��If the pulse speeds up, you speed up and if it slows down, I want you to slow

down.� When you say the words �I want you to slow down�, try and say it as if
wasn�t the original end of your sentence. Almost as if they were going too fast and
you�ve had to stop what you were saying to tell them to slow down. Then there is
your hand gesture. Just hold it up as if you are doing something. This is your
process. In the eyes of the spectators, this is what you need to do to make the
pulse stop.
��Don�t skip a beat�� Or you could say don�t �miss� a beat. This works in the same
way that old trick �don�t think of a black cat� works. Before we go further, I�d
just like to clarify how that actually works. When you hear the words �don�t think
of a black cat� what do you do? You think of a black cat. This is not because the
words �think of a black cat� are there in the sentence, your brain isn�t hearing a
secret command to think of a black cat, it is just verbal imagery. Descriptive
words that naturally create a picture in our minds. Your brain conjures up the
image and shows it to you to try and help you better understand what is being said.
So by saying �skip a beat� or �miss a beat� you�re putting the idea in their head
whilst disguising it as a normal sentence. You are then telling them what is going
to happen. After that you are telling them that each beat will get slower and
softer. There you have another two things they�re trying to notice or be aware of.
Sometimes they stop almost instantly and say they cannot feel the pulse, others
take a little while longer. If they are taking longer, just keep going with your
script!
�It will just get slower and slower, each beat will get softer and it will stop!�
Once again the pulse won�t actually stop, they will just stop being able to feel
it. When the pulse stops, tell them to keep hold of their wrist because you need to
bring the pulse back. A beautiful presentational point that I use at every
opportunity is if you can cast a shadow over the arm of subject 1 with your hand,
do it! Then bring the shadow of your hand slowly down their arm, as you say, �Watch
my hand and you will feel the pulse come back now!� Time your wording so that as
you say the word �now� the shadow of your hand passes over the person�s wrist. It
will look like your shadow brought the pulse back.
If you like this pulse stop, and you like the idea of stopping a spectator�s pulse,
I recommend that you also check out Luke Jermay�s amazing pulse stop called For
Andruzzi, which can be found on his DVD Skullduggery.
7. Bail out!
If you absolutely have to, you can just say, �Ok great! That is interesting, this
tells me a lot about how your mind works. I think this will be perfect for you. You
have the right mind for this.� Then just go right in to any other effect that you
perform. Don�t worry about saying this, just keep it short and sweet. Don�t turn it
into a big long cold reading and don�t add too much justification as to why it
didn�t
work. If you make the above script any longer you will make it memorable. You don�t
want them to remember the time you weirdly shook their hand and nothing happened.
Just move on quickly. Also never admit that it didn�t work. If you say something
didn�t work, you are telling them you failed. Just leave them to think that it�s
something you had to do in order for your next effect to work with them.
8. FAQ from Audience
Some questions you will often get asked when doing this kind of thing and some
answers you can give.
Can you hypnotise me?
Unless you actually can, you could mysteriously answer with: �You�re already
hypnotised.� Or: �Everyone hypnotises themselves every single day. Daydreaming is a
form of hypnosis, and I want to show you something based on that.� Then use them
for your suggestion if they look like they�re genuinely interested. Can anyone be
hypnotised? �Everyone can to a certain extent. It depends if you�re using it for
therapy , entertainment or anything else.� Does it