No Questions
/There’s a mindset I think you need to adopt if you want to take your magic to the highest level.
It’s a mindset about what you’ll accept and what you won’t accept in the material you perform.
I’ve noticed on the Cafe and on some Facebook groups that when someone asks how people handle the suspicion that a certain prop or technique might generate, often the response will be something like, “No one ever questions ______.”
No one ever questions the cards. No one ever questions the coins. No one ever questions the fake receipts, or the unusual book you’re carrying around with you, or your coin purse, or the gimmicked lighter. No one ever questions the weird process you went through to tell them their star sign… they just think it’s real mind reading!
Imagine I made a movie and I showed it to you and when the aliens were attacking the White House, it was very clear that it was just people wearing masks made out of paper plates. And you said to me, “Don’t you want to make a more convincing costume for the aliens?”
And I said, “Oh, no one ever watches the screen at that point.” You would rightfully think it was a terrible movie and audiences were disinterested in it.
That’s because watching is how people experience films.
And QUESTIONING is how people experience, interact with, and appreciate magic.
That’s literally the defining aspect of magic: its ability to defy the questioning of the spectators.
If something incredible happens with an object that’s slightly unusual… then people will question that object. Also, if something incredible happens with a completely normal object… people will still question that object. That’s precisely what you want them to do. And then, hopefully, the routine is structured in such a way that their suspicions evaporate because you’ve anticipated and accounted for their questioning.
“The magician changed the red deck to blue. It looked amazing. I thought there must be something funny about the deck. But he let me look at it and it was just a normal deck. I have no idea how he did it!”
That would be the type of reaction you’d hope for from a color-changing deck.
“The magician changed the red deck to blue. I was amazed and had no further thoughts on it.”
That reaction only exists in the minds of people who are trying to sell you magic and morons who have no understanding of how humans think.
“No one ever questions….”
When people say this, what they really mean is, “No one ever verbalizes their questioning to me.” But most questioning takes place in the spectator’s head. So just because they don’t explicitly ask you about something, doesn’t mean they don’t question it or think they know what’s going on.
The mindset I find most helpful is not to think about what things the audience won’t question or what things I can get away with, but to just assume they will question everything. And then placing a high value on methodologies and presentations that go towards answering and defusing those questions.