We’ve all seen magicians and illusionists do magic tricks. And there is enough magic about that we have all seen bad magic as well as good magic. But here’s an important question: What is the difference? What makes good magic good and bad magic bad?

After ten years of performing close-up and street magic, I have come to realize that there are five elements that create a powerful performance of magic.

#5 A strong effect. And in this context, by effect, I mean what is supposed to happen that is considered magical. It could be a vanish, or a transformation or an act of mind reading. But it has to be a decent idea. Decent effects in magic are usually things that are obviously magical – easily communicable. The more direct, the better.

#4 The moves. Obviously, no trick requiring sleight-of-hand is going to work if the performer cannot adequately execute the moves required. That much is obvious. Mastering sleight-of-hand moves essentially comes down to careful practise and muscle learning.

#3 Elements of impossibility. These are the little things that stick in the audience’s mind when they recall the trick. The deck that the magician never touched, or the *** that could not have happened. Some would claim that this is part of the effect, but I disagree because a lot of the time you can perform the same effect without these elements and it won’t be as strong. Equally, some elements of impossibility are presentational and as such are not part of the effect itself.

#2 Audience involvement. And what I mean by this is slightly different to, but could include, audience participation. But what I mean by audience involvement could be a physical involvement – participation – or it could mean emotional involvement. Now, whether or not you have audience participation, an emotional involvement from audience members is essential if you are going to get reactions to your magic. And since David Blaine’s shows, all magic and all magicians are judged by the audience reactions they get.

#1 Good presentation. Any veteran magician will tell you this. And there’s a good reason for that: because it’s true. Even when you have all your moves down and you have chosen a reasonably strong effect idea, and you have elements of impossibility in place, the thing – the skill of the magician – that puts the whole lot together and makes it into a powerful magic performance is the presentation. It is this that communicates what is supposed to happen. It is this that communicates the whole scenario to the audience. It is this that essentially affects what the audience experiences.