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The Art of the Mentalist
You will learn from this book the principal ways mentalist magicians operate. Each section contains explanations of mentalist tricks that you can try out yourself. Over one hundred tricks are explained.
Mentalist magic is a performing art that requires years of study, practice, dedication, and skill to perform well. Derren Brown is perhaps the best example of someone who uses mentalist techniques. He has honed his skills over many years, and his performances are a master class in mentalism. The tricks that you will learn in this book can be your first steps to becoming a mentalist, and they will enable you to start performing mentalist tricks.
Many of the tricks in this book are easy to learn and perform by inexperienced mentalists. If you are already a mentalist magician, you may discover some tricks in this book that are new to you. If you are a magician that performs other types of magic tricks, it's good to include some mentalist tricks in your act to add variety and interest. The tricks in this book are best performed to groups, but some can be done between the mentalist and one other person. You can make videos of yourself performing tricks and post them on social media sites like YouTube or Instagram to showcase your skills and build your audience.
Each trick in this book is a framework that you can adapt to your own style of presentation and personality. Feel free to create variations of these tricks to make them your own. The best mentalists tell stories to entertain the audience. Stage patter distracts or misleads the audience so that they fail to notice what the mentalist is doing and how they are being fooled. By telling a story, you can engage your audience and create a sense of wonder and amazement that will make your performance unforgettable.
In this book, the mentalist is referred to as either "he" or "you". Of course, the mentalist could be female, but the pronoun "he" is used for convenience, rather than excluding anyone of any gender and pronoun preference.
Use these tricks to amaze your audience by pretending to perform miracles and demonstrate your outstanding powers. Above all, have fun with them and enjoy the thrill of performing mentalism..
