The Magician’s Skill

In the world of theatrical illusion, misdirection is a form of deception in which the performer attracts attention of the audience to a certain object to divert attention from something else. The ability to control attention from the audience is the main goal of any theater, and the foremost requirement of all magic acts. If the magic is of an “pocket trick” variety or the stage is a major production, misdirection is the central key to the success. The term refers to either the effect (the eye’s attention being drawn to an object that is not important) or the sleight of hand or the patter (the magician’s voice) which creates the illusion.

It’s difficult to determine who was the first person to coin the phrase, however an early mention of misdirection is found in the writing of a renowned magician and author, Nevil Maskelyne. it involves spooking the viewer’s senses to block out from noticing certain aspects in which confidentiality is essential. At the same time, the magician, writer, artist and performer Tarbell noted, Nearly everything about illusion relies on this art of misdirection.

Magicians who have researched and refined misdirection techniques include Paul Rosini, Malini, Derren Brown, Tommy Wonder, Tamariz, Slydini, and Dai Vernon.

Henry Hay describes the central act of conjuring as manipulation of interest.

A few magicians can divert attention from the audience in two primary ways. One causes the audience to look away for a fleeting time, so that they don’t detect some act or gesture. The other method alters the viewers’ perceptions, leading them to believe that some other factor has much to do with the accomplishment of the feat when it really has no bearing on the effect at all. Fitzkee says that the true skill of the magician is the ability of his performance in changing the spectators mind. Sometimes, a prop such as a magic wand aids in the misdirection.

Misdirection is the cornerstone of nearly all successful illusions. Without misdirection, even a mechanical gimmick or the most adept sleight-of-hand is not likely to create the illusion of genuine magic.

Misdirection makes use of the limitations of human brains to create a false picture and memory. The brain of an average spectator can only focus on one thing at a time. The magician makes use of this to influence the perceptions or ideas of the audience of sensory inputwhich leads them to incorrect conclusion.

Some magicians have debated over the usage of the term, “misdirection,” causing a great deal of discussion about what it is and how it works. The distinguished illusionist Jon Finch made a distinction between direction and misdirection. The first is a negative phraseas opposed to the other, positive. Ultimately, he equates both as one thing. If a performer some method, has influenced the mind of his viewers to believe that he has done something that he’s not done, he’s wrongly guided them into that beliefand, consequently, misdirection.

Tommy Wonder has pointed out that it’s more efficient, from a magician’s perspective, to concentrate on the positive aim of directing the audience’s attention. He states that misdirection is wrong direction. It suggests that attention is directed away from something. By constantly using this termthe idea eventually becomes ingrained in our minds that we might start to see misdirection as taking the attention away from instead of toward something.

Tony Slydini said that if a magician believes that, the public will believe in it, and magicians are something that they cannot observe. The trick is to accept what the magician says and follow the magician. reference