oh this really encourages me to go out and practice\perform
That was an instant induction called "Zap", which I definitely wouldn't suggest to a beginner. Don't worry, you won't be throwing people around like that, haha.
Just take it slow. Like on the DVD, start with the set pieces, and go from there. If it doesn't work, that's okay. You can bail, knowing you at least gave them the enjoyment of the set pieces (which WILL work), and the fun of attempting hypnosis. They likely know that hypnosis doesn't work on everyone, or you can hint at that ahead of time (to give yourself an out).
As for practicing...practice your patter. You should have some stock phrases (provided in the DVDs/books, or made up yourself given the ideas on the DVDs/books) at your disposal, ready to say at a moment's notice, given the circumstances you find yourself in. Practice those, over and over again, until you can fall back on them without even thinking. This is why I like The Manchurian Approach...you'll notice that even when explaining the inductions/set pieces/etc, he knows exactly what to say, and has some stock lines ready at any moment. He almost seems to throw out the lines without even thinking, reflexively. It comes from practice.
Speaking of practice...when you feel comfortable, try it out on real people. If you live in a decent sized city, you can go out and find people you'll never see again and try it on them. It's not like you'll have to face them everyday (like friends), so it's not as big of an issue if you mess up, or if it doesn't work.
Side note: For practicing the patter that I use (when writing new patter), I practice on my girlfriend. I can't hypnotize her, but I get her to play along (or act as though it doesn't work, given what I want to practice), thus allowing me to practice my patter in all sorts of situations (positive AND negative situations). After that, it's off to practice on random strangers.
Although I'm only a few months in, it's definitely been quite fun thus far, and it truly gets easier the more you perform.
