talkmagic.co.uk

Is that a lot of them try to OVER sell themselves. I remember one guy on another board who mentioned that when he performs, he doesn't give the people a chance to say no. Like he would say "Hi, My name is (insert name here). Pick a card." I always thought that was a bit too aggressive and a bit annoying. Specially sense I doubt He would want some guy shoving cards in his face after an introduction. Not to mention a lot of them seem to keep trying to recommend nonstop Sales and Marketing books.

Another thing is that a lot of them seem to think everything they do is pure gold.

Yeah, that can be annoying, but the approach is a tough one, and it's so easy to get wrong. I used to have a lot of highfalutin ideas about the approach, some I only lost a few months back (when I realized that I'm not Guy Hollingworth, the slender embodiment of magical sophistication, but a 6'5 tall pickpocket who pro-actively aims to relieve every table of everything they own), but ultimately I think it's massively inappropriate of a table-hopper not to offer a table the legitimate chance to dismiss them without there being any embarrassment or ill-feeling. Some tables just don't want to be bothered, or don't like magic, and trying to win them round is an exercise in futility. These days I just try and be nice. I did before, but only recently have I realized how far you get with strangers when you make "being nice" your #1 priority. They're a lot more forgiving when you give their stuff back (and, especially if they think you're a particular goody two-shoes, the reactions are ten times stronger).

And yeah, some magicians think they're the dog's nether-regions, but I think a lot of that is just self-belief, which is important. And magicians that have absolute faith in their work - unless they're just rubbish and deluded - usually get good results because they're not scared of being caught.

There are quite a few big egos in magic, but it's no different to any performing art. I know plenty of musicians who are just as bad.

I don't like the 'hit them before they know that you're there' approach but I know a lot of people who swear by it. For my, I like to just be friendly, if people don't want to see magic then that's up to them. It's their evening afterall and I'm there to entertain them.

I don't like the quick approach myself and feel that the best performing magic comes from magicians who can relax and be themselves. While this comes from experience, there are a number of things that you can do to relax yourself and therefore make your performance more enjoyable for both you and your audience.

Above all, remember that it's not a race and you DON'T have to squeeze 20 tricks into two minutes. If you show respect for what you are doing and who you are doing it for then you'll get it back in return.

Given the choice you may get someone on a table they says no even though a few on the table may want to see you.

I find that one quick visual trick that takes me about 10 seconds is enough to show without asking, and then say do you want to see some more?

I have never had a table say no this way and when you get the answer you can see the ones who are going to best to perform to.

When it comes to picking a card I ask the table who should pick the card, this normally directs you to someone who is a good sport as they have been chosen by the table.

My comments above refer to a formal dinner when really they are not going to say no there will just be different levels of interest, if I was just hopping in a pub or resuarant I would always ask or see by their looks if they would like to see me.