Magic: Expert Guides and Resources

Learning and practicing magic is fun and challenging and to keep it as stress-free as possible be prepared to coolly answer questions about your tricks and make a quick recovery when a trick goes wrong. Know the different types of people in your audience so you can deal with their sometimes offbeat behavior and study some key words you will use repeatedly as you continue on your magic career.

Most audience members enjoy the entertainment and mystery of a magic show. But magic is an assault on every law of nature we’ve learned — making some people’s brains squirm. As you’re working through your magical career, here are some of the rarer magic spectators to watch out for: The Yellow-Bellied Grabber: This spectator can’t resist grabbing your props.

So you don’t look like an amateur, never reveal how you perform a magic trick. When someone asks you how you did your trick you need to say something, so try one of these snappy answers: "Quite well, don't you think?" "If I told you, I'd have to kill you." "I'm a genetic freak." "The question isn’t how — it's why.

Ideally, you would never make a mistake when performing a magic trick. Unfortunately, life isn't like that and circumstance and bad luck can rear their ugly heads. When a trick goes wrong, graceful performers shrug it off with humor and recover if they can. Try these lines when you mess up a magic trick: "I forgot to compensate for the rotational effect of the Earth.