What is a mentalist, and what do they actually do?

A mentalist is a performer who appears to read minds, predict what you'll choose and nudge your decisions. There's nothing supernatural about it. It runs on psychology, close observation, a lot of rehearsal and some old-fashioned trickery. A good mentalist makes it look impossible and then tells you, more or less, that it isn't.

That last part is what separates us from psychics. My show is called The Good Liar for a reason.

What a mentalist does on stage

Most mentalism falls into a handful of effects:

• Mind reading. Knowing a word you're thinking of, a name from your past, the card you only imagined.

• Prediction. Writing something down before the show and sealing it, then having it match what the audience freely decides an hour later.

• Influence. Getting a room full of people to make the same "random" choice without realizing they were steered.

• Telepathy. Two people seem to swap a thought without saying a word.

• Psychokinesis. Bending metal or moving objects with, apparently, nothing but concentration.

A magician makes a coin vanish, and you're amazed at their hands. When a mentalist tells you the name of your first pet, you're amazed at yourself, because the trick seems to happen inside your own head. That's why mentalism hits differently. It's personal.

How do mentalists do it?

I'm not going to explain specific methods. Magicians who expose them tend not to get invited back to anything. The general toolkit is no secret, though.

• Reading people. Posture, hesitation, where your eyes go when you lie. Most of us give away more than we think.

• Psychological forcing. Some choices feel free and aren't. Ask people to think of a tool and a color, and a surprising number land on the same answer. The red hammer trick is the classic example, and you can try it on your friends tonight.

• Cold reading. Statements that feel specific to you but would fit most people in the room. Psychics use this too. The difference is that we admit it.

• Memory work and math. Some effects rest on systems that take years to learn and seconds to perform.

• Trickery. Sometimes it's just a method, and the psychology is how it gets sold to you.

Most good routines layer several of these, so figuring out one doesn't give you the answer.

Mentalist vs. psychic vs. medium vs. magician

People mix these up all the time, and some performers are happy to let them. Here's how they compare.

	What they say they do	Where they say it comes from	Is it a performance?	Where you'll find them
Mentalist	Read minds, predict choices, influence decisions	Psychology, observation and trickery	Yes, and a good one says so	Theaters, private events, corporate gigs
Psychic	Know things about you, your past or your future	A sixth sense or a spiritual gift	Presented as real. No scientific evidence supports it	Storefront readings, phone lines, TV
Medium	Pass on messages from people who have died	Contact with the spirit world	Presented as real. No scientific evidence supports it	Private readings, church halls, arena tours
Magician	Make objects appear, vanish or change	Sleight of hand and skill	Yes	Stages, parties, close-up at your table
Illusionist	Large visual effects like levitation and vanishing people	Engineering and misdirection	Yes	Las Vegas residencies, TV specials
Hypnotist	Put people into a focused, suggestible state	Suggestion and attention	Stage hypnosis is a show. Clinical hypnosis is a therapy tool	Comedy clubs, fairs, therapists' offices

The line between mentalist and psychic is the one that matters. We use a lot of the same techniques. The psychic tells you the ability is real. The mentalist tells you it's a performance and then does something that makes you doubt that. Some performers have blurred the line on purpose, most famously Uri Geller, who spent decades insisting the spoons bent by themselves. I'd rather you leave knowing you were fooled, and enjoying it.

Where the word comes from

"Mentalist" comes from "mental," as in the mind. Performers were using it on stage by the early 20th century, when mind-reading acts toured vaudeville alongside jugglers and dog acts. If you want the full story, from Victorian séance rooms to modern theaters, I wrote it up in where mentalism came from.

Most people now know the word from The Mentalist, the CBS show that ran from 2008 to 2015. Simon Baker plays Patrick Jane, a former fake psychic who uses his cold-reading skills to help the California Bureau of Investigation (the CBI) solve murders. The show gets the observation part roughly right. Real mentalists solve considerably fewer murders.

What a mentalist show is like

A mentalism show is more intimate than a magic show. Most of what happens depends on the audience: what you're thinking, what you choose, what you'd rather I didn't know. You don't need a good view of my hands. You need to be in the room.

The Good Liar is my show in Washington DC. It plays the Capital Hilton and Hotel Zena, and it's built for adults who like a puzzle, a laugh, and the feeling of being outsmarted in a nice way. If you're looking for a mentalist in Washington DC, that's me, and you can see upcoming dates and get tickets here.

For private parties and company events, see booking details.

FAQ

Is mentalism real?

The effects are real, in that they really happen in front of you. The powers aren't. Mentalists create the experience of mind reading with psychology, skill and trickery. No mentalist can actually read your thoughts, and an honest one won't claim to.

Is a mentalist the same as a psychic?

No. A psychic says their abilities are real and supernatural. A mentalist is an entertainer who presents similar-looking feats as a performance. The techniques overlap a lot. The honesty about them doesn't.

What's the difference between a mentalist and a magician?

Mentalism is a branch of magic, but it's aimed at the mind rather than objects. A magician makes a card vanish. A mentalist tells you which card you were only thinking about. Magicians mostly perform for you, and mentalists mostly perform with you.

Can a mentalist read your mind?

Not literally. A mentalist is very good at reading what you give away, such as body language, word choice and hesitation, and at steering choices without you noticing. Put together with some trickery, that's enough to feel like mind reading, which is the point.

Do mentalists use hypnosis?

Some do, but most don't. Hypnosis is its own discipline. Mentalists use suggestion and influence, which overlap with hypnosis, but you won't be clucking like a chicken at my show.

Is The Mentalist TV show based on real mentalists?

Loosely. Patrick Jane uses real techniques like observation and cold reading. Where the show stretches it is how reliably those skills catch killers.

How do mentalists guess what you're thinking?

A mix of forcing your choice without you noticing, reading your reactions as you go, and methods that stay secret. Often you've been steered toward the answer long before you're asked for it.

Can anyone learn mentalism?

Yes. The basics are simple, and a few tricks work well on friends almost straight away. Start with three easy mentalism tricks, then work through the mentalism books I recommend. Getting good takes years. Getting good enough to unsettle your family at Thanksgiving takes an afternoon.

Where can I see a mentalist in Washington DC?

The Good Liar runs regularly at the Capital Hilton and Hotel Zena. Check dates and get tickets.