friends Archives

It’s a cruel trick of nature.. Those that need the most practice and experience

have the least opportunity to receive it.

Those pesky professional magicians, they have hordes of new people to show their magic tricks to every night. Not only that, but they get paid to do it! What about those of us that are starting out, or simply prefer to treat magic as a hobby? How are we supposed to get better if we don’t have access to an ever changing audience to sharpen our classic pass’s on? The answer… our family and friends.

How to bore friends and annoy people

Your friends may love your magic tricks. You may always be asked to show them a trick or about how your magic is going. Being a magician is quite unusual, and you are probably the only magician your friends know. However, many of your friends, and most of your family knew you before you started to learn magic. They like you because.. Well, you’re you! Hanging around with you is not a license for you to constantly show them your latest tricks, or even worse, each stage of development that your current favorite trick has reached. They haven’t decided to go and see a magic show every time they see you, so make sure you don’t ‘magic them to death’

71% of magicians partners reported that they no longer like being shown magic tricks. (Source: Feedback survey MagicShop.co.uk 2009 (Sample size 627)

Pick the right times to show them some magic. Wait to be invited to do so. Thinking that because you have a ‘relationship’ with someone, it’s fair game to make them watch endless card tricks, is a sure fire way to bore and annoy your friends and family. So who do you show your magic to? If you don’t perform to the public, your friends and family are your only audience. However, it’s really easy to avoid these pitfalls. You just need to keep in mind some simple advice.

The dynamic’s are different

The dynamics of performing magic to people who know you is very different to that of the general public. You already have a relationship with these people. Basically, they know you aren’t really magical. This gives them far fewer boundaries than someone who knows you only as a magician, there to entertain. This expresses itself in may different ways. Here are just a few:

They ask more questions
They will grab at props
They try to get the ‘secret’ out of you
They don’t regard you as a professional
They want you to repeat the tricks

Be yourself

Another challenge when performing for people that know you, is that persona’s simply don’t work.
Suddenly switching to the character of a wild west hustler, or a mystic from the middle east, comes across as ridiculous. Your friend may have known you at school or has sat through several dull business meetings with you earlier that week. When you show them a trick and switch personalities to become someone else, it just doesn’t work. The only authentic style you can present these people, is one that fit’s with their knowledge about you. Basically, you have to be yourself!

Doing it right

We have written a free ebook that discusses the pitfalls of performing magic for your family and friends. The book gives you practical ways to:

Improve your presentation
Deal with ‘grabbers’
How to answer ‘ Do another one’
Being the center of attention
How not to reveal the ‘secrets’

The free ebook, written by professional magicians also gives you tips and techniques on the approach, character and timing.

Do you have some advice for magicians performing magic tricks for their family and friends? Please let us know your thoughts in the comments section below:

Are there really just two kinds of magic tricks that magic shops sell, magic tricks for magicians, and magic for everyone else?

If you perform magic tricks for your family and friends or other magicians, the type of tricks you choose can be quite different from those you should select to perform to the public. When you are choosing a new magic trick to work on, how do you know which type of trick it is?

Who is your real audience?

When you browse though a magic shop and read the descriptions, notice how easy it is to understand very quickly, exactly what happens in the trick. The trick should be able to be described in just one or two sentences:

A thought of playing card changes colour – The Brainwave Deck
A playing card is torn up and restores itself – Slide
A finger ring vanishes and appears on the magicians, car keys – Departure Ring Flight

If the plot of a particular trick cannot be described simply, it’s probably more suited to be performed for other magicians. The public wants direct quick ploys, especially for close-up magic conditions. The magic needs to be instantly understandable.

Don’t think about ‘how’

When choosing a magic trick, try not to think about the method of the trick initially. First think about what the ‘story’ of the trick is for the spectators. Ask yourself if this ‘story’ or as it’s often called in the magic community, it’s ‘effect’ would fit with your style, be amazing, and more importantly be entertaining. A magic trick can have an incredibly clever method. One that other magicians will be really impressed to see. The ‘method’ is stunning, but the ‘effect’ is dull to laypeople, its plot is not direct and simple. Choose the magic tricks you want to spend your precious practice time on carefully, taking into account who your audience will be.

Avoid these magic tricks for magicians

If you want to make your magic more commercial and entertaining, avoid the following:

Magic tricks that have overly complicated plots.
Magic tricks that require the spectators to remember more than one thing at a time.
Tricks that force the audience to pay close attention though several stages of the plot.

Save those types of tricks for your ‘magic friends’. Complicated tricks are not ‘bad’ in and of themselves, but it’s important to choose the right type of trick for the people who will be watching it.

The Merchant of Magic produces free guides, magic ebooks and videos giving advice to improve your magic. Our free newsletters can help you become a better magician and our team can suggest tricks that would suit your performing style and practice goals.

The Pitfalls of Performing Magic Tricks for Your Family and Friends

Magic Tricks For Magicians Vs Magic Tricks For The Public