What is a Mentalist?

A type of magician. Well, one that doesn’t do magic tricks or tricks of any kind, unless you count tricks of the mind (which is also the name of a very good TV show by Derren Brown that will demonstrate the kind of things a Mentalist and Hypnotist can do).

In my case I started as a magician many years ago and then moved towards mentalism as it felt more real, more interesting and I could entertain and connect with others in a way that magic can almost do but not quite. Magicians show you amazing things whereas mentalism is personal, unique to each person’s mind, sometimes people who take part in mentalism performances are the ones doing the magic, the mind reading, the impossible.

Both magicians and mentalists can be entertaining and well worth seeing. Depending on what you need them for you can see close-up magic as well as stage magic, strolling and parlour magic, you could also get close-up mind readers such as myself or mind readers that can perform on stage or to large groups (which I may also do in certain scenarios).

Now saying this next part may cost me some business but I want you to have the right type of entertainment for your event. If you plan on having a lot of loud noises from bands or DJs but want someone to perform up close, table hope or mix and mingle then I would recommend you find a close-up magician instead of a mind reader. They can dazzle and amaze without needing to have people hear them.

Mind readers, however, need to be heard. We reach in and pluck thoughts from minds which means we need to be able to talk to you to connect. This also means you will be getting a far more personal experience from a mind reader than a magician. But it means that if you would like an up-close performance with a mentalist for your guests, to fully engage them and have them leave remembering your event for the rest of their lives, then you will need somewhere for your mind reader to perform. Perhaps just in a separate part of the venue or outside if the weather is nice. Now if you would like a magician or mentalist to perform on stage, then no problem, the room becomes theirs and no one must fight to be heard or noticed.

There you have it, we mind readers are magicians, we perform and entertain. Mind readers are simply rarer, sometimes more personal and can appeal to a wide range of audience. After all, who doesn’t want to know what someone else is thinking?