Real-Life Communication
Clowns need excellent communication skills to do their job. Body
movement, facial expressions and tone of voice all help make a gag successful.
"You work with other people all the time," says Levene. "You've got to like
them and know how to get them to react."
But in order to communicate
well with an audience, a clown needs to have researched their act.
You
are a birthday party clown and have been working on a new act. You want to
seem like a mind reader. You think you need one more gag at the beginning
of your act that would involve the audience and convince them immediately
that you have the ability to read their minds.
"You have to read a
lot of different articles and books to come up with fresh ideas for your acts,"
says Bernie Levene, a clown.
You leaf through a book and think you've
found the perfect gag. Read over the description and by answering a few questions,
you'll discover if it's what you're looking for.
Mind
Reader
For this trick, you will need a secret helper. Remember
to select an unexpected helper. The guest will appreciate it and the secret
will be safer from the others.
Place a glass face down on a table and
invite any member of the party to place a small article beneath it when you
have turned your back or left the room. When you return, you will be able
to discover who placed the object under the glass by reading his mind.
When
you return, you place a finger on the bottom of the upturned glass and ask
each guest in turn to place a finger for a moment on the glass with yours
as you try to contact their thoughts.
When you have given everyone
who wishes an opportunity, you deliberate a moment and then confidently announce
the name of the person correctly. This is easy because your helper placed
his finger on the glass immediately after the person who placed the object.
If anything goes wrong or the person who placed the object tries to trick
you, your helper won't touch the glass, and you will speak vaguely of confused
vibrations and start again.
(Summary from Party Games You Will Play
Again by C.W. Rees. A.S. Barnes and co: New York)
Questions:
- Why does it seem as though you can read minds?
- What type of person usually makes a good helper?
- What happens if the person who placed the object tries to trick you?