1) Read more. It doesn't matter if you read a magazine once a month or a book a day, everyone can stand to read more. Magic Magazines, books, online essays, anything. Also don't focus on just subject matters pertaining to magic, but diversify! Read news articles, or journal entries. You never know when the next inspiration for a routine or patter is going to hit you.
2) Script Your Magic. Record yourself performing, and then write down every word you say during your act verbatim. Go back and edit your script. Cut out the clutter, refine refine refine! Then practice the new scripts until you can recite them in your sleep.
3) Video Tape Yourself Often! There is no critic more brutal, no eye more catching than that of a video camera. Mirrors are great for angles, but if you really want to polish your act, you need to see yourself work. Get a video camera, and learn how to use it. Doesn't have to be a thousand dollar high end camera, a cheap one that records video will do just fine.
4) Control What You Do. Be careful, be mindful, and be picky about the kind of material you put out to the world to consume, watch, and judge you by. If you're going to upload a video to youtube, make sure it's something you'll be proud of! You're only as good as your last performance, and if that last performance was a sucky video you posted to some social networking site, then it can hurt your image! Your name is valuable, your image is gold, PROTECT IT!
5) ABP. Always Be Practicing. Work on your familiar material too. Don't just master something and then never go back to refine it. You're not god, even trusted skills can get rusty if they're not used frequently. Foundations are important, so it never hurts to spend sometime going back over them even if it's to warm yourself up before you start some harder techniques.
6) Ask For Advice and Take It Seriously. If you're working on something, or performing something it never hurts to ask others what they think. Sure take what they say with a spoonful of salt, but do listen to the wisdom when it's spoken to you. Most of the time constructive criticism is aimed at making you better, not tearing you down.
7) Perform For People. Go. Out. Perform. Was a motto sported by Mexican Magician Luis Vega here on the forums years ago. And it still rings true to this day. You're not going to get better by performing for your friends, family, or webcams. Go outside and perform for real people! As many different kinds of people as you can. You'll learn some serious life skills that way. Like how to handle a crowd, how to watch your angles, what material works for your character, what material doesn't work for you, how and what to pack with you, pocket management, and of course how to deal with rejection.
8) Know Your Industry. You don't have to know everyone, but do make it a point to know who the active players are in your field, and who some of the important names were that came before them. Know their works, and why they are important. Stay informed! Yes it's Magic History 101 but it's vital to know these things if only to show reverence and respect to those who earned it.
9) Believe in Yourself. You are your worst critic. No one can be as hard on you, or as brutal as you are on yourself. So give yourself a break once in a while. Know that you are good. Know that you have skills, and know that you make a difference in the lives of those around you. When you stumble pick yourself back up and keep moving on.
10) See The World Through The Eyes of a Child. Never forget the awe or wonder you encountered the first time you witnessed someone doing a magic trick. Try to encapsulate that wonder every time you perform. Never forget what it is to be mystified, awed, and flabbergasted. Try to encourage wonderment, imagination, and the endless possibilities of life with each magic effect that you do. Elevate your magic from being just a trick to being something special that happened then and there for that special person you were showing it to.
2) Script Your Magic. Record yourself performing, and then write down every word you say during your act verbatim. Go back and edit your script. Cut out the clutter, refine refine refine! Then practice the new scripts until you can recite them in your sleep.
3) Video Tape Yourself Often! There is no critic more brutal, no eye more catching than that of a video camera. Mirrors are great for angles, but if you really want to polish your act, you need to see yourself work. Get a video camera, and learn how to use it. Doesn't have to be a thousand dollar high end camera, a cheap one that records video will do just fine.
4) Control What You Do. Be careful, be mindful, and be picky about the kind of material you put out to the world to consume, watch, and judge you by. If you're going to upload a video to youtube, make sure it's something you'll be proud of! You're only as good as your last performance, and if that last performance was a sucky video you posted to some social networking site, then it can hurt your image! Your name is valuable, your image is gold, PROTECT IT!
5) ABP. Always Be Practicing. Work on your familiar material too. Don't just master something and then never go back to refine it. You're not god, even trusted skills can get rusty if they're not used frequently. Foundations are important, so it never hurts to spend sometime going back over them even if it's to warm yourself up before you start some harder techniques.
6) Ask For Advice and Take It Seriously. If you're working on something, or performing something it never hurts to ask others what they think. Sure take what they say with a spoonful of salt, but do listen to the wisdom when it's spoken to you. Most of the time constructive criticism is aimed at making you better, not tearing you down.
7) Perform For People. Go. Out. Perform. Was a motto sported by Mexican Magician Luis Vega here on the forums years ago. And it still rings true to this day. You're not going to get better by performing for your friends, family, or webcams. Go outside and perform for real people! As many different kinds of people as you can. You'll learn some serious life skills that way. Like how to handle a crowd, how to watch your angles, what material works for your character, what material doesn't work for you, how and what to pack with you, pocket management, and of course how to deal with rejection.
8) Know Your Industry. You don't have to know everyone, but do make it a point to know who the active players are in your field, and who some of the important names were that came before them. Know their works, and why they are important. Stay informed! Yes it's Magic History 101 but it's vital to know these things if only to show reverence and respect to those who earned it.
9) Believe in Yourself. You are your worst critic. No one can be as hard on you, or as brutal as you are on yourself. So give yourself a break once in a while. Know that you are good. Know that you have skills, and know that you make a difference in the lives of those around you. When you stumble pick yourself back up and keep moving on.
10) See The World Through The Eyes of a Child. Never forget the awe or wonder you encountered the first time you witnessed someone doing a magic trick. Try to encapsulate that wonder every time you perform. Never forget what it is to be mystified, awed, and flabbergasted. Try to encourage wonderment, imagination, and the endless possibilities of life with each magic effect that you do. Elevate your magic from being just a trick to being something special that happened then and there for that special person you were showing it to.