Misdirection is an act of misleading, by word or gesture, to direct the spectator’s focus away from the method. Misdirection is the strategic diversion of attention, often used in magic to prevent the audience from detecting the method behind an effect. Misdirection can be physical (directing attention away from a move) or psychological (creating false assumptions).Magicians and illusionists use misdirection to “misdirect” attention away from the modus operandi, attracting the audience’s attention to a more interesting distraction. Misdirection is a fundamental principle in magic and is used in a wide range of magic tricks.
The magician used misdirection to direct our focus to his left hand holding the magic wand, while he did something sneaky with his right hand.