by kevmundo » May 15th, '16, 18:46
My advice is, just go out and do it!! Strangers react very differently to friends. Sometimes you can a make a mistake that a friend will pick up on, but a 60 year old woman in front of 100 people would never dream of doing. Learning the difference can't be taught and is only done through experience. Rotary clubs have guest speakers at most meetings (I'm an ex-Rotarian) as do the WI. They would relish the opportunity of having a magician/mentalist come and speak to them. I got a lot of gigs from doing such evenings, for free. Phone them up and offer to come and speak to them. They'll say yes, I guarantee it!!!!! Go into local restaurants. Offer your services to a local Indian for free on a Saturday night. They WILL say yes. Clearly, there must come a point when you stop doing things for free, but the opportunities for magicians to gain real world experience are legion, you just have to go out and grab them. Once you've done a couple, you'll be fearless!!
Good luck
Kevmundo