Why Is 'A Touch Of Magic' Good For Your Conference?
- Ian Rowland
- Mar 5
- 5 min read
How Does 'A Touch Of Magic' Make A Difference?
If you're organising a conference, it may be hard to see why you'd want to book a speaker or trainer with a background in magic and mentalism (mindreading). I can appreciate that if you're putting together a conference devoted to, say, software testing or healthcare products, it can be hard to see the added value you'd get from someone who can add a touch of magic to the proceedings. However, strange as it may seem, there are a few reasons why this makes good sense. In this short article, I'd like to outline four of these reasons for you.
For context, let me say that I rarely get asked to take part in meetings and conference as a magician, first and foremost. I usually get hired as a keynote speaker or to provide training in any of my main subjects (see my Trainer page for more details). However, I am a Member of the Magic Circle and I've performed magic and mindreading shows all over the world. I therefore often (though not always) add touches of magic to my talks or to the training I've been invited to provide.
1: Distinctive And Unusual
Organising a conference involves a lot of time, care and effort. When you've done all the work, the last thing you want is for those attending to look bored and see it as 'just another conference'. Over the years, I've had many conversations with conference organisers about their desire to create an event that feels distinctive and 'a little bit different'. In many cases, the fact that I can add a few touches of magical suprise, fun, intrigue and entertainment provides the 'distinctive' element they are looking for. It's also a good way to 'warm up' an audience before you get to the 'meat' of the conference or presentation. One of the nice things about magic is that it scales to any size of stage or audience. I can perform magic for one person, ten people or a thousand.
2. Magic As Metaphor
'Magic as metaphor' is one of my favourite subjects. Magic tricks and effects can provide spectacularly clear and visual metaphors for certain points you may want to get across to your audience. Here's an example. Many organisations want to encourage fresh thinking and new ideas. How else are you ever going to make progress or develop innovative ways of doing things?
But there's a problem. Very often, even well meaning people might be heard to say that a particular corporate goal or ambition is quite simply "impossible". Alternatively, they might say, "We've got the system working as well as it possibly can". In other words, they aren't receptive to fresh thinking because they sincerely believe there's no gain, no improvement, left to be made. The counter to this is to (tactfully) help people to realise that they don't know what is or is not possible. There are various conventional ways to do this. For example, you could discuss psychological reseach into how poorly most people perform when asked to assess what is or isn't possible. You could also mention a few case studies of companies that managed to come up with new ideas in areas where there seemed to be little or no scope for innovation. I have occasionally used both of these approaches.
However, the best way to get this point across is as follows. I show the conference audience a red box roughly eight inches square. It's a solid, rigid box. It doesn't bend or stretch. I open this red box and, from inside, take out a blue box. I then open the blue box and put the red box inside it. This is not a magic trick in the usual sense. I can even get someone from the audiebnce to do it and it still works. The amazing truth is that it is possible to start with a red box that fully contains the blue box; and then show that the red box is fully contained within the blue box. Everyone in the room will agree that before seeing this done, they would have said it was impossible. This is a perfect visual metaphor illustrating that no one really knows what is or is not possible. So, maybe there is a way to cut down order processing times, or reduce the number of software testing stages, or trim production costs without sacrificing quality... and so on.
By the way, if you're reading this and want to see the red/blue box demo for yourself on Zoom, and if you think we might work together, I'd be happy to arrange this for you. Just send me an email.
3. Adding Entertainment Value
When people hire me as a speaker or trainer, they tend to welcome the fact that I can wear 'more than one hat', so to speak. For example, they might say, "We're having a dinner on the eve of the conference for all the speakers and invited guests. Can you put on a small after-dinner show for us?". Or: "We're having a social event before we get to the main conference, can you entertain people with close-up magic in bar?"
In other words, they want to add an element of fun and entertainment to the proceedings. I am always happy to do this type of thing. Also, thanks to my 'One Fee' policy, it's all included in the price. See: 'How Much Do I Charge?'.
4. Entertainers Make Good Presenters
Some people fall into what I call the 'PACE' category: Performers, Artists, Creatives and Entertainers. Generally speaking -- and acknowledging that there are exceptions -- PACE people tend to make good presenters, speakers and trainers. They are relaxed and confident in front of an audience. They have sufficient experience to 'read the room' and engage people. They know how to communicate effectively because it's how they earn a living. Provided they have a certain amount of experience, or if they have 'put in the flying time' as we say in the trade, they know about presentational matters such as Z-scanning the audience; clarity and vocal projection; phrasing and intonation; timing; appropriate use of humour; use of space; how to hold, use and display props; appropriate use of visual aids and keeping to a set time slot.
This concludes my four main reasons why a touch of magic is good for your event, meeting or conference.
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