How to Perform Mind Reading (Magic Trick)

People are often drawn to psychics and fortune tellers because they are fascinated by the idea of being able to read another person's thoughts. You can take advantage of this to perform a magic trick that makes others believe you know what they're thinking. This article will show you three tricks that are sure to leave your audience in awe.

Invite three volunteers. This is a great trick to perform in front of a crowd, as you'll need three volunteers to help make the trick successful. Be sure to invite exactly three people; the performance won't work with just two or four. It's best to choose people you're not familiar with, so the audience doesn't suspect that the trick was planned beforehand.

Give each person a piece of paper. This part is crucial. Take a sheet of paper and tear it into three pieces. Give the first piece, with one straight edge and one jagged edge, to the first person. Give the second person the middle piece, which has two jagged edges. Give the third person the final piece, which has one straight edge and one jagged edge.

Ask each person to write down a name. The first person writes the name of someone alive. The second person (the one holding the paper with two jagged edges) writes the name of someone who has passed away. The third person writes the name of someone alive.

Announce that you will reveal the name of the deceased. Perform the act of leaving the room or turning your back while the volunteers write. They will place their pieces of paper into a hat or box, and you won't touch any of them.

Reveal the name. Ask the volunteers to focus entirely on the name they wrote. Place the hat or box on top of your head, or have someone else hold it to show that you're not looking inside. Declare to the audience that you know the name of the deceased and confidently look at the person who wrote it, as if reading their mind. Finally, reach into the hat and feel for the piece of paper with two jagged edges. Pull it out with flair and read the name on it, leaving everyone in astonishment.

Ask the audience to call out their names. Announce that you are writing each person’s name on a separate card and placing them all into a hat. At the end of the trick, you will predict who the luckiest person in the audience will be and write your prediction on a board. Then, a volunteer will pull out the name of the luckiest person, and it will match your prediction. If performing for a large crowd, you can choose the first ten volunteers to say their names; for a smaller group, everyone can participate.

Write the same name on all the cards. When the first person says their name, write it on a card. Write the same name when the second person announces theirs. Continue writing the name of the first person on all the cards, even as others take turns calling out their names. Once you’re finished, place all the cards in a hat.

Write your prediction on the board. After everyone has said their names and all the cards are in the hat, write the name of the special person in large letters and show it to the audience. Announce that you are certain you know the name of the luckiest person in the room.

Ask a volunteer from the audience to draw a name from the hat. Hold the hat above the person’s head and ask them to draw a name, then announce it to the audience. Everyone will gasp when the name is called. Be sure to quickly hide the remaining cards so the audience doesn’t catch on to the trick.

Cut a sneaky hole in the card box. You will need a standard deck of cards in its box. Take the deck out and use scissors to cut a small hole in one of the corners on the back of the box. Place the deck back into the box and look through the hole. You need to be able to see the top corner of the last card, where the name of the card is revealed.

Ask a volunteer to choose a card. Start by asking someone to shuffle the deck a few times. Request that they pick a card and show it to the audience, then place the card back under the deck while you turn your back. Take the box with the deck, with the hole facing your palm, and ask the person to put the deck back into the box.

Perform as if you're reading the volunteer's mind. Hold up the deck with the hole facing you and announce that you are reading their thoughts to guess the card they just selected. Look through the hole to see which card it is, then close your eyes and tilt your head back. Declare that you know the card and reveal its name.

Confirm by showing the card to the audience. Remove the deck from the box, being careful not to reveal the side with the hole, and hold the bottom card up for the audience to see.

Before performing this magic trick, look up the 9th word on page 108 of the dictionary. Write the word down on a piece of paper and place it in an envelope. Then, put the envelope in your jacket pocket.

During the performance, invite two volunteers from the audience. Hand the dictionary to one person and give the other person the computer.

Ask the person with the computer to pick a random three-digit number, with the only condition being that the digits must not repeat. For example, they could choose the number 365. The digits must be different – so a number like 222 would not work.

Ask them to add the two final numbers together. In the example, this would be 198 + 891 = 1,089. The result will always be 1,089, no matter what number they originally chose.

Now ask them what the first three digits are. These digits are always 108. Ask the person holding the dictionary to turn to page 108.

Now ask the other person what the last digit is. In fact, this number will always be 9.

Ask the person holding the dictionary to look at the ninth word from the top. Stare intently at them and act as if you are reading their mind. When you feel ready, take out the envelope and show everyone the paper inside. The audience will be amazed when you reveal the exact word that the volunteer called out!

Ask a volunteer to think of a number between 1 and 5. This is a clever trick that taps into a common psychological habit. Although it may seem like you’re giving the participant many options, most people will end up thinking of the same number that you will predict at the end of the trick, to the amazement of the audience. Begin by asking the volunteer to think of any number between 1 and 5, but not to say it out loud.

Yêu cầu họ nhân số đó với 9, sau đó cộng hai chữ số của con số đáp án với nhau. Ví dụ, nếu người tình nguyện chọn số 5 thì 9 x 5 = 45, sau đó cộng 4+5 = 9. Phép tính này họ chỉ nhẩm trong đầu, không nói ra.

Yêu cầu người tình nguyện trừ con số đó cho 5. Trong ví dụ trên, 9 – 5 = 4, vì vậy đến lúc này họ sẽ có con số 4 trong đầu.

Yêu cầu người tình nguyện chọn một chữ trong bảng chữ cái tương ứng với con số đó. Ví dụ, số 1 tương ứng với chữ A, 2 tương ứng với B, v.v… Tại thời điểm này, họ có con số 4, bất kể con số ban đầu họ chọn là gì. Như vậy, họ sẽ chọn chữ D.

Yêu cầu đối tượng chọn một quốc gia có tên bắt đầu bằng chữ cái đó. Phần lớn mọi người sẽ chọn Denmark (Đan Mạch).

Yêu cầu người tình nguyện nghĩ đến một con vật có tên bắt đầu bằng chữ cái cuối cùng trong tên của quốc gia đó. Chữ cái cuối cùng của từ "Denmark" là "K", và hầu như mọi người đều liên tưởng chữ K với kangaroo (Căng-gu-ru).

Ask the volunteer to think of a color that starts with the last letter of the name of an animal. The last letter in the word "Kangaroo" is "O." Orange will be the only common color starting with the letter O.

Pretend to read the person's mind. Make a dramatic gesture like squinting and pointing your fingers at your temples. Tell the audience that you are searching deep into their mind.

Act puzzled and tell the person that you're seeing an orange kangaroo in Denmark. Nine out of ten times, your audience will react with astonishment, although occasionally, you might get someone who picks "Koala" or the country "Djibouti," or some other alternative.