Magic Tricks And You

Magic Trick Basics To Improve Your Skill And Style

If you’re interested in learning the craft and becoming a magician, it’s important to know the basic rules for honing your skills, presenting a style that’s entertaining, and more importantly, a style that’s convincing.

Many magicians begin by viewing free magic tricks from instructions online, and end up believing that, by simply shuffling cards and waving their hands, they’re ready to perform. Unfortunately for them, that’s not how it works.

Below are the basic rules for ensuring that all of your card shuffles, color change tricks, and sleight-of-hand moves are convincing and entertaining for all of your audiences:

1. Watch and Learn
   Whenever possible, read, listen and watch instructions for specific tricks in order to get a full understanding of how they work and how they are executed. Buy books and DVD’s whenever possible, as their specific chapters often contain good advice for beginners. Once you begin trying the trick on your own, take your time. Watch and even record yourself to see how the trick looks from a viewer’s vantage point.
2. Don’t Rush
   Don’t feel like you have to jump through the trick initially. Thoroughly learning each trick (especially those involving a sleight-of-hand) will likely mean moving slowly for the first few tries. The more you watch the trick being done and the more you try it yourself, the faster you’ll be able to move—just don’t rush it. It’s a performance not a race.
3. Make It Second Nature
   Learning magic tricks is one thing, but perfecting them is another. And the first step to perfecting the magic trick is doing it until you don’t need to watch yourself or think about doing it anymore. Much like becoming fluent in a foreign language, you must become fluent with all aspect of the tricks: shuffling the cards, side-stealing, and delivering the “wow” moment all take constant and consistent practice. So if you still need to watch yourself in a mirror to avoid exposing your weak areas in the magic trick, we recommend repeating it whenever possible—between meals, while watching TV, on your lunch break—well, you get the idea.
4. The Eye of The Beholder
   There’s no better way to find out if you look like a Gob Bluth on stage than to have an audience to practice with—just don’t reveal the magic tricks themselves to non-magician audiences! Ask a fellow magician or a friend who is already familiar with the magic trick to watch you perform it, and to give you feedback. With their own knowledge of magic tricks, they’ll feel free to let you know if you’re successful yet—or if you need to go back to the mirror.
5. Give It Style
   Once you’ve perfected your skills and can seamlessly perform all of your tricks, from the initial card shuffles to the final bow, you’re ready to work on your style. That is, give your magic tricks flair that is yours, which helps represent you as a magician. Above all, be confident—make sure to act as if you haven’t just performed an impressing feat the moment you pull the trick. Don’t let audiences see you change your breathing and blinking patterns, and don’t change the tone or speed of your monologue.

Likewise, have tricks that are guaranteed to please in case your audience is less than receptive to any of the more difficult illusions you have trouble attempting. And remember: the more you practice, the better magician you’ll become!

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