Along with patter and talking to the audience, I quickly became aware of the fact that using gestures,..when I speak for emphasis, (but also just for any reason I can) I noticed that using gestures not only is important and gives me a whole lot more opportunity for misdirection, it really is a very important part of doing close up magic!
Now, I never have been much of a gestures user my whole life. I tended to be quite inanimate when talking a lot of the time but since learning magic I have completely changed. Anyone meeting me now, when I am doing magic, would think I have been gesturing all my life. I have incorporated it into my norm. It is such a great thing to help the magic be accomplished that I truly feel that no one should overlook this important part of our craft. Are there any books which specifically talk about movement of the hands in gesture and the power of doing so in close up?

The Spanish style uses gesturing to great advantage. For magicians such as Juan Tamariz or Dani DaOrtiz, the gestures feel natural and fit their personality. If it feels forced or overdone, it will have a negative effect on your magic and the audience. While I don’t know of a gesture-specific book, below are great resources to study misdirection, most of which touch on ways of using the body to misdirect. These magicians all understood the importance of using their words and body in unison to seamlessly weave misdirection into their performances.

Juan Tamariz - The Five Points
Tommy Wonder - Books of Wonder Vol. 1 and 2
Arturo de Ascanio - The Structural Conception of Magic
Andrew Galloway - Diverting Card Magic & The Ramsay Legend
John Carney - Carneycopia
Lewis Ganson - The Magic of Slydini

While it’s not a book, I strongly recommend Tom Stone’s lecture on Penguin. He has a great lesson on movement and misdirection - i.e. If a hand is moving up and another is moving down, people will look at the hand moving upward. He goes into depth on things of that sort.

This is an interesting read when you have time: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7674851/

T. J.

Wow thank you so much my friend. This is a great start for me. Just to mention, I totally agree that if gestures are, or seem, forced then they are going to have a detrimental effect. The reason I have ended up thinking about gestures so much is because when I start to perform I naturally start using them as a part of the flow of the sleights and the patter combined. I honestly feel I cannot do any without the other!
I will get that Tom Stone lecture. What you mentioned reminds me of, erm I think it was Slydini who also did some work on that sort of thing, movement taking the eyes' attention and such like. Gary Kurtz, also.
Thanks again.

You're welcome. I've no doubt Tom Stone touches on misdirection in many of his written publications as well, but I don't have them all so I only want to give advice based on what I've explored myself. Yes, Slydini was a master at it. In my studies, John Ramsay has been the go-to reference when magicians talk about misdirecting with your eyes - i.e. if you want them to look at you, look at them.

I'm sure you already know this, but just be mindful that excessive gesturing can become a distraction or annoyance, especially if it's incongruent with the message you want to deliver.

Best of Luck,
T.J.

Oh my goodness, Tom Stone is such a likeable guy and I feel like I want to learn everything he is teaching! I will be looking into his written material and John Ramsay too. Cheers.

Yes, gestures are very useful in magic. In any sort of public presentation. When I have attended sales education seminars on presenting, they always reinforce gestures as a way to get your message across.

But gestures aren't the only thing you can take advantage of, of course. Vocal intonation is also important. Basic body language too, things like leaning forward to emphasize and draw attention to something. Leaning back to help the audience know they can relax. You can really take advantage of all of the above.

Gary Kurtz 'Leading with your head' is a great resource. Also, Tyler Erickson's segments on Reel Magic Magazine sometimes cover body language and gestures.

Thank you Ray, great points made about moving the body and also the voice. I neglected to consider the intonation but now realise I do it somewhat already. It's basically a whole package isn't it. Gestures, Body Movements and Vocal Intonation and Pausing too(well, 'vocal timing' I should perhaps say). and I absolutely love Gary Kurtz and his whole approach to magic. I was never more saddened to learn someone had left the world of Magic than when I learned he had. But his books are useful. So glad he did the videos and books that he did.

The power of Sway Methods and its many unique sleights is practiced coordination of natural hand and body movements
and their use in all effects - not just the ones for a particular effect. Gestures are part of that.

For example, when gesturing to the audience in a sweeping manner, or indicating a single person, my finger position is identical
with the ring and middle touching. The difference is the degree of spread and curl of the other fingers.
That way I am always in posture for a small object in Ramsey/Liwag/Malini.

The widely published "Sway Reverse" is a way of casually showing both hands to be empty while possibly concealing a small objects.
The focus being that the gesture actions are identical either way and congruent for all effects ( and in mundane life).

Also, coordinate toe point with gestures as well as shift of body weight. These can be used in psychological ways to signal or mask actions
for Directed Focus or Misdirection.

The point is that a consideration of gestures and coordination with other aspects of a routine are important and never 'accidental'.

Both gestures and "chance comments" can be made to appear as an impromptu reaction to audience participation - but fully practiced.
It is wise to practice some sleights with both hands to expand your gesture effectiveness.

Picked up Kurtz's manuscript earlier this year from Doc Eason's website, and I wish I had done so decades ago. The layout is a bit messy but the content should be required reading for any magician.

Ken, good points above. I think shifting of body weight is a very powerful and often overlooked tool. Shoulder movement can also be used very effectively. Howard Hamburg offers some great advice on this in his Penguin Lecture.



-T.J.