"This effect does the work for you"
"You can begin performing in minutes"

Has anyone mentioned "go ahead and..."?

I think it's quite recent, but my God, it's getting annoying.

Ryan Schultz, an otherwise engaging performer and instructor on the Big Blind Media "Self Workers" series, cannot go more than two or three sentences without saying it.

"I'd like you to go ahead and cut the cards..."
"Now go ahead and memorise your card..."
"Just go ahead and sign your name here..."

It is ALWAYS redundant.

Michael O'Brien, who does the instruction for Josh Zandman's Time Traveller book test, is another perpetrator. "Now you can go ahead and name the word they looked at..." Again and again and again.

Four COMPLETELY unnecessary syllables.

Once you notice it, you can't unnotice it and it's infuriating.

I just go ahead and cry now.

Thanks for pointing it out! Someone has to! I don’t even realize I do sometimes. I actually got called out for saying “mkay” too much and corrected that. I have more to work on now!

For me it's, "SHOOT, pretend you didn't see that!

haha

"Just like that."

I've been watching a lot of Jay Sankey videos lately, mkay?

He says kay and mkay so much I'm afraid I might start picking up this bad habit.

No end to this.

The British love to say: "Brilliant" after a spectator has cut a deck of cards. What's so brilliant about that?

"I see a red card" when being blindfolded.

"Look closely". One guy said it 24 times in the course of a single trick.

But enough of the ranting. Some remedy is called for.

A way out of this is to tape your patter and then listen to it, eyes closed. Makes me cringe everytime I do it, but it is darn useful.

Ciao for now

Erik

"Packs Flat and Plays Big"....argghhh...please...JUST STOP IT!

So, if we took out all of the overused terms in this thread, we could probably get a card revelation routine down to: "Card" (pause) "Six of Clubs".

How much time would that save. Now if we can only remove the spectator from the equation.....

I would guess Ryan could be tired of everyone spelling his last name as Schultz rather than Schlutz. (or maybe he just expects it)

Though this comment is not exactly on topic, it just jumped out at me seeing the post and Ryan's name right below it with a response.

Much of what has been said in the thread is common sense, as not to repeat or mention pointless phrases. This is all about reading and writing skills. We have been performing stories as children before other children already with 8 grades in elementary school and it was part of the curriculum. Over the years we have been making essays and teachers have been constantly pointing out to repetitions and pointless phrases, in the end, maybe 4-5 pupils or students among about 30 are able to write a story correctly and nicely talk about it in front of others.

A magician who knows how to direct attention can tell any kind of phrases and pass with it, as the point is not what exactly is spoken but where exactly the attention is. When there is much attention on phrases like "Brilliant" or "Pick any card" or similar explained in this thread then this draws audience to think whatever was not intended. The general rule is to observe what effect one wants to present and then to draw attention on those details adding and building the effect. If that is observed, magician can tell anything. Phrases become overused if attention is on them.

My advise is to watch Tommy Wonder's videos, he does not put attention on those overused phrases, he uses them, but they don't get noticed as attention is not on them. He draws attention of the audience on the necessary details that builds up the effect. Juan Tamariz uses many phrases over and over again though makes sure that attention is drawn on the effect.

I have read the first couple of pages and find the topic very interesting. I think that I get the idea people are focused on. But if I am correct, then what this thread needs is more concrete examples of how to avoid these phrases, and at the same time sound relaxed, confident and natural (i.e., not forced or pretentious).

"52 cards 52 possibilities."

I heard someone else say it ONCE... I didn't even like it but somehow it stuck in the back of my brain and I catch myself blurting it out when I'm nervous. I hate it.

Now I feel like I'm hearing it everywhere too which is just hammering it deeper into my head 😑

I find that one good. It may enhance the understanding of impossibility. Too many times I see card performer not communicating well enough, moving too fast, not letting people even grasp that the event is impossible. Magicians are in general more intelligent than average, and will often speak faster, grasp faster, understand the environment, people, and their intentions quicker. Working with public allows us to sense what people may tell at certain point of time, we may have some jokes ready as soon as they tell it. The senses of a magician are raised. But as fast as we may speak, public may not even grasp it. Building it up with explanations of impossibility makes an effect stronger. It is not just about talking, silent pauses and enough time to allow the public to see what is happening is important.

There are effect with coincidence by using two decks, that is 104 possibilities. The phrase may be useful when one switch from one deck to the other, building it up to the final effect.

It's a good thing I wasn't included in that statistic!

As a decent-at-best coin guy, I can remember watching the old David Roth coin dvds, and while learning the tricks, you strangely follow every word of his patter, especially his famous retort, something like…“These are half dollars, 50 cent pieces…silver coins.”😁

Strangely, you find yourself saying and presenting the effect in the same voice almost word for word, and it’s hard to shake it. And at the time it seemed everyone presented his works just that way. 😊

I agree with everyone and I think one remedy is to read about esoteric magic more. The Kabballah, or Toltec sorcery, anything other than about tricks, to try to get in the head of wizards and mages and sorcerers to see what they are thinking about. Also, try to avoid the Harry Potter stuff...everyone has already done that.

I am a friend of Jeff McBride for many years, and yet I must admit that the connection to the school of the Eugene Burger influence in scripting for magicians is very strong. I'm not plugging the book out of friendship to Jeff, but have been noticing reviews on Eugene's new book in the European mags (Magicseen for one), and I myself probably need more of this. We all do except Jeff's students...they already are getting it. I went on a Zoom event just before Xmas to his Magic and Mystery School. p.s. Don't use the patter provided with tricks. Using the props in another way is a topic for another day. Happy New Year!

Also, just thought of mentioning Carl Jung's work on symbols and archetypes. Also, anything on dream analysis (doesn't have to be Jung) That's more Freud, but plenty of others.

Hate to go on and on. But. I was thinking that before even scripts, we need to have in mind a concept about our magic and what it is like to US. For example, and I can use coin magic as a good place to start - when I think or say "vanish", I don't mean the object ceases to exist. No. I mean it becomes INVISIBLE and there is a difference. And, while invisible, if I gently toss it up, it can hover, until I want to pluck it back again. It gives me something to base my acting around (where I look, etc.)

Another concept...before even scripting the words, that I'm pioneering now, is to think that when something becomes invisible or vanishes, that what really happens is that I send it to the future, about 5 seconds into the future. When it reappears, "5 4 3 2 1" (It reappears). "We caught back up to it!"

So, concepts about what our magic power at hand is like, then a script.