I'm a mentalist. You're a mentalist We are mentalists.

What we all have in common is we all

want to perform unusual feats. Whether we do it in a private show, in a bar or at a hotel show.
But economic down-turns changed the landscape from the US to the UK and beyond. We all
slowed down. But...NOW IS THE TIME TO GET WORK!

Everyone is beginning to look for entertainment again. Corporate, private parties and general
entertainment shows are back. And if you have a really strong piece to demonstrate what you
can do, you will get work.

The fundamental idea is, if you do something totally inexplicable, in public or in an office of a
client, you will make a lasting impression. And that impression will translate into paid shows.

Before we can really get started, we need to have some examples of good mentalism, great
mentalism and STRONG MENTALISM.

We won't compare anyone's contemporary effects; let's use tricks from The Jinx magazine as
examples. This isn't a list of the best from The Jinx, merely clear examples of tricks that fit either
of two situations. We'll look at tricks that can be performed for a single viewer, like an agent, or
that work well in a bar, pub or at a private party. Places we're likely to generate work.

If the subject is convinced you can't know his information, any revelation of a thought is an
example of good mentalism, such as Two Papers and a Spectator (page 3). The equivalents of
the modern peek wallet can be found in Compact (page 285) and Impromptu Vision (page 83).
They're good mentalism. You have virtually thousands of tricks available today that are good,
mysterious and demonstrate pseudo psychic ability.

Great mentalism might be more inexplicable, with multiple revelations like Par-Optic Vision
(page 48). A clean design duplication is great mentalism, as in Extra Sensory Perception (page
52). And a personal living and dead test can be quite compelling. Check out Dead or Alive! (page
11) for the inspiration to my own D.O.A.

But STRONG mentalism is a level above good and great mentalism. For our definition it means
an effect that is so unbelievable that it might be real!

Early in my career as a magician / mentalist, a man performed a single mentalistic trick for me
and my friends. He built up the trick so long and so hard that I wasn't sure it was a trick. I
started thinking, "This guy really believes he can do this stuff!" When he was successful with the
trick, I thought it might have been real. I knew all about tricks, gimmicks and ploys. But his build
up was so strong and the effect so unbelievable, I couldn't help but consider it as being feasible.

It's like UFO encounters. The bigger the tale, the more incredible the alleged facts, the higher
the possibility people will believe it.
One of the weerdest tricks in mentalism was published in May, 1937. In issue number 32 of The
Jinx, Arthur Monroe's contribution, Voodoo, first saw print.

Basically the effect is:

The [marked] coin on string is placed in a small metal box, and with It is put a blank piece of
paper or calling card. Rubber bands are snapped around the box and it is handed to the host or
hostess. You ask her to hide It in the most remote corner of the house, in an old trunk, under
the mattress upstairs, or in the attic.

She can go alone or take someone with her, but no one who stays in the room knows where the
box has been put. When the lady returns, she Is asked to select a card from the deck and keep it
in her possession.

The lights are now turned out, and after a moment or two of silence, a small green light glows
at the table where you are standing, AND YOU ARE SEEN TO BE HOLDING THE BOXI You give it a
gentle shake and the rubber bands which are of the heavy type and snapped tightly on, are
seen to fall off. The box is opened and string with coin removed. Another gentle shake and the
coin drops off cord to table, leaving only the knotted cord in hand. The string Is replaced in the
box and you pick up the piece of paper or card. Writing something on the paper you put it back
in box on top of string, close the box and snap bands back on. Now the green light is
extinguished, and after a few moments the lights are turned on.

The spectator who marked the coin is asked to pick it up from where it fell on table, and IT IS
HIS IDENTIFICATION MARK! Then you ask the hostess to go and get the box from its hiding
place. Upon returning, she opens it herself and finds only the knotted string and card upon
which is written in bright green ink. "The card you selected was the Ace of Hearts."

Wow! That's so far above revealing a word written on a business card, it's UNBELIEVABLE!

As wild as the effect is, it seems only a handful of performers have ever used it. In over 75 years
of its existence, I've personally only heard of less than a dozen and witnessed only one
performance of Voodoo.

But it's a FANTASTIC effect! When mentalists have presented this piece of theater, audiences
have been stunned. Almost every mentalist has heard of Voodoo. We all claim a love for the
effect. But why is it so often talked about, yet so seldom performed?

