Jon Stetson

JON STETSON
Entertainer/Speaker/Intuitionist
ON THE ROAD: 200 days per year

YOU'VE ENTERTAINED PRESIDENTS GEORGE H.W. BUSH AND JIMMY CARTER, THE KING OF SWEDEN, AND SCORES OF CORPORATE AUDIENCES REPRESENTING ALL MANNER OF INDUSTRIES. WHICH AUDIENCE DO YOU ENJOY MOST?
It might sound flippant, but I have to say, the next one. I've been flown to London to work after dinner at a table for a group of 10, and I've worked for crowds as big as 10,000.

YOU BILL YOURSELF AS AN INTUITIONIST. WHAT DO YOU MEAN BY THAT?
I create programs, experiences, that allow people to be entertained by themselves. They and their thoughts become the stars. It could be called a comedy-based mind-reading program.

FOR INSTANCE?
I'll have someone think of a favorite movie. I go through a procedure, not only to reveal the information, but have it be all about that person and why she would choose that movie, and make her feel great.

IT’S LIKE A GAME OF 20 QUESTIONS?
Not so much. I'll get feelings from people. Honestly, I exercise an intuitive muscle that most people don't.

SUCH AS?
Psychology. Suggestion. . . . I listen when people speak. But more important, I listen when they don't speak, because that’s when they reveal everything.

WHAT DO YOU LEARN WHEN THEY ARE NOT SPEAKING?
That’s when people speak volumes. Watching travelers getting off a plane, I can tell when someone is going out on a trip or returning home. Without them saying a word, I can tell if someone has had a successful business trip because of their relaxed demeanor or confidence in their step.

BUT YOU MUST BE WRONG A LOT, TOO?
Yes, but I don't mind being wrong. I quote Wayne Gretzky, who said, “I miss 100 percent of all the shots I never take.”

WHAT’S BEEN YOUR MOST MEMORABLE ONSTAGE BIT OF INTUITION?
I surprise myself all the time. The other night, I told a woman to focus on something, like the fact you have a green house. This woman’s jaw dropped: “We just had our house painted green about two weeks ago.” Things like that happen all the time.

DO YOU HAVE TIME ON THE ROAD FOR SIGHTSEEING OR A RETURN TO FAVORITE HAUNTS?
Sometimes I'm in five cities in five days. Maybe about a third of the time, I'll have some time to relax. When I can, I'll take in a ballgame. I like to go to museums, and I'm a bookstore rat.

ONE WOULD THINK YOU COULD MAKE A KILLING AT THE POKER TABLES. DO YOU PLAY?
I'm more interested in watching a table of players, seeing how they act and react and studying them in a Marlin Perkins fashion as opposed to sitting down and playing. Plus, poker is hard work. I want to relax.

OF ALL THE CITIES YOU'VE VISITED, WHAT’S YOUR FAVORITE? AND WHY?
I love Tokyo and New York for the same reason: energy. I leave both cities inspired.

WE'VE COME TO THE LAST QUESTION. SURELY YOU CAN INTUIT WHAT IT IS?
I'd say it has something to do with the enjoyment or satisfaction factor of what I do, or maybe “What am I thinking right now?”

NO. I CONFESS: I DIDN'T WANT TO ASK THE OBVIOUS, AND, FEARING YOU MIGHT BE READING MY TYPED QUESTIONS UPSIDE DOWN, I CUED IT WITH LETTERS ONLY.
I have to congratulate you, because you had me totally engaged. And that’s what I try to do onstage.

SO NOW I'VE GOT TO REMEMBER WHAT MY LETTERS STAND FOR.
What brings you here to New York?

BINGO.—J.G.


- Delta Sky Magazine, February 2009