Audience Management & Crowd Control: the Secret REVEALED

From times of olde, magicians everywhere have been in diligent in their pursuit of ONE thing.

Not fame.  Not fortune. Not perfection.

It is the ultimate goal of every professional magician is to obtain and maintain attention from as many people as possible, for as long as possible.  Expert audience management and crowd control is the mark of a true professional, and every magician strives to eventually reach this climactic threshold in his career

“Magic is about understanding, and then manipulating, how viewers digest sensory information.” - Teller, of Penn and Teller

Without attention from the crowd, there will never be fame, fortune, or perfection. There will be no magic at all, since magic itself is crowd-born and dependent on the crowd’s full intellectual investment (belief) and undivided attention.

The magician has one mighty weapon in his arsenal, one solid-steel tool in his toolbox, with which to bludgeon and compel the crowd into submission…..

What is Misdirection ?

Well, that is a good question.

Linguistically, if we breakdown the word, it has two parts: MIS meaning “wrong or bad”, and DIRECTION meaning “the way told to go”.  Misdirection can, therefore, be defined literally as “showing or pointing out the wrong way”.

It seems that this aspect of magic theory can also seem bit nebulous, though; sometimes a little hard to put your finger on.  We all know what it is, and how it works, but it is often hard to assign a clear, broad-brush definition to something so ambiguous.  It depends on who you ask, I guess.

Penn Jillette, from Penn & Teller, describes misdirection in this way:  “Misdirection is the story you get the audience to tell itself-- which is fine, because that's what they came there for. They came there for the delight of being deceived, and for the delight of then digesting how they want to experience that (deception).”

Then, there is this from Michael Ammar :  “Any magic effect (what the spectator sees) requires a method (the magician’s actions to produce the effect).  The main purpose of misdirection is to disguise the method, thus preventing the audience from detecting it as they watch the effect unfold.”

Although describing misdirection using specific words might be a little tough, it is definitely one of those things that “you know it when you see it”.   In truth, however, it could be argued that, if performed skillfully, it’s never really seen at all.

I recently came across this definition, which seems to do a satisfactory job:

“In theatrical magic, misdirection is a form of deception in which the performer draws audience attention to one thing in order to distract it from another.”  Let’s just go with that, shall we?

So now that we know WHAT we’re talking about, let’s talk about WHY it’s important.

Crowd Mind Control

Managing audience attention is the aim of every magician, regardless of venue, and is the foremost requirement of all magic.  Unlike a movie, which allows watchers to follow the story passively, at their own pace, the magician must get the audience to actively engage with him. He then leads them through the show, getting them to follow him, like cattle, all the way to the final trick; ensuring, all the while, that they enjoy themselves.

“Misdirection is the story you get the audience to tell itself … “

-Penn Jillette

Of all the magical techniques, I believe that misdirection remains the most powerful.  Both skill and technique enable the magician to perform the trick, but without it being interwoven with misdirection, the crowd will see the effect as nothing more than technical prowess.  It is the misdirection that injects the trick with shock and awe, with amazement and wonder, and raises the crowd’s belief up to the level of “real magic”.

Misdirection is the key to any magician’s success, and it has various “shades” which can be utilized

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The Shades of Misdirection

Although there are countless specific ways to misdirect the attention of any crowd, I feel like misdirection overall falls into two basic categories:

Overt Misdirection

Overt (or active) misdirection is typically aimed at distracting audience focus in a brazen or “open” way.  This kind of misdirection doesn’t have to be expressed directly by the magician himself.  Instead, they could be “built in” aspects of the show:  colors and designs of stage sets and props, backgrounds, curtains, decorations, music, lighting, costuming (or lack of), live animals, etc.  All are designed with crowd distraction in mind.

Something as simple as calling for an audience member’s participation can be overt misdirection.  Here, the magician asks for a volunteer to join him on stage (along with encouraging applause from the audience), drawing attention away from the magician and toward the volunteer (a distraction).

Patter or spoken presentation, given deliberately or rapidly, as well as different kinds of movements, particularly those from beautiful stage assistants, can all be overt forms of misdirection.

Covert Misdirection

At some point in the show, the magician will want to perform some slight of hand.  He’ll make something appear, or disappear, or change locations, or one of a thousand other things.  He’ll use covert or hidden) misdirection.  And to do any of them, he’ll be subtle and begin to look inwardly to his own skills and training.  His effect will be more streamlined requiring that he no longer need club the crowd over the head with anything overt.

The crowd will be watching the magician intently.  He’ll begin shifting his gaze away from movements, looking to a ball that he falsely deposited into a hand, speaking about the “empty” cups on the table, or the “single” length of rope that he cuts into two and “stretches” to make equal lengths.  He’ll wipe a sweaty brow with a handkerchief, throw it on the ground, only to see it bounce back up into his grasp, hiding his dropping a coin into his pocket.

Every action will be monitored closely by each watcher, but the magician will prevent each from seeing his methods through the many covert misdirections built into his effects.

Your job as a magician (or mentalist) is to captivate and lead your spectators’ attention.  The fact is, most people don’t hold their attention on any single thing for more than a few seconds.

The success of your show depends on how well you manage your audience’s attention.  You know the act intimately; they don’t.  They depend on you to know where to look, what instructions to follow, what to focus on, and how to think in order for their entertainment to be maximized.  You have to lead them.

You should know where you’re going and what you’re going to say throughout your routine.  If you don’t—if you pause and think and hesitate —then you’re in danger of losing your grip on the audience’s focus, and the control of your crowd’s attention.

It’s up to you to not let that happen.

Let’s wrap this up

Perhaps the most crucial principle of magic is misdirection.  It has been called “the best secret of magic”, and for good reason.  A deep, thorough understanding of how misdirection is applied can catapult a show from average to spectacular.

Technique can get you far, and good skills are vital.  Well performed dexterity, ingrained muscle memory from countless hours of practice, all off these absolutely MUST have.  But without a proper blend of misdirection, it will all fall flat.

Misdirection IS the magic !

You can accomplish miracles with solid misdirection, and when properly displayed, you’ll make your audience focus on the misdirection (and stay focused on it) and believe that, in actuality, they know what’s happening and are following the trick accurately.

Each person will be fully interested, completely attentive and engaged, believing that he is on track with the magician. Make them see what you want them to see and you’ll have them right where you want them.

….. and they’ll love you for it !!

Cheers !!