Mentalism
Read minds with paper, pens and psychology.
Learn mentalism as a beginner
Read minds with paper, pens and psychology. When it opens, this beginner course breaks mentalism into short Steps that each link the best free lessons online, with a small group who start when you do. It begins with three effects performed for friends and ends with a 15-minute mind-reading show.
The path
- 1
Level 1Free when it opens First Mind Reading
Three effects performed for friends
15 Steps, about 36 minutes each. Anyone who wants to amaze people with psychology and showmanship. No props or experience needed.
- Chapter 1: First effects. A number force, an honest frame for your performances, the one-ahead principle, the center tear and your first show.
- Chapter 2: Reading people. The magic square, a book test, cold reading as theater, a Barnum reading and muscle reading.
- Chapter 3: Your first set. Choose three effects, script them, rehearse on camera, prepare your outs, and perform for a group.
- 1Show your groupForce a numberPredict a 'freely chosen' number with a psychological force, three times out of five.
A psychological force uses the way people actually make "free" choices. When you ask someone to pick a number, a color or a shape quickly, their answers aren't random. Some choices are far more common than others, because of how numbers and words sit in our minds, and because people avoid answers that feel too obvious.
Mentalists use these patterns to predict choices more often than chance would allow. A well-delivered force hits often, but never always. That's why every mentalist pairs a psychological force with an out: something to do if it misses.
The detail beginners miss is delivery. Psychological forces work best when the spectator has little time to overthink. Speak quickly and casually, as if the instructions don't matter much. Hesitation gives people time to second-guess themselves into an unusual choice.
Here's the shape of a classic number force. You ask for a number with a few rules attached, rules that sound like they make the task harder but actually funnel people toward a handful of answers. Then you make a prediction beforehand, fold it, and set it aside where everyone can see it. When it hits, the reaction is strong, because the prediction was out of your hands the whole time.
Learn one force from the video word for word. Try it on five people. Count your hits, and treat misses calmly. They're part of the art.
- 2Frame it honestlyA one-sentence introduction that makes clear you're an entertainer, not a psychic.
- 3Learn the one-aheadA three-prediction effect using the one-ahead principle, done smoothly.
See all 15 Steps
- 4Learn the center tearA smooth center tear that lets you secretly read a word someone wrote.
- 5Show your groupDo your first showTwo effects (the number force and the center tear or one-ahead) performed for one or two people.
- 6Build a magic squareA 4x4 magic square built live for any number someone names between 35 and 100.
- 7
- 8Understand cold readingA written list of five cold reading techniques, and why they work.
- 9Write a Barnum readingA one-minute 'personality reading' built from Barnum statements, delivered as a game.
- 10Show your groupRead musclesFind an object someone hid by holding their wrist and following tiny movements.
- 11Choose your threeThree effects picked for your set, with an opener, a middle and a closer.
- 12Script itA full script for your set: the frame, patter for each effect, and the lines between them.
- 13Rehearse on cameraThree full run-throughs of your set filmed, with one fix after each.
- 14Prepare your outsA written plan for what you'll do if each effect goes wrong.
- 15Show your groupPerform your setYour full three-effect set performed for a group of three or more people.
- 2
Level 2Unlocks after Level 1 Your Routine
A 7-minute routine with a script
15 Steps, about 37 minutes each. People who finished Mentalism 1, or anyone who can already perform a force and a center tear.
- Chapter 1: New effects. Learn equivoque, the living and dead test, a psychological card force and drawing duplication, then try two on a friend.
- Chapter 2: Performance craft. Find your persona, handle volunteers, build a multi-person billet effect, take muscle reading further, and choose a theme.
- Chapter 3: The routine. Script, stage, rehearse and perform a 7-minute routine for a room.
- 1Show your groupSteer a choiceUse equivoque to make someone 'choose' one of four objects you predicted, three times.
Equivoque, also called magician's choice, is a way of steering a choice with words, so that whatever the spectator does, it leads to the outcome you've already predicted. Done well, it's invisible: the spectator believes they chose freely, and remembers it that way.
The secret is that you never say in advance what a choice will mean. You let them choose, then decide afterward whether their choice means "keep" or "remove".
Here's how it works with four objects on a table, say a coin, a key, a ring and a button, and a prediction of "key" folded in view. Ask them to push any two objects forward. If the key is among the two: "Good, we'll work with these two." Then: "Hand me one." If they hand you the key: "You chose the key." If they hand you the other: "So you kept the key." If the key isn't among the two: "OK, we'll set those two aside," leaving the key and one other, and repeat "hand me one" from there.
The detail beginners miss is confidence at the branch point. If you pause before saying "we'll use these" or "we'll set those aside", the spectator senses something. Practice every branch until your response is instant and sounds like it was always the plan.
Use phrases like "push forward" or "hand me" rather than "pick" or "choose", which commit you to a meaning too early.
- 2Learn living and deadIdentify the one name of a person who has died among several living names, by method alone.
- 3Force a cardPredict a card the spectator 'cuts to', using the cross-cut force, three times.
See all 15 Steps
- 4
- 5Show your groupTry a mini-setTwo new effects performed for one or two people, with your honest frame.
- 6Find your personaA one-paragraph description of who you are on stage, built from something true about you.
- 7Choose and guide volunteersA written plan for picking, instructing and thanking volunteers, practiced with a friend.
- 8Read several mindsA billet routine that reveals thoughts from three people in a row, using one-ahead.
- 9Push muscle reading furtherFind a person or object someone chose from across a room, guided only by touch.
- 10Show your groupChoose a themeA routine outline: theme, persona, four effects in order, and how each connects.
- 11Script the routineA full 7-minute script, in your persona's voice, with every word of patter.
- 12Stage it for a roomA staging plan: where you stand, where volunteers go, and what everyone can see.
- 13Dress rehearse itThree full run-throughs on camera, with volunteers (real or imagined), done without notes.
- 14Prepare every outAn out for every effect, and a plan for hecklers, failures and running long.
- 15Show your groupPerform the routineYour 7-minute routine performed for five or more people.
Where it ends: a 15-minute mind-reading show
Questions about learning mentalism
How long does it take to learn mentalism?
Level 1 is 15 Steps of about 36 minutes each, around 9 hours in all, split into 3 chapters. Go at your own speed: one Step a day, or a whole chapter in a sitting.
What do I need to start mentalism?
You'll need paper and pens, any book and your phone. There's nothing you have to buy to start.
Can a complete beginner learn mentalism?
Anyone who wants to amaze people with psychology and showmanship. No props or experience needed.
What will I have made by the end of Level 1?
Three mind-reading effects, scripted and performed for a small group.
Is this mentalism course free?
Yes. Level 1 of every hobby on Eras is free, and every Step links free lessons from great teachers online. Eras Plus is an optional subscription that opens the levels after it.
Free lessons in First Mind Reading come from ULearnMagic, Harry Houdini (Project Gutenberg), Wikipedia, Craig Petty's Magic TV, The Hobbyist, Drummond Money-Coutts, Wolfram MathWorld, Observe, The Skeptic's Dictionary, David Dellman, Chris Ramsay, Oz Pearlman (TED), Reid Ferry, Kevin Klawitter. We link to their work and never copy it.