The aerospace auditor and trainer Richard Randall may have lied about his knowledge of hypnosis when defending himself against criticism that he trained both the AAQG and NQA auditors on hypnosis at three events in 2013. The events discussed how auditors could use Neurolinguistic Programming, or “NLP”, on clients. NLP is a form of hypnosis that has been debunked by both the scientific and psychiatric professions, and is instead practiced on the fringes of New Age spirituality culture.
One training event was given to the Americas Aerospace Quality Group (AAQG), and two others were given to AS9100 registrar NQA-USA. This led Oxebridge to call on the AAQG to investigate Mr. Randall’s audits, and condemn the training. A separate letter was sent to the International Accreditation Forum, calling on the group to condemn the practice and demand that the IAQG take action against the AAQG, or face sanction by the IAF. The IAF has declined to take action, saying it is out of their scope. Sources within the AAQG indicate they are looking into the matter, but senior leadership has advised AAQG staff member not to comment on it.
Given the poor track record of registrars in dealing with customer complaints, Oxebridge did not file a complaint with NQA but did notify their senior management of the concerns.
Randall Denies Training on Hypnosis
On a LinkedIn post, Mr. Randall defended himself calling the Oxebridge reports “ludicrous” and saying, “I don’t know how to ‘hypnotize’ anyone… or if that’s even possible.”
However, online documents contradict Mr. Randall’s account, and clearly prove he has not only received training in Ericksonian Hypnosis — the hypnotic method upon which NLP is partly based — but has an active interest in it, and seeks others for discussion on the subject.
According to his resume, Mr Randall received his unaccredited NLP “certification” from the NLP & Coaching Institute of Colorado. The full syllabus for that course is available online, and includes at least two hours of Ericksonian hypnosis and “embedded commands.” (See page 19, Module # 9.) NLP practitioners allege that embedded commands can coerce a subject to obey the speaker, without their knowledge that any hypnosis is underway.
This aligns with the actual slides Mr.Randall presented as part of his aerospace auditor training seminars.
Slide 28 of Randall’s presentation was on “mirroring” and slide 38 was on “pacing and leading.” An NLP training article on SelfGrowth website describes the techniques and their nefarious purposes:
NLP Pacing and Leading Technique # 1: Mirroring To Build Rapport
All you have to do is mirror a person subtly whether through gestures or speech patterns.Once you have established some sort of rapport with the person, then that is the time when you can take control of the situation and turn it around as you see fit. You’ll see how quickly that other person will follow your lead.
NLP Pacing and Leading Technique # 2: Stating Facts And Then Taking Over
This involves you stating something true about the person you’re talking to – or the situation you’re dealing with – and getting said person to agree with you before swooping in to take control.
Mr. Randall’s own slide indicates that the methods should be surreptitious, so the audited client is not aware of them:
Be aware that mirroring must be subtle so as to appear unconscious!
Active Interest in Hypnosis
Furthermore, Mr. Randall’s public social media interests, as posted on his Meetup profile, indicate his interests include “Hypnosis and Hypnotherapy,” “Hypnosis Practice” and “Ericksonian Therapy.”
Mr. Randall also publicizes his membership in the “NLP-Denver” group, which holds meetups on the debunked “15 minute phobia cure,” a technique alleged by NLP practitioners that is able to eliminate lifelong phobias in only 15 minutes, including “traumatic reaction to past accidents, abuse, serious illness, and war related experiences.”
The phobia cure, and nearly every other NLP related technique, has been roundly debunked by scientific and medical professionals, and failed every proper scientific trial applied to it. It remains popular in the New Age movement, alongside reincarnation and astral projection, two subject often taught side by side with NLP.
Oxebridge will continue to push for a strong condemnation of the practice by the aerospace community, in order to defend the rights of AS9100 end users.
Christopher Paris is the founder and VP Operations of Oxebridge. He has over 30 years’ experience implementing ISO 9001 and AS9100 systems, and helps establish certification and accreditation bodies with the ISO 17000 series. He is a vocal advocate for the development and use of standards from the point of view of actual users. He is the writer and artist of THE AUDITOR comic strip, and is currently writing the DR. CUBA pulp novel series. Visit www.drcuba.world
