talkmagic.co.uk

Hello everyone, I’m Tomo and I’m not sure I’m in the right place. I’m probably a skilled hobbyist, but not in a traditional sense.

I can’t do magic tricks, just like I can’t tell jokes. Instead, I have a reasonable framework of conversational techniques (from NLP to my own, as yet unnamed, stuff) for inflicting subtle mental changes on subjects. I find it easier to palm a suggestion than a card, frankly.

In what passes for an act, I simply attempt psychological experiments. I do body language gags, mind control (phone number off any girl/boy in a bar, etc.), instant induction (hand stuck, what’s your name, laugh on cue, etc.), spot the lie, free choice but same coin again, that sort of thing.

Yes, a cheap power trip, in other words!

Touch wood, though, even ardent cynics realise they have to stop trying to tell everyone how it’s all done and have to concentrate on what I’m saying when the “trick” is the words.

And once you have someone concentrating intently on whatever you tell them …

Hello and welcome.

HEllo and welcome to TM

Hi Tomo, welcome to TM, there are some discussions on NLP which might interest you here.

The lay don't know the difference between this sort of psychology and gimmicked mentalism, just look at Derren Brown, most laymen actually believe all of what he does is this sort of thing. I think this is definitely the right place, it is a friendly forum where people reply really quickly to problems. In terms of what you do, I think the performance is important, not the method, even a coincedence presented magically deserves credit, I have virtually no experience in mentalism or psychological performance but am very envious of those who do. I also think it's a great area to create an impressive character in, again Derren Brown springs to mind. If you havn't already, Derren Brown's Pure Effect is worth a read and could maybe help you bring some more magical effects to your act. After all, audience management and creating a big reaction is a big part of magic and it sounds like you have the skills for both of these.

Welcome Tomo. I like psychological subtleties too. I studied Psychology at Uni and have always been interested in the way the mind can be manipulated under many different conditions.

I hope you enjoy your time here, as prev mentioned, genuine problems get answered quickly, proficiently and politley. Any requests for secrets results in an amusing thread but no answers!!!

Hello there again, all.

Nairolf: Cheers. I've done a search for NLP on the board and there are some interesting discussions going on.

Jordan: I'm afraid I'm completely self taught in psychology, so I have a fairly patchy and ecclectic understanding. My original interest was in how best to put a message across, but I soon discovered that every scrap of communication influences the receiver. I suppose it's applied psychology, really.

Ben&Ben: I agree that it's the effect not the cause that's important. In fact, I don't think someone should feel guilt if they tell people they're using psychological techniques but are actually going down a more traditional route.

Everyone else: Thanks for the welcome. Now I've had a look round, I think I may be in the right place.

WElcome to TM