Zoom Magician: Who Should Introduce the Session, and What to Say

Zoom Magician: Who Should Introduce the Session, and What

The two minutes before a performer begins do more to shape a virtual session than anybody plans for. A room that's been told what's about to happen, by somebody whose presence signals this is worth their time, starts in a completely different place from one that's been read a list of credentials by a nervous organizer.

It's a small thing that's easy to get right. I'm Magical Katrina, an award winning magician and mentalist, and I want to set out how to introduce a Zoom magician so the session starts where you want it to.

A Senior Person Beats the Organizer

Start with who does it. The person who booked the session is frequently the person who introduces it, and that's usually the wrong choice.

An introduction from somebody senior signals that this is a sanctioned use of an hour rather than something the events team arranged. That matters most in organizations where people are unsure whether an optional session is a genuine invitation, which is most organizations. Ask a senior sponsor to do ninety seconds, and ask them specifically rather than hoping they'll offer.

It Should Take Under Two Minutes

The constraint that prevents most of the mistakes. An introduction is a handover, not a segment, and the longer it runs the more energy it takes out of the room.

Ninety seconds is plenty: who you are if not everybody knows, why the session is happening, what people should have to hand, and the handover. Anything longer and you're asking an audience that joined for something enjoyable to listen to internal communications first, which is precisely how a session starts flat.

Don't Oversell It

The commonest mistake and the most damaging. An introduction promising that this will be amazing, that people will be blown away, or that it's the best thing they'll see this year sets a bar the performer now has to clear rather than simply meet.

It also produces resistance, since telling an audience how impressed they're going to be invites them to decide otherwise. Understate it. "Something a bit different this afternoon" works considerably better than a build up, because astonishment lands harder when it wasn't promised in advance.

Don't Apologize for It Either

The opposite error, and it happens more than you'd think. An organizer slightly embarrassed to have booked entertainment introduces it apologetically, as a bit of fun, a break from the real work, or something they hope people will indulge.

That tells the room it isn't worth their attention before anything has happened. If you booked it, back it. A straightforward introduction without either hype or apology is the only register that works, and it's harder than it sounds for somebody who's been managing the booking for weeks.

Don't Explain the Format

Worth knowing, since organizers reach for this when they're unsure what else to say. Explaining how the session will work, what the performer will do, or what to expect removes the thing the session depends on.

The performer will explain anything people need to know, in the right order and at the right moment. An introduction that pre empts that has given away the shape of the hour and left the performer starting from a room that thinks it already knows what's coming. Leave it to them.

Do the Housekeeping Before the Handover

Practical sequencing. Anything administrative belongs before the performer takes over: whether it's being recorded, that cameras are optional, that the chat is open, that there's a finish time, and who to message if somebody has a problem.

Get it all out before the handover rather than letting it interrupt afterwards. A performer who starts and is then stopped for an announcement about recording has lost the opening, and the room has to be rebuilt. Thirty seconds of housekeeping first is considerably better than one interruption later.

Tell People What to Have Ready

The one piece of content the introduction must include. A participatory session needs attendees to have ordinary household items to hand, and somebody will have missed the message.

Say it in the introduction, clearly, and give people fifteen seconds to fetch something. That's the difference between a room where everybody takes part and one where a proportion watch because they don't have what they need. Ask your performer what to say, and say exactly that rather than paraphrasing it.

Make the Handover Clean

The line itself. Name the performer, hand over clearly, and stop talking: "I'll hand over to Katrina, who's going to take it from here."

What doesn't work is trailing off, asking the performer a question, or starting a conversation on camera, since the room doesn't know whether the session has begun. A clean handover lets a performer start properly rather than negotiating their way into the hour. Then turn your camera off or move out of the way, since the audience should be watching one person.

Think About the Ending Too

Worth planning, since it's usually improvised. When the session finishes, somebody should thank the performer briefly, remind people of anything that follows, and close the call.

That takes thirty seconds and gives the hour a proper ending rather than a drift into silence while people work out whether to leave. If there's a next step, a drinks chat, a return to the agenda, or simply a thank you, say it. The last thirty seconds are remembered more than they should be.

Why Book Magical Katrina

If you'd like a session that starts well, here's my case. I'm a member of the Magic Circle in London and the Academy of Magical Arts in Hollywood, I've earned multiple magic awards, and I've performed for companies including Formula 1, the Olympics, Porsche, Zapier, and the Ritz Carlton, with appearances on Penn & Teller: Fool Us. I'll send you exactly what to say in your introduction and what to ask people to have ready, so whoever is doing it isn't improvising.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who should introduce the session?

Somebody senior rather than the person who booked it, since an introduction from a senior sponsor signals that this is a sanctioned use of an hour rather than something the events team arranged. That matters in organizations where people are unsure whether an optional session is a genuine invitation.

How long should it be?

Under two minutes, since an introduction is a handover rather than a segment and the longer it runs the more energy it takes out of the room. Ninety seconds covers who you are, why this is happening, what people should have to hand, and the handover itself.

What's the commonest mistake?

Overselling, since promising people will be blown away sets a bar the performer must clear rather than meet, and telling an audience how impressed they'll be invites them to decide otherwise. Understate it, because astonishment lands harder when it wasn't promised in advance.

Is there an opposite error?

Yes, and it's apologizing, since an organizer slightly embarrassed to have booked entertainment introduces it as a bit of fun or something they hope people indulge. That tells the room it isn't worth their attention before anything has happened. If you booked it, back it.

Should we explain what's going to happen?

No, since the performer will explain anything people need to know in the right order at the right moment, and an introduction that pre empts that gives away the shape of the hour. Leave the format to them rather than reaching for it because you're unsure what else to say.

When should we do the housekeeping?

Before the handover, including recording, cameras, the chat, the finish time, and who to message with a problem. A performer who starts and is then stopped for an announcement has lost the opening and the room has to be rebuilt, so thirty seconds first beats one interruption later.

What must the introduction include?

What people should have to hand, since a participatory session needs ordinary household items and somebody will have missed the message. Say it clearly, give people fifteen seconds to fetch something, and ask your performer for the exact wording rather than paraphrasing it.

How should we end the session?

Deliberately rather than by drifting, with somebody thanking the performer briefly, reminding people of anything that follows, and closing the call. Thirty seconds gives the hour a proper ending rather than silence while people work out whether to leave, and the last thirty seconds are remembered more than they should be.

Hand Over and Get Out of the Way

An introduction to a Zoom magician has one job: to tell a room this is worth their hour and then stop. Ask somebody senior to do it, keep it under two minutes, resist both the build up and the apology, say what people should have to hand, do the housekeeping first, and hand over cleanly.

Then turn your camera off. The session you booked starts considerably better from a room that was handed over to properly than from one that was talked at for five minutes first.

Reach out with your date, and I'll send you exactly what to say.