This is a question for all you mental magicians out there in Penguin Town: What do you tell your spectators if they come up to you after a show and ask you "so, was it all real?".

I'm not talking about them asking about specific effects, like I had a spectator ask me if Oddball was a fix, but about the routine as a whole. Obviously the presentation you use will be important to your answer so a brief explanation if needed please.

This has all come about because I just finished watching all of Get Nyman (finally) and it comes up in the interview with him on the third disc.

My answer to the question is "no". Simple as that. I don't tell how I do anything that I do in my routine, but I do make it clear that I'm a magician not a psychic. I tear it all down for them and make sure that I'm in no way thought of as being paranormal afterwards. When I perform I really try to encourage that question mark over everything that I do; I tell them from the offset that I'm not psychic and everything I do I do through magic and psychology, but then go ahead and apparently read minds and predict the future. I love the realism of mentalism, and I present it as such. It's direct, it's disarming, and hopefully it's entertaining, but at all times it's aiming for a suspension of disbelief whilst never becoming real. I want people to walk away questioning just how much of it was real and how much of it was magic/what I said it was. That is of course unless they ask me, in which case I tell them the truth.

Discuss.

32

I will never tell people that I'm psychic. If someone does ask, I do tell them that I'm not. However, I try to make it clear before I even perform, that I'm just using my five known senses to create the illusion of a sixth.

For the most part, I don't do many full Mentalism shows right now though. I would like to, but it's just not happening right now. I'm focusing mainly on the comedy aspect. But I do add a couple pieces throughout the show. Which people understand is still just magic.

a friend of mine (who is a pro magician) told me that every time he does a mentalism show people always go to him after the show is over and ask him if theyll ever find love and if he can ask their dead grandma where she hide the jewlery and stuff like that... he told me that he tells that he doesnt posses super powers and hes only using psychology and stuff like that but they never listen to him

QFE

I say that I don't have psychic powers, but I do have extraordinary abilities that other do not.

I like to say that I'm using the same techniques as fake psychics and scam artists use, I'm just using them for entertainment and mystery, not to swindle people.

I say NO. If I had psychic powers I wouldn't be spending time entertaing you.

I never actuaually say I have Psycic powers. (which I don't.) I explain a common and Mostly true theory that there aren't just special people born with a talent of psychic intuition.

But I do say that "EVERYONE has a certain amout of untapped mind power and it's just a matter of discovering it. I also explain that I only use 'this' kind of 'mind power' for entertainment purposes only, therefore not harming anyone."

At that point if they are completley induldged I explain that there ARE fakes and they need to protect themselves... At that point they think I DO have a special "talent" but if you notice the subtleties I never said "I am Special Because I'm psychic!"( as an over exagerated example)