Fraser Parker

Reverse Name Guess

Reverse Name Guess is my favourite piece in this book. Its streamlined nature and
the fact that you get an effect much greater than the sum of its parts accounts for
this. And it’s all done with very little scripting and hardly any work. It’s
practically self-working, which is a marvellous thing to consider when you take
into account the actual effect and what is now possible from the point of view of
method.

With no billets, tears, or props of any kind, you can now get the spectator to use
their own intuition to guess the name of which you are thinking, completely a-prop
with nothing written down (unless you choose to write the name down as proof you
are thinking of the same name).

The following method is similar to the previous effect, “My Pin”, in terms of its
structure with the use of numbers being substituted for letters. If you have not
already read “My Pin” you should do so before reading any further, as here I will
only briefly touch upon the principles each of these effects share.

As you will already be familiar with some of the workings of this effect, I will
teach you the method and effect alongside each other, rather than giving you the
performance script to begin.

To start you are not going to actually have a name in mind. The spectator is going
to think of a name they believe you to be thinking and you are going to secretly

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work out what this name is so that at a certain point you can write down this name
as proof the spectator guessed correctly.

I introduce the effect with the following words.

“I am thinking of a name. I want you to use your intuitive abilities to try

to guess this name.”

This sets up the premise of the effect. This effect is about the spectator using their
intuition to try to guess your thoughts as opposed to you guessing theirs. We will
be applying the “flipping it on its head” principle by reversing the process used to
get the effect to work (in terms of how it is experienced by everyone watching).

“I promise this isn't an obscure name or one that is difficult to guess. If

you just go into this with an open heart and open mind we should be
able to get this to work.”

This scripting is especially devious. It seems to mean you are going to think of a
name that would be easier for your spectator to guess. But what is truly the case is
that this actually makes it easier for you to guess which name the spectator will
eventually be thinking. The fact the spectator is guessing your thought, and the
process used is in reverse, means this scripting will work in your advantage. If the
spectator thinks you are thinking of a more common name, which can be more
easily guessed, then they will also think of a name, which will be easier for you to
guess.

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The fact you get the spectator to think of a less obscure and more common name
helps to narrow down the possible names the spectator could be thinking of later
on, which also helps you to work out the name so you can more easily bring the
effect to a successful conclusion. There will be more on this later.

It also ensures the spectator doesn't feel too nervous about participating and
potentially messing up the effect by not following your instructions correctly.

“So first of all, just focus on what you believe the first letter of the name
I am thinking of could be.”

This line is important from a theatrical point of view, as it suggests they are going
to slowly build the thought of what name they believe you are thinking. This is
precisely the illusion we wish to create in the minds of those watching. It also
allows for the following process, which makes the effect possible.

Wait a few seconds for the spectator to follow your previous instruction.

“Okay, it's not that. So do this for me.”

This is the same ploy of dismissing a piece of information to work out another
piece of information (used in “My Pin”). The only difference is that is applied to
letters here instead of numbers.

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This is not only a theatrical moment which fits perfectly with the effect but is also a
beautiful way of setting up the following process, which will eventually allow you
to know the first letter they believe belongs to the name you are only thinking.

“I want you to run through the letters of the alphabet mentally, changing
the letter you are on, every time I snap my fingers. So that this is fair I
want you to start on the letter you just thought of.

“So focus on this letter and change the letter [snap fingers]... change
again [snap]... and again [snap].”

They will now follow your instructions, understanding them to mean they are to:
change the letter they are thinking of from the letter you dismissed as incorrect to
whatever letter is three places away in the alphabet (or however many times you
snap your fingers), moving sequentially and jumping to the next letter in the
alphabet every time you snap your fingers.

The meaning of these instructions will be changed with the “re-frame” which
comes later.

The spectator will be thinking of a letter three in front of the letter you dismiss.

This means if you know the first thought of letter, you can easily work out the letter
they are now thinking. It's a simple matter of mentally counting up three letters in
the alphabet from the letter you dismiss.

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“So you now have a completely different letter in mind, yes?”

They will agree with this statement as well as the fact you cannot guess this letter,
as this is completely true, at this point in the routine.

