Emoji Presage Instructions

Necessary Props

  • Deck of Emoji cards
  • Emoji sentences (comedy bits)
  • Revelation in an envelope marked “Prediction” 

Presentation 

Talk About Emojis:

People use emojis more and more these days. I admit they can be quite expedient when writing text messages. It’s easier to send a quick thumbs up then it is to type something like, “I like that idea; let’s do it.” And I am so bad on a little keyboard with these fat fingers and auto-correct most of what I type is nonsense. 

Show Emoji Sentences

People even write whole sentences with emojis. Can you figure this one out? Yes, it says, “What came first the chicken or the egg?” How about this one. It says, “Please can I have a bottle of wine?” This one is my wife’s favorite. It says, “Not tonight, I have a headache.” And this one says, “I’ve had too much beer and now I have to dash off to the toilet.”

What is amazing is people have been using emojis for thousands of years. (Show Egyptian drawing.) Egyptian hieroglyphs are just another form of writing with emojis. 

What’s even more amazing is that people have been asking the same questions for thousands of years. (Show Egyptian picture with enlarged chicken/egg cartouche.)

Display a Few Emoji Cards

Show some of the cards as you talk about the emotion they convey. Here is a list of the emojis in your pack and the emotion they are used to convey. 

Red Heart – A classic love heart emoji, used for expressions of love
Thinking face – Used to indicate thinking, or deep thought 
Thumbs up – Agree or a good idea
Birthday cake – A frosted cake with lit candles, as presented for a birthday celebration
Angry Pouting Face – commonly used for mad or angry emotions 
Smiley Face – to convey the notion that “this is fine.” 
Money face – indicates a love of money or a feeling of wealth
Kiss Mark – Used in place of ‘xxx’ (kisses), or to send a kiss to someone 
Party Popper – A colorful party popper, used for party or other celebration. 
Okay Hand – Represents “I’m okay” or “yes, that’s correct/good” 
Crossed fingers – Commonly used as a gesture indicating luck, or to show the desire of a favorable outcome.
Broken Heart – his emoji represents the aching one feels when they are missing the person they love.
Looking Eyes – Sometimes used to indicate ‘pervy eyes’ to indicate approval of an attractive photo posted online, or ‘shifty eyes’ to convey a deceitful act.
Smiling Face with Halo – used to represent an angel or a good person/person who has done a good deed.
Face Blowing a Kiss – just that 
Loudly Crying Face – This face is distraught and inconsolable 
Clapping Hands – when used multiple times can be used as a round of applause. 
Folded Hands – meaning please or thank you in Japanese culture. 
Face Screaming in Fear – Scared
Skull – death
Face with Rolling Eyes – This is used to show disdain, contempt, or boredom about a person or topic.
Poop/Crap – Used to convey dislike.
Sleeping Face – Used to indicate it’s sound asleep or boredom.
Smiling Face with Heart Eyes – Conveys enthusiastic feelings of love, infatuation, and adoration, e.g., I love/am in love with this person or thing.

There are a few unique emoji cards included for laughs if you present this for adults. 

Poop/Crap with Halo – (Holy crap.) Used to convey surprise
Flasher or Louie CK – Used for sexting
Kiss my Butt – Used to say no, never, no way

Have the Spectator Pick a Card

  • Fan the cards face down and have the spectator touch the back of a card.
  • Cut the cards so the selected card, which is actually two cards stuck together with a light application of repositionable glue, is on top of the pack.
  • Separate the top card from the pair of cards at the top of the pack by lifting from the top right corner or sliding the two cards between your thumb and first finger near the upper right corner.
  • Give the selected card to the spectator and display the prediction.
  • Show that they match.
  • As an alternative, allow the spectator to shuffle the cards. They are large but can be easily shuffled overhand if held with your fingers and thumb, holding the cards on the long side instead of the short side as you would with a standard-size deck. The spectator can then cut the cards. Take them back and give the spectator the “card they cut to.”

Here’s a video of a recent performance: https://youtu.be/qnCq-hdc-uY

Notes and Tips

Here’s a video with tips on handling the cards:https://youtu.be/NMWd0uGbzs8

  • The cards are prepared like Bill Abbott’s excellent and highly recommended Smart Ass series of tricks. They are two cards that are held together with a small amount of nonpermanent glue that allows the cards to be handled while held together casually. 
  • As the cards separate, a small noise may occur. Be prepared to cover the noise with patter. To avoid the snap altogether, separate the cards by sliding them apart between your thumb and index finger.
  • You may also reduce the noise by riffling the cards prior to your performance, which loosens the attachment enough to lessen or eliminate the noise but not so much as to let the cards separate while displaying them. 
  • If the adhesive that connects the cards loses its stickiness you can reapply the glue. Don’t overdo it. Only a small amount is necessary. I use Elmer’s Repositionable Glue Stick.
  • If too much glue has been applied and some comes off onto the face of the forced card, you can remove it by rubbing it with a soft cloth or paper towel.