How to do Magic Tricks

Advice and Support for Magicians

How to Connect with Your Audience When You Perform Magic

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Comnnect with your audienceRapport is essentially one of the biggest things that will distinguish between a great, memorable performer, and a person who does a few magic tricks. It’s about learning how to connect with your audience. Think of a couple of your favorite magicians. Odds are that they have great people skills, the ability to draw the audience in. How many magicians can you think of that lack this skill? Personally, I can’t remember any. And why can’t I remember them? Because there was no human or emotional connection. It’s not really surprising though, as we have been brought up never to talk to strangers. How do we break this and why is it important?

Emotional connection.
When we talk about emotional connection, it is immediately assumed too often that we are referring to the art of attraction, or upset. Emotional connection covers all areas of humanity, and the secret to gaining a connection with your audience is actually easier than you may think. Essentially, you need the audience to like you. Fortunately, you are already half way there as the audience wants to like you. People naturally want to be relaxed. So, smile!

Happy, smiley people.
The first step to establishing rapport is a simple smile. A smile travels miles. And as a bonus, they are free and require very little practice. A person smiling shows confidence, positivity and requires no words. It is universal and inviting. It shows you are relaxed, and in turn this gives the audience confidence in you, so smile as much and as often as you like. You’ll be surprised how many smiles you receive in return. I find it really helps before I start to have a glass of water at the bar, and strike up a chat with the bar staff, then crack a silly joke. They may not find it funny, but it makes me smile, which is a great head start for your first audience.

Maintain eye contact.
Picture yourself sat in an audience, and the performer glances across the audience, and then makes eye contact directly with you. How do you feel? One thing for sure, you will feel more involved in the act than you did moments before. Now imagine your seated at a table, and a magician approaches the table and begins his act. He spends most of his time looking at his hands, and when he does look up, he looks at everyone at the table other than you. How do you feel? Isolated and uninvolved.

Here, are 3 simple ways to ensure your eye contact is drawing the spectators in:

  1. Every time you are speaking make sure you are making eye contact.
  2. Mentally take turns with who you look at. I personally begin making eye contact with the person furthest away from me, opposite side of the table. This then involves the whole table. Then I mentally take turns as to whom to look towards next time.
  3. Talk to the people, not your props. Your props are purely that, props. You are the magic, not the props.

React and respond.
I think it’s important to ask the audience questions, as soon as possible. Involve them. 

“Hello there. How are you all this evening?”

They have to respond. If there is music playing, or they have had a meal, ask them how it was. Let them know you are not there purely showing  magic. You are a person, part of the entire event, and you want to hear about their evening. They are investing their time in you. Invest some of your time with them. It will be appreciated. If they like you, they will like what you do. But first they need to know that you like them. Also, react and respond not only to the audience, but your surroundings. If something occurs in the background, for example, a waiter drops a plate, comment on it. Involve the surroundings. Turn these possible disruptions into advantages. This will convey to the audience that you are not scripted, you are human.

Be emotional.
Reveal your humanity with emotions. You need to reveal a part of you, and you do that by letting us glimpse your innards, your emotions.  To show a passion for something is to show humanity. To show humanity makes you instantly likeable and encourages connectivity, which is a natural, human desire in all of us. So, show emotions, be as surprised as the audience, be as disappointed you didn’t find that playing card as the audience is. And should any mistakes occur, mock it with the spectators! Share the emotions of your act.

Leave them wanting more.
Always leave the audience with a smile and a laugh. It’s true that if you leave them smiling and laughing this will be the lasting memory of you. This is also the ideal time to remind them who you are.

“Thank you so much for your time. I’ve had such a great time. Have a few more drinks and I will pop back and show you the same tricks again. I have been (insert name here). Have a lovely evening all.”

Smile, make eye contact, and shake their hands.

Follow these simple guidelines on how to connect with your audience, and you will find your reactions to be much stronger, and most importantly, the audience will enjoy you and your time ten times more, which in turn means they will remember you as a person.

