A mentalist is an individual who appears to have supernatural powers in divining the truth about an individual as well as many facts about that person’s life. A mentalist must be great at decoding, possess observational skills, and have a highly developed ability to observe minute detail. Many people, from criminal profilers to magicians, all use mentalist tactics and a working knowledge of psychology to interpret human behavior. Wanna get your Simon Baker on? Here’s how.
1 Make snap, educated judgments. Part of being a mentalist is about trusting your judgment. Unfortunately, most people have turned their observation skills off. General and non-overt assessment of an individual provides good background information that is normally missed. For example, are the person’s hands soft or calloused? Is his musculature toned or not? Is the person dressed to stand out or to hide? Take yourself right now — what might someone learn about you just from looking at you?
- There are dozens of general assessment information items that will help you to profile the individual. Think of Sherlock Holmes — he didn’t have ESP, he justnoticed things. That’s all. A slight tan line on the left ring finger. A pen mark on the left hand. He would now trust that this person is either divorced or separated and right-handed. Trust those snap judgments!
