hmm just wondering what u guys say to strangers when you want to show something to a stranger. Today me and my friend was fooling around at he train station and we decided to approach strangers to show them a little card magic. my friend cheated as he saw a relative and did a riffle force using a shadow masters deck and used the 3 of diamonds revealation and the reaction was : is that a trick deck lol. i did tivo 2.0 and the person said good. lol. I was wondering as well what can one do in his or her perfrormance to get better reactions cause sometimes we just get a how did u do that? and thats kind of sad lol.
Approaching people to show magic and reactions
- Thread starter thanatos
- Start date
Patter.
Build suspense, involve the audience, don't rush the performance.
The lines I use differ depending on who I find to perform for. If I see a group of people just hanging out on a bench then it becomes "You all look as if you could use some entertainment, let me help you with that." Immediately afterwards I have the cards out and I'm asking names and starting the routine.
I've used other lines such as "Excuse me, do you believe in magic?" -No "It does seem outragious, but let me see if I can't change your mind."
If -Yes "Wonderful, check this out."
Just a few suggestions
Build suspense, involve the audience, don't rush the performance.
The lines I use differ depending on who I find to perform for. If I see a group of people just hanging out on a bench then it becomes "You all look as if you could use some entertainment, let me help you with that." Immediately afterwards I have the cards out and I'm asking names and starting the routine.
I've used other lines such as "Excuse me, do you believe in magic?" -No "It does seem outragious, but let me see if I can't change your mind."
If -Yes "Wonderful, check this out."
Just a few suggestions
Mabye use decks that people of seen before like ''Bicycle Decks'' Or if you want to use cool looking decks like Arrcos,Split Spades,Wynns etc....
Let the spectator examine the deck so they no that it's not a trick deck. Like said before use patter and build suspence.
I've noticed that when I preform an effect that gets the spectator involved I get better reactions.
Let the spectator examine the deck so they no that it's not a trick deck. Like said before use patter and build suspence.
I've noticed that when I preform an effect that gets the spectator involved I get better reactions.
People want their hands on the deck. It will make it seem fair to them and they believe you're using a normal deck. If the deck requires some setup make a note to palm off the setup and let them shuffle the deck a few times, drop the setup back where it belongs and continue.
i figured out that most singaporean adults dont give reactions man.
But apart from that, the malay dudes always scream, so if you want reactions for the simplest tricks, then go for them.
about approaching people, when i do my stuff, im always around areas where people are chilling, like the riverside at esplanade and around plaza sing, so you can try out those places, you'll find that people are more receptive that way.
But apart from that, the malay dudes always scream, so if you want reactions for the simplest tricks, then go for them.
about approaching people, when i do my stuff, im always around areas where people are chilling, like the riverside at esplanade and around plaza sing, so you can try out those places, you'll find that people are more receptive that way.
i generally approach people (strangers and family alike) with this simple line:
"do you mind if i show you something?"
now, that seems strange, I know, but once they see the deck of cards in my hands - they generally know what to expect from there.
girls, in my opinion seem more willing to be 'openly' amazed, in that they don't hesitate to show they shock.
guys, in my experience, tend to be a little more reserved - almost like they don't want to admit that they have been fooled.
there are exception though...this one time, I approached a group on campus, and did my own variation of the ambitious card routine, and the guy i did the trick for just stared at me wide eye'd. didn't even say anything, just had this big look of shock on this face. best reaction i ever got.
"do you mind if i show you something?"
now, that seems strange, I know, but once they see the deck of cards in my hands - they generally know what to expect from there.
girls, in my opinion seem more willing to be 'openly' amazed, in that they don't hesitate to show they shock.
guys, in my experience, tend to be a little more reserved - almost like they don't want to admit that they have been fooled.
there are exception though...this one time, I approached a group on campus, and did my own variation of the ambitious card routine, and the guy i did the trick for just stared at me wide eye'd. didn't even say anything, just had this big look of shock on this face. best reaction i ever got.
haha i guessed singapore is magic-deprived and we should do something about it i think its true about what joel paschall said about needing to break through alot of barriers, when u take out a pack of cards they look at you with those eyes and think what are u doing? thats true for me anyways in singapore. just today on the bus i approached someone and said would u mind if i show u something? she flattly rejected me saying can i say no in a polite way.i sensed she didnt seem to keen and i decided not to continue that was kind of depressing though haha. i guess ill have to get my hands on some new material iv been playing around with tivo2.0 too long. anyways anyone thinks believe is something i can show people while im walking around? or if i should get dangerous cause i heard that angle zero is a good trick.
i think its true about what joel paschall said about needing to break through alot of barriers, when u take out a pack of cards they look at you with those eyes and think what are u doing? thats true for me anyways in singapore. just today on the bus i approached someone and said would u mind if i show u something? she flattly rejected me saying can i say no in a polite way.i sensed she didnt seem to keen and i decided not to continue that was kind of depressing though haha. i guess ill have to get my hands on some new material iv been playing around with tivo2.0 too long. anyways anyone thinks believe is something i can show people while im walking around? or if i should get dangerous cause i heard that angle zero is a good trick.
Angle Zero is a 1on1 so you wouldn't have to purchase Dangerous. There is some other material on Dangerous that I enjoyed, like Half Vanish.
haha i guessed singapore is magic-deprived and we should do something about it
I don't think your choice of effect is that important.
There's a lot of potential problems when performing on the street. People are often busy and have other things on their mind, when you walk up to somebody you have absolutley no idea what's going through their head. Maybe they lost their job, maybe they just broke up with a partner etc. Somebody in this situation just won't want to see you do magic for them, they don't care if you do Tivo 2, Believe, Angle Zero or if you can fly.
These are things you have no control over, so you shouldn't be dissapointed when somebody doesn't want to see magic and if they don't seem interested don't push it, just leave.
Younger people would be a far better choice, of course they can have problems as well but if you see a couple of teenagers walking round, laughing then it's fairly safe to assume that they don't have anything on their minds and will be receptive to magic.
You just have to look at somebody before you approach them and try and get an idea of what sort of mood their in, of course you can never really be sure but if they don't look too happy then stay away.
There could also be some people who don't have anything to on their mind but still don't react well, in these cases the problem could be in your presentation and choice of effect although without seeing a video it is difficult to say.
