entertainer, comedian, whatever people want to call me. I'm comfortable with all of the above, so I don't really mind at all what people want to call me.

Irish Entertainer

Stewart Lee

I went to a hypnotist to learn how not to use drinking a pint before you go on as a way of giving you the confidence to just fly at it, irrespective of the fear. That's not a long-term strategy, when you do as many gigs as I do.

English Comedian

Derren Brown

Suggestibility is a very loose term. You may not be the sort of person who responds well to a hypnotist on stage, but you might find, for example, that a doctor administering a placebo to you is something you respond well to.

English Entertainer

Clearly if a hypnotist could make someone to steal £100k just by telling them to, the world would be a different place, and I suspect that hypnotists wouldn't bother doing shows in pubs or dodgy Spanish holiday resorts.

Lewis Grizzard

I went last week to get hypnotized. To quit smoking. And the hypnotist said, 'The reason you smoke is you're bitter and depressed.' No, the reason I smoke is the little sucker tastes so good.

American Writer

That was how I started, as a hypnotist. But I didn't like the kind of gigs I was being offered. I didn't want to embarrass people.

The word 'hypnotist' can imply different roles depending on the context, like entertainment or therapy.

Context Matters

'Hypnotist' doesn't mean someone with magical powers; it's about influencing the mind scientifically.

Not Magical

Medical hypnotists assist with health issues; they have relevant training, unlike stage performers.

Medical Hypnotist

 In trance, breathing and heart rates drop. They can stay like this for hours. When they come to it's as though a hypnotist has clicked his fingers.