Now let’s go over some reasons STRONG mentalism is set aside for good and great effects
instead.

Hit Them With Your Best Shot!

In Part 1 we established my belief that buyers are looking for mentalists again. There are plenty
of marketing strategies, but at the end of the day, they want to see you do something. This can
either be in a casual setting such as in a bar or a more formal, almost audition type setting like
an office. For the record, I'm one of those who don't do auditions for mentalism shows. But like
how I never have a boss, I only have clients, it's a matter of semantics. I don't do auditions, but
I'm certainly willing to perform something in a private setting. If they're the same thing to you,
so mote it be.

In public someone can see you that can change your career, if not permanently, at least for a
couple of good gigs. One night I was showing off my A material in a wine bar in San Antonio,
Texas and noticed a woman watching. She never smiled; she just sat and observed. After my
performance I approached her to investigate why she was so bitter. She turned out to be a
booking agent and I got a terrific job from that performance. If I had remained quiet in the wine
bar, she would have never hired me. I was auditioning and I didn't even know it! I would add
that every public performance you do, even if only one trick, has the potential to be one of
these casual auditions.

The course The Secrets of Perfect Paid Performances, explains that you're still performing after
the fact when any audience member is talking about you later. That means word of mouth
advertising. So STRONG effects translate even more to paid work.

In private, showing the booker the best you've got is essential. But hold on a minute, what's a
booker? In the above course, the Booker is defined as the person with the check. They're not
the audience and they want something different from an audience. They, in fact, want the
biggest bang for their buck, so to speak. And that is why hitting him with your best shot is a plan
for success. Often the booker will ask you to come into his office to discuss the project and want
to see something live. That's our best chance to win.

The question becomes, why don't we use the hardest hitting, or STRONG effects in public or for
casual auditions? I can think of three basic reasons:

▪ We don't know a STRONG piece.

▪ We want to save the STRONG piece for the paid performance.

▪ We're afraid the viewer won't believe what we're doing!

Let's examine each reason.

The first reason doesn't apply to you and me. We know plenty of amazingly unbelievable pieces.

The second reason does apply to us. Many mentalists stand behind this theory today. But it's a
faulty reasoning.
Bascom Jones was the editor and publisher of Magick, the only mentalism newsletter greater
than The Jinx. Bascom knew plenty about performing. Yet he was always unnerved by
contributors who offered one of the tricks from their new books. These mentalists almost
always wrote up the WEAKEST trick from the bunch. Bascom asked why and the response was,
"I want to save the great effects for the buyers." Bascom tried to point out that if the
STRONGEST effect appeared in the magazine, book sales would go up! Yet many contributors
maintained that buyers would be disappointed if they got the best trick for free.

The logic of ‘Save The Best For Last” is unsound. Think about it. If a sample of an entree is the
best from the menu, there's a better chance of buying the meal. And if you truly love the entree
you bought it doesn't diminish the value of the side orders or dessert.

A couple months ago I was performing weekly in the central plaza at a Tulum resort. They had a
stage, lights and sound. But I usually walk from the stage into the audience and do one-on-one
readings. Because it was an outdoor plaza there were no house lights, I walked into darkness
and the audience sat in darkness. The second week I noticed a follow spotlight at the far end of
the plaza. I grabbed the entertainment director and suggested, "Let's use that spotlight.
Everyone will see the show better."

He refused.

I offered to pay a staff member to operate it. He still refused.

"Why?" I asked.

"We're saving it."

"You mean you're saving the bulb?"

"No, the spotlight. It's for the karaoke show later."

He thought a spotlight was a special effect! He didn't want to waste it on my show. He didn't
understand that the audience would never compare the value of the show based on a different
light. But rather they base the value on whether or not they can see and enjoy the entire
program!

The same holds true for us. An audience will never (dare I go that far?), no never, judge us on
whether they saw the STRONGEST piece of our show in public. In fact, it's more likely the
opposite. They will make that STRONG effect your signature piece.

Next we'll look at the third reason for not showing our STRONGEST effect first; it's too
unbelievable.

I Can't Believe It's Not Butter!

