1. Thou Shalt NEVER Tell the Secret
Magic is all about creating mystery. When you tell your audience the secret-how an effect was accomplished-you deflate that mystery. Other magicians who may want to show the same effect can no longer perform it for audience members who know a secret. More importantly, once you’ve turned your trick into a puzzle with a solution, it’s no longer a fun miracle.
2. Thou Shalt Practice, Practice, Practice
Before you perform a trick, always make sure that you’ve practiced your effect and presentation and, as much as possible, are confident in your performance. It’s natural to purchase or learn a new magic trick and want to perform it right away. But real magicians make sure that they can competently perform a trick and deliver a good presentation that makes the trick fun.
3. Thou Shalt Entertain
How’s this for a trick?
“I have an empty box.”
“I shut the lid.”
“When I open the box, there’s a rock inside.”
Your tricks can look like miracles to your audiences. But if you present even the best tricks in a boring manner, you’ll put them to sleep and make spectators think that they hate magic. Good magicians all know that their primary job is to entertain. So as you practice your effect, dress it up with a story or a joke. And when your presentation is good, it often distracts the audience from trying to figure out the secret.
4. Respect Thy Audiences
Another thing to keep in mind. Your job as a magician is not to show how clever you are or that you are smarter than those in your audience. Again, your job is to entertain and mystify. Don’t belittle audience members and under all circumstances, treat them with respect.
