Your Inner Circle Newsletter - April 2008

--INTRODUCTION--
Its been a very busy month for me. Its a bit strange to get calls
from other performers asking if I'm 'as quiet as they are' and I
almost feel a little guilty for telling them that I've performed at
least 4 shows a week throughout March. The reason I am telling you
about this is that I was afraid that due to my performing
commitments I would have time to neither think up the material nor
write the actual newsletter. But I made time. En route aboard the
National Express from London to Newcastle this is the perfect
opportunity.

In this issue I will be giving a new life to a classic that has
bugged me for years, giving it the significance I think I have
searched for, I will make a confession and I'll show you how
marketing works as a mix.

So here it is, welcome to April!

--TALKING POINT--
Well its a major announcement but I have decided that due to the
fact that I've been performing none stop and frankly I am getting
sick of doing the same thing, lying to people night after night
about reading their body language I am taking some time out from
mentalism. I never thought it would happen but I have grown sick of
doing the same things night after night to people who suck it up
all to easily and it is just lacking the challenge that I seek. I
have thought long and hard about it and done some research and am
thinking about moving in to the marketing and PR world, something
that many of you will know I have always been interested in and yes
I'm going to work for someone else.

Of course it is very important to remember today's date, it is
April the first and it is still morning so if i was to tell you
that the last paragraph was nonsense and my own little April Fool
you might emit a sigh of relief. Of course I am not quitting, can
you imagine me working for anyone else, doing something other than
performing and creating mentalism? Its not going to happen any time
soon. But I just had to inject a little seasonal fun in to your
day. Ahhhh, now on to the real newsletter that you may just find
useful.

I just await the emails now of people who didn't read this properly
and are still convinced that its true. Its not so please don't
email about it ;)

There is point to this 'talking point' and that is that there are
so many performers who go on stage totally blinkered of the events
going on around them. No matter what they go on and perform their
act verbatim every single time.

What they don't realise is that the audience picks up on this. So
combat that right away by making your show topical. I don't mean do
smash and stab with chocolate eggs for easter but at least comment
on things. I always make jokes about the venue, the food and the
season. It makes the audience feel more alive, like you are
performing just for them on that night and that it is special. If
they for one moment feel like what you're doing is an out of the
box demonstration that you have done time and time again they wills
switch off and feel cheated.

--BUSINESS--
As I said in the introduction people sometimes think I'm just
boasting about the amount of work I am doing but I am really not I
am trying to inspire you, push you to see that it is possible even
when a lot of people are struggling. So what is the secret? It's no
big secret at all. The way I do it is to not use one way to do it.

Sounds crazy but a lot of performers rely on one marketing
technique to bring all of their businesses. Some rely solely on
work of mouth. Thats a great form of marketing but the problem is
it could be even better and more powerful if coupled with others,
in this case PR and personal appearances.

I don't use just one mode, i use a mix. In business school you are
taught about the 'Marketing Mix' and that is exact;y what this is,
it's a mix of things, ingredients. You cant make a cake with just
flour. Similarly you can not expect to be successful with just one
element.

I'd highly recommend you write down all of your marketing
activities and see how you can improve them and even look for what
is missing that you could be doing. It might just change you.

--RECOMMENDS--
Although I only just finished reading it, a friend I met on the
Tragic Cafe, Jeff Richards sent me a really interesting collection
of his thoughts.

In his e-book he details a few routines that are interesting to
think about along with some essays that you may or may not enjoy.
But one thing in there got me a little excited, and it is a very
new approach to a headline prediction. Basically this method is so
far away from anything I have ever read in my life, it means no
switches are even needed, yet you predict the events of the day you
perform.

As soon as I read it I got on to Jeff to say "F%$£!, i wish I'd
thought of that" and that's not just sales crap I mean it. The book
is available only from Jeff Richards email him direct:
info@intothinair.ca

Also MUST give a mention to Anthony Jacquin's FANTASTIC book on
hypnotic inductions and impromptu hypnosis. If you don't already
have it, whether you want to learn from scratch or are already
accomplished in the art of hypnosis I urge you to go grab it. Again
no monetary interest from me but its a great resource. Its
available right now at http://www.anthonyjacquin.com/products.html

There are 2 more pieces I would love to recommend to you but there
isn't space so you'll just have to wait for next month. Seriously
though it has been a long time since I read anything that was worth
blabbering about and these 2 really are worth your time.

--IDEA OF THE MONTH--
Here is yet another idea you can take and play around with. There
is an old routine by Max Maven called Kurutsuke in which the
performer is able to decipher which of five people is concealing a
black stone while the others hold white ones. Its a plot many have
played with including high Highness, Derren Brown. But there was
always something I didn't like about it and that was the
insignificance of the gems, who actually gave a damn about who had
the black stone or not? That is what held me back from making this
routine a permanent fixture in my act.

Now i refer to my note book, on on 7th November i wrote about an
idea to make the whole routine a lot more favorable, at least in my
view.

You show an (almost) complete jigsaw puzzle, stuck on to a piece of
foam core board. It is only missing one piece, but that piece is
very significant. It is one of the eyes of the famous Mona Lisa.

"Its a good job my aunt is a psychic, well that's what we'll call
her as each Christmas she manages to buy me something that I
already own. This Christmas it was the very same jigsaw again. All
we need to do is find the one missing piece."

5 people come on stage to help solve the puzzle, they each reach
inside the box and remove a piece of jigsaw. Even though you have
your back turned as they remove them and the pieces remain inside
of their clenched fists you eliminate everyone until one person
remains, that person holds the missing piece of the puzzle.

For me this gives a significance to locating the right person, far
beyond just working out where the coloured gem is hiding. Everyone
can identify with the frustration of having lost one tile of a
jigsaw.

In terms of method. There are a few approaches you could take to
this. All of the pieces in the box could be the same, so the
elimination process is just a charade. That's the one i personally
prefer. Of course i'd love to hear your own approaches to this too.

--TO CLOSE--
A massive thank you to Dick Brooks for his additional thoughts on
the fork routine I sent out last month. Here is Dick in his won
words:

"After I place the fork in their hands, it is in a straight up and
down position. I begin to turn the bottom end and as them what
they feel. Generally they will say they feel it twisting. If not
I ask them, "Do you feel it twisting in there?" I do not think in
hundreds of shows I do not have to ask this. Then I tell them to
twist it and ask what they feel. They, of course say, "It is
twisting." Then I say keep on and stop when you feel the fork stop
twisting. The make a few turns and stop. I say, "Did you feel it
stop twisting?" After they say yes, I ask them to display it to
the shock of the audience."

Dick is the founder of the Psychic Theatre
(http://psychictheater.com/)

Until next time,
Take care!
Kennedy

"Do you have suggestions, an idea you want to share on the
newsletter. Email me right back!"