“There is no way I could just guess this letter or any of the other letters
you thought of, as you could have literally changed these letters in any
order, yes?”

Here is where the “re-frame” comes in. The truthful statement of you not being
able to guess any of the letters is combined with an untruthful statement. This
causes both to be accepted as true in the mind of the spectator as well as everyone
watching. This means the spectator will now believe they had a free choice of how
to change the letters and they must have simply misunderstood your instructions
before. This means you can now ask the spectator what the first letter they thought
of was without raising any suspicion. They will believe that because you “meant”
for them to change the letters in any order and that you couldn’t know which way
they actually changed the letters, that just counting up through the alphabet to work
out the letter they are now on -- would not even occur to you. They are safely
ensconced in the illusion of their beliefs.

When delivering this specific piece of scripting it is essential you fully engage the
spectator and that they hear what you are saying. This goes for all of the effects in
this book, which rely on the same “re-frame” in order to fool the spectator

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effectively.

“Out of curiosity, what was the very first letter you were thinking?”

They will tell you the first letter they thought of and this will secretly give you the
letter they are currently thinking about.

This letter will be three letters after the letter they name, in the alphabet.

“Okay, just focus on whatever letter you just got to.”

For example, if they were thinking of the letter “I” they will now be focusing on the
letter “L”.

“So you now know the first letter of the name I am thinking.”

Here is where you direct the spectator to think of their current letter as the first
letter of the name you are supposedly thinking.

What happens next is simply beautiful in terms of the economy of method and the
effect it creates.

This is where the principle of “flipping it on its head” comes into play. The
spectator will effectively give you all of the details you need to guess the name they
are thinking under the guise of them guessing details about the name you are

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thinking of – a name which in reality doesn't exist yet.

It makes this effect practically self-working.

These questions being given in a specific order, one after another, creates the
illusion that the spectator is gradually discovering details about the name you are
thinking of using their intuition so they can eventually guess the name. What
happens in the mind of the spectator is that they will usually guess a name after the
first of these questions is given and then answer these questions in line with the
name they are now thinking. Their answers will then guide you to the correct name
that they are thinking.

There is a subtle difference between how the spectator perceives the effect and
those watching. However, to the spectator it will still feel as if they are guessing
your thought of name throughout and will therefore, still be fooled along the same
lines as everyone else.

“I want you to allow a name to come to you, as I ask you these following
questions.”

The specific order you ask the following questions ensures the spectator will be
able to think of a name.

“Would you say this name is male or female?”

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Spectator: “Male.”

“Can you abbreviate the name?”

“No.”

This is the “abbreviation” subtlety, from the previous name guess, used in reverse
in terms of how it is perceived by everyone watching. Their answer will narrow
down the possible names they could be thinking about and this will, in turn, help
you guess the correct name.

“How many letters do you feel this name has?”

“Four.”

This is the CUPs principle used in a slightly different way. Instead of you trying to
guess the amount of letters, you directly ask the spectator for the amount under the
guise of them using their intuition.

Some of the time you will now have enough information to guess the name the
spectator is thinking about, for instance in this example you can now safely
presume the spectator is thinking of the name:

LUKE

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Obviously, you would not say this name out loud as if you were guessing their
thought of name but would instead either say it or write it down as confirmation
that this was the name you were thinking of all along, to stay in line with the effect.

Most of the time however, you will be down to a few possible names it could be.
This is where I would employ the following ruse to find out which of the possible
names they have chosen.

“So just take your time and allow this name to fully form in front of you
– just focus on the second letter of this name – this isn't the letter “U”, is
it?”

The first line creates the illusion the spectator is now thinking of the name for the
first time. They will usually have thought of a name as you ask the previous
questions due to the fact that they have to answer questions on it. So that they can
answer correctly they will usually think of a name early. This is the path of least
resistance, which will usually be favoured by the spectator. It is for this reason that
we don't stress the fact they are to think of details first and then a name, but only
suggest it with the illusion the effect itself creates. Otherwise there is a chance the
spectator won't be able to think of a name with all of the variables they give if this
is done blindly.

