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I ve got a routine with a one ahead routine, it's not written so the y have to tell me what they 're thinking "after that i worte something" well u understand...anyway i ll get 2 of 3 time busted with this. like " you re writing after i tell you", how do you guys misdirect or cover this ?

best regards.

If you're getting caught out then there's something wrong with the way that you're presenting this. You need to make the specs believe that you wrote down what you did before they said their answer. I admit that this isn't the strongest effect in the world but play it right and you shouldn't get caught out.

Make a point of asking the question, have them think of an answer and write down your answer and place that answer into open view BEFORE they say the answer.

Richard Osterlind has a lovely handling of this type of effect using just a spiral-bound notepad and no forces.

It's called Steno ESP, and can be found on Mind Mysteries Too vol 6, and his No Camera Tricks DVD set.

The audience don't write anything down, but Osterlind's handling does away with a lot of one-ahead suspicion.

Well worth a look IMO.

Pete

Here is what I would do, if I were to use this method, which I generally don't because it was initally shown to me by my Psychology lecturer xD


Please a peice of paper into an open evelope (with "7" on it), and make them name 1 of three shapes drawn on a board, then you can ask them to name a number from 1-10 and chances are they will say 7.

You obviously have to make the routine longer than this, but not SO long or impossible that it becomes obvious as that it must be a switch.

you are putting too much heat on the billets.
and your not leaving enough time between each stage.

Also, I forgot to add that my main point was this:

Predict something believable. If you predict that someone will say the number "89,930,462,304.7" it is obvious to everyone and their mother that you somehow switched the billets/prediction.

If however you limit their options, and make it much more believable, such as "Pick from one of these shapes, Triangle, Square or Circle" and you get it right, then its very easy to convince someone you are influencing their behavior. You can also predict such things as favourite pet and so on, but deliberately ask them NOT to pick rediculous things, such as annaconda.


Also, if they start looking for a method, their attention immediately turns to the envelope and the fact you placed the billets inside it one after the other, this leaves a window of oppotunity open for their mind to make them think that maybe that was your method, which ofcourse it was not.

Its also worth noting that for the final prediction, which I reccomend to be the "1 to 10" prediction, its worth swamiing on their answer, generally speaking I am not a fan of this, but doing it to a single digit is very easy, and it eliminates the possability of them thinking it was a 1 ahead routine.


Tom
xx

Predict something believable

no, ordinary people do the believable, and the ordinary.. we are magicians, so predict anything you like, but in a believable way.


offer a routine with a number of theoreticaly possible methods, and you're a winner.. Offer only one possible soulution.. and your a looser.

remember always that to an audience, an envelope is just an envelope.. a pencil is just a pencil, and a pack of playing cards is just a pack of playing cards.
Never mind the fact that you spent half an hour making a special envelope, or spent 50 quid on a gaffed deck.

Agreed, but what do you suggest as a prediction? I think predicting shapes, colours, single digit (maybe two digit) numbers are good, or possibly names of pets and stuff.

daleshrimpton wrote:you are putting too much heat on the billets.
and your not leaving enough time between each stage.

I think that might be the sound of a nail's head being flattened.

Timing is essential in these routines. You're not doing one miracle, you're doing three. Don't rush them - and don't panic about getting information on paper asap, as that'll give the whole game away.

Pete

Eshly wrote:Agreed, but what do you suggest as a prediction?

That completely depends on your routine

Eshly wrote:Agreed, but what do you suggest as a prediction? I think predicting shapes, colours, single digit (maybe two digit) numbers are good, or possibly names of pets and stuff.

i sugest anything.

the contents of a handbag, or pocket. The colour of the next 3 cars to pass you in the street, 3 bills taken from a wallet, each screwed up in to a ball.. the bills placed in a line on a table... you guess correctly the serial numbers...

Hand out 3 books.. have people open them up at random and see one word .. you write one at a time those words on an a4 pad.

at the end.. you show you knew the 3 words.. and all you will need for this is one forcing book, and 2 other books, which you probably already own.

