talkmagic.co.uk

As a follow up to a review i did of a book on this topic:
http://talkmagic.co.uk/ftopic17372.php

I was wondering about the extent to which those skilled in the art of mentalism use body language, and in what areas.

As a relative newcomer to this side of things, I can see benefits in using body language in our presentation, in spectator selection and so on...

but to what extent can body language assist beyond that. for example, during a "performance", I would imagine "John Edward" would use body language to determine how "close" he is to a hit. I believe Derren Brown does the same in some of his effects. Anyone can "bend" a spoon, but the skillful use of body language as part of the presentation used by Uri Geller to "WILL" the spoon to bend "sold" it as a modern day miracle. These are simply observations from arm's length and I would be interested in some well informed opinions.

B0bbY_CaT wrote:As a follow up to a review i did of a book on this topic:
http://talkmagic.co.uk/ftopic17372.php

I was wondering about the extent to which those skilled in the art of mentalism use body language, and in what areas.

As a relative newcomer to this side of things, I can see benefits in using body language in our presentation, in spectator selection and so on...

but to what extent can body language assist beyond that. for example, during a "performance", I would imagine "John Edward" would use body language to determine how "close" he is to a hit. I believe Derren Brown does the same in some of his effects. Anyone can "bend" a spoon, but the skillful use of body language as part of the presentation used by Uri Geller to "WILL" the spoon to bend "sold" it as a modern day miracle. These are simply observations from arm's length and I would be interested in some well informed opinions.

I use observations of body language when I'm reading based on pretty much the same lines as Joe Riding describes in "Advanced Cold Reading", i.e simply to make sure I have the spectator's undivided attention. If I have, I know I'm scoring hits without needing any suspicious feedback.

Similarly, if I need the first concept to flash through a spec's mind, eye access cues will tell me if they've skipped beyond it and are constructing their own answer instead (I can then step through a probability chain and tell her the choices she's discarding). The details of direction and angle aren't important, but the movement and timing is.

More generally, in a crowd, the stances of each person will tell you who's eager to join in, who to leave to spectate, and who's a right sod. speaking of which, body language will also help you judge the depth of trance if you're into hypnosis and if you've got a faker on your hands.

very interesting... clearly the benefits of using BL reading go far beyond just which spec is the best to choose etc.

B0bbY_CaT wrote:very interesting... clearly the benefits of using BL reading go far beyond just which spec is the best to choose etc.

Absolutely. Reading their reactions to you interactively is a vital skill.