Search results

Name me five magicians who make the lion's share of their income from selling books and DVDs, please. This is a misconception that really needs to go away. In fact, here's the cold hard truth all creators and would-be creators need to accept right here and right now: You do not have to like...

This is another one of those things that magicians get all up in arms about, and then go and do themselves when they think no one's looking. Pros give away and trade manuscripts and secrets constantly. It's like a currency for them. But you're not in on it until you've paid your dues. Is...

Everything Campbell has ever done is golden. "The Hero with a Thousand Faces" is one of those books you have to read before you die. As for Ms. Lowndes, I think the best starting point is "How to Talk to Anyone." It covers most of the broad strokes of her principles and has advice that can be...

Okay, so you really like stories of the mythic type and proportions. We can work with this. I suggest you get really good at telling stories as that's what all myth is: a collection of stories. Look up the authoress Leil Lowndes and mix her conversational techniques with storytelling. To...

That's a more complicated question. You need to learn writing, speaking, audience management, timing... and the only way to get good at any of these is to just perform and be mindful of what works and what doesn't. So let's start with writing. Name me three of your favorite fiction authors...

What's the motive? How do you explain and justify this particular course of action? The key to a great effect is that the logic has to be internally consistent.

The only thing laziness ever results in is weight gain and a case of chronic datelessness. You have all that. The effects are already there in the books. Just read the damn things. What exactly do you need us for again?

In that case, body language cues are the obvious sign. If they're in a half-lunging stance away from you with their brows knit, lips pursed, and clenched jaw... that's a clue. Watch the legs and feet. How they orient themselves is a major sign of interest or lack thereof. Watch where their...

You basically are giving as a list of ingredients and asking for recipes. Granted, it's better than what we usually get. To continue the analogy, we get a lot of dudes asking for recipes when their only ingredients are pickles, beer and EZ Cheez. Do you have a copy of Mark Wilson's? Royal...

There's a difference between a presence and a nuisance. It's not a boast to be interesting. In fact, most people give dry, perfunctory answers and never say anything interesting because they're afraid of looking awkward. Beyond that, I'm not really sure what your question is.

Last week I talked a little about finding a target market, then suggested that what you want to do is be remarkable enough that people would actually want to give you their business. To that end, we have to talk a little bit about being sociable and about marketing. In the social arena...

I'll be going into more detail on this as the series goes on, but here's a few broad strokes to start. Business cards are weird. You need them, but they're also the worst form of marketing. Magicians have come up with dozens, if not hundreds of effects to encourage people to hang onto them...

Well the first thing not to do would be to release a half-assed move that you haven't refined in the crucible of live performance for at the very least about a year, give or take a few months. Second would be to submit it without ever asking yourself what the point is. If it's a vanity...

I was going to say something in rebuttal, but no. If I tell people that you need to actually get out there and perform instead of just sitting in your room practicing card tricks all day, that in order to be interesting you have to have a life and the response I get is that I'm being a downer...

I stand by my point. The necessity of practice has absolutely nothing to do with my statement. If you seriously have so little going on in your life, you perform so little, than you can practice from dawn to dusk, there's something seriously wrong. Vito Brata of White Lion before his injury...

You failed to show your face within the first 10 seconds. You have already lost 90% of the audience. As for being "quirky" that's a buzz word that no longer has any meaning in the wake of movies like Juno. In general use it's become a label for people who are just crazy enough to be endearing...

Normally, I would break down your video with criticisms by timestamp, but I can sum up the entire thing with only two sentences. 1. Show your face. 2. Just because you can edit doesn't mean you should. Editing, transitions, filters, and a generic soundtrack are not a substitute for...

If you can devote an entire day to practicing and never perform, you don't have enough to do.

Two weeks? With cards? Not gonna happen. Tell the client that requests like that need to be made at least a month in advance. There's just not enough time to learn an entirely new effect and have it performance ready.

So what? An audience isn't supposed to know how much practice went into your presentation. They don't care. You either did enough for it to look good, or you didn't. And even with self-working effects, you still need to know how to present to an audience. You still need to have showmanship...