Everybody loves to be entertained and most people are fascinated by magic tricks and illusions.  Not just those performed by the mega-illusionists who travel the world and command the big money, but also those performed more intimately right in front of them, many using simple everyday items like matchboxes, cloths and coins. Many of these are easy to learn and can be performed successfully without much preparation. In fact, the most common tricks are performed using playing card and coins and these are both a good way to practice and develop technical and audience distraction skills.

Card tricks are one of the oldest forms of conjuring and perhaps they represent the best introduction to the art and performance of magic tricks for the beginner. Whilst you can buy special magic card packs, you could start with a normal deck of playing cards and learn specific card magic techniques that don't rely on props. Some of these tricks can be freely found online.

Start with a simple illusion or trick and then practice, practice, practice until it becomes natural behaviour.

It’s important to start with a simple illusion as some magic tricks can be complicated and take months to perfect the perfect illusion. As a beginner starting out with a more simple trick will require less practice and patience and you'll get results faster which in turn will improve confidence and lastly, you’ll experience the rush and delight of being a performing magician much quicker.

Even the most basic of magic tricks can still be impressive when performed correctly. At the outset you won’t have all the expert skills and that’s why it’s vitally important to practice as often as possible. If you need to add some more tricks once you’ve started to master the basic actions, then there are some specialised card packs which will quickly allow you to fill out your routine, but even these need to be practiced.  Can you spot the recurring theme yet?

Once you start to feel comfortable with handling the cards, you might want to add some variety into your performance and again there are plenty of affordable tricks and illusions that you can purchase which will both increase your repertoire as well as teaching you new techniques to use in amazing and amusing your friends and family. Once you’ve gained confidence in your magic tricks and abilities you may want to invest in some of the more expensive equipment but small and simple has to be the way to start in front of friends, family or any audience as it’s your ability to perform and direct a crowd which is the important aspect to understand.

The most exciting part of any magic trick is the effect it has on a live audience no matter who they are. Whether you’re performing for a few friends and family or you’re performing a magic show to a crowd of hundreds, the buzz of hearing gasps of wonder and the applause they give will be what will keep you motivated and coming back for more.

Once you've mastered the basics and gained confidence in your technical abilities, you'll need to start thinking about your audience and how to use the art of distraction and misdirection to take your magic skills to the next level. Many of the greatest magic shows, tricks and illusions involve a combination of misdirection and theatrical performance techniques to control the audience while the magician performs the secret moves needed to complete the trick.

The best way is to develop your own style of performance when performing your magic tricks. This will not only make your performance more entertaining, it’ll also serve as an additional prop, in as much as you control it and through it your audience, which will become equally as important to you as any of the illusions in your box of tricks. Your primary performance skill will be the development of manual dexterity or slight of hand whilst maintaining eye contact with the audience.

So in summary, here are our top tips for performing magic tricks:

Start Simple: begin with simple tricks and illusions that don’t require you to buy elaborate props. There are plenty of very affordable, yet extremely effective tricks that can be purchased for pocket money. Once you chosen a trick stick with it until you are proficient at it before moving in and learning another.

Practice: it really does all come down to this. Practice your chosen magic trick until you are completely confident that you can make it work each and every time. Only then should you begin to perform it in front of others.

Confidence: a by-product of practice. As you gain proficiency with a trick, overall dexterity and performance techniques, this will give you the confidence essential to convince your audience that not only is your magic trick truly magic but you are an accomplished magician.

Attention and distraction: learn to hold the attention of your audience and control it with eye contact, humour and well rehearsed movements.

Performance style: memorable magicians not only are well rehearsed and proficient with their tricks, they also have a certain style and charisma. Thought must be given to your appearance, voice, delivery (patter), props and the location when performing a magic show.

Once you’ve mastered these techniques, your magic tricks should leave your audience spellbound, entertained and probably most important of all, mystified and wanting to see more. Now to get you started on this lifelong hobby, at Karnival Costumes we’ve assembled a great collection of good quality, highly entertaining and yet very affordable magic tricks. So whether you’re looking to add to your collection or simply looking for that one-off trick to entertain the family at the next party, we’ve something for you!