theory11 — Magic Tricks & the World's Finest Playing Cards

How do I deal with skeptics?

D

Dav

Jun 28, 2011
4
0
England
Being only thirteen, how can i get people to take me seriously when i say i can "do magic"
I have tried showing a few close up tricks to proove it (ambitious card, five speed by Chris Kenner, Stairway by Marcus Eddie) but i can tell from their reactions that they remain scepticle; instead of amazement they say "i honestly dont know how you did it"(about 3/10 reaction rating)

In other words, how do ideal with scepticles when performing close up magic???
 
I think there's a few things here;

First is your age. Unfair as it might be, that works against you a bit.

Second, if you say "I can do magic" that sets up spectators as judges - to assess if you can or not. That makes them judge your skill, and under conditions like that the best you can hope for is an admission - "I gotta admit, the kid is pretty good."

I'd avoid anything that either challenges people or puts them in the position of judging your ability. Those two are very difficult to pull off. Avoid 'proving' anything, and maybe come at it as something entertaining, rather than proof of your ability.
 
Yeah like Jbutterfield said, you really don't want to go saying "Hey I can do magic!" It would be better saying something along the lines of "hey wanna see something cool?" And it's best to not start off with cards, that will put most people off right away. Start with coins, rubber bands, or anything really just not cards, and once you really get them going that's when you bust out the cards. Hope this helps.
 
I agree with starthelegend and JButterfield. Don't try to act like you can do actual magic. Make it seem like you can do cool things that SEEM magical. It will make it where your audience won't always be trying to disprove your "magical" abilities.

I do think cards are okay to open up with though, as long as you do a good enough trick. There are plenty of top-name magicians who open up with a card effect, and even some who do nothing but card magic. You need to find a really good trick to perform though. Make it short and snappy, with a lot of magic happening and make it funny if you can. I promise you won't put people off if you open with a strong enough card effect. The tricks that you listed are excellent tricks, but definitely not strong enough to open with.
 
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Haven't read the comments of other members but the first that came to my mind when I read your line "hey I can do magic" is you're just an attention getter.
 
I hate to say it, but you're age is the biggest problem. It's not fair, but unfortunately it will work against you. Make sure you have your foundations down cold. That will assist you as you move forward. Try and focus on the spectator. Don't make it about you, make it about them. That will make them want you to succeed. Saying "Hey I can do magic" might make them want to see you fail.
 
Dav, unfortunately age is definitely a number one disadvantage. Nobody understands that young kids / teens can possess skills to entertain adults by means of magic. It is tough for someone like you to get gigs and it is unfortunate that most people older than you don't want to even give you an opportunity to show them something cool.

Most teen magicians are not taken seriously because they do not act mature enough and simply do not "look" professional either. Walking up to people in every day street clothes does not cut it.

My advice would be to keep working on routines or sets that you could showcase in a school talent show or to perform at your local library or church. Attend conventions and enter contests. You could also try strolling from room to room at a nursing home because those types of people love attention and enjoy having company.

By no means am I belittling you. I'm just telling you it is hard to be taken seriously at your age.
 
MagicZack24 said:
I agree with starthelegend and JButterfield. Don't try to act like you can do actual magic. Make it seem like you can do cool things that SEEM magical. It will make it where your audience won't always be trying to disprove your "magical" abilities.

I do think cards are okay to open up with though, as long as you do a good enough trick. There are plenty of top-name magicians who open up with a card effect, and even some who do nothing but card magic. You need to find a really good trick to perform though. Make it short and snappy, with a lot of magic happening and make it funny if you can. I promise you won't put people off if you open with a strong enough card effect. The tricks that you listed are excellent tricks, but definitely not strong enough to open with.
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Well its a bit different when it comes to a top-name magician when the audience/spectator is expecting something amazing. And no offence to you Dav, but when a 13 year is holding a packet of cards and they ask an adult if they want to see something cool the adult is probably gonna think "oh great a cheesy magic trick" but they come out with something unexpected like coins then that will really blow them away.
 
Never make an excuse about why you can't do something. Age can be turned into an advantage rather than an obstacle. It can be seen a "new and improved" rather than "old and rusty."

Your first step is to take yourself seriously. People treat you the way you treat yourself. If you act like a king then people will treat you like one. So...if you approach people and say "would you like to see some magic" in a soft spoken tone and the voice in your head says (they're not going to take me seriously; they don't really want to see magic) then your body is going to communicate this to them...and they will treat you the exact way you're treating yourself.

You need to put yourself in a position of power. Get a restaurant to perform at, book shows, perform for as many people as possible. When you start performing shows then when you randomly approach people you will say to yourself (I do shows all over and these people are seeing this for free, they're lucky).

Instead of saying "would you like to see magic" or "would you like to see something cool"...say "would you like to see a miracle?" The response you get will be VERY different. They will say things like "Oh a miracle huh. I would love to see a miracle" or "A miracle huh...can you turn water into wine?" Instead of them wondering whether or not you're good...they become amused by your charm.

Whenever I perform, I perform like a businessman. I'm constantly talking about the "shows" I do. Before I start performing I say, "I'm going to show you guys what I do at my shows and business events"...then I constantly say things like "This is soemthing I use to do at my shows" "When I did this at one of my shows a guy had..." I'm constantly talking about what I did/do at my shows.

The key to performing like a businessman is to do things that make them want to do business with you and remind them of what they're not getting. I might create a video and post it on my blog which shows me in action on how I do this but if you constantly talk about your shows then the people you perform for will start to say, "what kind of shows do you do?"

Whenever you perform, treat yourself like a king and others will do the same
 
Yeah, I know what you mean.
Personally, I'm 14 and I hardly ever come over this problem. You just need to get the audience into your magic. Acting skills are just as important as magic. Work on them as much as your magic.
 
Dav said:
Being only thirteen, how can i get people to take me seriously when i say i can "do magic"
I have tried showing a few close up tricks to proove it (ambitious card, five speed by Chris Kenner, Stairway by Marcus Eddie) but i can tell from their reactions that they remain scepticle; instead of amazement they say "i honestly dont know how you did it"(about 3/10 reaction rating)

In other words, how do ideal with scepticles when performing close up magic???
Click to expand...

tell them to relax , it's just a magic trick, not a scam
 
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