There is a rule in magic, “fool the mind not the eye”. The five senses of sight, hearing, touch, smell and taste communicate messages to the mind of what is present or real. In magic, using convincers that directly impact the five senses assist greatly in fooling the mind of your spectator.

“Convincers” convince our spectators that something is “real” or “true” when in fact it is not. Convincers allow us to prolong the time between when we secretly execute the magic and when we actually let the audience know that the magic has happened. This lapse of time is often referred to as time misdirection.

An example of a convincer that uses the sense of hearing can be given in the simple disappearance of a coin.

• Holding a wooden magic wand under your left arm and a coin in your right hand, perform a false transfer of the coin from your right hand to your left.
• Before opening your left hand to show that the coin has disappeared, grab the magic wand with your right hand, having the butt of the wand rest against the coin palmed in your right hand.
• Open your left hand wide enough to tap the magic wand onto the coin that your spectators think is in your left hand, but not so wide that the spectators can see your empty hand.
• As you perform the tapping motion on your left hand, let the butt of the wand in the right hand hit against the palmed coin.
• The sound of the action occurring in your right hand will convince your spectators that the coin remains in your left hand. Then open your left hand fully showing that the coin has disappeared.