What's in a name?

I haven't blogged in quite a while now so thought I'd briefly talk about something that I have done for quite a few years. This might seem obvious but some magicians might not do it and that is to take advantage of little pieces of information that you can pick up simply by listening.

I first discovered this principle by accident.  I was performing at a gig and a woman at the table spoke to her husband, calling him by name. At some point later on, not thinking that I was doing anything out of the ordinary, I asked the man to do something and also called him by name.  He looked shocked and stared at me for a moment, then said to the rest of the group "how the hell did he know my name?"

The importance of this moment hit me straight away.  I had been performing magic for this man for a while and he had proven to be quite the skeptic.  I had started to win him over, but the thing that really impressed him was the simplest and that was that I knew his name.  If only he knew how mundane the explanation was, and yet this was a turning point for him and made him really sit up and pay attention.

Following this experience I started to use this technique intentionally at gigs.  Simply by listening to people calling others by their names and making mental notes of that, I could have a strong and startling effect for them later on.  I would always deliver this in a nonchalant manner and never do it in a mentalism way.  I wouldn't for example stare at them and say "ok concentrate, send me your name..." as at this point they actually start to analyse how I might know their name and several explanations might come to them, one being the right one.  However, by delivering it casually and just calling them by their name, I think you shock and surprise them and therein lies the effect's power.

They have only just met you and are still keeping you at arm's length.  You are a stranger doing magic for them and for you to call them by their name before they tell you it crosses a personal boundry (not in a bad way of course) before they expected it.  Try it at your next gig and watch their reaction...it's a lot of fun! :-)