A lot of people think that mentalism is magic…
But in truth, there is more to mentalism than illusions and hat tricks.
Mentalism deals with determining the truth about people and gleaning details of their lives by using specific cognitive skills.
The good news is that there is absolutely nothing mystical about mentalism. And that means you don’t need to have supernatural abilities to be a mentalist.
The not-so-good news is that just because it doesn’t require superhuman capabilities doesn’t mean you can simply get on that stage and perform.
If you want to be able to call yourself a mentalist, you have to put in the time and effort.
There’s no getting around the hard work, so here are 5 tips on how to be a mentalist. These tips will be able to help you on your journey.
#1: Learn Everything You Can About Mentalism
It’s always tempting to go straight into finding tricks you can learn. However, if you’re serious about becoming a mentalist, take a step back and start with the basics.
With this, it means understanding what’s fundamental to the practice of mentalism — whether these are effects, techniques, or devices.
Mentalism Effects
Effects are the result that you want your audience to experience. Here’s an analogy — if you were a musician, an effect would be the song you’re playing.
Mentalists use two popular ones — telekinetic demonstrations and mind reading.
Telekinetic demonstrations follow the idea that you can use your mind to move or fly objects such as this one popular act known as “spoon-bending.”
Meanwhile, mind reading is probably the most used effect in mentalism. It’s usually what people connect with mentalism more than anything else, and it probably explains why most mentalists are often referred to as mind readers.
Mentalism Techniques
Continuing with the musician comparison — if effects are the song, techniques are the chords. Putting several techniques together allows you to create an overall effect.
Similar to effects, there are several techniques mentalists use when performing.
The first one is called a force, which is a mentalist’s way to control and manipulate a spectator’s selection to result in a predetermined outcome of their choice.
The aim is to give the impression that the subject had the freedom to choose. Tricks such as The Grey Elephant in Denmark and The Red Hammer use force.
And then there’s this technique called peeks. As the name implies, it allows a mentalist to see hidden information while the subject remains unaware. This technique is typically used in tricks that require sleight of hand or utilize reflective surfaces.
Another technique is cold reading. This is when a mentalist uses a series of broad, vague statements that, to the subject, seem personal and accurate. In reality, these statements are the mentalist’s way to gather information.
By using this, they get an inkling of how their subject will respond to their performances.
Mentalism Devices
Now that you know what song you want to play and what chords you need to put together, you need instruments to do it. In mentalism, these are called devices.
There are secret devices, such as magic wallets, which help you with peeks and switches. Another device used by mentalists to help with predictions is a nail writer.
Not all devices are tools, however. Some are referred to as performative devices. These refer to using your body language, tone, and words to deliver a strong performance.
#2: Understand that Knowledge is Power
Knowing the ins and outs of mentalism is exceptional, but you shouldn’t limit yourself to that singular topic. Mentalism is an intricate subject — many things touch on it, even peripherally.
More than the techniques and effects that make for good mentalism performances, you should understand the psychology that goes behind it.
Explore Human Psychology
If there are any mentalism topics that you should take the time to learn, it’s psychology and human behavior.
Most techniques and devices are connected to the mind, so understanding how it works will help your development as a mentalist.
You can also consider being adept at skills associated with psychology. Hypnosis, palm reading, handwriting analysis, and neuro-linguistic programming are some things you can look into.
Broaden Your Horizons
You can also expand your knowledge radius to include subjects that aren’t directly connected with mentalism but can help your performance. Some areas you can explore are:
- Dream interpretation
- Tarot Cards
- Astrology
- Telepathy and Telekinesis
At some point or another, you can use your knowledge about more esoteric subjects during your performances.
Utilize Available Resources
Ten or fifteen years ago, if you wanted to learn more about mentalism, how to be a mentalist, psychology, or the more esoteric arts, you would have only had a handful of resources.
These days, there are so many sources of information available.
Try to use different platforms for learning — books are always a staple, but it doesn’t work for everyone. If videos are more to your taste, you can find a lot online covering everything from the definition of mentalism to tricks of the trade. You can even learn from the pros!
