talkmagic.co.uk

If I do something like that I tend to start with myself first..." Did, you know my name means, clever, intelligent & a world leader?" "Sadly my surname means. And VERY VERY delusional."

Wayne Dobson does a joke where he says someone's surname means "handsome or good looking" then asked for their first name and says "oh, that means Not Very"

But after he's already called himself a lazy drunk he can probably get away with anything!

daxi wrote:If I do something like that I tend to start with myself first..." Did, you know my name means, clever, intelligent & a world leader?" "Sadly my surname means. And VERY VERY delusional."

my wife's name is Right. No one told me her first name is ALWAYS.

As part of an ESP evening (with a small group around a table) I get everyone to introduce themselves and write their name on a card.
On the back of their card (hidden from view) they have to write a funny two word description of themselves.

The first word must end in LY.

e.g.
stunningly gorgeous
cunningly deceptive
follically challenged
exceptionally average

During the evening I (and everyone else) has to preceed their name with a guess at their description.
e.g. would you now pass the card to ..... "the strangely enigmatic Paul ?"
First person to make a correct guess wins a small prize.


An ice-breaker at business seminars is to have everyone devise a short sentence out of their name (with prompts from the whole group if they get stuck)
Their sentence sticks in your mind and you recall their name a lot easier in the future.
e.g. Lyndsay could be “Lively Young Nurse Dances Salsa All Year”

i must point out one thing..
I once forgot a ladies name, and reverted to saying " Come Here, Mrs Woman"...

This i found out, is not the ideal way of adressing a rather butch lady, in a gay bar.

People identify closely with their names. Laughing at a name is, psychologically, equivalent to laughing at the person. Not a way to build rapport. And if you think you know when they might be offended -- (a) you can't always know, and (b) if they're showing offence, it's too late.

The same goes for deliberately getting a name wrong or continually mispronouncing it -- this is a classic way of belittling someone. Basically you're saying they're so unimportant that you can't be bothered to perform the simple courtesy of producing an appropriate sequence of sounds.

There's nothing wrong with using name gags in your own mind to fix the name in your memory, just as you might focus on some part of their appearance you'd never comment on openly. What you do in your head is your business.

molesworth wrote:

magicrob wrote:I really wish there was a book with all of these bits of business available (even the corny oldies) - we tend to dismiss them, because we've heard them so often, sometimes forgetting that our punters haven't

One of my faves, when having a card selected is: "Do you want that one, or are you going to change your mind?" If they say 'keep', just follow-up with, "Oh, so you're happy with the mind you've got?!"

Make your mind a blank...that was quick!

There was a good thread on another forum with all these as lines to avoid. I will PM you the link if it is material you actually want to use!

May I please have the link too? I am a relative newby and also new to this group but would rather like the chance to see if there are some gems in there. Also planning to do some comedy impro which, by all accounts, will be as asset in many areas of life!

Many thanks Di

There are no gems. It's a list of lines to avoid because they are dreadful/insulting/patronising etc.

molesworth wrote:There are no gems. It's a list of lines to avoid because they are dreadful/insulting/patronising etc.

A link would still be nice, if you have one please, Mr. Molesworth?

as a person that has a name that provides people with many many one liners, i can gaurentee that i never get offended when someone uses the same line that ive heard for the last 24 years. things like justin time justin case etc, ive had them my hole life but i realise many people havent heard some of them before. and once i actually had someone say a new one i hadnt heard before.. at the end of the day if someone is taking part in a magic show that has comedy elements and have volunteered they have signed up for some kind of small ribbing when they get on stage its all part and parcel of taking part. if you simply have them on stage perform and leave stage, was there any point? just my two cents but im all for a few one liners with names, i find that the person whos name it is wont mind 9/10 times and the rest of the audience love it, that and their friends will be calling them it for the next few weeks.

I was looking through my copy of Ian Adair's Encyclopaedia of childrens magic, a few days ago for something & that has a page of responses to names. But it would take a good imagination to describe many as comedic.

jtCardMagic wrote:at the end of the day if someone is taking part in a magic show that has comedy elements and have volunteered they have signed up for some kind of small ribbing when they get on stage its all part and parcel of taking part.

Couldn't disagree with you more strongly.

They are an unpaid part of your act and should be treated with the utmost respect, not mocked. And certainly not mocked with a cheap, old, unfunny, c*** (not the best) one-liner.

Do you think Michael Vincent would mock his specs? Why not?

Nobody is saying you should mock the volunteer. A magician is an entertainer, a showman. He is paid to entertain. A volunteer has agreed to volunteer because he wants to entertained as well. No you should not mock the Volunteer in my opinion, but equally if you are treading on egg shells during the routine for fear of upsetting the volunteer, then perhaps you need to look at how you choose your audience participants.

molesworth wrote:

jtCardMagic wrote:at the end of the day if someone is taking part in a magic show that has comedy elements and have volunteered they have signed up for some kind of small ribbing when they get on stage its all part and parcel of taking part.

Do you think Michael Vincent would mock his specs? Why not?

Because he doesn't do comedy.

jomarchan wrote:Nobody is saying you should mock the volunteer.

how is taking the * out of their name anything but mocking?

kartoffelngeist wrote:

molesworth wrote:

jtCardMagic wrote:at the end of the day if someone is taking part in a magic show that has comedy elements and have volunteered they have signed up for some kind of small ribbing when they get on stage its all part and parcel of taking part.

Do you think Michael Vincent would mock his specs? Why not?

Because he doesn't do comedy.

Neither does anyone that uses c*** (not the best) old one liners taking the * out of someone's name.