When you show someone a magic trick, how do you present the moments of magic? Do you present it as a miracle, or simply a trick?
If you study the performance of the vast majority of famous magicians, you can't help but notice that they define magic in the performance with every movement they make. The performance is mesmerising... even their fellow magicians stop thinking about methods.. Which magicians that have that effect on you? What do they do, that you could follow in order to create a similar impression on your own spectators?
It isn't the tricks they decide to perform.. The secret isn't the props, or the gimmicks.. It’s the presentation of the tricks!
The best advice I could ever give you would be to watch as many professional magicians perform as you possibly can. There is a wealth of information to be gained from watching skilled performers and learning from it. Obviously, the secrets to the tricks are not taught. That's OK.. The secrets to magic tricks don't matter... You have your own material to master without continually searching for more. Don’t worry about searching for ‘method’. The tricks in and of themselves are not important for the point we hope to highlight here. You can learn so much from the magician alone.
Notice how the magicians conduct themselves, their posture, their pacing and timing. Make a note about the way they focus the spectators’ attention whenever needed. Forget all about the gimmicks and props.. Instead Learn as much as you can about how they PRESENT the magic and give it meaning.
This focus in learning good showmanship is critical to your progress because it's what you need in order to create magic in a spectator’s mind. I'm going to say the next part in bold as it's the most important part of this post, and probably the most usefull lesson to learn.. sadly.. it's the lesson most people ignore and never get the gains from.
The presentation is more powerful than the method. Self working card tricks can be just as powerful as complex sleight of hand if you apply the right presentation.
Please take a moment and read that again.. You will not see that in any advert for a magic trick. It's not in any instruction manual for the tricks you buy. THE PRESENTATION. Study successful magicians showmanship skills... That use of your time is better then learning another 50 magic techniques you will forget in a few months anyway.
DO THIS: Next time you are loading yourself up with magic tricks, take a few seconds to think about how you will perform them to their full potential. Don't rush through your tricks if you don’t immediately get that amazing reaction; these things build over time. Your audience can be amazed time and time again by the same trick as they are reliving it in their minds. It's hard to keep silent or bring the focus back to yourself at a time like this, but it is worth it! Make the most out of your performances, be confident and believe in your skills, and you will get the gains.
I hope you find this useful in your magic practice.
Best wishes
Dominic Reyes