it is commonly believed that sleight of hand works because “the hand is quicker than the eye” but this is usually not the case. in addition to manual dexterity, sleight of hand depends on the use of psychology, timing, misdirection, and natural choreography in accomplishing a magical effect. misdirection is perhaps the most important component of the art of sleight of hand. the magician choreographs his actions so that all spectators are likely to look where he or she wants them to. more importantly, they do not look where the performer does not wish them to look. two types of misdirection are timing and movement. timing is simple: by allowing a small amount of time to pass after an action, events are skewed in the viewer's mind. movement is a little more complicated. a phrase often used is "a larger action covers a smaller action". care must be taken however to not make the larger action so big that it becomes suspicious.