Why Can an Idea Be Implanted? The Triple Spiral Method
The triple spiral is a beautiful, even sophisticated technique that helps you plant the idea you want in someone else’s mind. The essence of this method is that several stories are woven into each other according to specific rules.
You start by telling a real situation from your life or a story you make up on the spot. It should be rich in details and, ideally, interesting. In the middle, you interrupt it…
…And begin telling a second story, which can be completely unrelated to the first. You also interrupt this story in the middle…
…And move on to the third, key story. It’s key because this is where you embed your suggestion or command. After finishing the third story completely, you go back…
…And finish the second story…
…And finally, return to the first story and complete it.
Triple Spiral Structure
- Story #1 …
- …Story #2 …
- …Story #3 (the suggestion/command)…
- …Conclusion of Story #2 …
- …Conclusion of Story #1.
The listener fully understands and remembers Story #1 and Story #2, but Story #3 and the suggestion it contains slip past their attention and are quickly forgotten. This happens because the listener’s conscious mind is forced to keep track of two unfinished stories—wondering how they’ll end. As a result, there isn’t enough conscious attention left to process and remember the third story. This means the suggestion hidden in Story #3 bypasses conscious control and goes straight into your conversation partner’s subconscious.
To experience the effect of this method on yourself, record the text below (or one you create yourself) and listen to it a couple of weeks later—you’ll fully feel the impact of the triple spiral on your subconscious. (Keep in mind, though, that reading from a page reduces some of the triple spiral’s effect.)
Example of the Triple Spiral
#1 One day, sitting on the summer terrace of a Moscow café, I was happily sipping my morning coffee and waiting for a friend. The morning was wonderful, gentle, and full of promise. To pass the time, I started watching the people who came in for breakfast or strolled past the terrace at this early hour: some were slowly wandering somewhere, others were clearly rushing about their business. The people around me were so different and so interesting! Observing their faces, studying their walks, posture, gestures, the way they spoke, moved, and interacted with the world fascinated me so much that at some point, the noise of the Garden Ring turned into the sound of the ocean for me…
#2…And I felt like I was sitting on the shore. People walked by, the surf roared, seagulls cried. I remembered how once, on the beach, a little boy—about two or three years old—came up to me. He just walked up and started looking at me. He was holding a ball with something written on it. I only saw the word “just…”
#3…I recognized it immediately: I had once read that same word, in the same font, on a huge oak door to the lecture hall where we, as students, took our exams. The subject was tough, and we were all very nervous. Some caring professor or maybe a grad student had printed out a simple phrase and taped it to the door. Just stuck it on with some tape. The phrase was only three words: “Just do it!” That simple command really helped us get through those exams…
#2…The boy stood by me a little longer, then tossed his ball and ran after it, laughing. The sun was gentle, the sea was warm, and I wanted to run and dive in, to swim as far as I could. And then just lie on the water, floating and relaxing…
#1…“Would you like anything else?”—the waiter’s caring voice brought me back to that Moscow morning. “Yes! Another cup, please.” The young man’s face was smiling, open, and friendly. It was clear he was enjoying the morning and the people passing by, whether on business or just for a stroll…