How to learn mentalism?

What is mentalism? Definition

Mentalism is a form of entertainment directly borrowed from the art of illusionism (also known as mental magic). Through various techniques that can combine sleight of hand, psychological tricks, and other methods, the mentalist manages to create the illusion of a power that allows them to play with the minds of their audience.

Among the possible effects, we can mention:

• Prediction effects: The magician manages to announce an event before it happens. Everything seemed planned from the beginning. This type of effect is also related to "influence" effects where the magician claims to be able to influence a spectator's decisions without them realizing it.
  Example: a paper is placed on the table by the magician before the experiment begins. A deck of cards is shuffled, then a card is chosen by the spectator. The paper is turned over: the name of a card is written on it: the chosen card.
• Mind reading effects: Without the spectator saying a word, the magician is able to guess what they are thinking.
  Example: the spectator is invited to freely think of a person they know and not to reveal their name to the magician. The latter concentrates, and after a few moments, is able to reveal the name of the person thought of.
• Thought transmission: Performed with a second person assisting the magician, the duo manages to exchange information "by thought" in front of the audience, without a single word being spoken.
  Example: a woman is on stage, blindfolded, and the magician walks through the rows taking personal items from the spectators without saying a word. While he is silent and holding the object in his hands, concentrating, the woman is able to precisely describe the object held without ever seeing it with her own eyes.
• Telekinesis: This moves away from "pure" mentalism, but it remains in the branch of mental magic. It involves moving objects or having an effect on them by the sole force of thought.
  Example: a fork is presented to the spectators and held by the magician at his fingertips. The magician concentrates, and little by little the tines of the fork begin to bend on their own. The bent fork is given for examination. This is the kind of illusion Uri Geller, among others, used to present.
• Hypermnesia: where the magician gives the illusion of having memorized an incredible amount of information. This can be a large phone number, or calendar-based experiments (such as finding out which day of the week a randomly given date falls on, or finding the date of Easter Monday for a given year, etc.).
  Example: a phone book is brought on stage, and the magician asks a spectator to open it to any page they wish and give him one of the names present. Instantly, the magician can recall the person's address and phone number from memory.
• Q&A (Question and Answer): where the audience is invited to write questions on pieces of paper which are mixed together and given to the magician. The latter is able to not only tell who each paper belongs to, but also to find the question asked without ever having read it, and to answer it with great precision.
  Example: spectators are invited to place papers in a transparent urn, papers on which a question has been asked. The magician places a randomly drawn paper against his forehead as if to absorb it and manages to find the question written without having seen it. He manages to answer it with disturbing details, while pointing out the spectator who asked the question.

The practice of this discipline has seen a resurgence of interest in recent years, so much so that mentalism shows are particularly popular today. Series like Mentalist or Lie to me have popularized this art, although the aspects addressed in these television programs are very rarely in line with reality.

Mentalists of our time

While an exhaustive list of current mentalists seems futile, as there are so many and such a list could only be subjective, some names do regularly stand out. We thought it interesting to mention them here.

Among the well-known current mentalists, we can mention Fabien Olicard, who in addition to offering mentalism shows has a YouTube channel where he shares behind-the-scenes footage of his tours and tips on this artistic discipline. Another French mentalist is Viktor Vincent, who performs on stage in a characteristic Victorian atmosphere and gives a significant place to storytelling. Finally, more recently, Charlie Haid has presented a series of successful shows. It should be noted that he won the show "Loup Garou" (Werewolf), which increased his popularity.

If we move away from France, we can also mention the names of Derren Brown, Gary Kurtz, and many others. In fact, many magicians present mental magic effects in their shows, without necessarily proclaiming themselves "mentalists."

For mentalists who have passed away and are still remembered, we can cite: Max Maven, Tony Corinda (to whom we owe Thirteen Steps to Mentalism), Myr and Myroska (and their incredible thought transmission act), Dunninger, Alexander and many others.

For example, discover below the act with which Myr and Myroska built their careers, a magnificent example of thought transmission:

How to become a mentalist?

Like any artistic practice, becoming a mentalist requires work, a certain sense of showmanship, and good magic skills. Knowledge of psychology, non-verbal communication, and even memory will be assets to get you started in this branch of magic.

Before being a "mentalist," the artist is first and foremost a magician, who puts their art at the service of a very specific branch of prestidigitation. They thus divert basic techniques to present them from the angle of mental magic. In mentalism, the magical effect often comes from what is said; there are very few visual elements. Visual tricks are generally more in the realm of pure magic. This characteristic requires the mentalist to be primarily comfortable speaking, and comfortable telling stories, to immerse the audience in a universe of their own creation.

Thus, a mentalist being primarily a magician, it is advisable to first learn about magic in general, and master the basic technical skills of this art before fully turning to mentalism. This will give you a strong foundation and allow you to approach mental magic with ease. We can only advise you to read this article which details step-by-step the process to become a magician.

What books to start with?

To learn mentalism techniques, several resources exist, starting for example with books on the subject.

The Power of Mentalism – Léo Brière

This book describes several techniques for beginners in mentalism. You will see some examples of optical illusions, chapters on how the brain works, tips for fast mental calculation and, of course, the mentalist's secrets for performing real mental magic experiments. Léo Brière also describes memorization methods such as the memory palace, which allows you to retain a large amount of information, such as a list of phone numbers. Finally, you will find descriptions of mentalism tricks that use, for example, NLP (Neuro-Linguistic Programming), or how to create tricks with predictions, or even magic squares. In summary, a good introductory book with some secrets that will allow you to achieve

Léo Brière won the title of French magic champion in 2019 and then a Golden Mandrake in 2021. He is currently touring with his show Existences.

