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Ok... when i do tricks even for my friends, my hands shake a little, I have no idea why this is. I mean it's not like they're strangers, i know these people. Also in one of brad's videos off of ellusionists he was saying that his hands sometimes shake, it's all that adrineline rushing through you. Is it? I am by no means a professional, i do tricks for fun and to amuse people, how can i overcome the nervousness and shaking a little?

GQ,

We all get a bit nervous at times. No matter how many times we have performed in front of people. My own way out of this is to perform one or two of my most easiest effects first, once the confidence grows you can do what the hell you like

You can tell before you start if you are going to be nervous or not. If you feel it coming on, go for those you know you can do standing on your head.

Also practicing a LOT, helps to reduce the shaking of all kind. If you use to do your routines with your eyes closed, you don't shake that much. You'll see that, it just takes some time.

If we didnt shake when trying to impress someone at any level we wouldnt be human!! In our desire to show what we learn we are half way there however our inexperience at what we are doing can show through hence our nervousness and our inevitable shaking.

Imagine Tony Blair, on his first day in the job in 1997 and his first PM conference with the press. He was sure he knew what he wanted to say and do but being his first time as a prime minister he was undoubtedly nervous when watching him compared to now. Simply because he was finding his feet.

This is the same with you, I and anyone else first exhibiting magic to others! In our desire to show what we have become we have to forget that this is the first/second time etc we have ever done this. We have to approach it with the confidence of a matador believing we are masters at what we do. This has a 2 fold effect. Your outer confidence grows so to calming you down.

I agree with TENKO, start with tricks you are totally cmfortable with doing and start reeling your spectators in, suspending their belief, now YOU are the star of the show, you are in control and you should shake less each and evrytime!!

You might also want to look at this very recent thread on the same topic - http://www.talkmagic.co.uk/ftopic8647.p ... ands+shake
(The Search function is a wonderful tool !)

Shaking hands are a normal reaction when you are too excited. If your technique is not on that level where you can perform the trick without even thinking about what you are doing, then it's normal that you are nervous. You are afraid to screw up, and this is our biggest fear. To overcome it, you need confidence, and to gain it you need a) to practise and b) experience. It will get better with time.

As Tenko said, always start your act with an easy trick that you do not have to be nervous about (it must be strong enough for an opener, though). Use a selfworking trick, if necessary. First, you will get more confident yourself, second you'll already have perfomed something successfully, which is a must for a begining. There's nothing worse than screwing up an opener. You'll get a positive reaction and be in a better mood for performing. This will reduce shaking.

I can't recall a time that I every had exceptionally steady hands on or off stage

If your nervousness is apparent you may want to consider making it a part of your character.

Many years ago I had a friend who had this problem but in Steve's case, he was always nervous and just a bit "Nerdy" if you know what I mean. Where he saw himself becoming the next Lance Burton it was apparent to myself and others that he was more akin to being the next Don Knotts e.g. I slowly pushed him in the direction of using his apparent "negative trait" as part of his character. The end results were some very solid bits of magic that both, he and the audiences enjoyed.

I have a very strange quirk in that I have to have something to fill the first minute or two on stage before I begin to talk. This plagued me for years e.g. every opener to my show was a musical piece filled with various effect vs. direct interaction and patter. This allowed me to get acclamated to the setting and then all was well.

Experiment and you will find little tricks like this that will help you not only adjust, but refine your character in such a manner as to cover such little oddities.

Very good point. Lee Evans uses this to great comic effect in his stand up routine. He absolutle y balks at the thought of going on stage but gets through it by making his nervousness and giddiness the centre of his act, his persona.

Tommy Cooper was an expert at taking the fact he couldnt even do magic properly cos he bimbled and fumbled at it. He MADE this his act as we all we know and love and he would be just as surprised as the audience when a trick actually worked!!!

Theres a book, MAGIC AND SHOWMANSHIP, perhaps you should put it on your wish list.

Hi GQ

I had (and still have) the same problem to the point where it was effecting my enjoyment.

