Don’t Be a Magician

Can you do that one trick where I pick a card and you find it? Have you ever been asked that question? Typically when a layperson asks that questions it’s a with a bit of enthusiasm and high hopes that you’ll “know that one.”

Of course, we as magicians know that if you compiled every version of that trick into one book, the book would be thicker than planet Earth. It’s the same mentality when the spectator says, “I know this trick” the moment you pull out a deck of cards. They’re not stupid. They’re naive, maybe even ignorant, but they’re not stupid. The simple truth is that magicians and laypersons look at the world differently. They see things we don’t, and we see things they don’t.

Don’t fight it; embrace it.

Root:

Let’s Remember Our Roots. The Root: Lay people don’t think like us. They don’t know it’s possible to turn over two cards at the same time and make it look like only one. They don’t know that you can spray some stuff on two cards and they’ll stick together creating one of the greatest gimmicked decks in the world. They don’t know that you’ve spent hours alone with a deck of cards perfecting your perfect Faro.

They don’t know it’s possible to fold a signed card into quarters instantly and load it into a secret place . . . they don’t know . . . they don’t know. The problem is, you don’t either. You don’t know that most lay people only own one deck of cards their entire life. You don’t know that lay people would never write on their playing cards or rip them.

You don’t know that most lay people think that there’s only one card trick (maybe two). You don’t know that most lay people have never seen a good close up magician. You don’t know . . . you don’t know . . . It’s time to start knowing folks.

Branch:

Let’s Build Our Branches. Your Challenge: Don’t Be a Magician. Think like a lay person. In many ways, this article is an extension of a section in my book, 793.8 called Self-Working Lay Person. The idea is that you need to remember that you and non-magicians think nothing like each other.

Start thinking like a lay person. Watch them. See how they react to different things you say an do. Ask them why they liked the trick you just did. I’ll bet the answer will have nothing to do with how clever the secret move was.

Take some time to get into the heads of the people you perform for. You’ll be enlightened and a better magician for it.

Now go study the classics and go discover your true magical self.