From a spectators’ point of view there is still an air of uncertainty surrounding what is really possible from a Mentalist, it is my belief that you should think long and hard about the persona you wish to portray whilst performing.
So in this blog we’ll look at some different styles of Mentalism and suggested reading materials so you may begin studying your chosen style and start to develop your character.
But first your performance is going to be much more powerful if you have answered these basic questions:
What abilities do you have?
Maybe you’re a psychic or telepathic?
Or perhaps you’re a master hypnotist or psychological influencer?
Can you move objects with your mind?
It would be useful to determine what the scope of your ability is.
Where do your abilities come from?
Are they hereditary? Are you from a long line of psychics?
Did you study psychology and hypnosis?
Did you study sleight of a hand as a child?
Why are you demonstrating them to these people?
Do you perform for fun?
Is it your job?
Are you trying to prove psychic phenomena exists?
Are you trying to show people just how vulnerable they are to psychological influence?
These are all valid points to ponder whilst determining who you are as a performer, by answering these questions and others, it will allow you to perform as a believable and entertaining character.
Now let’s take a look at some different types of mentalists…
I have compiled a list of the 4 main ‘types’.
1: Psychological mentalist.
2: Psychic entertainer.
3: Magician/Mindreader.
4: Undecided.
This is not a comprehensive list, there are many categories and subcategories within any art form. I have just compiled a basic list with a brief description of each, it is up to you to explore each category further and start developing your performing character.
1: Psychological mentalist.
Psychological mentalists will often claim to be an expert in psychology and human behaviours and can read people based upon a spectators’ body language.
They will also claim to use hypnosis and NLP techniques, to influence their spectators to make certain decisions like choosing a playing card or a specific object.
An example of how this might look in performance might look like this:
The performer has asked a spectator to play a simple game of ‘which hand’.
The game requires the spectator to hide a small object, such as a coin or keyring inside one of their hands with both hands behind their back, and then bring back both hands closed and place them out in front of their body.
As the performer is trying to decide which hand the object is in, they may say something along the lines of:
“Aha your left eye twitched ever so slightly when I asked is it in this hand, leading me to believe you’re double bluffing and the object is actually in the opposite hand.”
The spectator would then reveal that this is in fact correct.
The above scenario is a prime example of the performer suggesting they are using body language to read the spectator.
Whether or not the performer psychologically influenced the spectator or if their body language gave anything away is irrelevant.
What is relevant is how the performer frames the effect (or the reasoning as to why the effect works)
The performer is suggesting that they’re using specific psychological techniques to make the spectator perform a certain task or enable the performer to read the spectator. Many psychological mentalists will use a fantastic statement which is credited to the late Ned Rutledge:
“I have heightened all 5 of my senses, to create the illusion of a 6th sense.”
Do you prefer this style of mentalism?
Then you should start reading up on some basic psychology, human behaviours, body language, hypnosis and NLP (Neuro Linguistic Programming).
Many psychological mentalists will claim to be experts in the areas I just mentioned and understanding some basic concepts and terminology will go a long way to helping you convince your audience that you know what you’re talking about and more importantly know what you’re doing!
Pros:
Effects can be explained as psychological techniques, making you appear to be an expert in this field.
You can appear to have ‘Jedi like’ mind control techniques.
You will seem to be very credible and what you do is very much real.
These skills are attainable to anybody who is willing to put in the effort to study.
Cons:
This performance style may not be suitable for younger performers, as it could be difficult for spectators to believe that a young person is an expert in hypnosis, psychology or human behaviours.
It’s not unthinkable for a younger performer to be adept in the subjects of psychological mentalism, but you may have to work a little harder to convince your audience.
Suggested learning:
The Monographs by Ben Cardall.
Sherlockian by Ben Cardall.
Pipes, problems and reading people by Ben Cardall.
Ben also has a YouTube channel which is a great resource for learning how to read people: https://www.youtube.com/user/Cardallmagicman
Bens products can be found on his website: https://www.bencardall.com/
What everybody is saying by Joe Navarro.
Reality is plastic by Anthony Jacquin.
Manchurian approach by Anthony Jacquin.
Trilby connection by Anthony Jacquin.
2: Psychic.
