how to excite people to see a trick

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how to excite people to see a trick

Postby Miniolo » Aug 16th, '11, 15:29



I do table hopping for some restaurants and I usually just go up to a table and introduce myself as the magician for tonight and ask them if they would like to see a trick (ofcourse i dont do this when they eat but while they wait) the problem i have sometimes when it is the first table and they havent seen me perform yet ... is that they respond with no thanks i dont like magic...( but thats impossible because evereyone does ) the problem is they dont know what magic i will do and think its only kid stuff or something?.... (and no im not dressed in a cape and tophat)

Sometimes a table has 2 persons seated at it and 1 says she doesnt like magic and the other does ... but when u do one routine the other almost always wants to see more although she said she didnt wanna see more in the beginning... so now my question is how do i get them to say yes 100% of the time

do i need to do some magical introduction ?

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Postby BrucUK » Aug 16th, '11, 15:32

You don't.
Some people just want to eat and talk at a restaurant, not see magic.
After all, that's what they probably went to the restaurant for, not you.
Thank them for their attention thus far, leave, and move onto the next table.
If they do not want to see you at all, thank them, wish them a good evening, and leave.
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Postby DaveM » Aug 16th, '11, 15:37

I doubt there is a 100% effective way to overcome this. The only non-invasive method I can think of is to perform to someone near them and make them curious/jealous enough to want it. :)

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Postby hds02115 » Aug 16th, '11, 16:19

I'd say that you sound like you're doing things well, just perhaps you have the wrong frame of mind, you won't ever have 100% of people wanting to see you, just some good nights and bad nights. It's already been said that people will have gone there to just eat, so they might not want to see you perform.

I can't really comment on your approach because of never seeing it, but there's a good bit in some lecture notes by Eugene Burger about working in restaurants where he talks about your attitude and whether you're in a good mood or not, if you're genuinly happy to be around other people, then they will pick up on that and probably be a bit more willing to be with you. Also he talks about how sometimes this will have been the first time people will see a magicain up close so they might be just as interested in you as your magic, so perhaps you should be the same, instead of trying to dive strait into a routine, seem a little more interested in what brought them to that place and how their evening was going.

Hope this helps. I can't say I've worked restaurants for a while, now it's mostly functions where people are expecting a magicain to come to them so it's a little different.

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Postby themagicwand » Aug 16th, '11, 16:29

BrucUK is absolutely right.

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Postby TonyB » Aug 16th, '11, 16:32

Some of us just don't like to see a close-up magician approaching. You just have to accept that occasional rejection is part of the gig.

Humour will help.

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Postby Jing » Aug 16th, '11, 16:40

First few tables, I do magic that is flashy (flashy paper) and gets strong reactions has people calling out etc - This gets people swan-necking to see what is going on, and then I can 'hop' from table to table. I can slow down, later, if I need to.

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Postby JamesAnthony » Aug 16th, '11, 17:26

I've learned to keep a couple of things in mind when I perform strolling magic. The first of which is to remember,"if they like you, they'll love your magic." This line also serves to remind me that they can't like me if I don't get to know them a bit first. When I first stated doing restaurant magic, I was always in a rush to get to the magic. I think that was partly just my personal excitement about performing magic, and partly being a bit terrified of a negative reaction. But I learned over time that I get much more positive and consistent reactions if I slow down, take a moment to just have a conversation with my audience. I think that, for me, taking the time to take an interest in them increases my chances that they'll take an interest in me. :)

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Postby bmat » Aug 16th, '11, 17:36

Personally I am one of those people who really don't want to see magic when I'm sitting down to eat. I say sure because I am a magician and we are supposed to support one another. But honestly? I don't care how good your are, when I go to a restaurant I want to eat and then leave. Usually I ask for my bill at the beginning of the meal because I don't want to have to wait for them to get it ready for me.

So no, you will never get that 100 percent yes response.

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Postby kartoffelngeist » Aug 16th, '11, 20:29

The other problem, is your assertion that everyone really likes magic. They don't, and the attitude that you know better than them what they like could come across arrogant.

In fact, I'd probably go so far as to say that not many people (if any) like magic. I think it's Eugene Burger who says that nobody likes magic. Some might be entertained by a magician, but I'm not sure they like magic really.

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Postby me_simon » Aug 16th, '11, 21:52

Side question - who pays? Does the restaurant pay or will the table pay? Because if I'm approached for anything in a sit-down food place, I always say no early on because I assume they want my money for something.

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Postby Lady of Mystery » Aug 17th, '11, 10:57

The resturant should always be paying, you should never expect any money from the diners, payment or tips (not in this country anyway, can be different in other parts of the World).

I'll just say what everyone else has been saying, the best thing to do if someone doesn't want to see any magic, just smile, thank them and move on.

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Postby Miniolo » Aug 17th, '11, 11:25

thanks for all the tips :) the restaurant pays btw;) I always stress that so they dont have to feel obligated to give me anything in return ... and I know not everybody likes magic I didnt mean it like that... I just ment the people that say they dont like magic because they have the wrong interpertation of magic.... the one on the table that says magic is not my thing... and then keeps asking for more and more once u did one routine...

and thanks for all the tips if im correct this is what is said

-there will always be rejections
-always use humor and try to get to know the spectator friendly talk etc
-draw them in by performing visual magic at the other table

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Postby Jing » Aug 17th, '11, 13:38

"if they like you, they'll love your magic."


If they like you, they are more likely to like your magic.

It's not an excuse to slack on the magic, and also some people still don't like magic. For me this saying means that people will go along with you, so if something should go wrong, then you can all laugh it off together - I've got to a point, where I can save routines, so if I reveal the wrong card, then I can switch it for the correct card or do a colour change, and everyone thinks that was part of the original routine.

The restaurant pays - count on getting no tips in a restaurant, and therefore any that you get are a bonus. The most I've got was £9 during a two hour shift, usually it's nothing or £2 or £3.

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Postby Tomo » Aug 17th, '11, 14:30

You know, I really think it's time that restaurants not only asked what you want to eat and what you want to drink, but also asked if you'd like to see the house magician. The performer would know which tables to visit, and the punters who don't want to see something wouldn't feel hassled.

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