Finding It Hard to Perform Magic in Front of a Crowd

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Performing magic for a crowd

‘I’m 14 and have been doing close up magic for just over a year. I find it hard to perform in front of a crowd. I really need help with this.’ – Kieron

 

That’s an awesome question Kieron, and one that we get asked a lot, so you are not alone there. We call it close-up magic, but often, there is nothing close-up about it. You start off showing a magic trick to a couple of people, and before you know it, you have a huge crowd all around you. Pretty scary stuff.

Part of the anxiety is stage fright. That never really goes, but does decrease over time as you get used to it. The key is experience. The more you expose yourself to those kinds of situations, the more used to them you will become. The best way to face this is to get out and perform as much as possible.

Due to your age, finding good venues for your magic can be tricky, but community events, fetes and charity fundraisers would make ideal practice gigs for you to become more used to performing for the public. Contact a few local organizations and ask if you can attend for free to perform.

Ideally perform for the general public, with your parents also attending. Preferably in front of non-magicians so you can get ‘real’ feedback. If your school has a drama club or there is a local theatre group in your area, we highly recommend that you join. You will learn so many valuable skills that will transfer directly to your magic.

Putting in the time to go out and get experience will REALLY pay off whilst you are a young magician. Far more than any private practice can bring you.

We recommend that you read this advice from Ben Williams:

Overcoming nervousness for magicians.

A great technique from Seamus Hayes

Breathing exercises before performing often help.
If you have a lot of anxiety, there is a “Tapping” method, which may help you…

“Could you believe it if I told you that you can tap yourself out of an anxiety? Yes, actually tap away your anxiety.

Anxiety about your golf stroke, anxiety about your performance at work, anxiety about achieving your personal goals, anxiety about your family, anxiety about being bullied, anxiety about how you appear to other people, anxiety about coping, in fact anxiety in whatever shape or form it raises its head may be eliminated through focused tapping.

Consider the following. There is a rat in a box on your desk. Notice how the thought alone can create a reaction.
Now, do the following while thinking of the rat on your desk:

1) What is your anxiety?, is it fear? Is it panic?…
2) Rate the intensity of the anxiety between 0 and 10 (10 being the most intense).
3) While tapping on the “collar bone” repeat 3 times “Even though I feel this anxiety I totally & completely accept myself”
4) Now, while Repeating the Words “This anxiety”, tap 7 times

a) Above the eye,
b) Below the eye,
c) On the collarbone
d) Under the arm, (about half way between the belt line and the armpit)

5) Rate the intensity again. In most cases the intensity has decreased.

Will this simple technique work for everybody? I have witnessed, in my own practice, a lady who had not done exams for over 30 years, release severe exam anxiety in less than 30 seconds with this simple technique. In a few cases, no immediate result seemed to occur, however comments like “I feel calmer”, “I feel more in control” or “I feel less tired and full of energy” surface in conversations days later. A small percentage of people need a longer version to achieve results, however, persistent work always facilitates some change for good.

Philosophers and Psychologists have always recognized the fact that thoughts influence behavior. In the case of the rat above, if you have a negative perception of a rat, as you think about the rat, you will reflect your thoughts in your body as an emotion (anxiety, tension, fear…): Your body’s energy has been disrupted in some form. Focused tapping or pressure on acupuncture points restores the balance to the disrupted energy. By tapping on these pressure points, you begin to separate the emotion from the thought. By thus doing, you increase your control over the situation. I have seen people, who suffered great anxiety at the sight of a mouse, actually hold the mouse in their hand without any negative emotion within minutes.

Is this simple method “off the wall”? Users of reflexology and acupuncture will easily understand the philosophy behind this simple technique. Chinese Medicine, from which this technique comes, has been successfully treating the “whole person” for centuries. Today we call it Energy Psychology. It blends in easily with today’s lifestyle. It’s free, easily applicable and within the personal control of each person who may choose to use it.”
– Seamus Hayes  – Source http://www.selfgrowth.com/articles/Hayes2.html

Do you have some advice that would help Keiron and others like him who are facing fear of performing in front of a crowd?  Please post your advice in the comments section below:

Hands Too Small for Sleight of Hand Card Tricks?

