How can i gain confidence to perform to the public ?
Is there any ways i gain confidence to perform to the public ?
Is there any ways i gain confidence to perform to the public ?
How can I gain confidence to perform to the public
- Thread starter MagicSleightly
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Yes. Perform to the public.
Seriously, there is nothing you can do in your room that will prepare you for performing in public. Only thing you can do, and should do, is master your tricks to perfection, so that there is no way for you to forget what to do or how to do it. But apart from that, you just have to go out and do it, no easy way around it.
Honestly, the best way is to just dive in the deep end... go out and perform. Start with friends and family and practice until your flawless, then go and do some street magic. If your still very nervous, try doing easy or self working tricks to build up your confidence. Also, dont try to hide the fact that your nervous, tell them. Just say "sorry if i seem nervous, this is my first time perform in public", or something like that. If anything this will only help you because when you do pull off a great effect, it will seem even more impressive.
So, my advice to you is
1. go out and perform, its the only real way to build up confidence.
2. Start with family and friends
3. even if u can perform complex effects, start with simple, low risk tricks.
4. Dont try to hide the fact that your nervous, it will just make it more noticeable and make you more nervous
Good Luck
Post back with your success stories
So, my advice to you is
1. go out and perform, its the only real way to build up confidence.
2. Start with family and friends
3. even if u can perform complex effects, start with simple, low risk tricks.
4. Dont try to hide the fact that your nervous, it will just make it more noticeable and make you more nervous
Good Luck
Post back with your success stories
Like everyone else has said, just perform on the strret. I'll tell you a bit about when I first performed.
I go to Scarborough every year, because my Dad's company has a holiday home place there. I only got into tricks this year and I'd practiced a fair bit and I knew that I was half decent. We go there with another family, so I showed them some tricks and they really liked it. This gave me confidence straight away. Then, I was eager to go out and perform to other people, strangers, so me and my friend from the other family went out. He would say to people 'Excuse me, would you like to see a magic trick?' (whether this is the best approach is debatable but it worked good for me). Some said no and some said yes. The ones that said yes were usually genuinelly interested in your magic so they enjoyed it a lot and got great reactions. The feeling when you perform a trick (to a stranger) and get a good reaction is hard to describe, but it's great, and you want to just keep on doing it, trust me. After 15 minutes of performing I was super confident and felt I could do it all day (and I would if I could!).
So to summarize, just go out and perform and confidence will grow. If you fear getting rejected, don't worry about it, trust me. They may be in a rush or may not like magic- it'll be nothing against you. If you fear messing up, practice a bit more, and then just go out and perform it- once you perform it once well you will probably wonder why you were worried!
Sorry for this post being a little long. And finally, I found it was really helpful to have a friend with me, it improved my confidence a lot for some reason. Good luck!
I go to Scarborough every year, because my Dad's company has a holiday home place there. I only got into tricks this year and I'd practiced a fair bit and I knew that I was half decent. We go there with another family, so I showed them some tricks and they really liked it. This gave me confidence straight away. Then, I was eager to go out and perform to other people, strangers, so me and my friend from the other family went out. He would say to people 'Excuse me, would you like to see a magic trick?' (whether this is the best approach is debatable but it worked good for me). Some said no and some said yes. The ones that said yes were usually genuinelly interested in your magic so they enjoyed it a lot and got great reactions. The feeling when you perform a trick (to a stranger) and get a good reaction is hard to describe, but it's great, and you want to just keep on doing it, trust me. After 15 minutes of performing I was super confident and felt I could do it all day (and I would if I could!).
So to summarize, just go out and perform and confidence will grow. If you fear getting rejected, don't worry about it, trust me. They may be in a rush or may not like magic- it'll be nothing against you. If you fear messing up, practice a bit more, and then just go out and perform it- once you perform it once well you will probably wonder why you were worried!
Sorry for this post being a little long. And finally, I found it was really helpful to have a friend with me, it improved my confidence a lot for some reason. Good luck!
Take a public speaking class, because 90% of people have a fear of speaking in public and when you are performing, you are essentially speaking in public. Once you get over that hurdle, then just remember that when you perform.. That you are human and allowed to make mistakes.
Hi man. I just wanted to say your not alone.. I do perform my coin magic to family, friends and to the kids at work, but i couln`t IMAGEN to stop a stranger to perform!
Erik
i know that it sounds stupid when everyone says just go out and perform. but that is the only way. i like to think of it as riding a bike. perform for your family first. that's your training wheels. but some day you've got to take them off and just go for it. by the way, the first time you perform for someone on the street, it's going to be awkward and feel weird. but you have to get used to intercting naturally with total strangers.
I have the same problem, but only a little bit different. I'm still at school, high school. And a few of my friends know I do magic and they like it, but I'd really like to show other people. I'm just afraid that because I'm a girl, they'll think its wierd, only because it was the "In" thing with the boys not so long ago. Should I just wait until I'm really good at magic, or go in for the kill? Please let me know, I have friends at where I'm going on holiday and I will pluck up the courage to show them. But I don't know what I should do
Yea I have the same problemEveryone say just go and perform, but it isn't that easy.
I have a question - How old you were when you first time performed on the streets?
I only got into magic a year ago but took to it really quickly. Everything i learned i performed to friends at school and it only took me a few months before i started performing on the street. As soon as i turned 18 (in march this year) i started going to pubs and bars performing to people i knew and people i didnt. Now im well know in the local pubs and bars and go pretty much every weekend and have begun to do magic professionally and parties and weddings. So, yea, thats the long answer to your question lol. Short answer 17.
