Free Lecture Replay Now Available

Wanna hear a free lecture on impromptu magic?

It happened last night, but you can listen to the recording now at:

http://instantTeleseminar.com/?eventid=11937018

No need to sign in or pay anything. Just listen.

I recommend downloading the file and listening to it on your computer or iPod whenever you want. (However, make sure you get to it soon because the special deal is going to expire in a few days.)

Go spread some wonder!

Live Lecture TONIGHT On Impromptu Magic

You’re invited to attend a LIVE telephone magic lecture tonight as my personal guest.

Tonight I’m going to answer the BIG question:

“What do you do when they ask to see a trick?”

Impromptu, on-the-spot magic is such an important part of your magic career and it often isn’t given the attention it deserves.

As a magician, you need to be able to WOW anyone, anywhere, at any time, with ANYTHING you can find!

It’s a tough job, but fear not! I’m here to help with SOLID real-world tips from over 15 years as a professional magician.

You’re going to love what I reveal tonight.

It doesn’t matter if you’re a close-up performer, a stage performer, or anything in between. Your impromptu set will be responsible for more bookings than anything else that you do.

It’s going to be AMAZING and I hope to “see” you there.

Mark your calendar!

EVENT:  Secrets of Impromptu Magic
DATE & TIME: Tuesday, March 16th at 8:30pm Eastern
FORMAT: Simulcast! (Attend via Phone or Webcast — it’s your choice)
TO ATTEND THIS EVENT, CLICK THIS LINK NOW…
http://instantTeleseminar.com/?eventid=11937018

Magic Trick Gone Wrong…Funny

These three guys are actually very creative film makers and they’re taking YouTube by storm.

Have you seen their interactive web videos yet? I’m just warning you now…if you start, you’ll be watching them for the next few hours…they’re THAT good!

Here is one I saw today:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eDn0ow8EzcU

Why are they so entertaining? And more importantly, what can we learn from them as magicians and mentalists?

They are entertaining because…

* They’re kind of funny

* Good special effects

* They’re freakin’ INTERACTIVE!

In my opinion, the ONLY reason they have so many views is because the videos are interactive.

The plot (by itself) sucks and the comedy is just okay…However, the fact that I can interact and “choose my own adventure” makes this WILDLY entertaining.

Please, please, PLEASE make it a point to involve your audience when you perform your magic. It will take your performance to a new level.

P.S. This is one other possible reason the card manipulation guy fails to entertain people…his act is not interactive.

For you card manipulators out there…come up with a way to involve your spectators. It may take some creativity, but you’re artists…I know you can do it. Send me a video of what you come up with and I’ll post it here.

Showing Magic Tricks To A Monkey

This is one of the most magical things I’ve seen in a LONG time.

There is a major lesson here for magicians and I hope you catch it.

It’s not your magic that’s important…it’s the experience you create for your audience. It’s the entertainment value you deliver.

I’ve been saying it for years, but I think this video is the best thing I’ve seen that actually represents that idea fully and completely.

Without the monkey, this magician is very mediocre. WITH the monkey, he has a home-run act that he can perform ANYWHERE for ANYONE on ANY STAGE.

It has universal appeal and I can’t think of anyone who wouldn’t want to watch this guy do magic tricks for his monkey.

Heck, I’m not ashamed to admit that I was almost brought to tears by the overwhelming sense of wonder that the chimp re-ignited in me. As a magician, I’ve seen a lot of great reactions to magic (including thousands of live performances for children), but the chimp’s reactions in this video were absolutely pure, completely uncomplicated, and truly magical and wonderful in and of themselves.

There are going to be some magicians out there who complain about this guy’s magical ability and the tricks he selected.

I’ve got three words for you…”Get a LIFE!”

This is one of the top 3 magic acts I’ve EVER seen.

Please comment on this post and let me know you’re alive out there.

Let’s Straighten This Out Once And For All…

I’ve been getting a lot of comments on YouTube and some emails saying that the trick “Motion” is done with magnets.

(To see “Motion, click here:)
http://www.TheMagicTeacher.com/motion.html

I don’t know how else to say it…

There are NO magnets used. (That’s my wedding ring in the video…I never take it off.)

