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Handling spectators I feel is one of the most important, hardest to develope and most glossed over aspects of performing magic well. Are there any books with practicle advice on this? As far as I know there seems to be a lot of the same stuff repeated in various different places. Thanks

You don't handle them, you entertain them. Check the search function for tips on dealing with hecklers, smartarses etc .

I'm not having trouble with it at the moment- but there is always room for improvement and I just think there should be discussed more. Thanks

Definately check out some of the threads about it on here, as Mandrake said. I've had some great advice from people on here and it has served me well so far.

Take some basic classes on behavious. Take some theatre classes, go out in the world and interact with people, go out and perform. How you handle people is incredibly important, but how I handle spectators and how anyone else handles spectators is going to be drastically different because we all have different personalities. The only thing I can tell you for sure is that when you are handling a spectator, do not drop them, they tend not to like that.

bmat wrote:Take some basic classes on behavious. Take some theatre classes, go out in the world and interact with people, go out and perform. How you handle people is incredibly important, but how I handle spectators and how anyone else handles spectators is going to be drastically different because we all have different personalities. The only thing I can tell you for sure is that when you are handling a spectator, do not drop them, they tend not to like that.

Also, make sure you have their permission before "handling" them. Nobody likes a non-consensual handling

I think you mean Audience management, rather than Handling Spectators.

Books like Henning Nelmes, and Fitzkee will give you lots of usefull information, however nothing teaches you how to do it better, than getting it wrong.
experience, wins over books every time.

So, get out there and do it. Pick up any free gigs you can get. These will be the best gigs you will ever have, because of the leasons learned.

The best piece of advice I can give is to go out there and do it. No book can replace real world experience

Know that you will fail a lot! But the more you fail, the less you will fail in the long run...if that makes sense...

Thanks all. I shall continue on- in fact, the longer I perform magic, the more a trick fails flatly, a spectator does something wrong, The more I value these experiences.
If I could give my own humble advice- I have found that practicing muscle reading (whilst immensley rewarding) is a great way to develop 'spectator control' skills- you have to make them like you and want to suceed, comunicate clearly, choose the right spectators or engineer the correct attitude, build compliance and a friendly authority but also a keep a cool head when things go wrong. All are assets which I'm sure will serve any magician.
Also, I find that getting spectators to follow irrelivavnt instructions - that is to condition them to following orders well. I heard about this in psychology studies concerning compliance and in hypnosis, but I later read about it in Richard Osterlind's 'Principles of magic'- I hadn't thought about applying it in a magical context. (I'd reccomend the book, although I disagree with aspects of his philosophy, worth reading though)
But experience is undoubtedly the best way!
I have never dropped a spectator, so far, although on that note, you can never be too careful:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Glw5D7loHko

Thanks for your advice

Take an acting class. It's the best preparation for audience management. Failing that, join a Toastmasters Club. Audience management is a skill that can be learnt - and it is quicker and more certain to learn from an experienced coach than through experience.

Sam: send me a pm with your e mail address and I will send you the 6 articles I wrote in Abra on Handling Spectators. All practical and all from experience.

They were part of my Dear Magician Series and based on my lecture 'Please May I Have A Volunteer.'

Allen Tipton