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Magicians with small hands

Do you have tiny hands? Are you finding it difficult to perform sleight of hand because of this? The truth is, the size of your hands doesn’t matter at all, it’s a myth. Everyone finds learning complex sleights like the pass or card palming, tricky at first. It’s very easy to blame the difficulty on something (anything) other than your commitment to practice.
There are loads of world renowned magicians who have small hands and have not let it stop them:

The truth is, the size of your hands doesn’t matter at all, it’s a myth. Everyone finds learning complex sleights like the pass or card palming, tricky at first. It’s very easy to blame the difficulty on something (anything) other than your commitment to practice.

Let’s look at a few ways that you can overcome having hands too small for sleight of hand magic.

Small hands = more practice.
If you think have have hands too small for sleight of hand magic, think again.. The simply truth is that you need to put more work into your practice. All the established magicians with hand or arm disabilities or small hands tend to agree that more practice is the answer. Slow things down and work on the move you want to master. It may take you longer than someone with larger hands, but every technique IS achievable. Focus more attention to the details of your angles and pacing.

You have infinite choices
There is no reason why any move or sleight should be set in stone. That’s a common misunderstanding people new to magic tend to make. They think that just because a move has been in print, it has a ‘correct’ way to be performed. This simply isn’t the case. Each move you learn should be adapted and developed to your own style and abilities. The goal is not perfection of method, but rather perfection of the effect.

‘It’s not cheating to change and adapt moves’

 

“I know the Thumb Cut is difficult for short-thumbed people like me. Skip it if you have too many problems. In fact, one of the reasons I invented the L Cut and Extension Cut was that I found it easier with my stubby thumb…” – Cestkowski’s Encyclopedia of Playing Card flourishes

 

When you are trying to palm playing cards, try using different palms to see which one is more suitable for you. Change around any of the moves in the magic trick to fit you better. The goal is to fool people with the trick, not pass an examine on how closely you followed the method used by the first person to publish it’s instructions.

Having trouble doing a classic palm with small hands? Switch to a tenkai palm instead and just watch your angles.  Need to perform card to wallet? Use a mercury card fold

Choose your coins.
For your coin magic, you shouldn’t have a problem. One of the great features of coin magic tricks is that you can use whichever coins you feel most comfortable using. Experiment with moving down from dollars to half dollars. If you need a smaller coin that’s good to palm, the UK 2p coin has a great squared edge that makes it one of the easiest coins to classic palm.

Bridge size bicycle playing cards
Another popular option for your card work is to use Bridge Size Bicycle Playing Cards. These are narrower than poker size and can be much easier to palm. If you prefer to use these, you may have to adapt any card gimmicks that you use to be in bridge size, as most card gimmicks are supplied in poker size card stock.

Misdirection and audience management.
One of the most common problems faced by magicians with smaller hands is a playing card poking out when they try to palm a card. If this happens to you, just use your most powerful weapon: Misdirection.  
Make sure you talk to your spectator and wait for the moment that you have their eye contact before executing the move. Use offbeat moments when you need to do a card magic pass. One of the rules of magic is that a larger action covers a smaller action. Bring your hands up from your waist to your chest during the off beat moment during the pass. If your spectators eyes are not on your hands, it doesn’t matter how much of a flash you make when you do a move. Focus on controlling the audience’s attention and you will be delighted by the results.

DO THIS: Stop using the excuse of having hands too small for sleight of hand magic. Make a commitment to revisit the magic tricks you have previously dismissed as not suitable, and see how you can adapt them. Practice and rehearse palming and your pass like crazy and study all you can on misdirection. If you increase your effort, and change your frame of mind, you will quickly discover that you don’t have a disadvantage after all.

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Do you have any tips for people who think they have hands too small for sleight of hand tricks? Let us know how you get on in the comments section below: