Misdirection

In theatrical illusion, misdirection is an art of deceit that draws audience attention to one item to distract them from something else. The ability to control attention from the audience is the main goal of any theatre, and is the primary requirement of all magic acts. It doesn't matter if the magic is the "pocket trick" variety or a large stage production, misdirection is the central secret. The term describes either the result (the observer's focus on an unimportant object) or the sleight-of-hands or the patter (the magician's speech) that causes the illusion.

It's difficult to determine who first coined the phrase, however an early reference to misdirection appears in the writings of an influential magician and author, Nevil Maskelyne: Admittedly, it consists of misleading the spectator's senses, to hide from detection certain details for which secrecy is required. At the same time, the magician and artist Tarbell noted, Nearly the whole art of sleight of hand depends on the art of misdirection.

Magicians who have studied and evolved techniques of misdirection includes Malini, Derren Brown, Tamariz, Slydini, Tommy Wonder along with Dai Vernon.

Henry Hay describes the central conjuring process as a manipulation of interest.

Magicians divert attention of the audience by using two fundamental ways. One causes the audience to turn their attention away for a short time, so that they don't detect some act or gesture. The other approach re-frames the perception of the audience, lulling the audience into believing that some other factor has much to do with the accomplishment of the feat even though it has no bearing on the result in any way. Dariel Fitzkee notes that The true skill of the magician is in the skill of his performance in changing the minds of the viewers. Additionally, sometimes a prop such as the magic wand can aid in the misdirection.

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Misdirection exploits the limitations of the human mind to present a false image and memory. The mind of a typical person in the audience can only concentrate on one thing at a time. The magician utilizes this to influence the viewers' thoughts or perceptions of sensory input and lead them to make false conclusion.

Some magicians have debated the use of the term, "misdirection," causing plenty of debate about the meaning of it and how it functions.

Expert magician Jon Finch

identified a difference between misdirection and direction. One is a negative word as opposed to the other, positive. In the end, he sees both as one thing. If a performer, through some method, has influenced the mind of the viewers to believe that he's done something that he's not accomplished, he has incorrectly directed them into this belief; hence, misdirection.

Tommy Wonder has pointed that it's more effective, from the magician's perspective to focus on the goal of directing the audience's attention. He states that misdirection is an untrue direction. It suggests that attention is diverted from something. By constantly using this term the idea eventually becomes embedded in our minds that we may begin to see misdirection as taking the attention away from instead of towards something.

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Tony Slydini explained that if the magician believe it, the audience will believe in it, and magicians are something that they cannot observe. Misdirection is true when they believe in what the magician is doing and then follow the magician. reference

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