In theatrical magic, misdirection is a form of deception that draws audience attention to one item to distract them from the other. Controlling attention of the audience is the aim of all theater, and the foremost prerequisite for all magic shows. It doesn’t matter if the magic is a “pocket trick” variety or the stage is a major production, misdirection is the central secret. The term refers to either the result (the observer’s focus on the unimportant object) or the sleight-of-hands or the patter (the magician’s voice) that creates it.
It is difficult to say who was the first person to coin the phrase, however the first reference to misdirection appears in the writings of an influential author and performer, Nevil Maskelyne: Admittedly, it is a method of distracting the viewer’s senses in order to screen from detection certain details that require secrecy. At the same time, magicianand artist Harlan Tarbell noted, Nearly the whole art of illusion relies on the art of misdirection.
Some magicians who have researched and refined techniques for misdirection includes Max Malini, Derren Brown, Tommy Wonder, Juan Tamariz, Slydini and Dai Vernon.
Henry Hay describes the chief act of conjuring as manipulation of interest.
Magicians divert attention of the audience by using two fundamental ways. One leads the audience to glance away for a brief time, so that they do not notice a act or gesture. The other approach re-frames the viewers’ perceptions, leading them into thinking that something else is a significant factor in the success of the trick even though it has no bearing on the outcome in any way. Fitzkee notes that The real talent of the magician is in the skill he exhibits in influencing the mind of the audience. Sometimes, a prop such as a magic wand aids in misdirection.
In the absence of misdirection, even the most proficient sleight-of-hand or mechanical prop is unlikely to create an illusion of genuine magic. In truth, misdirection is the core of successful illusions.
Misdirection makes use of the limitations of the human mind to create a false picture and memory. The brain of a typical spectator can only focus on only one thing at a given time. The magician uses this to influence the perceptions or ideas of the audience of sensory input, leading them to false conclusions.
Some magicians have debated the use of the term, “misdirection,” causing many discussions about the meaning of it and how it operates. The superb illusionist Jon Finch identified a difference between misdirection and direction. One being a negative term, while the other is a positive. In the end, he sees both as one thing. If a performer, by some method, has influenced the minds of his audience to the conclusion that he’s done something he hasn’t accomplished, he has incorrectly guided them into that belief; hence, misdirection.
Tommy Wonder has pointed out that it’s more effective, from the magician’s viewpoint, to concentrate on the goal of directing attention to the audience. He states that misdirection is an untrue direction. It suggests that attention is diverted away from something. Through constant use of this phraseit becomes it is ingrained into our brains that we may begin to perceive misdirection as directing our attention away from rather than toward something.
Slydini said that if the magician believes it, the audience will believe it, and magicians are something that they cannot see. It is true that people believe in what the magician is doing and follow the magician. more info on misdirection