Can I have advice on how to deal with annoying people?

[Syd The Magician]

Hi, I have been practicing close up card magic for four years now. I know from the audience point of view my moves are clean. But every time I perform at my high school or in the general public I always have that one person in the crowd who either says whats going to happen or just blabber out the secret of the trick. I've tried ignoring them in my performance but sometimes they will just volunteer themselves and pick a card even though someone else was my volunteer. Currently I would do a deck switch from my regular to a marked deck and perform for the annoying one. But sometimes that isn't enough to keep them quiet.

Could I have some advice to deal with these sort of people?

 

[dylanm7]

Unfortunately, the same performances that draw in the curious, also attract the clownshoes. It can be extremely frustrating, but think about it like this: they are no different than hecklers during a comedy set. Thinking on your feet, and showing them (and the more considerate onlookers) that what they are doing isn't going to get to you, can turn these situations around. Their butting in may be them masking their own interest in what you're doing. It could be jealousy for the attention you're being shown. Who knows what drives a heckler. What's important is that you remain confident. Make a joke. Call them out for being rude. Do something involving them, and move on like it doesn't phase you. As far as folks calling out your tricks, try creating some more personal versions. Use the skills you've built from all that practice, and apply them to your life. If someone recognizes the patter of a magician they've seen on tv or YouTube, they're gonna make that connection right away. Magic is much more popular than it was a few years ago. That's cool, but it also means that the layman is a little wiser to the tricks. Your speech can be a strong tool of misdirection. Use it to your advantage. Good luck.

 

[dylanm7]

Also Chris Ramsey had some funny things to say about this subject.

 

[David Brooke]

Slightly on the cliff edge of becoming off topic here, but have you seen the video of Piff dealing with a heckler during a performance where he blows on a toaster? It's great. I'll need to try to find the video at some point.

 

[Josh Burch]

Hecklers come in all sizes for sure. For me, I have had some issues with people spoiling a trick here and there. They see a load, or peek at a card prematurely or perhaps they know a little magic themselves and they spoil an ending. This happened during a performance with an Omni deck a little while ago with me. Someone hollered, "The deck's going to turn into glass" right before it did.

If the tough spectator is like this usually I can talk with them and say something along the lines of, "Are you a fan of magic? You seem like you have seen a lot." Then hopefully I can leave with a friend who has a mutual respect for magic.

Believe it or not, those who love magic the most can be the worst audiences imaginable. Magicians generally are terrible audiences. Yet it is those who love magic who will likely book you more than those who don't.

Also Chris Ramsey had some funny things to say about this subject.

Then there are those who want to mess you up or ruin the magic for everyone else. Chris has some ideas here but I have a different approach. When someone is making me frazzled I turn to self working magic. I would never dream of doing a double lift for a heckler! Any secret move of any difficulty is probably bad, the one time that it could go wrong it will.

I have a small repertoire of incredibly fooling, self working magic. I usually will pull out one of these effects. (I'd rather not share the specific effects I use here. They are usually the same tricks I use to fool my buddies.) That way I'm confident that I wont mess anything up and that everyone will leave fooled. It helps if the trick can be repeated as well, just to quell any guesses at a method.

Another way I deal with tough spectators is to involve them in some way that makes them look good. It has to be a specific type of person for this to work. They become the magician while I perform Aaron Fisher's Search and Destroy or I instant stooge them and they read their girlfriend's mind. If they are a know it all, sometimes it helps if they see a bit of the secret.

The last way, if nerves are steady, is to perform some cardistry or gambling moves. I will sometimes turn to displays of actual skill and take a break from magic until they leave. I might stack a couple hands in poker and explain what I am doing as I do it. In this way, the performance is still interesting but there is no worry that the heckler will reveal a method and ruin the magic. I'm just showing some magic related skills that I have picked up.

Something like this would work:

This would also work:

 

[notsoltd]

If they are just blabbing what they think is going to happen you could say "oh great, no need to show you then" and just put the cards down. Chances are, the others want to see what you're going to do and they'll get mad at the person for not shutting their pie hole. Even if they're saying the wrong thing is going to happen. Or you could say something like "well that's one thing we could do" but then do something else.

There are literally countless ways to handle these people and you have to read the situation. I've had hecklers that are straight up dicks and then their friends shut them down for me because they like me and what I'm doing.

I had a guy one time that caught a discrepancy in French Kiss (because I made a dumb mistake). The effect still went well for EVERYONE else (they were losing their shit). But the one guy noticed the discrepancy and was trying to tell everyone what he saw and how it happened. I noticed him doing it but everyone else was too busy reacting that they didn't. I acknowledged (to him) that he saw something by slyly putting my index finger to my lips as if to say "shhhh" and smirked. The gesture indicated that I knew that he knew and he was right - there was no reason to fight the guy about it. He literally smiled, fist bumped me and never said another word about it to his friends. He just wanted validation and he got it.

 

[RealityOne]

Also Chris Ramsey had some funny things to say about this subject

I wouldn't advise using any of his methods although the last thing he said was actually correct - the problem is that you are presenting the effect as a puzzle or a challenge. You can do this by simply using say-do-see patter (where you say what you are going to do, do it and then tell the audience to see what happened). If you only focus on what is being done, the audience will focus on how you are doing it.

When someone is making me frazzled I turn to self working magic.

Always good to have those self-working effects that blow people away.

If they are just blabbing what they think is going to happen you could say "oh great, no need to show you then" and just put the cards down.

If you are not being paid for a performance, you always have the ability to walk away.

There are literally countless ways to handle these people and you have to read the situation.

That really is the key. Some spectators react a certain way because they think that is what they are supposed to do -- magician try to fool spectators, spectators try to figure it out (thanks Penn and Teller for perpetuating that). Some want attention or to be the alpha male. Some do it in reaction to how you are presenting things or your lack of audience control. Lots of different reason and lots of different responses.

But every time I perform at my high school or in the general public....

High school often is the worst place to perform. Pretty much every interaction is about status. By performing you are elevating your status. Others won't like this and will do what they can to reduce your status.

 

[Maaz Hasan]

Generally, I perform a show stopper effect that is quick, and this tells the heckler to buzz off. If that doesn't work and he amps up the annoying to try and make you look stupid, don' be afraid to make him look a fool. If he keeps annoying you, but not trying to make you look stupid, take the Jay Sankey way - Creep them out or call them out. He has a video on his YouTube channel. Its quite funny.

 

[Justin.Morris]

Tons of great advice here. Perhaps these might help too

 

[obrienmagic]

Hecklers come in all shapes and sizes. The best way to counter them is to understand why they are heckling in the first place. Feel free to take a look at this. It may help you out a bit?