As the title suggests, this person claims to have psychic abilities, some of these people actually believe what they are doing is the real deal and many of their clientele do too.
Psychics may claim they are able to communicate with the ‘other side’ or spirits of deceased relatives and loved ones.
Some call themselves spiritualists others psychics, clairvoyants, mystics, fortune tellers or telepaths.
Others call them charlatans (more on that in a future post)
I personally do not know if psychic abilities exist, but I have seen a few things to suggest that it may just be possible.
There are those who claim to be psychic but they’re actually just using ‘tricks’ to create the illusion of psychic abilities, some of these ‘psychics’ tend to be a little shady and are not so concerned with integrity.
It isn’t quite the norm for an event organiser to hire a ‘psychic’ for entertainment but here in Britain it is becoming increasingly popular to see psychic events in pubs, cafes and other hospitality venues.
Then there’s Telepathy, which is the direct transference of thoughts from one person (sender) to another (receiver) without using normal channels of communication.
This is a form of extrasensory perception, or ESP as it’s commonly known as.
This style of mentalism which usually involves two people, is known as an act.
One member of the act will be blindfolded, whilst the other member will display items belonging to random members of the audience and the blindfolded person will correctly guess the object, via telepathy.
If the psychic style of mentalism/mindreading intrigues you then I suggest you start studying Cold Reading, Tarot, Palmistry, Astrology, Graphology and Numerology. A good understanding of these systems will give you the foundations for amazing readings.
Pros:
Many people believe in Psychic phenomena, making what you do a lot easier.
Being a fortune teller can be very rewarding and at the same time very lucrative.
Telepathy acts aren’t as common as some styles of entertainment, therefore if you have a partner willing to learn and perform with you, you could be onto a good thing.
Cons:
There are many negative connotations associated with ‘Psychics’
and it can be a very crowded market.
Suggested learning:
The full facts book of Cold Reading by Ian Rowland.
Tarot for beginners by Luke Jermay.
Speak easy by Dan Harlan.
Speed learning Palmistry by Julian Moore.
Speed learning Cartomancy by Julian Moore.
Speed learning Star Signs by Julian Moore.
Speed learning Graphology by Julian Moore.
Speed learning Numerology by Julian Moore.
3: Magician/Mindreader.
The magician/mindreaders’ main persona is that of a Magician performing magic tricks and may present mindreading in the same manner, quite often the effects presented tend to be commercial ‘tricks’ and still have the same feel as a magic trick.
These performers tend to be fun and energetic and don’t often come across as serious mentalists, instead their displays can often be perceived as magic tricks.
Pros:
Not committed to any particular style of mentalism instead it could be seen as just another string to their bow.
Cons:
No opportunity to present the mindreading as ‘real’.
Suggested learning:
Mark Wilson’s complete course in magic.
4: Undecided.
This type of performer is really undecided on their character.
They will present themselves as somebody who doesn’t claim to have psychic abilities, yet they will often leave enough doubt in a spectators’ mind to suggest that they might possibly be psychic.
This type of performer may claim to be empathic, have very good intuition or even both. Some may declare to their audiences that they do not have psychic abilities, this can work very well to enhance the effect that the performer has on the audience, in that they could start to wonder how else might the effects be possible and decide for themselves that the performer is just being modest about their abilities and they are in actual fact psychic to some degree.
They will sometimes use a mixture of psychological and psychic styles.
They are very similar to the magician and often enjoy performing fun tricks.
Pros:
This performer doesn’t commit to any particular style of mentalism.
Can be fluid in their performances, enabling them to incorporate various effects which may not necessarily suit other performance styles.
Cons:
Non-committal to any particular style or persona could lead to confusion.
The audience may become confused about the performers abilities or identity.
Suggested learning:
Magic and showmanship by Henning Nelms.
The art and craft of storytelling by Nancy Lamb.
Acting for magicians by Richard L Tenace.
There you have it my 4 main personas for Mentalism.
Remember that the main goal here is entertainment… so be entertaining!
There is no right or wrong persona, just the one you are comfortable with.
Thanks for sticking with me to the end of this post, hopefully I’ve given you some food for thought?
I have one last question for you:
What do you want to achieve with your mentalism?
Ryan