Simon Lipkin’s excellent tutorial for Tricolour reminded me of something which my late mentor used to drum into me.
The power of the ‘recap’, just adding the words, ‘lets recap’ will lead you to improve the impact of virtually any magic trick you do. Once you’ve said them, you have forced yourself to run through what has just transpired, concisely emphasising the impossible constraints which are about to demonstrate have been broken.
Let us imagine you are at the conclusion of a routine, everything has been forced nicely, your work is done, right? All you need to do is turn over the prediction.
Is that how they do it on MasterChef? Once the cooking and tasting is over, do Greg and John just say ‘Ryan you’ve won?
Of course not. Despite the process being over and despite us and them all seeing what has transpired and heard the remarks, they line them up. Greg and John take their time to explain how difficult the show is, how only one person from thousands etc….
And even though I know exactly who is going to win, I’m edging closer to falling off my seat, they better choose ‘Ryan’. A longer than necessary pause and then ‘Boom’!
Apologise for my dubious T.V. viewing, I just enjoying shouting at the T.V. but you can substitute any competitive show. We tell ourselves these build ups are annoying and frustrating, but in reality they give us that hit we crave.
The T.V. producers know a thing or two about drama, tension and the power these moments have which is why they are willing to take the time to create them.
It is easy to think, the trick is over once the process is complete and rush the end result. You may be worried you’ll lose audience attention if you don’t rapidly get to the result. They know the prediction is going to be correct so what’s the point…
Nothing is certain until that prediction or card is revealed. A recap accentuates that. Often it can exaggerate it as we put in little fake ‘truths’ such as ‘I never touched the cards’, ‘it has been in full view the whole time’, ‘you could have said any number, you could have chosen any card’.
Then the pause allows all this to sink it, it makes the revelation a moment, not a forgone conclusion. The tension brings the impossibility to the fore and plants doubt into your audience’s mind. That makes the direct hit so much more powerful.
Add the words, ‘Lets recap’ to your presentation and channel a little John and Greg. Just see what it does.