Magic is something that everyone loves whether it is on silver screen as our favourite Harry Potter or it is the legendary works of Mr P.C. Sarkar. Magic brings out our inner fantasies in the form of seeing something unbelievable happening. But what is Magic? Is it all about having some kind of supernatural power to perform uncanny acts or one needs to really go to some special school like Hogwarts to master it?

In reality, Magic is nothing but an art itself which one can learn by reading, watching or listening (provided ample practice, hard work and dedication of course!). But what sets apart a great magician from an okay-ish magician? Is it the tricks? The instruments? Or is it just about luck? Well, the answer lies in something else. It is all about creating the perfect illusion.

Now the next question that comes to your mind is, “How can I create perfect illusion?”. For that you must remember few key points:

Psychology is important

The first key to success is accepting the fact that your audience is no fool. They know that you are no wizard, yet they come to you, they believe in your magic. So your movements should be motivated by audience’s point of view. If you can have an excellent understanding of what your audience is expecting and present your performance based on that, it will become much more easier for you to convince them. If you can really interact with them on stage, as spectators they will focus more on your story-telling rather than what you are actually doing with your hands. So, build a story around each of your tricks!!

Illusion is all about presentation

Another important quality of a great magician is his presentation skills. Sometimes, the trick may be very simple (for example: a trick with cards, which is basically based on statistics of probability) can catch the attention of your audience if you present it well. It is very essential to connect to the audience. Make eye contact, talk to them, and make them involved in your act. Being a magician is not about performing magic, at the same time you should be able to stir the emotional response in your audience. Develop your persona. Create your Unique Selling Proposition (USP) and build your performance on it. It will distinguish you from others.

Build confidence

You should be confident on stage. If you appear relaxed and can laugh off your small mistakes, it will help in building relationship with your audience, presentation will be smoother. It is not possible for anybody to anticipate everything that could go wrong on stage. So it is utterly necessary to prepare yourself about the aftermath of any pitfall. It will only happen when you perform enough in front of public and be comfortable with them as well as with yourself. This requires a lot of practice as well as guts to pick yourself up after things went wrong. But remember, it is necessary to fail before you succeed. So, learn from your mistakes, improve your performance next time.

Similarly, whenever you are on stage, giving a presentation (be it on any topic), you are no less than a magician. You must create a perfect picture before them, make them involved in the topic. It is your responsibility to create the illusion every time with your words, with your power point slides. When you make a presentation, your first priority should be your audience. Presentation should be simple, clear, at the same time it must create an impression in their mind. In today’s tech savvy era, we have many tools to make our presentation better (for example, slide templates, videos etc.). Just like a magic trick, you should know your subject well. To become a good presenter, it requires lots of effort, practice and dedication. Be comfortable with being on stage and always remember: It’s your show. You are the illusionist. So only you hold the key to a successful presentation.

Written by: Sudeshna Roy