talkmagic.co.uk

What makes good patter? I don't like just telling what your doing. I would like any ideas on patter. What patter makes a trick good.

I personally think we should get rid of the word. But - this is my own feeling on the subject. I talk to the people firstly to connect with them - ie gain rapport. I talk during the effect to either enhance what I'm doing - create tension, add humour etc. or , when it's necessary, to misdirect them from what I'm actually doing, or to get them to remember certain things in a certain way. If it's a powerful effect - I keep silent as the effect happens and let it speak for itself.

Patter can be quite difficult. What I would say is, don't patter just to patter.

That's probably one of the most important questions about magic. How can we present things in such a manner as to provide maximum impact? How can we actually create magic instead of showing off a nice move or an expensive gimmick?

I have recently come to realize that unlike sleights or gimmicks, a good feel for how to create magic cannot be developed by practicing in front of a mirror, but by working in front of actual spectators. True, rehearsal still remains a crucial ingredient on the practice schedule, but knowledge about what should be rehearsed does not come that way.

Many spectators know about magnets, threads, key cards, gimmicks and sleight of hand. But in the hand of a good entertainer all of these tools are still mystifying and captivating. Actually, most people - including me - who whine about "weak" effects don't have bad material, but just present our stuff badly.

So what to do? Well, I have not found the optimal answer myself, but at the moment I try to learn material from DVDs rather than from books. This way one can get a feel of how a showman really sells his material and what he does to misdirect from the principle used. This is at least a shortcut around many failures. Also the videos on many magic sites can be a valuable resource. Not as a guide to buy stuff, but rather to see how we react to a specific presentation.

Oh, it is true what taneous said - saying nothing can be a powerful tool if used correctly. But you still have to keep your audience's attention focused. Probably, saying nothing is more difficult than saying "something" ...

It really depends on what kind of magician you are trying to be. What would work with your tricks, what would work with your set on the whole?
What would be appropriate to how you dress.

How you engage your audience is the key stone of the bridge of magic, it relies on all the other things to work, but you need it to work.

Music, stories, comedy, or just step by step commentary.

Agreeing with the above the presentation only really develops via actual performance.

The way I do it is to look at an effect and work out a story or some scientific information etc that would fit with what actually happens. I also think up one or two funny lines. For myself that is usually dry humour. Once this is all done I perform the effect and begin to develop it.

I tend to find that maybe after 20 to 30 performances I've found a few more funny lines and developed or possibly changed the story around the effect. Sometimes I'll have two completely different ideas and try both of them to see which works best for me. occasionally I'll use both presentations depending on audience, maybe one is better for women than the other, maybe one works with younger specs and one for adults.

No matter how well I work out a routine it ALWAYS changes when it comes under the heat of real performance.

Patter to me is very important. I like to be humerous and spontaneous! Sometimes, for some tricks, I try to put my spectator's mind off magic and for them to start thinking that what I am doing is NOT a magic trick. Then at the end of everything, I would show how great (actually bad) a magician I really am!

Another thing I like to do is not pattering! Sometimes it's very humerous. I don't talk at all for a trick and make everything a joking matter! It's very appealing! e.g. If I'm doing ambitious card, I would point to their card and go: "hmm" and then put it into the middle and emphasize it's in the middle without talking. Then I make everything seem really childish in a way and it makes everything effective!

StEvEbO!

Beeing to funny, is also dangerous. Humour is personal, and a great magic trick can really loose its effect, if the humour patter is wrong or not suited the situation or audience....

rcarlsen wrote:Beeing to funny, is also dangerous. Humour is personal, and a great magic trick can really loose its effect, if the humour patter is wrong or not suited the situation or audience....

That is true! But I tend to be a spontaneous sarcastic humoured person and most people know me that way.

I actually really like your type of patter from seeing your videos rcalrson! It makes everything feel to friendly and mellow. Especially your invisible palming video. You look so calm! That's not in me, though I wish it was.

StEvEbO!

There is a wealth of good advice here about performance or patter, whatever label you wish to use.

I feel that one point that has been missed is also making your magic fit into the surroundings where this is also possible. As an example, I will consider using a different presentation or approach for a particular trick depending on whether I'm performing at a wedding reception or at, say a sales convention. As an example, I recently performed for a group of opticians and made a card appear in a spectacle case instead of a wallet which I thought gained a much better reaction because of who I was performing to.

With a lot of magic, the effects can actually be quite mundane without a storyline.

I am thinking Eugene Berger here, for example... his mentalism effects are heightened enormously by the patter. In fact, it becomes almost a pure form of mythology! (I actually BELIEVE the stories sometimes!)

However, I find patter has 3 important uses:

1. It can be misdirectional
2. It can assist your own pacing and flow of an effect
3. It can enhance an effect with a story

BUT...

Patter that goes on and on and on and on enough to bore the speccys to death isn't gonna win you brownie points.

And as with all patter, as mentioned in this thread, it needs to be adapted to your own style. Don't just recite it word for word.

Funny.
Misdirect.
Story.
Include Off Topic..... e.g your making a rabbit come out a hat and you say, did you hear about tony blair yesterday....

your making a rabbit come out a hat and you say, did you hear about Tony Blair yesterday....

Where's the connection between a rabbit and Tony Blair?

Exactly, there is not one, accept they both nibble through things and end up not finding what they want, but that the point, if you change the subject they will forget or get distracted from what your doing.

- Anyone heard the one about why Dubya invaded Iraq?

- Because Iraq and al-Qaeda both contain the letter K...

Kati