The Thirteen Steps to Mentalism – Tony Corinda

The curious and experienced reader who wishes to know more can then turn to Tony Corinda's book The Thirteen Steps to Mentalism, which is still a true bible on this subject. The explanations may seem somewhat arduous, but the described content is invaluable. This book is not for beginners, but rather for the enlightened amateur who wishes to deepen their knowledge. In this work, Tony Corinda details all the basic techniques of mentalism with precision:

Chapter 1: An entire chapter dedicated to the nailwriter, its use, the different models that exist, and associated techniques. Tricks using the nailwriter are also described.

Chapter 2: A very interesting chapter on interpreting pencil movements and sounds, lip reading, and Cumberlandism.

Chapter 3: Mental calculation experiments, mnemonics, perpetual calendar, magic squares, and other mathematical curiosities.

Chapter 4: A chapter dedicated to predictions, envelopes, and forces.

Chapter 5: A chapter with automatic tricks.

Chapter 6: A chapter on papers, as well as a classic and devastatingly effective technique, the center tear.

Chapter 7: Experiments with books, including book tests or experiments with a phone book.

Chapter 8: A chapter on simulated spiritualism and the experiments that can be done with it, especially with slates.

Chapter 9: A chapter on mentalism tricks with cards.

Chapter 10: Thought transmission, synchronicity experiments, and examples of codes.

Chapter 11: Details on clairvoyance experiments and cold reading.

Chapter 12: How to handle advertising in the world of magic and get hired. Some ideas about marketing.

Chapter 13: How to improve an act, how to choose the effects that are presented, and other more theoretical aspects.

As you can see, this book lives up to its title as the Bible of Mentalism due to its comprehensiveness. However, the content remains for an already informed audience.

The Power of Magical Storytelling – Claude de Piante

Regarding narration and how to tell a story, we can only recommend Claude de Piante's book, The Power of Magical Storytelling, which is a summary of the training he gives with his company Le Scarabée jaune. This book will give you the keys to create a character, an atmosphere, and make your magic tricks believable.

Mentalist groups

Just as there are magic groups, some mentalists meet to share their latest techniques and ideas on this branch of magic. Of course, you can meet mentalists at magic conventions (like FFAP, Blackpool, etc.), but some events are specially created to bring together only mentalism enthusiasts. Among them, let's mention the OEDM (Ordre Européen Des Mentalistes - European Order of Mentalists) which is certainly one of the best known. This annual meeting can undoubtedly help you connect with your colleagues.

Some companies also specialize in mentalism, such as Mindbox, which regularly publishes books and tricks on this branch of magic.

Which tricks to start with?

Constellations – Thibault Ternon

There are a great number of tricks, each with its advantages and disadvantages. We can tell you about those we develop at the Cabinet d'Illusions, including Constellations, a simple yet so powerful tool! This magic trick allows you to guess the spectator's astrological sign without complicated manipulation or anything to remember. Just a devilish method that will allow you, with a good story, to perform a particularly powerful mentalism effect, accessible to both beginners and professionals.

Discover Constellations

The Keys to Magic – Prescience

The Magic Dream team has published a whole series of magic tricks for beginners under the name Les clefs de la magie (The Keys to Magic). Each kit contains a trick that is explained, with all the necessary equipment to perform it immediately. Among the available kits, the one titled Prescience is a particularly simple mentalism effect to perform and has a superb impact on the audience. The magician presents a deck of cards and explains that he has written a different number from 1 to 52 on the back of each card. We leave you with the unboxing video of this trick just below and the link to get it directly from Magic Dream:

Bonus: we'll explain a mentalism trick to you!

Effect

You've reached the bottom of this page, which proves your determination and interest in mentalism! To congratulate you, we're going to reveal a trick you can immediately try at home to impress your friends. Imagine: you present a sheet with five different symbols and ask the spectator to draw one of these symbols on a separate sheet. You must not see the drawing being made. When the spectator has finished, without ever looking at the paper in their hands, you will be able to guess the symbol in question. An incredible mentalism trick, which we will now explain!

Explanation

The five symbols above that you will draw are called ESP symbols or Zener cards. Invented in the 1930s by Karl Zener, they were designed to study parapsychological phenomena. But more than their history, these cards hide a secret. You will ask the spectator to freely choose one of these symbols and draw it on a sheet of paper. You turn your back during this time so you don't see anything... but you do hear! Indeed, if you pay attention, each symbol is drawn with a different number of pen strokes: the circle is drawn with one stroke, the cross with two, the waves with three, the square with four, and the star with many more. From there, all you have to do is pay attention during the drawing and listen carefully to know the number of strokes made. Thanks to this number, it will be easy for you to guess the drawn symbol without ever having seen it... incredible, right?

Bibliography

Here are some books on mentalism that may interest the reader:

• Tony Corinda, The Thirteen Steps to Mentalism.
• Léo Brière, La puissance du mentalisme
• Derren Brown, Notes from a fellow traveller
• Viktor Vincent, Les secrets de mentaliste
• Robert Cassidy, L’art du mentalsime vol. 1 et vol. 2
• Pierre Taillefer and Fanch Guillemin, Mentalistes de jadis