* BORROW a pen (no switches)

* BORROW a water bottle (or beer or soda bottle)

* Move the pen with your mind.

Now that we’ve got *that* straightened out, let’s get something else, even more important, straightened out:

Nothing…*NOTHING*….is more important than your audience’s perception of your performance.

…Not your tricks

…Not your sleights

…Not your patter

…Not your methods

For example:

Even though “Motion” doesn’t use magnets, it is my responsibility to MAKE SURE the audience knows that I don’t use magnets.

They can’t even *think* about magnets. Once they do, the trick might as well be ruined.

It’s the same with every trick you perform. Your audience needs to know that what you’re doing is apparently impossible, with no conceivable explanation.

Any explanation they come up with…even if it is the wrong one…ruins the illusion.

Suggestions for those who have and use “Motion”:

Make it move in different directions (both towards and away from your “ring hand”).Re-affirm that it is a borrowed pen. Let them examine everything.

Suggestions for those who DON’T have “Motion”:

Buy it. Seriously. Today. It’s a great trick.

http://www.TheMagicTeacher.com/motion.html

Go spread some wonder!

- Tim David
http://www.TimDavidMagic.com

More Magic Trick Categories?

After receiving many emails, I feel I should explain something about the “Fave Five” magic categories a little further…

Mentalism is not technically magic…it’s mentalism. That’s why I did not include things like prediction, psychokinesis, super-human strength, etc. in my list of the five most basic magic effects.

Also, I suppose a restoration might be considered a version of transformation (with a restoration, you’re changing a destroyed object into a whole object). However, the main difference is that you’re using just ONE object (transformation uses two different objects.)

Do you think restoration is worthy of its own category? Why or why not?

Go spread some wonder!

P.S. The voting results are almost all in! Right now there is a tie for first place. Place your vote by commenting on the “Fave Five” post below. Please no emails. Only votes placed as a comment on the blog are counted.

Fave Five Magic Tricks

Did you know there are really only five magic effects?

Everything else is just a variation or combination of those five.

Here’s magic’s “Fave Five”:

1. Vanish – Making something disappear.
2. Production – Making something appear
3. Restoration – Destroying something and then putting it back together.
4. Penetration – Making a solid object pass through another solid object.
5. Levitation – Defying gravity. Making something (or someone) float.

An example of a combination would be a transposition. An object disappears and then reappears somewhere else.

Or a transformation. An object disappears and instantly another object appears in its place.

The possibilities are endless. Which is why there are so many magic tricks out there.

I want you to post a response below and answer this question:

Which of the five magic effects is your favorite?

When the results are in, whichever effect wins, will be the next effect that I teach you.

Go spread some wonder!

- Tim David

P.S. Motion has really been “moving”. Check out this hot effect at:

http://www.TheMagicTeacher.com/motion.html

Why Magic Theory Sucks

Before I tell you why I hate magic theory, let me tell you what magic theory is.

Magic theory comes from magicians sitting around with each other “sessioning”.

Magic theory comes from practicing alone in your room for hours.

Magic theory comes from reading magic books and watching DVDs.

Magic theory comes from listening to a lecture from a guy who has never done a magic show in his life.

In other words, magic theory is what sounds good on paper. It’s a set of ideas that someone “thinks” would be good to apply to your magic.

Now I’m not saying that reading magic books, practicing, sessioning, or attending lectures is bad. In fact, you SHOULD be doing those things.

What IS bad is sitting around pontificating about your show, just THINKING about what would or would not work.

It’s also bad to take advice from magicians who have NO REAL WORLD EXPERIENCE.

The only advice you should be taking is the advice from your own experience in front of real people, or other people’s
experience in front of real people.

Everything else is just guesswork or conjecture. That’s why they call it “Theory”. And that’s why theory sucks.

Please don’t get me wrong…

Practicing is good. Sessioning is good. Attending lectures is good. Watching DVDs and reading books is good.

THEORY is bad.

My advice for you today is to stop thinking so much about your magic and start performing it for real people!

You will learn so much more by getting out there and actually performing than you could by any other means.

Similarly, be careful who you take advice from. The guys at the local magic club meetings may mean well, but if they have no real show experience, then all they can give you is theory.

