Suggestion

A communication — verbal or nonverbal — delivered during a state of trance with the intention of influencing a client's thoughts, feelings, behaviors, or physiological responses. Suggestions may be direct (explicit commands) or indirect (embedded within metaphor or language patterns). The effectiveness of suggestion depends on the depth of trance, the client's suggestibility, the skill of the hypnotherapist, and the ecological alignment of the suggestion with the client's values.