Why Magicians Shouldnt Do Magic Tricks

August 29, 2008

Should any Magician perform Magic Tricks? This may seem like a stupid question, but bare with me. This is a question of perceived value. If you are, or consider yourself to be, a Magician, are you an amateur, professional or semi-professional? Call yourself an amateur and you risk people assuming that you are not very good. Call yourself a semi-professional and people could assume that you will be cheaper to book than a full professional. Call yourself a professional and people will assume that you do this full time and have no other source of income. They will also assume that you are extremely good at magic.

Similarly, if you do Magic Tricks, the word trick gives the impression of something that anyone could do, if only they knew the trick (true, but this ignores the long arduous practice that it takes to get the trick right - it also ignores the Performance, the entertainment value of the way the trick is put over to your audience). Now I would be the last to claim that my Magic is real - that I can wave a wand and things just happen because I want them to - or Id be turning base metals into gold, not subjecting myself to the nerve-wracking torture that is a Kids Magic Show!

The point is - yes, there IS one! - the perceived value of a trick is less than that of an effect. A Magical Effect sounds so much more ... magical, than a magic trick. A part-time Professional sounds marginally better than a semi-professional and miles better than an amateur!

What your customer needs to know is that you can put on a good and entertaining performance - if you cant, then you shouldnt be performing in public anyway!

If you call yourself an amateur; why? If you don’t want to make money from Magic, fair enough. If you do, then you should consider raising your game; call yourself a part-time professional until such time as you are ready to go full time. Entertain rather than do magic tricks. Perform Magic Effects rather than do Magic Tricks. The difference is in the performance. Make it entertaining and mystifying as well as clever, and they will love you for it.

The main difference between an amateur, semi-pro and a professional is one of confidence and marketing. If you have the confidence that your abilities are up to public scrutiny, then only poor marketing will prevent you from becoming a professional. You can boost your marketing and your confidence by referring to Magical Effects rather than Magic Tricks in future. That one small change could be enough to kick your career into overdrive, and will certainly give the paying public a higher opinion of you.

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