"I Guess Everyone Thinks..."
/One of my least favorite responses in a mind-reading or prediction effect is: “Well, I guess everyone thinks of the number 59.”
I get it. For some spectators, it’s easier to assume everyone names the same random two-digit number than to believe the mystical premise I’ve set up. But it’s still annoying.
When asking someone to think of a card, many magicians say: “Think of any card in the deck.” Then they’ll amend their instructions by saying, “Now, a lot of people go for the Ace of Spades or the Queen of Hearts, so don’t pick those.”
What I don’t like about this language is:
It feels restrictive—like I’m telling them what not to pick.
If they were thinking of one of those cards, now they feel like I called them out for being a basic bitch.
It makes it sound like I’ve been doing this a lot, when, in most circumstances, I want this to seem like something I’m just doing now with them for the first time.
Here’s the language I use instead…
With Playing Cards
“Think of any card in the deck. You can go with an obvious one like an Ace or Queen, or something totally obscure.”
With Numbers
“Think of any two-digit number. You can go with something obvious like 13. Or a ‘funny’ number—[I make air quotes]—like 69. Or something totally obscure.”
With Anything
“Think of a house pet. You could go with something obvious like a dog or cat—or something less common.”
Why This Language Works
First, it makes it sound like all the options are open to them.
Second, it doesn’t give them time to settle on something before I label that option as “obvious.”
Third, it nudges them away from the examples without saying “don’t pick this.”
Fourth, and most importantly, it kills the “everyone must think of that” explanation. You’ve told them what the obvious choices are. So now they’re going to dig for an obscure one. And because they’re actively prioritizing obscurity, they can’t then tell themselves, “I guess everyone thinks of that.”
And if someone does choose one of the options you name beforehand, it’s because they think it will trip you up. “Ah—he said everyone thinks of ‘Dog,’ which means he probably doesn’t want me to think of Dog. So I’m going to screw him up by thinking of Dog.”
So they can’t fall back on “everyone picks that”—you already said that, and clearly left the door open to pick something else.
Either way, it feels like their decision—whether they leaned into the obvious or deliberately swerved away from it. In this way, they're making a free choice of how to proceed before they even make their final choice. And that freedom reinforces the illusion of total unpredictability—even when you end up nailing it.