Develop Your Mind
To be a mentalist, it’s not just your body you’ll have to train — more than anything, you have to develop your mind.
Doing activities that will stretch your mental muscles will benefit you in the long run. Sudoku, completing crossword puzzles, and playing chess can help keep your mind sharp.
Some skills and activities that lean towards the arts, painting, for example, helps you enhance observation skills because it requires you to notice details.
Taking acting and improv lessons can be a useful aid in developing your delivery and a solid background in theatre makes for a great mentalist. These can train you how to respond to different scenarios — especially unexpected ones.
Learning a new language is another way to stretch your mind’s muscles.
In the end, just go with what floats your boat — the end goal is to be mentally agile, which helps you step up your game. You may not use deductive reasoning and critical thinking during actual performances, but they help you develop commonly-used skills.
#3: Communication is the Key
Communication is one of the most crucial aspects of mentalism. It affects two vital processes — how you gather data from your audience and how you deliver your message during your performance.
Mentalists don’t rely on cheap tricks to grab the attention of the audience. Delivery does.
Your performance is a story — when you create a compelling reason WHY your audience should do something, they become emotionally invested in the effect. It elicits a good reaction, regardless of whether the trick is complicated or not.
The fluidity of your delivery also impacts your credibility as a mentalist. If you have awkward pauses or hesitant statements, your audience becomes more skeptical. You need to sound like you know what you’re doing, especially if you’re new.
Read Body Language
Learning how to decipher non-verbal communication is an essential skill of mentalists. You need to be able to tap into the messages that people send to you — regardless of whether they’re saying it out loud or not.
Reading body language is, in essence, reading their minds. This is because a person’s thoughts become feelings, which, in turn, become behaviors. And behaviors are part of non-verbal communication.
Listen for the Truth, Spot the Lies
Listening is also a critical skill for mentalists.
Don’t listen to respond – listen to understand. Most importantly, listen to what is not being said.
People tend to disclose many things about themselves without meaning to, so you can get information about their personality and background based on what they say.
Sometimes this information comes out as random and useless information, picking up on it can help you read people better.
Meanwhile, another part of being a mentalist is learning how to spot untruths and tall tales. It particularly comes in handy when doing cold readings. Watch out for these signs that could mean a person is lying:
- Misaligned verbal and non-verbal messages (when people shake their heads while saying yes or vice-versa)
- A sudden change in their tone of voice or manner of speaking
- Restlessness or excessive fidgeting
#4: Put It Into Practice
All the knowledge in the world will remain just that — knowledge — until you try it out.
Like all things, it won’t be easy at first. Over time, however, it eventually becomes easier.
There will be days wherein you won’t want to practice, whether because you’ve gotten frustrated or you’re tired or busy. That’s normal — everyone has days like that. But if you only practice when you feel like it, you’ll have a difficult time progressing.
Consistency is crucial — having a routine or a schedule in place will do wonders for you. So keep on practicing until you get to the point where your performances become second nature.
#5: Turn It Into a Lifestyle
A successful mentalism performance is a myriad of skills and techniques woven together to form an unforgettable experience. Continually practicing your skills helps you avoid getting rusty and feeling off your game.
One way to prevent this from happening is to integrate your new skills into your everyday life. Yes, the things you learn about and practice are primarily for your performances, but it doesn’t mean you can’t use them anywhere else.
Several of the skills you use, such as observation skills, reading body language, and listening, are applicable in real life. Integrating these with your everyday routine helps make it second nature.
In Conclusion
Becoming a mentalist isn’t something that happens overnight. There’s no shortcut and no getting around the hard work.
You have to be passionate about mentalism to jump the hoops. And even when you’ve got a trick down, there will always be more things to learn — if you want to be a mentalist, learning truly never ends.
If things become difficult, don’t give up. Despite the hurdles you may encounter, when you pull off an effect and see the wonder in your audience’s eyes, you’ll realize that it’s all worth it.