I should say that as this is an open thread, Your not going to get much in the way of deep info.. Ive probably said too much as it is!

thx for all the advices, as for the routine i can't explain much more cuz it's a marketed effect, but it's a one spectator effect, so its even difficult, i ve seen the steno esp from Osterlind and he manage to do the effect with all the spectators so it can create a good misderection, as for me well...i ll try to work on the timing of the thing, or maybe a way to write soemthing on a gimmicked stuff that looks like i ve written it in the good order. ill search this way

I would suggest moving away from "random" questions (think of your grandmother's maiden name, something I couldn't possibly know; where you went on holidays 2 years ago, etcetera) simply because you run a serious risk of:
Performer - OK - I've written my prediction and put it in the envelope/glass/whatever - where did you go on holidays 2 years ago?
Spectator - YOU TELL ME, YOU'RE THE MIND READER (Big Guffaw)

I prefer to use something more visual, say for example
Performer - I have 3 dice here. You can roll one, two or all three and any number from 1-18 is possible. OK - I've written my prediction and put it in the envelope/glass/whatever
Spectator rolls dice and EVERYONE SEES RESULT (no room for smartass quips)
Performer - Ah, interesting......moves on to next visual item (tossing coin(s), how much change in pocket)

You don't want to give spectator chance to grandstand. As stated timing is important - you could perhaps try writing something, having second thoughts, tearing it up and writing something "else". Break the flow of seemingly getting info and immediately writing it down

predict something believable

I have been giving this approach some thought of late. There seem to be two main sort of schools- those who get everything 100% and those who purposley make slight errors. The latter seems more 'believable' to the theorist, but to someone who actually performs realises that this is not always the case- you can still be believable and have a high accuracy rate- it's just getting the balance right. Paul Daniels (I think it was him?) was saying in an interview somewhere that he was asked to predict the lottery- but he purposley got a few wrong and they immediatley said 'he can't do it'. For example Your point about switching- that by being accurate the method is revealed isn't always the case- when I first started out using billets I was afraid of getting it 100% because I thought they would think 'he must of looked at it'. I restrict my billet work in performances because a real mind reader wouldn't always need stuff to be written down, but equally a real mind reader wouldn't give it any thought and as long as what has been written apparently could not be known, it is clean. So, yes, by making a few errors it does enhance beliveability but making errors is not the only way, there are 10000 probably more ways of making it believable, but ultimatley you are trying to entertain and astound.
I used to make to many errors on purpose and looking back, it certainly made it less impressive.

On the subject of the one ahead system- the problem is that it that once you adopt the role of the mind reader, the spectators expect that they will think of a word and you will tell them- naturally when you inturupt that and say 'ok, what was the word'- the general response is 'you want me to tell you the word?' even if it is perfectly innocent. It naturally raises the idea that you are changing the prediction. I do a card routine with just thought of cards using the one ahead system which uses marked cards- because it appears as it would in real mind reading, despite the fact marked cards and the one ahead system are possibly the most exposed tricks, I have never been challenged. You just have to find a way in which you don't have to ask them what they wrote- or create an enviroment in which it is perfectly natural. I'm sure you could encorporate the one ahead system into an effect about a game of word association if you tried. That way it's perfectly acceptable to say the word- in fact integral to the game.[/quote]

Dirty Davey wrote:If you're getting caught out then there's something wrong with the way that you're presenting this. You need to make the specs believe that you wrote down what you did before they said their answer. I admit that this isn't the strongest effect in the world but play it right and you shouldn't get caught out.

Make a point of asking the question, have them think of an answer and write down your answer and place that answer into open view BEFORE they say the answer.

Actually this is a very strong routine. You just have to know how to present it. Jay Sankey has a great routine although he made it more complicated then necessary and it is not complicated at all.

Its a great 'impromptu effect' if you are getting caught its because of one of two reasons. One you are not doing it correctly. Two you are not presenting it properly. As said earlier timing is everything and its very important not to pay to much attention to the billets.