About Face
A unique plot with an old method
A random spectator is asked to assist with a demonstration in intuition and identity. The Mentalist writes something down on a piece of blank card and seals it in an envelope.
The spectator is asked to visualize a person in their mind and then give that person a name. After the spectator says the name, the Mentalist hands the envelope to the volunteer instructing her to remove the card. The card is removed and the name written across the card is the same as the
imagined person’s name.
end
-Explanation
This effect utilizes the same graphite paper-lined envelope as described in the previous effect “Poolside Prediction”
and a stylus nail writer also previously described. At the moment when the spectator says the name, you quickly recap what just took place. This misdirection allows you plenty of time to nail write the name through the envelope and onto the card. Let’s talk about the details of this
process.
The stylus writer is finger palmed by the pinky and ring
finger of your writing hand. By holding a pencil in the writing position, your ringer and pinky fingers will naturally curl over the stylus thus concealing the device. The position of the writer is important here because you need to be able to quickly attach it to your thumb with minimal movement after the pencil is put away.
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In your opposite hand you hold the envelope and a blank piece of card stock paper cut to size resting on top of it.
The card should be resting on the smooth side of the envelope.
Approach a spectator (We’ll call her Mandy):
You: “Would you mind assisting me?”
Mandy: “Sure.”
You: “What is your name?”
Mandy: “Mandy.”
You: “Pleasure to meet you, Mandy. My name is ____.
Now, Mandy, do you consider yourself to be an intuitive person?”
Mandy: “I guess.”
You: “Well let me ask you this: Have you ever met someone for the very first time and upon finding out that person’s name, you kind of notice how perfectly their name matches their character? It’s almost as if no other name would suit them at all. For instance, now that I know your name is Mandy, I could not imagine you being called Stephanie or Diane.”
Mandy: “Yeah.”
You: “Well, we’re going to try something along those
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lines. I’m going to write down the name of a friend of mine and I will describe this person’s characteristics to you. Upon doing so, you are going to imagine what this person looks like and, based on that mental image, you’re going to use your intuition to put a name to this person’s face. Does that make sense?”
Mandy: “Yes.”
You: “Good. Here we go.”
Begin to write down the name on the paper, but abruptly stop and look up at your volunteer.
You: “No peeking! Please look right at me.”
Gesture to your eyes as you say this and lock eyes with the participant as you act to write on the paper, but leave it blank. This justifies your not-so-neat handwriting because you were not looking as you wrote it. I also like to look down at the paper and say this line with a slight smirk on my face:
You: “I hope you can read that!”
Now you will put the card in the envelope, lick it and seal it closed. Reach down and pocket or table the pencil as you slip on your stylus writer. This action should be quick and smooth as the hand comes up to retrieve the envelope from the other hand.
I now begin to describe someone I know. I begin with their gender (I usually use males as the names are more easily shortened.) and then move on to this person’s general
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characteristics, but not their appearance. Of course, you could make this all up, but I find that using someone that I know makes it much easier to describe then trying to come up with something on the fly.
After describing the characteristics of the target person you continue with the following:
You: “You should now that you have a picture of this person in your mind. What name do think would suite him?”
Mandy: “Uh…William?”
You: “William. (Pause for a beat and smile) That just feels right to you?”
Mandy: “I think so.”
You: “What does William look like to you?”
As the participant responds to the last line, I write the name
“Bill” on the “hot-side” of the envelope using the stylus. I have plenty of time to do this as the participant is
misdirecting themselves with their own words.
Reach into your pocket using the hand not holding the envelope and remove a letter opener. I use a small key-chain size opener found in most office supply stores. I cut open the envelope and hand the envelope to the volunteer
“hot-side” down and I ask them to reach in and remove the card and leave it writing-side down for the time being.
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Since they are now holding the opened envelope and the slip of paper, you now graciously take the opened envelope off their hands and you discard the envelope into one of your pockets along with the opener. The gimmick is now gone under the guise of you helping out the spectator by discarding the “trash”!
All that’s left now is to have the spectator turn over of the card to reveal the name. Even though they said “William”, they will still be amazed that the name “Bill” (short for
William) is written on the card. To me, this also adds a bit of realism to the overall routine.
Additional Information
Why the letter opener? On the “hot-side” of the envelope you just secretly wrote on, there will be a light impression of your writing. The opener also helps to camouflage the
gimmick in the envelope by roughing up the top edge where it is opened. This really makes the gimmick virtually
invisible.
Also, the use of the envelope is not necessary, but I feel that it adds a nice layer of deception. You could easily do this routine with a bit of card or paper and your trusty nail-writer and I’m sure you’ll get really good reactions. It’s not the materials that makes this routine different, it’s the plot.
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