How To Create Magicians Patter – What To Say When Performing A Magic Trick

by Dominic Reyes Leave a Comment

Emma writes: ‘The thing I struggle with the most is my patter, it takes me awhile to figure out what words and phrases I should use in different situations. I don’t like most hack lines as they generally make fun of the spectator, some advice I got was to defuse whatever heckling situation I am in with humour.

Do you have any input or advice for me, I’d really find it helpful.’ Thanks. – Emma

Hi Emma,

Yep.. How to create magicians patter that works well and suits you as a performer is 90% of the work that working magicians focus on once they have their act set and the effects within it up to performance standard. Much of what will make you a great entertainer is how you relate and interact with your spectators and win over your audience.

Close Up Magician have it hard..

I completely agree that humour wins out most times, but I always try to avoid any put downs or one liner heckler stoppers. They are tacky and basically you’re sinking as low as the heckler or troll. Brushing off everything with a smile or laugh is much more professional. If it’s too much, you can always politely end as soon as possible and move on. Never get in a challenge ‘heckler stopper’ situation. It might work on stage, but it’s far more dangerous close up.

Scripting Vs Freestyle Patter

Performers tend to fall into two camps. Those that script and plan their presentations, and those that prefer a type of ‘jazz’ freestyle presentation’. Which you choose will depend on your nature. However, if you have to think about it.. Chances are you would be better planning and scripting your presentations.

Using a plan or the magic script method doesn’t mean you will come across as wooden or inflexible. Through the use of rehearsal a good scripted presentation can seem, natural, organic and impromptu. Watch lots of stand up comedians and see how they present their act in a way that almost looks like they are coming up with the jokes on the spot. They even stop and laugh with the audience as it’s new to them too. It’s not. They have rehearsed their act to be like that. You can do the same when you create magicians patter for each effect you do.

Here’s some more posts that relate to this question that might help you.

Why Magicians Hate Scripts

Create Magicians Petter Without These Words

Make Sure You Do This Before You Perform

Creating Non-Awkward Patter for Your Tricks

How to Create Magicians Patter That Deals With Hecklers

Best wishes and good luck with your magic

Dominic Reyes

Magicians Patter – How to Avoid Being Boring

by Dominic Reyes Leave a Comment

By Dominic Reyes

Why your magicians patter should only tell the spectators things they don't know already.

What makes up a good magicians patter? It should be interesting, entertaining, and move the plot of the magic trick along. There's one thing that magicians love to add into their patter and scripts. We just can't help ourselves.. but we don't need to tell our spectators things they already know.

'I have a deck of cards in my hand.'

'I'll place the lid back on the sharpie pen.'

'I'm going to cut the rope in half, at the middle.'

Your audience already knows this. They can see it! Resist the temptation to fill up your presentation with a running commentary of things that should already be obvious. It's boring and looks like you are giving yourself instructions as you perform. Stating the obvious as a form of magician's patter is lazy. It doesn't move the magic trick forward and does nothing to entertain the spectators.

When you give a commentary about the magic tricks you perform, it should be to highlight unusual objects, create a story or setting, or focus attention on a part of the tricks mechanics that is important for the spectators to remember.

'The three coins in my hand are very, very old…'

'The blade will enter the deck to pierce it's heart..'

'You must hold the playing card tightly as if your life depended on it..'

Effective Magicians Patter – The Different Types of Patter Within Magic Tricks

by Dominic Reyes 3 Comments

By Malcolm Duff

Magicians Patter is the name given to what you say as you are performing a magic trick.

Magicians Patter has many elements – each with one or more different purposes. If you watch a magician and listen to their patter you will find that you can categorise each piece of the patter according to it's purpose:

Instruction

The easiest form of patter to spot is “Instruction”. You are telling the spectator to do something.
“Pick a card”, “Think of a word”, “Hold out your hands”, “Don't take your eyes off of that card”, and so on.

Question

This is very close to “Instruction” but subtly different. The patter is intended to obtain some information from the spectator.
“Would you like to see a trick?”, “Could I ask you to sit over there?”, “Does anyone have a business card?”, “What is your date of birth?”. This category also helps with misdirection and suggestion. “Did you see it jump?”, “Do you feel it getting lighter?”, “Wow! Can you believe what just happened?”.

Statement

A good one. You make a statement about what you just did or what you are about to do. The statement may or may not be true. That is the point. People, for some reason, are more willing to accept that a statement is true than they are to immediately doubt that statement. People – eh?

“Right. So we now have a shuffled deck.” (No we don't)

“That card was randomly chosen by you.” (No it wasn't)

“So I moved the ball from that cup to this cup.” (No I didn't)

“Now, this part is a bit difficult.” (No it isn't).

You should mix true statements in amongst the false ones otherwise the spectator(s) will soon be running you out of town. I find it fascinating that you can get away with telling fibs even though you announced that you are performing a “trick”. Oh! Statement – like Question (and also Instruction) – helps with misdirection and suggestion.

Timing

This is very useful for a performer. It's one of the 7 habits of successful magicians. If you know your patter you can use it to time your “moves”. You may have noticed that as you are performing, you are having an internal dialogue with yourself (who else?). “How am I doing?”, “What 's next?”, “When should I do that?”, “Am I going too fast/slow?”. Your patter should tell you what is next, where you should be in the magic trick, where and how you should manipulate a prop. I do not mean that your patter should explicitly tell you these things. No. Just that it provides the rhythm of the trick. It stops you going too fast or slow because speech needs to be said at a speed that allows the punter to take it in. Sure, there are magic tricks that go way too fast or slow – but they are part of the effect for that particular trick. Generally, your patter establishes and maintains the speed of the magic trick.

Story

I have left this to the end because if you pick up nothing else from patter, picking this up will improve your performance no end.

You are an entertainer. That is what you are doing.

Your magic trick should have a story, a narrative. Something that “brings in” the audience to better experience the thrick. Nothing too weird – “These four Jacks went down the pub” is fine. Just build the story step by step until the spectator is engrossed – not only by the trick(s) – but also because they are now very, very far away from what they thought was even possible. You created that world – now they are living in it.

Finally, you can tell how important patter is by performing whatever trick you like – in front of a mirror – whilst saying nothing. Didn't work, did it?

So. Go learn your patter – it will get better the more you practise it. Same as everything else in your life.