Go spread some wonder!

- Tim David

P.S. If you’re interested in learning the type of card magic that works in the “real world” (with NO theory), then check out what we have going on at:

http://www.CardTrickInsider.com

Every month, I provide you with card trick tutorials of tricks that have what I call “impact factor”.

That means they “WORK” in the real world, for real spectators, in real situations. They carry a huge impact.

Soon, we’re going to be starting a special members-only teleclass series.

This month’s topic is “How To Have Unshakeable Confidence While Performing Magic”. You can only attend if you are a member of CTI.com.

Sign up now at:

http://www.CardTrickInsider.com

One Thing A Magician Must Never Do…

Don’t you hate it when someone leaves a door open and you want it shut?

In my house, the doors must be closed because we have a 2-year-old (well, almost 2) running around and we don’t want her to fall down a set of stairs.

I especially don’t want her in my office where I keep all my inventory!

She can destroy dozens of DVDs and decks of cards in mere seconds.

And if she gets into the spare office, then she’ll see all her Christmas gifts!

What does any of this have to do with performing MAGIC?

Everything.

The great Johnny Thompson once taught that a great magician must “close all
the doors” on the spectator.

An “open door” represents any possible explanation for how you do a trick.

Great magicians don’t give the spectator ANY hope of figuring out how they did
any trick or routine. How about you?

Every time the spectator thinks he has an idea as to how a trick works, a great
magician will “slam the door” on that idea.

How?

Through his words, his actions, his patter, and his skill.

For example, a spectator might say to himself, “I think he’s palming it.” (Open door) Then you show your hand apparently empty. “But that’s impossible because he just showed his hand empty” (You’ve just slammed the door shut!)

As a magician, you must anticipate where any open doors might be, and then slam them shut before the spectator can even get there.

If you leave them with something that they can’t even begin to possibly explain, then you’ve created a pretty high-impact moment for them.

Here’s another example…

When people (magicians included) see my Solstice card effect, they can’t explain it because all the “doors” have been slammed shut…

- The way my left hand holds the cards in a “Death Grip”

- The fact that my right hand doesn’t even touch the deck

- The fact that it happens so quickly

All of these things are designed to close the doors in the minds of the spectator who is watching the effect.

And guess what?

It works, baby.

Your homework is to take one of your tricks and find a way to close all of the doors in the minds of your spectators.

Go spread some wonder!
- Tim David

P.S. Don’t worry, I didn’t forget today’s special deal in honor of the “12 days of Christmas”.

Since it’s the Winter Solstice, it only makes sense that the deal of the day should be 50% off of my “Solstice” Death-Grip Card Change download!

http://www.TheMagicTeacher.com/solstice.html

So instead of $6.97, you’ll get it today only for $3.48.

P.P.S. Remember, the discount won’t show up until the checkout page (the page that says “Tim David” at the top).

What every magician needs to know

Today is day 9 of our email mini series (12 days of Christmas).

Today’s theme? “9 Ladies Dancing”.

I’m going to give you a secret about magic that, if you learn, will make ladies dance with excitement after watching you perform magic.

(Some gentlemen may dance too…)

Here’s the big secret:

The ONLY thing that matters about your magic performance is how it impacts your spectators.

Does it inspire them? Move them? Thrill them? Make them laugh?

What is the “impact” that your magic has?

And here’s the REALLY big secret that every magician needs to know…

“Fooling” your audience is not enough.

Take another look at your magic and see how you can add another dimension to it and make your performances more impactful.

I’ve written an ebook for beginning magicians called “High-Impact Card Tricks”

It is a collection of tricks (with video tutorials) that carry a huge impact when presented for real spectators in real situations.

You see, magicians are not supposed to create their acts for other magicians.

We need to perform for the rest of the world! After performing professionally for as long as I have, I’ve realized that certain tricks work better than others in the “real world”.

The “impactful” tricks are the ones that I’ve included in this book.

Read about it and enjoy a WHOPPING 70% discount (only $2.99) at:

http://www.HighImpactCardTricks.com

Go spread some wonder!
- Tim David
http://www.HighImpactCardTricks.com

P.S. Today’s deal of the day will expire in 24 hours. Don’t miss this one.