Masterclasses for Schools & Sixth Forms
What are your students not noticing right now?
Magicians make a living from the gap between what people see and what they think they see. In this interactive masterclass, Dan uses more than 20 years as a professional magician to show students how attention really works, and how easily it's steered.
Based on the 45-minute session Dan delivered at Shiplake College, it explores observation, attention, perception, communication and misdirection through live demonstrations, stories and audience participation. There's no slide-heavy lecture. Students take part, get fooled, and then work out why.
Students leave with three ideas they won't forget:
Observe more.
Most of what's in front of us goes unseen. Students learn to really look.
Assume less.
The brain fills in gaps, and it often fills them in wrong. Students learn to catch it in the act.
Question what has your attention.
Someone, or something, is always competing for your focus. Students learn to ask who is directing it, and why.
Why it works
Interactive from start to finish. Students are involved, not just listening.
Memorable. Magic makes abstract ideas concrete, so the lessons stick.
Relevant. It applies to critical thinking, media literacy, social media, revision, interviews and everyday life.
Flexible. Suitable for assemblies, enrichment programmes, PSHE, careers events and sixth-form conferences.