It's Your Fault If Your Spectators Say This
Magicians should pay attention to this
As someone who works on television projects but specifically in the writing phase, clarity is essential to me. In fact, I'd go as far as to say that clarity is the most important thing in all of my writing.
An audience must be able to understand what you are conveying; it's the basic foundation of every magic performance. In the new book I'm writing for magicians, I highlight the key differences between fooling and confusing your audience. A lot of people the magic community views as "magicians magicians" are often the ones I believe are confusing their audience rather than fooling them.
From my perspective, hearing a spectator say, "I have no idea what just happened!" is an instant red flag. I believe that your spectator should always know precisely what happened, and the magic comes from not knowing "how" it happened – "I have no idea how that happened!"
Ask your friends to retell what happened after you show them a trick. If they can't recount the steps you wanted them to remember, then clarity is an issue for you.
There's another big red flag I look out for when watching magicians perform. It happens when a spectator is hesitant after being asked to tell the magician crucial information like a chosen card or a thought-of word. They'll ask something like, "Do you want me to say it aloud?" or "Do you want me to tell you now?"
If you've ever had a spectator ask you these questions, you have a clarity issue – and it's a big one, too. It's a much larger problem than you might initially expect, and I'll explain why and the ways to counter it later in this article. First, something important that parlor and stage magicians often gloss over.
Top-End Anchoring
Last year, I went to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, and at the time, I wrote about how impressed I was with the way Tom Crosbie put his audience at ease at the top of his show. A large percentage of your audience will be concerned about being picked to come on stage and embarrassing themselves. Addressing this concern early and putting your audience at ease is crucial.
Since seeing Crosie's show, I've been paying close attention to the first few minutes of every magic show I've seen. I carefully listen to what the performer has to say, and I look intently at the members of the audience around me to see how they respond.
