How to write patter for magic: a beginner’s guide to scripting your tricks

TL;DR: Patter is everything you say during a trick. Good patter gives the audience a reason to care, tells them what to look at and makes the ending feel like it means something. Pick one presentational style, write a short script on paper, read it aloud, cut every line that doesn’t earn its place, then test it on real people and keep trimming.

What is patter actually for?

Most beginners talk to fill silence, or narrate what the audience can already see: “Now I’m shuffling the cards.” That isn’t patter, it’s commentary. Patter has a job. It explains anything the audience needs to know, gives the trick a premise (why is this happening?), points attention at the right place, and sets up the ending so it lands.

The idea that the words matter as much as the moves is old. Maskelyne and Devant, in Our Magic (1911), credit Robert-Houdin with defining the conjurer as “an actor playing the part of a magician.” An actor has lines. Erdnase, in The Expert at the Card Table (1902), told the amateur without a natural “gift of the gab” to rehearse his patter “as carefully as his action.”

Patter also does quiet work for misdirection, which we cover in misdirection principles. This post is about the writing itself.

Do you always need patter?

No. Our Magic gives patter a whole chapter and lands in the middle: patter “is entirely essential in some cases, and quite unnecessary in others.” Tricks that need instructions or a volunteer usually need words. Very visual pieces can be stronger in silence, or with music. Decide on purpose, not by default.

Which presentational style suits you?

Most patter falls into a handful of styles. You can mix them, but one should lead.

Style	What it sounds like	Works best when
Story	“My grandfather taught me this on a train…”	You enjoy telling stories and have a few minutes
Demonstration	“Let me show you how a card cheat thinks.”	The trick looks like a skill or an experiment
Challenge	“Watch closely, you can stop me any time.”	Short, punchy tricks with a clear finish
Comedy	Jokes and asides around the method	You are already funny off stage
Personal	Your real interests, opinions and history	Almost always, as a seasoning
Silent	Gesture, looks, music	Very visual tricks, noisy rooms

Pick the style that fits you, not the one you admire most. Our Magic is blunt about this: “If the prevailing note of his address be comedy, he should be a comedian.” The same chapter adds, “It is always better to do an imperfect thing well than to attempt to attain perfection and fail in the endeavour.” A plain, honest script you can deliver beats a clever one you can’t.

How do you write a patter script, step by step?

1. Write the effect in one sentence. What does the audience see? “A card they chose and lost is found by the magician.” If you can’t say it simply, the patter will wander too.
2. Choose a premise. Why is this happening? A skill, a story, a test, a bet. This is where your style comes in.
3. List the beats. Every action in order: choose, return, shuffle, reveal. Our post on pacing and timing explains beats in more detail.
4. Write a line for each beat. Two columns: what your hands do, what you say. Write it the way you talk, not the way you write emails.
5. Write the last line first, then the first line. The ending and the opening do the heavy lifting. The middle can be short.
6. Read it aloud. Anything you stumble over, rewrite or cut.
7. Learn it, then rehearse with the props. Hoffmann’s Modern Magic (1876) advises delivering your patter “like an actor playing his part, and not like a school-boy repeating his lesson.” Know the words well enough that they sound like conversation.

What does a worked example look like?

Take any self-working card location you already know, such as a key-card trick from a beginner book. We won’t touch the method; the script is the point. Here is a first draft, then a rewrite in the demonstration style.

First draft: “Pick a card. Okay, look at it. Put it back. I’m going to shuffle now. Okay. Is this your card?”

It works, but nothing is at stake and the ending is a question that invites “no.”

Action	Rewritten line
Spread the cards	“Card players say every deck has a tell. Let’s see if this one does. Take any card.”
They look at it	“Remember it, and don’t let me see it.”
They return it and the deck is mixed	“Lose it. Now not even you know where it is.”
Before the reveal	“If the deck has a tell, it’s about to give your card away.” (Pause.)
The reveal	“That’s your card.” Say it as a statement, then stop talking.

Notice what changed. There is a premise (the deck has a tell). Every line gives the volunteer something to do or something to expect. The secret part of the method happens during a line that has nothing to do with it. And the ending is a statement, followed by silence so the reaction can happen.

How do you cut and test your script?

First drafts are always too long. Go through yours and strike out:

• Narration. “Now I’m shuffling.” They can see that.
• Apologies and fillers. “This is just a little trick,” “okay,” “so, um.”
• Explanations of the impossible. Erdnase suggested patter that “apparently explains the procedure” while describing the opposite of what really happens. Used lightly, that is fine. Over-explaining the method by accident is not.
• Anything after the climax. Once the card is found, the trick is over.

Then test it:

1. Record your voice on your phone and listen back. You will hear filler words you didn’t know you used.
2. Time it. If cutting a line doesn’t lose anything, it stays cut.
3. Do a full dress rehearsal for a friend. Hoffmann recommended rehearsals with a friend invited to criticize freely, with every trick worked exactly as it will be shown.
4. Perform it for real people, then note where they laughed, leaned in or looked bored. Rewrite after every few performances.

Borrow ideas, but don’t borrow whole scripts. T. Nelson Downs complained in Modern Coin Manipulation (1900) that imitators of his coin act repeated his patter word for word, and said that was not how a reputation is made. A script in your own voice is the one you will deliver best.

Where can you find more help with patter?

• Scripting Magic Volume 1 by Pete McCabe. A 462-page book on the question of what you say when you perform, with 43 scripts, 30 tricks and contributions from 26 performers.
• Conjuring Patter by P. T. Selbit, a free 1904 booklet of ready-to-use patter. Read it for structure, then rewrite in your own words.
• Self-working tricks, where the method looks after itself so you can focus on the script.

Sources: Our Magic (Maskelyne and Devant, 1911); The Expert at the Card Table (Erdnase, 1902); Modern Magic (Professor Hoffmann, 1876); Modern Coin Manipulation (T. Nelson Downs, 1900); House of Houdini, “Robert-Houdin, Father of Modern Magic”.

Frequently asked questions

What is patter in magic?

Patter is everything a magician says during a trick. It explains what the audience needs to know, gives the trick a premise, guides attention and sets up the ending.

Should a beginner write their own patter?

Yes. Borrow ideas from books and other performers, but write the final script in your own words so it sounds like you talking, not a recitation.

How long should patter be?

As short as it can be while still doing its job. Write a full draft, then cut narration, filler words and anything after the climax.

Can you do magic without talking?

Yes. Some tricks, especially very visual ones, can be stronger in silence or with music. Tricks that need instructions or a volunteer usually need some words.