talkmagic.co.uk

Holding onto a false solution and then blowing it out of the water at the end is a great way to ruin a spectator's brain. The simplest model for that is when you make a coin vanish in one hand, keeping the other closed - before they have a chance to vocalize their suspicions, innocently open the other hand, and then all the stuff you did beforehand is forgotten.

As Shufton mentioned earlier, and as Kenton mentions often, you should be thinking direction rather than misdirection. What do you want them to be paying attention to? Direct them to that.

As soon as you start thinking "misdirection", you're concentrating on what you want to hide, and that's not good.

I thought of an interesting paralell to how we use misdirection.

Birds.( and animals, and some fish ).

If a bird has chicks in the nest, and a preditor comes along, the mother bird will often leave the brood, puff it's self up, and put on a display a few yards away from the nest, in the hope that Mr Snake, or Mrs eagle will go to them instead.