Those watching will perceive this first line to mean the spectator is coming up with
a name for the first time in real time. The spectator, however, will think you mean

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for them to visualize the name they are already thinking of in front of them and
build the name this way.

The second part of the scripting will be understood as you simply checking if the
spectator is on the right path. This is essentially “fishing”, but because of the
context of the effect it doesn't appear this way. It should look as if you are
checking your own impressions for what you believe they are thinking. The way
we do this is with a negative question. We ask if a certain letter of the name they
are thinking of is a specific letter or not. The use of the word “isn't” allows our
response to how the spectator answers our question to always be seen as correct.
This ensures the “fishing” appears natural and fits the overall effect.

“Just focus on the second letter of this name – this isn't the letter “U”, is
it?”

If the second letter in the name they are thinking of is the letter “U” then they will
take this as confirmation that they must be thinking of the same name as you –
otherwise, how would you know what this letter was?

But if they answer with a “no” to this negative statement, it will appear as if you
were simply checking to see if your doubt whether or not they are thinking of the
correct name, and therefore the correct letter, is unfounded or not.

In either case, we instantly follow up with the following script.

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“Okay, I think you may be on the right track.”

You then write down the name you believe the spectator is thinking of and finish
the effect.

The good thing about giving this negative statement is if you “guess” the wrong
letter their “no” response doesn't seem to give you any clue as to what the actual
letter is. However, most of the time you will be down to two or three possible
names it could be. Therefore, all you need is for the spectator to acknowledge
whether or not your guess is correct to be able to discern which one of these
options is correct.

Sometimes you will need to “fish” for a different letter depending on the possible
names they could be thinking of in order to be able to narrow it down successfully.
You have to make this decision in real time as you are presented with the possible
names it could be. This is based on the other information they give you. It is very
simple to do and not as hard as it sounds, especially due to the fact they will most
likely be thinking of a less obscure name from the start.

I suggest writing the name down when it comes to the reveal as it suggests this was
always the name you were thinking of and creates the correct build up of the
climax.

“There is only one way to prove you got every single detail correct. I am
going to write down the name I am thinking of. Look away, so you can't

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read what I write.”

Write the name down on a card or heavy piece of paper (so the name can't be seen
through the paper) and slide it in front of the spectator.

“Say the name you believe I am thinking.”

Then get the spectator to say the name they believe you are thinking about. They
can now turn over the card themselves to reveal both of the names match perfectly.

Usually, the spectator will think of a name which does not include the first letters x,
y, or z, as names beginning with these letters are very rare in the English language.
I therefore don't worry about these letters coming up in performance with this
effect. If they do you can usually tell that the spectator is confused when you are
giving them the instructions to change through the letters of the alphabet, as they
will effectively run out of letters to move to. When this happens just re-iterate the
illusion and give direct instructions for them to jump freely to letters in the alphabet
at random. Now you can fairly safely bet on them thinking of the more likely letter
out of these - the letter 'y' - as the first letter of the name they are thinking.

If you are using this in a different language with names that use these letters as first
letters more frequently then you could apply the following ruse to ensure the
spectator can move through the letters of the alphabet sequentially.

Simply add the following line onto the instructions for how you want the spectator

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to change their mind.

“Just to make this as easy for you as possible if you think of the letter z
at any point then jump right back to the letter a and continue to change
the letters.”

This line ensures they will never run out of letters of the alphabet due to the fact
you essentially reset the spectator back to the beginning of the alphabet whenever
they reach the last letter. The fact that it is framed as making it easier for the
spectator ensures this stays in line with the perspective of the “re-frame” which
comes later. Therefore, everything fits.

This line can also be used in the previous name/word guess, if you so desire. I
prefer not to worry about these letters, as names beginning with them are so rare
they will only ever be thought of a few times, if that. These names are even less
likely with this effect due to the fact you gently “nudge” the spectator into the
direction of thinking of less obscure names from the start.

It is also important to remember to apply the following script before going into the
previous effect or any similar effects in this book. This is to ensure that the
spectator does not say anything during the performance that could potentially
destroy the illusion your words and performance create.

“Only speak if I ask you a direct question, so you don't give away your
thought process.”

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