Blog: Mind of a Mind Reader
Jeff Newman: Mentalist, Magician, Trickster.
The Art of Persuasion: 4 Psychological Techniques To Influence Others
Human beings are social creatures.
And a LARGE portion of our brain is dedicated to communication. Spoken words, music, facial expressions, body language…our brain sees it all.
And no matter where you work, who you are, or what language you speak, there are ways you can use this psychology to help. Using your communication skills and body language to your advantage can make a lasting impact and help you be more persuasive to the people around you. While you think this may be something just for corporate professionals in high-profile organizations, this can be helpful for anybody. Understanding how critical persuasive communication skills are can be a huge advantage in any setting. So, what techniques can help you improve your communication skills and become a persuasive speaker?
A Mentalist Explains: Pareidolia And Faces That Aren’t Really There
Have you ever seen faces in places they don’t belong?
Maybe a wall outlet with a surprised expression? Or a smiling face in the holes of a cardboard box? Or the shadow of a person in chipped paint on a wall? Or, maybe most controversially…a face on the surface of Mars?
A Mentalist Explains: How Ouija Boards Work, and The Ideomotor Effect
But do Ouija boards actually send you messages?
Well, in a way, yes. But they don’t come from the spirit world.
The human brain, to most, is a miracle machine. It can do incredible things that we aren’t even aware of. Even some of the simplest day-to-day tasks we take for granted are incredibly complex calculations made by what is, essentially, a three-pound lump of gooey flesh.
The Psychology of Illusion: How Magicians Manipulate Your Mind
“How do you do that?!”
I get this question a lot. It comes with the territory of being a professional mentalist and magician. After all, performing the impossible is my job, so naturally, people want to know how I do it. But the truth is that there’s a lot more to it than just tricks.
Have you ever watched a magician perform and found yourself completely baffled by their tricks? You're not alone. Magicians have been captivating audiences for centuries with their illusions and sleight of hand. But have you ever stopped to think about how they do it? Not just their methods, but how do they manage to manipulate our minds and deceive our senses?
The psychology of magic is just as interesting as the methods of magic tricks, so let’s dive into the psychology of illusion and explore how magicians use it to create their mind-boggling performances!
7 Sneaky Psychological Hacks That Can Help You with Your Business - A Mentalist's Perspective
As a professional mentalist and magician, my entire career revolves around not only understanding human psychology but also how to manipulate it. And every year, I get to flex my psychology muscles and show off in front of crowds at company events, holiday parties, and more. And there are a few things I hear at these events often:
“Man, can you teach my sales guys how to get inside someone’s head?”
“You should come to work for us!”
“I wish I could do what you do…it would make my job so much easier!”
From influencing people’s decisions to swaying opinions, there’s no denying the power that a little bit of psychology can wield. And not only can understanding human psychology be helpful to a mentalist on stage, but it can also be incredibly beneficial when it comes to succeeding in the business world.
So today, this Alberta-based magician will be sharing seven sneaky psychological hacks that can help you take your business game to the next level. So, buckle up and get ready to learn some powerful mental tricks that can help you stand out!
The Psychology of Illusion: How Magicians Manipulate Your Mind
“How do you do that?!”
I get this question a lot. It comes with the territory of being a professional mentalist and magician. After all, performing the impossible is my job, so naturally, people want to know how I do it. But the truth is that there’s a lot more to it than just tricks.
Have you ever watched a magician perform and found yourself completely baffled by their tricks? You're not alone. Magicians have been captivating audiences for centuries with their illusions and sleight of hand. But have you ever stopped to think about how they do it? Not just their methods, but how do they manage to manipulate our minds and deceive our senses?
The psychology of magic is just as interesting as the methods of magic tricks, so let’s dive into the psychology of illusion and explore how magicians use it to create their mind-boggling performances!
A Mentalist Explains The Milgram Experiment and Social Compliance
I recently rewatched Derren Brown’s The Push on Netflix.
Derren is a master at using suggestion to get people to comply with what he wants them to do. He is also a master at using suggestion put people (and the audience watching them) in situations where the moral is that we don’t have to be controlled by the suggestions we face every day.
And in The Push Derren Brown uses social engineering to see if an average, everyday person would commit murder by pushing someone off of a building.
But this is far from the first time someone has wondered how far people will go to comply with the social pressures around them. And in this article, I will tell you about four incredible examples of how social compliance can manipulate your decisions and what you can learn from them.
My Favourite Riddle
One of the byproducts of being a mentalist and magician is that I love riddles and puzzles. (Although, some who know me well would argue that my love of puzzles and riddles is what drove me to being a magician in the first place.)
And recently on my TikTok account, I bestowed my favourite riddle on to the masses. The riddle is as follows:
WHAT DO YOU REMEMBER?
What is the Mandela Effect?
Well, to put it simply, it’s a memory you possess about something that you are absolutely sure is true, but isn’t. But, it’s not just you. Hundreds - or even thousands - of people remember the exact same thing.
For example, a very large amount of people grew up reading The Berenstein Bears: a wonderfully innocent, wholesome series of children’s books that taught valuable morals through the family life of anthropomorphic cartoon bears.
Except that’s wrong. It’s the Berenstain Bears.
Many, many people are convinced that the names of these bears are, and always have been Berenstein (and, coincedentally, one of those people is Hannah).
Countless examples of this strange phenomena exist. Many people remember Pikachu’s tail having a black tip (it doesn’t). Or growing up watching the classic children’s cartoon The Looney Toons (actually spelled Tunes). Or that Carrie, Charlotte, Miranda, and Samantha all had wacky adventures in Sex in the City (but it was actually Sex and the City). Or that the air-freshening spray Febreeze is spelled with three E’s (It’s not; it’s Febreze). Or that the comedian Sinbad starred in a movie in the 90’s called Shazaam where he played a genie (he didn’t).
Magic: A Scientific Approach
Recently, my fiance and I were sitting with in my living room with a magically-inclined friend of mine. We had spent the afternoon discussing a few projects we all had on the go, and like these discussions usually do, we all went off on our unique tangents into stories, Youtube videos, and archival photos in our various social media profiles. You know what that’s like, right? Of course you do.
Now despite this wizard-friend knowing me for at least two or three years, she was unaware of my previous lives that have led me to the current magic-and-mentalism-based career I’ve chosen. Just to catch you up, before I was a professional mentalist, I was a baseball player, a bartender, an undergraduate scientist, an actor, and improviser, and of all things, a poster-child for the University of Lethbridge (which, in fact, was the direct result of my combined expertise in the “scientist” and “baseball player” fields...Maybe I’ll tell that story at a later date, but for now, back to the original story).