Analogical marking is one way of applying the Milton Model. Analogical Marking delivers hypnotic commands hidden inside normal speech as part of a conversational induction. Milton Erickson discovered that he could mix hypnotic commands into an ordinary conversation and have someone act on them provided the command words were subtly different in some way. This insight is the basis of the Milton Model and of NLP anchoring.

In normal conversation a hypnotic induction can be done covertly by using a deeper voice tone for the command words, or pausing briefly before and after the words, or touching the client while the command words were being said. The client subconsciously registers that these analogically marked words were somehow different and while the conscious part of the mind is listening to the ongoing conversation the subconscious part of their mind is still thinking about the analogically marked words and phrases.