Everyone Wants Us to Fail.

[worldwideme]

ok i'll try to clear stuff up.

it started out where i would just show them a trick, and be like hey watch this! or something of that sort, or maybe "wanna see a card trick?" and then i would do the trick telling them what i was going to do next and how this and this was going to work. etc. etc. etc. or just a ridiculous story.

eventually i grew into stories about soft spots in babies and how everything in the world has them, or the vegas card cheat story, or testing things out like "you two are pretty close right? heres lets try something" every now and then i do something where i pretend to fail and i come out on top in the end. like most basic glide tricks. etc. help any?

 

[VagueTheory]

In my world, people want me to fail every single day. I am so glad this topic got brought up.

It's not only my magic people want me to fail at, it's my everything. People at school hate it when I gain recognition, even my so called friends. My parents don't support me in what I love the most and that's music because they say musicians don't make money and that I should stick to business.

I can hit triple G's on my trumpet. My friend hates me and is jealous because of that, even though he doesn't even try to work hard to play better than me. I krump. My friends hate it because the rest of the school recognizes me for this. Whenever a girl likes me or goes out with me, my friends act different towards me because they don't want me to have a girlfriend because they envy my recognition. I promise you, that last line wasn't a line of conceitedness. It's the mere truth.

It's disgusting when people want you to fail because they don't want you to be in the spotlight.

 

[worldwideme]

I can hit triple G's on my trumpet.

thats crazy. i can hit 4 octaves of concert Bb on my euphonium, but you win.

 

[RealityOne]

ok i'll try to clear stuff up.

it started out where i would just show them a trick, and be like hey watch this! or something of that sort, or maybe "wanna see a card trick?" and then i would do the trick telling them what i was going to do next and how this and this was going to work. etc. etc. etc. or just a ridiculous story.

eventually i grew into stories about soft spots in babies and how everything in the world has them, or the vegas card cheat story, or testing things out like "you two are pretty close right? heres lets try something" every now and then i do something where i pretend to fail and i come out on top in the end. like most basic glide tricks. etc. help any?

It is all in the presentation.

 

[BlakeW]

It was an example, but my point still stands. I don't think that the general public "enjoy" magic in that way.



And yet it is our responsability, if they are fealing jealous is our fault, because we are presenting magic in a way that makes them feel that way.

I think Daniel Madison made a video on this.

 

[worldwideme]

I think Daniel Madison made a video on this.

where? i would love to watch it!

 

[Kris Deagle]

Hey guys! I’ve missed the deep intellectual side of theory11 lately. I’m trying to bring it back, but I’m going to need your help. I’m asking you guys to put your hearts into this thread and really take this idea to heart, and give a productive response.

When performing, I find that people want me to screw up they want me to find a card that isn't theirs. Too accidentally put a hole in my dollar bill when writing something on it. Or drop a sponge ball. Or drop a coin.

It’s frustrating to me, that sometimes my spectators get more joy out of my performances when I screw up. And less when i do well.

It bothers me to no end, and I keep thinking that, maybe it’s just a lack of presentational skill on my part. Or maybe I just suck at magic and I should give up, because people can't enjoy what I work for, they only enjoy when what I work for, doesn’t work.

That’s disheartening to me. I’m sure it is for others as well. So here is where you come in,

Share your stories; tell us about times when you felt like the whole world wanted you to fail.

Share your stories on how you got over this feeling of a lack of support.
I have gotten over this feeling recently, and I plan to share my story at some point, but not in the OP.

So have at it. I’m counting on you guys!

Maybe you could change your routine up a bit to include screw ups on purpose before finally doing something mind blowing?

 

[canadamagic]

Spectators (from what I have noticed) want you to mess up to figure out how the effect is done. All the time after I have performed an effect people will apear angry because they couldn't figure out how the effect was done.

I have had spectators snatch away any objects I am using during an effect, be it rubber bands, pencils, cards. It is extreamly aggrivatting and doesn't benifit anyone, the spectators or me. I have also had people try to smack the cards out of my hands, during flourishes, springs, arm spreads and so forth.

The best way that I have found to deal with this is calmly, I ask them if they want to see a performance or not, if they do I ask them to please stop how ever they are interrupting.
If that doesn't work than they are not work performing for. You do not want to force your magic upon people it makes it less enjoyable.

 

[VagueTheory]

thats crazy. i can hit 4 octaves of concert Bb on my euphonium, but you win.

Nice to meet another band member on the forums. Kudos!

 

[Slicke]

Well, its a wonderful feeling for me to have when someone tries his best to make me fail and i come out on top ... if they try to make your magic fail but didn't end the effect (like you said ... a hole through a bill so the effect is lost cuz you can't use it), just go along with it as if you were really lost when you are in control the whole time .... I think this impress them even more ...

There's plenty of times when someone wanted me to fail an effect, but most of the times the rest of the audience just tell him to shut up and do as instructed because they want to enjoy the show ... Now, i just don't perform for people who wants me to fail or i could just do a self working trick or a trick where they do not get to hold the cards because they obviously don't want to be impressed so what's the point of performing my best effect for them ...

 

[FOO:L]

First off, shadenfreude. Taking pleasure in other people's misfortune. It's an aspect of the human condition and it's not going away.

this pretty much sums up everything. yup.

 

[WitchDocIsIn]

I appreciate the props, but that was only the beginning of my point. The rest of my point was that when people like you, they want you to succeed. Therefore, get your audience to like you and they'll never want their friend to fail in front of a crowd of people.

 

[worldwideme]

I appreciate the props, but that was only the beginning of my point. The rest of my point was that when people like you, they want you to succeed. Therefore, get your audience to like you and they'll never want their friend to fail in front of a crowd of people.

how do we do that?

 

[WitchDocIsIn]

Have a personality that's engaging, nice and fun. Learn people skills.

 

[DannyT]

First off, shadenfreude. Taking pleasure in other people's misfortune. It's an aspect of the human condition and it's not going away.

Haha, that's true.
I was in class today and was distracted by this kid on roller blades grinding the rails and jumping steps at my college.
Every time he went for the rail, I was waiting for him to fall down. That would have been hilarious.

Another example is my cousin doing a back flip at the beach because he's desperate to impress women. For me, I'd die of laughter if he messed up and landed on his back while trying to impress them. Why? Not only is he acting desperate and it shows, but he fails in the attempt.
That's like a double whammy! = Epic Fail

How does this go with performing magic?
Some spectators want you to mess up because to them, you're trying to showoff. So messing up in front of everybody would be priceless and of course, make them laugh.

The best advice on here was to develop a personality with them so they're on your side. Make them want you to succeed. Do some tricks where the magic is happening in their hands.
That should help by establishing yourself as not a showoff.