13 Steps to Mentalism: An Overview

If you want to perform “mentalism,” you may have heard of a book called “13 Steps to Mentalism,” and for good reason. This book is considered a classic of mentalism, but does it deliver? What will you learn from this book?

Well for starters, 13 Steps to Mentalism has been around since the 1960s and was written by Tony Corinda. It was originally published in 13 different booklets in London. Fortunately, it has been published in a single book format containing all 13 steps. The fact that it has such staying power in a market flooded with books and DVDs speaks to its quality from the start.

Each chapter or “step” of his book describes different techniques or methods that a mentalist can use to perform different acts of mind magic or mentalism. Below I will give a brief overview of what each step teaches.

Step One: Swami’s Trick

I have not met a worthwhile mentalist who did not possess and frequently use a swami gimmick. They are a ‘must have’ for any mentalist. It is one of the most powerful tools of the mentalist and almost invisible to the viewer. This step goes over the various types of swami cheats available and when to use each. Corinda describes how to best use these tricks and minimize detection. At the end of this step, she goes into various mentalism effects possible with the use of this cheat.

Step Two: Pencil, Lip, Sound, Touch, and Muscle Reading

Through this step, predictions can be made on the basis of collecting sensory information from the viewer through touch, hearing and sight. Pencil reading is watching the pencil move to determine what is written without actually seeing what the viewer has written. Sound reading works remarkably well with a viewer writing on a whiteboard or perhaps its more modern equivalent, the erasable whiteboard and non-permanent marker. Lip reading is easy, but it takes practice just like the art of muscle reading. Muscle reading, that is, feeling the small changes in the spectator’s muscle tension, can be a devastating and highly accurate prediction method if practiced. Corinda provides examples of the effects of all of these methods in this step.

Step Three: Mnemonics and Mental Systems

Yes, by learning mnemonics (memory systems), you can perform amazing feats. Of course this will help if you want to perform amazing magic using a deck that is memorized. Plus, it teaches some amazing math feats.

Step Four – Predictions

Numerous techniques for predictions are described, including switches, forces, and “puppets.”

Step Five: Blindfolds and X-Ray Eyes

Various types of blindfolds and how to obtain information while blindfolded are discussed. Numerous tricks are described as well as driving like a car blindfolded!

Sixth Step – Inputs

Tickets are small folds of paper with information written on them by the spectator. In this section, Corinda discusses how to get that secret information without the viewers knowing. This step includes various effects that can be performed with tickets.

Step Seven – Book Tests

If you want to perform mentalism with books, this step is worth its weight in gold! Describes ten different mentalism effects performed with books.

Step Eight – Two Person Telepathy

Two sections are dedicated to telepathy, “Major Systems” and “Minor Systems”. Includes discussion of verbal techniques and electronic devices (obviously out of date as it is over fifty years old). A total of eight routines are described.

Step Nine: Mediumistic Acrobatics

This step will probably be the one you skip as it is so out of date. But still worth reading. Perhaps the most helpful is his section on “spiritual writing.” It includes other effects as well.

Step Ten: Card Tricks

This is not a complete treatise on card magic, but Corinda lists some mentalism effects that can be worked with cards.

Step Eleven – Question and Answer

Divided into two sections: Questions that are unknown and questions that are known. Discuss various techniques on how to obtain information for questions that are unknown. Great introduction to ‘cold reading’.

Step Twelve – Advertising Tricks

Do you want to ‘market’ yourself as a mentalist? Well, the price of the book is worth it for this step alone! If you want to increase your exposure and reputation as a mentalist, this is the chapter where you will learn how to do it. With slight modifications, this chapter is easily relevant today, albeit written in the 1960s.

Step Thirteen – Talk and Presentation

Even if you have all the techniques if you are a mentalist and you fail in the “chat” or presentation area, no one will want to watch your performance. This step covers the basic components of good performance, appearance, misdirection, and more. A very good chapter.

Conclusion: The short answer to ‘is this book worth it?’ is a resounding ‘Yes!’ Even if you’re not entirely interested in mentalism, this is still a good book for the magician’s library. If you’re interested in performing mentalism, then the answer is completely different: it’s a must. You will have to refer to this book for a long time.