Intro
I’ve been seeing stories about what you can do with magic popping up more frequently now that the weather is turning out more pleasant and people are out performing more. It’s natural. The problem is the tone I’ve noticed in certain people’s attempts at giving advice.
In this article, the first in a series, I hope to dispel a few myths about magic that I’ve seen making the rounds every now and again.
Myth #1: You can silence any heckler by hitting him with a real stunner of a trick.
This one is a particular thumbscrew of many working professionals, so let’s get it covered first. This attitude is one of arrogance, haughtiness, and self-satisfaction. But enough about me and my ego. The idea is that if someone is heckling you, you need to silence him by pulling out a trick that no one could possibly figure out and is bound to leave him stumped, perplexed, and a little embarrassed to boot.
First of all, real hecklers are much different from people who are just tough spectators (see Myth #2 below). A real heckler, for whatever reason, perceives you as some sort of threat to his social status or something equally paranoid. The motivation can be a lot of things, but the main point is that these guys see you as the enemy and want to destroy you.
Think of it this way. A friend’s bulldog is mad at you because you did something the dog didn’t like. Would you respond by getting in the dog’s face and start showing off the fact that you have opposable thumbs and that you haven’t been fixed? If you really like the friendly staff at the hospital and can’t wait to sample more of the delicious jello at the cafeteria, don’t let me stop you. If on the other hand you enjoy having skin on your face, you’ll generally do something to calm the dog down or just leave it alone long enough to cool its jets.
In the real world, taking Brian Tudor’s approach to dealing with hecklers only creates more resentment and ill will on their part. It makes them hate you even more, because in their mind you’re proving them right. You’re reinforcing their impression that you’re an arrogant spotlight monger. Of course, if you enjoy embarrassing them by turning up the flashiness on your effects, they’re probably right about you.
Believe it or not, most people like to be proven wrong when they assume the worst about someone. It’s a pleasant surprise. But nobody likes it when you just reinforce the first negative impression.
Put away that Brian Tudor DVD, stop taking advice from egomaniacs (except me of course), and learn to deal with people.
Myth #2: Anyone who doesn’t go along with the act is a heckler.
This is a myth that needs to be put on the business end of a shotgun. Some spectators are just plain tough. It’s not that they hate you; they are just naturally sharper-eyed and skeptical. Nothing wrong with that, but it means that you’re doing something wrong.
Eric Evans wrote that misdirection is dispersion of attention. The analytical mind is the enemy of magic because the analytical mind sees everything. A tough spectator is merely someone more set in their analytical mind and requires more attention and work to disperse their concentration.
One effect I do regularly requires a mercury card fold. I used to get a lot of tough spectators burning my hands (teenagers mostly), so I worked out a script that kept people laughing and engaged them so that I could do the dirty work without worrying about someone watching. Even the most skeptical get fooled by it because they’re too busy being entertained to burn my hands.
An actual heckler would be a guy I had to deal with a couple weeks ago. I did Completely Invisible with Kolossal Killer, the Biddle Trick, and Apparition and his friends loved it. But then he started getting really rude, asking me if I was a virgin and ranting about how all magicians were losers living with their parents. There was no point trying to talk to this guy, so I said my goodbyes and went on my way. Keep in mind, this guy was about 17, had a wardrobe culled mostly from Hot Topic, and shaved his head. Teen angst overdrive. As I was leaving, I heard the two girls in the group asking, “What is wrong with you?” and he continued very petulantly trying to justify his actions.
Have a little more patience fellows, and don’t be so quick to go on the defensive if someone spotted your false transfer.
Myth #3: Magic is a good way to pick up chicks.
I’m trying to find a way to accurately describe just how much this gets under my skin. I’ve actually seen people use hokey gimmicks to impress women and they couldn’t creep me out more if their eye sockets were hollow and they were covered in spiders with John Wayne Gacy’s face. With that delightful, cuddly mental image burned into your mind’s eye, do you really want to be associated with that?
Have you ever seen this sort of thing work anywhere other than a direct-to-video romantic comedy produced in the 80’s? Didn’t think so.
In the last couple years I’ve heard all manner of awful suggestions. Saying, “Will you go out with me?” using Triumph or Stigmata, producing roses with the same excruciatingly saccharine question attached to them, and (the worst) using a pulse stop to say something vomit-inducingly cliché like, “You take my breath away,” or, “You have the keys to my heart.” Excuse me…
Okay, I’m back. I had to go watch Army of Darkness to purge the above thoughts from my brain.
Where was I? The idea of using magic to pick up girls tells me one thing: that you couldn’t do it without magic. What makes you think doing it with card tricks is going to change that fact? And suppose by some horrifyingly unlikely chance that it worked. You think you’ll be able to keep her around?
I won’t lie; magic can make a great icebreaker. But it will not provide a substitute for a winning personality. Yes, you heard that right. Men are predisposed to pay attention to looks first and personality second, but women think of personality first and looks second. Sure, you should still hit the gym and eat well if for no other reason than your own well-being. But if you really want a date you need to consciously make an effort to make sure your lifestyle is fulfilling and your social skills polished enough that you are the most interesting person in any room you walk into.
Sound like work? Too bad, it is. But if you think the reward is worth it, you’ll do it.
That said, magic should enrich your life, not control it. That’s why girls don’t date guys just because they do magic tricks. To any of you out there reading this who did suggest using magic to pick up chicks, I have a 50 that says you aren’t speaking from experience. If you want to prove me wrong, go ahead and try.
