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I've been practising magic on my own for a while now and i've decided that I'd like to start showing it to other people so that I can build my confidence up.

The problem is my friends and family aren't into magic at all, so I can't show them (and I don't know anyone else that I can show it to either).

How would you suggest I go about finding someone to show magic to

In what area are you ? maybe someone on the forums is near to you and could help you out.

I am sure that your friends won't mind you showing a few tricks, just do them and if you are good they'll probably want to see more. If you mess up it won't matter.

Do easy tricks that can't go wrong to start with - they are real confidence boosters.

http://www.talkmagic.co.uk/ftopic5269-0-asc-15.php for some answers.

Shadow, I don't know how old you are, but going in a pub and showing a few tricks to strangers is a good way to start.

You could also phone some old peoples homes and ask if they would like you to come and perform for them for free...it will give you some experience and build up your confidence. Also as they are not paying you it doesn't matter if you mess things up at first!

It is also worth checking if there are any local talent shows you could enter. That is good experience.

All good suggestions so far. I would also consider joining a magic society if you have one close by as often they will host events that give you a chance to perform.

List of Magic Shops in the UK

bananafish wrote:I would also consider joining a magic society if you have one close by as often they will host events that give you a chance to perform.

Magic societies also have a library which you will be able to look through, which for me, gave me a greater appreciation of magic books and also guided me on what books to buy and what not to buy, which is maybe more important!

Interesting this - how do you know that your family and friends are not interested in magic?

You may be pleasantly surprised once you perform one or two tricks in front of them and they may soon be begging for more!

I recall speaking to a business colleague in a pub who didn't know that I was a magician and he started off by saying that he hated magicians, having just seen one that was booked to perform at a conference that he attended. He didn't believe me so when I produced a deck of cards and did a few, he was stunned into silence and has told me that he has a totally different appreciation of magicians since then.

If you can turn a negative into a positive then the thrill of achievement takes some beating in my book.

dat8962 wrote:I recall speaking to a business colleague in a pub who didn't know that I was a magician and he started off by saying that he hated magicians.

I think I've posted my comments on this before, but incase you missed them, I think most guys say they don't like magic for a couple of reasons.

Either they have seen a magician before and he has been rubbish, or a relative dabbles in magic and probably bored the @rse off them, so by you mentioning that your a magician they imagine you are going to do the same!

Or, as with some guys they don't like to be fooled and will just say they don't like magic or hate magicians, especially if they are in company where they are the dominant person in the group and they beleive that you are going to steal their cred

There is also the sceptics, but I am sure they fall into one of the above categories and these are the people who will try to mess you up when you are performing to a group if they are not the dominant person of that group, if they are the dominant person in the group they gererally tell you that the group doesn't want to see any magic!!!

So I have to agree that it is always a great feeling when I perform for these types of people and win them over to liking magic!!