Go in for the kill but only with tricks that your very confident with. Like i said above, i perform professionally and have a large repertoire of effects, yet i still often perform really simple tricks like Here the There, SWAK, pressure etc. Remember that simple tricks can have seriously good reactions, why else would arguably the simplest plot in card magic (Ambitious Card) still be being performed so widely. I absolutely recommend the Invisible Deck. Its often overlooked by magicians but it requires practically no skill and gets massive reactions. So basically, get in there and perform, but stay simple.
The most common confidence issue for people i think is the actually approaching of people rather than the performing. If your worried about this, and about people rejecting you, a good solution is to learn a couple of cool flourishes, they dont have to be complex, just some nice fans and a card spring (The werm by D&D is simple and eye catching), and just do them over and over. This shows people you have some pretty decent skill. Just look around you while doing it until you catch someones eye. This means when you move over to them they are much more likely to be interested because you've effectively already proved yourself (at least partly).
Also, dont be afraid of rejection. Whats the worst that can happen, someone says no thanks not interested. Just reply ok, thanks anyway and move on. Trust me, most people dont see magic often so are normally interested and open.
Sorry the post was so long, i had a lot to say.
To be honest, it is that easy. You're letting your thoughts make it difficult. All you have to do is say something to someone. Anything. Compliment them or ask them an indirect question--whatever--get into a conversation and go from there.Yea I have the same problem
As the old saying goes: your desire to change needs to be greater than your desire to stay the same. One of the best things you can do for yourself is to stretch yourself. Learn to put yourself in situations that make you uncomfortable and learn to deal with them. This is how you grow. You can do anything you see someone else do, man. We all share the same neurology. It doesn't take a special type of brain to be able to perform for a stranger. It just takes someone that wants to grow more than they want to stay in the comfortable spot they're already in.
Nora Roberts put it most eloquently when she wrote:
If you don't go after what you want, you'll never have it.
If you don't ask, the answer is still no.
If you don't step forward, you will always be in the same place.
What I find is that most of the time the guys who can't go out and perform is less about magic and about how they feel about themselves. In other words, you're probably not very social even without magic. You either don't know what to say or how to go about interacting with people in general (ie: especially around girls).
You're looking to use magic as a crutch so you think that if you stay in your room long enough and get good enough at sleights that you can use that as some sort of bridge. The only problem is that just further isolates you and it actually makes your core problem even worse; which is interacting with people in a cool, normal, fun manner.
I've seen this over and over again with a lot of magicians. I highly recommend two books for you to read and it has absolutely nothing to do with magic. It has to do with helping you develop a sense of social awareness and how to interact with people from all walks of life.
How To Win Friends and Influence People
Social Intelligence: The New Science of Human Relationships
If you're in high school, I would suggest just reading the first one. If you're in college or older then I suggest both. The second one is a little more complex but both are hugely valuable books.
Lastly...get the hell off Facebook and social media. Look at people in their face...shake their hand...touch their shoulders...see their smiles and hear their laughs. Communication is 80% body language and facial expressions. If you spend all your time behind a laptop or cell phone screen no wonder you can't perform...you aren't even good at basic human communication.
You're looking to use magic as a crutch so you think that if you stay in your room long enough and get good enough at sleights that you can use that as some sort of bridge. The only problem is that just further isolates you and it actually makes your core problem even worse; which is interacting with people in a cool, normal, fun manner.
I've seen this over and over again with a lot of magicians. I highly recommend two books for you to read and it has absolutely nothing to do with magic. It has to do with helping you develop a sense of social awareness and how to interact with people from all walks of life.
How To Win Friends and Influence People
Social Intelligence: The New Science of Human Relationships
If you're in high school, I would suggest just reading the first one. If you're in college or older then I suggest both. The second one is a little more complex but both are hugely valuable books.
Lastly...get the hell off Facebook and social media. Look at people in their face...shake their hand...touch their shoulders...see their smiles and hear their laughs. Communication is 80% body language and facial expressions. If you spend all your time behind a laptop or cell phone screen no wonder you can't perform...you aren't even good at basic human communication.
While those books are great, they don't really give the person any experience on the subjects. Which is why I would suggest taking Public speaking classes or attending a Roast Masters seminar. These would boost his self confidence a lot more than those two books and give him the experience that will most likely help his magic and also make approaching a small group of a people a lot easier.
This is honestly just a repeat of everything everybody else has already said. Go. Out. Perform. Its as easy and difficult as that. Is say that because I know that its very nerve racking to go out and perform to people that you don't even know. But you have to do it to get better at it. Just like learning a new trick. You are better at that trick the 20th time you do it compared to the 2nd. Another thing is that once you start to perform for random spectators, you won't want to stop. Its honestly one of the best feelings in the world. If you need any more help, feel free to PM me or any of the other guys and gals here. We'll always help you out.
Blake
Blake
I completely agree public speaking classes will help you, it is something my mentor had suggested i do
about 15yr ago and not only did it help in my magic but also in my career outside of magic.
there is no doubt you will gain alot more then just confidence.
You know what, instead of reading books, booking classes just to talk to people which costs money, I'm just going to go out show a trick and hopefully amaze people and the best bit is its free and doesn't waste time
Thanks
Thanks
There ya go. Nice decision, man. As John Wayne famously said, "Courage is being scared to death but saddling up anyhow."
There ya go. Nice decision, man. As John Wayne famously said, "Courage is being scared to death but saddling up anyhow."
Cool phrase, by the way I'm a girl
I believe he confused you with the OP
Anyways, being a girl makes things easier because a lot less people are gonna refuse your performance or be rude to you, which makes things a bit easier.
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