Well that wraps things up for now. Rest assured, I will be back. Where ever there is ignorance I will be there to beat it down! Away! (whoosh)
I’ve been seeing stories about what you can do with magic popping up more frequently now that the weather is turning out more pleasant and people are out performing more. It’s natural. The problem is the tone I’ve noticed in certain people’s attempts at giving advice.
In this article, the first in a series, I hope to dispel a few myths about magic that I’ve seen making the rounds every now and again.
Myth #1: You can silence any heckler by hitting him with a real stunner of a trick.
This one is a particular thumbscrew of many working professionals, so let’s get it covered first. This attitude is one of arrogance, haughtiness, and self-satisfaction. But enough about me and my ego. The idea is that if someone is heckling you, you need to silence him by pulling out a trick that no one could possibly figure out and is bound to leave him stumped, perplexed, and a little embarrassed to boot.
First of all, real hecklers are much different from people who are just tough spectators (see Myth #2 below). A real heckler, for whatever reason, perceives you as some sort of threat to his social status or something equally paranoid. The motivation can be a lot of things, but the main point is that these guys see you as the enemy and want to destroy you.
Think of it this way. A friend’s bulldog is mad at you because you did something the dog didn’t like. Would you respond by getting in the dog’s face and start showing off the fact that you have opposable thumbs and that you haven’t been fixed? If you really like the friendly staff at the hospital and can’t wait to sample more of the delicious jello at the cafeteria, don’t let me stop you. If on the other hand you enjoy having skin on your face, you’ll generally do something to calm the dog down or just leave it alone long enough to cool its jets.
In the real world, taking Brian Tudor’s approach to dealing with hecklers only creates more resentment and ill will on their part. It makes them hate you even more, because in their mind you’re proving them right. You’re reinforcing their impression that you’re an arrogant spotlight monger. Of course, if you enjoy embarrassing them by turning up the flashiness on your effects, they’re probably right about you.
Believe it or not, most people like to be proven wrong when they assume the worst about someone. It’s a pleasant surprise. But nobody likes it when you just reinforce the first negative impression.
Put away that Brian Tudor DVD, stop taking advice from egomaniacs (except me of course), and learn to deal with people.
Myth #2: Anyone who doesn’t go along with the act is a heckler.
This is a myth that needs to be put on the business end of a shotgun. Some spectators are just plain tough. It’s not that they hate you; they are just naturally sharper-eyed and skeptical. Nothing wrong with that, but it means that you’re doing something wrong.
Eric Evans wrote that misdirection is dispersion of attention. The analytical mind is the enemy of magic because the analytical mind sees everything. A tough spectator is merely someone more set in their analytical mind and requires more attention and work to disperse their concentration.
One effect I do regularly requires a mercury card fold. I used to get a lot of tough spectators burning my hands (teenagers mostly), so I worked out a script that kept people laughing and engaged them so that I could do the dirty work without worrying about someone watching. Even the most skeptical get fooled by it because they’re too busy being entertained to burn my hands.
An actual heckler would be a guy I had to deal with a couple weeks ago. I did Completely Invisible with Kolossal Killer, the Biddle Trick, and Apparition and his friends loved it. But then he started getting really rude, asking me if I was a virgin and ranting about how all magicians were losers living with their parents. There was no point trying to talk to this guy, so I said my goodbyes and went on my way. Keep in mind, this guy was about 17, had a wardrobe culled mostly from Hot Topic, and shaved his head. Teen angst overdrive. As I was leaving, I heard the two girls in the group asking, “What is wrong with you?” and he continued very petulantly trying to justify his actions.
Have a little more patience fellows, and don’t be so quick to go on the defensive if someone spotted your false transfer.
Myth #3: Magic is a good way to pick up chicks.
I’m trying to find a way to accurately describe just how much this gets under my skin. I’ve actually seen people use hokey gimmicks to impress women and they couldn’t creep me out more if their eye sockets were hollow and they were covered in spiders with John Wayne Gacy’s face. With that delightful, cuddly mental image burned into your mind’s eye, do you really want to be associated with that?
Have you ever seen this sort of thing work anywhere other than a direct-to-video romantic comedy produced in the 80’s? Didn’t think so.
In the last couple years I’ve heard all manner of awful suggestions. Saying, “Will you go out with me?” using Triumph or Stigmata, producing roses with the same excruciatingly saccharine question attached to them, and (the worst) using a pulse stop to say something vomit-inducingly cliché like, “You take my breath away,” or, “You have the keys to my heart.” Excuse me…
Okay, I’m back. I had to go watch Army of Darkness to purge the above thoughts from my brain.
Where was I? The idea of using magic to pick up girls tells me one thing: that you couldn’t do it without magic. What makes you think doing it with card tricks is going to change that fact? And suppose by some horrifyingly unlikely chance that it worked. You think you’ll be able to keep her around?
I won’t lie; magic can make a great icebreaker. But it will not provide a substitute for a winning personality. Yes, you heard that right. Men are predisposed to pay attention to looks first and personality second, but women think of personality first and looks second. Sure, you should still hit the gym and eat well if for no other reason than your own well-being. But if you really want a date you need to consciously make an effort to make sure your lifestyle is fulfilling and your social skills polished enough that you are the most interesting person in any room you walk into.
Sound like work? Too bad, it is. But if you think the reward is worth it, you’ll do it.
That said, magic should enrich your life, not control it. That’s why girls don’t date guys just because they do magic tricks. To any of you out there reading this who did suggest using magic to pick up chicks, I have a 50 that says you aren’t speaking from experience. If you want to prove me wrong, go ahead and try.
Well that wraps things up for now. Rest assured, I will be back. Where ever there is ignorance I will be there to beat it down! Away! (whoosh)
