Applying Mentalism’s techniques into the performative arts gives you Mentalism magic – one of the most superb and awe-inspiring of all. Since the techniques themselves already make Mentalism seem like an impossible, supernatural trick, it flows smoothly and effortlessly into the magical realm, creating fantastically whimsical and reality-defying performances.
Now, the key to acing Mentalism magic is to successfully translating the art’s knowledge into stunningly potent tricks, and that’s what we’re gonna take a look at today.
Make sure to keep an eye out for how the tricks use the essentials of Mentalism – sleight of hand, psychology, suggestion and misdirection, body language and theatrics.
While they all use one particular pillar or a combination of some, some truly excellent Mentalists though like Derren Brown actually form their tricks with a much stronger basis on the psychology and suggestion/misdirection part of the art instead of sleight of hands which is very impressive to see. If you want tricks that are more inclined to this area, be sure to read the main mentalism tricks article!
Also, keep in mind that these magic tricks usually use a lot more props and gimmicks than their more classic and more heavily psychology-based counterpart, although the items are very easy to find around the house.
Now let’s begin!
These are some of the best mentalism magic tricks I’ve seen. Watching them will give you a great idea of how mentalism magic works and how you can do it yourself. They are superbly well performed and have an astonishing effect as well, enjoy!
I’ve shown this one in the other article already but I’ve gotta admit it – I love it. Yes it’s gimmicky, yes it’s a low-effort deception but the effect and effectiveness are both so darn potent for the work you put in that I can’t help but feature it. Brilliant theatrics by Jay Sankey as well – keep an eye out for his performance which is 90% of what makes this mentalism magic trick so good.
Simply put, you ask for your audience to write a word – any word – on a piece of paper. You then hold it face-down in a manner that’s impossible to read but the trick here is that you have a “shiner” (a reflective surface or item) below, allowing you to read the word that your target wrote by using the reflection. Mix some acting into it and boom, you’ve got a mind-blower that anyone can easily perform.
Although I’ll tell you straight up that I can’t say for sure how Lior did these (although I could give my best guess), they’re a perfect example of mentalism magic tricks. They don’t rely on body language reading or psychology but on theatrics, sleight of hand and misdirection/suggestion, making it a great trick to show you.
Leaning more into the misdirection side of the art, this classic mentalism magic trick is sure to impress. Best of all, it’s super easy to learn and perform well. While it’s very, very basic and not that hard to figure out (the initial force puts you 1 step ahead, allowing you to write your target’s answers as predictions, as you’ll see in the video), if you put some great theatrics and creativity to it, you’ll be able to get some pretty great results. Chris Ramsay made a solid video on it, complete with a full explanation so have a look:
Want to learn more about mentalism magic? Get to know exclusive tricks, see the secrets revealed and get the tools you need to become a pro by reading the guide below:
Conclusion
And there you have it – one excellent mentalism magic trick for each level of expertise – beginner, advanced and expert. The true lesson to take out of this is that even the simplest, most basic tricks can turn into mind blowing show-stoppers if performed in a convincing, creative and charming way. Put your heart and soul into it and you’re guaranteed to succeed.
Thanks for reading and have fun!
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