What we've discussed thus far. That a mentalism show is becoming popular a product again.
That we need to perform a STRONG piece to make the best impression. And why we don't do
that.

Last time we covered the three reason why we don't perform the STRONGEST piece we know as
a free sample of our talents. The first two reasons, 1) We don't know a STRONG piece. 2) We
want to save the STRONG piece for the paid performance, have been explained away. Now let's
examine the final possible reason for not hitting as hard as we can.

Reason 3: We're afraid the viewer won't believe what we're doing!

Before we talk about what we think people won't believe, let's agree to what we think they will.
Mentalists often subscribe to the plan of easing into believability by starting with something like
a memory test or mathematical trick and advancing into mind reading. A magic square is
thought to be more believable than a book test. Probably the most believable demonstration of
psychic ability is a reading. I have built a reputation for walking into a place cold and within
minutes have a crowd of people with their palms held out for reading. Ask Anthony Jacquin.

Let's not argue about how many mentalists skip a palm reading in favor of a gimmicked effect
because of ease of execution. Let's stay on the example of a good reading being believable by
the participant. If you ask around, you'll discover that most mentalists will choose to remain
cold when given a choice. They don't want to add known information and heat up the reading.
"It's just not necessary," is their usual line of thought. Right, it's not necessary, but we're looking
at why. And why is too often, "Because they won't believe it if I'm too accurate."

A few years ago, a well-known mentalist, one who's name will remain hidden because he's
reading this essay now, was performing an important public demonstration. I was there as a
consultant as were several other big-name mentalists. At one point I decided what was needed
was a between-the-eyes presentation. So far the event had been presented like a magic show;
one trick, then another, then another. People were amazed, but not kicked out of their minds.

I snuck up on a woman in the crowd. I explained that I was with the performer, but I wasn't sure
if he was real or not. I asked her opinion. She wasn't sure either and so a small bond between us
was formed. I proposed a small test for the mentalist. I asked her to think of something he could
not possibly know. She would concentrate on that fact throughout his performance. If he picked
it up and said it aloud, I'd believe he might be psychic. She agreed.

"What kind of thing should I think of?" she asked.

"I don't know. Something private that he couldn't know. How about the name of your eighth
grade teacher."

"OK, Mrs. Turner."

"And I think we should make it specific so he can't guess. Did you ever see her car?"

"Yes, it was a green Pontiac."

"Great! Just think of that and don't tell anybody. And if he gets it, I'll admit he has something
going."

I left the woman concentrating on her secret information. I walked aside, wrote the info in note
form on the back of a business card and called the producer over. I told her to casually give this
note to the mentalist. He got the note, and started walking toward me to ask me a question
about it! I quickly disappeared around a corner and sent another message via the producer. He
finally got the idea. He was to stop in the middle of one of his tricks and look out into the crowd.
He should say something like, "Someone here is testing me. You're thinking of their eighth grade
teacher. Where are you?"

When the woman identified herself he should continue, "The name is Turner!"

It would create gasps. Then add, "And I see her at your school driving a green car. A Pontiac,
right?"

Imagine what would have happened. But, alas all that wonderful theater never took place.

The woman kept silently looking at me across the room. Her expression said, "I guess he can't
get it. I guess he's not really psychic."

After the performance I asked him why he failed the test.

"No one would believe it," he told me.

He was sure that too much specific information would indicate he wasn't really a psychic. What
he failed to understand is that he wasn't selling the fact that he was real, he was selling an
entertaining hour!

In reading the description of Mephisto's Journey, one fellow emailed me that he loved the
effect, but would not be so stupid as to think people would ever believe he was in two places at
once! Here we stand at a crossroads. There are several directions we can take. Will they believe
it? Won't they believe it? Does it matter?

Belief is not the path we should choose at the crossroads. DESIRE is far better and more
valuable than belief. If a viewer has a DESIRE to see more, a DESIRE to understand what he just
saw or even a DESIRE to prove it all wrong, he is close to being sold on you as an entertainer.
Strange demonstrations like Voodoo or Mephisto's Journey create DESIRE in an audience.
Something lesser tricks can only do on a lower level. Create that DESIRE and you have VALUE!
Create something that must be discussed further, and you have word of mouth advertising.
Become controversial and you become rare and wanted.