I posted a similar post a while ago and got similar responses, read them they do help.

The common reply was practice and then practice some more.

When Magic is undertaken purely as a hobby its hard to devote the practice time this fine art deserves, but with a little more practice it has improved for me.

For me paying more attention to the patter required for the effect has helped , I spent to much time thinking what to say I rather than performing it.
That alone made me nervous worrying what I was going to say.

I think some of the shaking could also be caused to by excitement.
The other day I performed "Bigger Finish" for my wife , after all the work had been done just before I revealed what had happened I started to shake like a mad man.
I think that must have been adrenalin why else would I have shaken the so much after most of the trick was done.

Anyway enough of me, listen to these guys on here they know there stuff

Best of luck



http://www.talkmagic.co.uk/ftopic8647-0-0-asc-.php

thanks guys...... it must be all the excitement... cause I feel my heart pounding so fast, and I do fear getting caught too, so far I've been pretty lucky or good.... I dunno hahaha I'm still learning but learning fast. Once I get my webcam working... i'll post some vids

thanks again for all your input

Some more practice will help! I performed my easiest tricks to some people and kept making mistake. But they enjoyed it.

There is a saying that if you lay an egg then the best thing is to stand back and admire it. TELL the audience that you are nervous as hell and you are going to shake! This may elicit sympathy and paradoxically help to eliminate the shaking.

It also accomplishes something very valuable. There is a thing I call the "defensive resentment" factor in magic. There is no time to explain the matter now and I have pontificated upon it elsewhere at length. Suffice it to say at the moment that people often resent magicians because they don't like being fooled and it behooves the magician to find any way that he or she can to remove this antagonism which is often manifested silently and subconsiously by the spectator.

Your nervousness can be turned into an asset if you are clever about it. It may help you to induce greater audience reaction. One of the ways to remove resentment from an audience may well be to tell them that you are nervous as heck and you are going to shake because you are scared stiff. You have to tell them though rather than let them figure it out.

I do concur that you should do something easy technically to start with. If you are trying to do something which requires sleight of hand with the shakes you are asking for trouble. You will screw up the manipulation. And don't do flourishes either. You will drop the cards.

You should open with something that works itself. However it should be very strong in effect because the first wave of approval from the audience will put you at your ease. Make sure it is something which gets a reaction early on. The sooner you get that laugh or gasp from the audience the better for your nerves.

In order to overcome nerves you must do what you fear to do and get a record of successful experiences behind you. KEEP PERFORMING to all and sundry whenever and wherever you can. After enough performing and after enough praise from the audience your hands will cease to shake.

If it makes you feel any better then I must inform you that I saw master card magician Rovi shaking like the clappers when I was watching him. As I have many others. You are not alone.

In my case, shaky hands usually comes from the fear of exposure. To prevent this, if I'm going to do a series of tricks- I start with a quick and simple trick with the least amount of knuckle busting (pretty much selfworking tricks). I found that my hands stopped shaking for most sleights except for the DL. My god, I couldn't do a proper strike DL if my life depended on it when someone's watching my hands as they start shaking 2-3 inches up and down, lol. So I guess practice and confidence in the moment is what's important.

It may be a wise procedure for a nervous performer to commence his impromptu routine with a trick called "Poker Player's Picnic" described in the first chapter of Royal Road to Card Magic.

Not only is it self working the whole attention of the audience will be focussed on the spectator rather than you. You don't even touch the cards so you can shake as much as you like. The spectator does it all and everyone looks at him, not you. A godsend for someone with shaking hands I would have thought.

Furthermore the trick is a stunner! The praise and glory you will get from the audience will make your nervousness vanish like magic.

As for "knuckle busting" too much of it can be a bad thing. It has to be done sparingly and intelligently. And it should be hidden so the spectator doesn't know you are doing it.

Remember you are not there to impress magicians -you are there to entertain laymen who don't even know that your knuckles are busting. And if they do know they shouldn't. Beware...................