Cold reading....................

Decomposed

I should have included in my post above re: my three-phase book test that it is my routine, but I have borrowed methods from Maven and Hoy to accomplish the triple revelation.

Bobby

There have been plenty of great suggestions, but I'd like to add a magic effect to the list. Morgan Strebler's Taste Conditions could be performed in such a way that the magician's influence supposedly causes the effect with a few patter tweaks. Changing the taste of a fluid in someone's mouth has to be the most original effect I've come across.

For me, the fewer the props--and the fewer the ridiculous props--the more real it is. Why in heaven's name would I put a written prediction inside an envelope and stick that in a box which is in a bigger box and in a bigger box? Gimme a break! Simple and direct (Bold and Subtle?) is more real, IMO. Tossed Out Deck, done well, is exactly that.

I agree that that the "realism" lies in the presentation, as well as the lack of flashy props. Many ESP Testing demonstrations fit the bill, as does well done cold reading. Of course, even even effects that we as mentalist see as "simple" or "basic", like a drawing dupe or the revelation of a thought of item, if presented correctly, can appear to be "real mentalism".



Thanks for the mention Gerry!

Paul

DMKraig,

As I was considering the stated question a little more, I began to think of Richard Osterlind's Radar Deck, which is incredible, too. Like a Tossed Out Deck, the Radar Deck is powerful, especially when you can add the extra touches Osterlind does.

Bobby

"The Pure Thing" by Nefesch
"Prevaricator" by Patrick Redford
"Zodiac" by Chester Sass

... in all of these, nothing is written down by the participant, so it feels a lot like real mind reading, and in some ways, it really is.

Haunted Key

... just because I really feel like I am turning the key with mind.

When I do Q and A purely by cold reading, it feels very real to me. No pre-show, nothing written down. I just walk out, chat to the audience, invite them to think of questions weighing on their mind or their heart, and then I answer the questions they are thinking of. I don't know how it would feel different to me if I actually had some sort of psychic power.