Hey that questions works a treat!

I also hate it when people ask a question and then say Yes at the end with a rising inflection.

Maybe I need some anger management.
Though I seem to manage to get angry without much problem


Steve

Here's another that mentalists seem to use a lot: "For the first time..."

E.g. "For the first time, name the card you are thinking of."

But that's not as bad as, "Let's take it a stage further..."

I wouldn't use, "would you be impressed?" which only elicits a yes or no response. I would use a presupposition like Kenton teaches in wonder words. "How impressed would you be if I could _____?" When using this structure, you can basically elicit any emotion you want. I personally wouldn't want someone to be just impressed like StuartNolan was referring to. Instead maybe something like; "How speechless would you become if I could name your thought of word?" "How upset would you be if I was able to tell you your deceased grandmothers name?" "How excited would you be if I was able to turn your one dollar bill into a hundred dollar bill?" etc..

Monkeypuzzletree, I'm not sure who first started to say that, but yes you're right, that is a phrase we hear a lot in our field. But there is a very good reason to use that phrase. It is used quite frequently, as double speak when pulling off some of that dunninger business and other various things. It also reassures people that it is indeed the first time they are saying their thought or choice, for skeptics who might thing that the performer somehow got the information prior to the show. Which in some cases they do.

I agree that it's generally a really poor piece of scripting. What's more, it has now become a cliche, so it's a really LAZY poor piece of scripting. If you can't write your patter, 'borrowing' someone else's isn't going to do you much good.

I kinda' agree with what's been said but it DOES depend on who is using these words and how they use them.
Also the whole thing changes ever so slightly when you change the 'I' to 'someone'. ie: "Would you be impressed if someone could ask you to merely think of a word and suddenly they touch you on the forehead and blurt out the word you're thinking of? It's kinda like... they... somehow... 'felt' it, from within your brain!"
I think that works.

Now that is aperfect way to say it.

Thank you for that


Steve

A much better apparoach is to say things like "You are going to freak out!" or "You are going to remember this for the rest of your life!" instead of asking what, in my opinion, are lame questions.

I told a young (late 20s) woman "This is so amazing you'll want to tell your grandchildren about it." and she looked a bit put out and said "I don't have any grandchildren." which I thought was deliriously funny but no-one else did.

Phill

"Oh! Well you're gonna have 3... two girls and a boy."

"Would you be impressed?"

I see nothing wrong in this question as long as they see nothing wrong in my answer to them, should they happen to ask me!

"NO!" (That would be my answer!)

I'm impressed by this thread lasting five years.

:eek: Tread carefully on that ground!!

Gotcha! In the end we got you!

Doh!

Dah!