If you want to learn a great up-close and improvised magic trick, look no further. This time around, the bending illusion will take them completely by surprise, and you can easily pull this off at any bar, party, or even on the street with complete strangers.

This is how your audience sees it. You walk up to them on the street, or to your friend, and tell them that something is wrong with your watch. Lately you have noticed that the clocks you touch immediately go crazy and lose the ability to keep the proper time. You borrow their watch, so you can set yours. They will think you are joking and they won’t think too much about it.

As you set your watch, ask them to check the correct time. They will usually do this by looking at a clock on the wall or consulting with someone else. You make sure they see you set your watch to make sure you have the right moment. Thank them, give them back the watch, but confess that you think your strange aura has broken their timing capabilities. You tell them to put it in their hands, without looking at their faces, and you tell them to guess how far their watch is from the correct time. Most people will guess five minutes or so, which means they will be surprised to see that their watch is off in about thirty minutes.

Here’s the trick. You should first choose someone whose watch has a large stem that is easy to turn. You are holding his watch in your left hand and you are looking at your right. While you are concentrating on setting your own watch, while they are concentrating on your watch, you quickly move their watch out of sight and reset the time. You can do this quickly when they look away to verify the correct time.

This illusion relies heavily on misdirection and the ability to quickly change the time on your watch with just your left hand. Obviously, you will need to practice. You can easily practice on your own watch, if you have a large stem, while sitting watching TV.

The best way to apply misdirection is to simply play dumb, as if you really have no idea what is going on. Start the illusion as if you were actually asking them for the time, but were worried that you would have a strange effect on the clocks. Obviously, if you say from the beginning that you are going to do a magic trick with their watch, they will observe you more closely. This works great as a conversation starter at bars, parties, or anyone you want to make a lasting impression on. Have fun.