Over coming the fear of performing in public.
- Thread starter kangsham
- Start date
just do it. when I joined the army I had a fear of performing. even for friends and family. In time, I started going on guard duty. In hand was a deck of cards. I slowly began to perform nightly for other soldiers. my fear slowly went away. you develop confidence through performing. Just like learning to smoke (which I don't recommend!). to learn to smoke, you have to smoke...
I have fear i would like to get over , i performed a few times with friends & family but not in public i would like to but im just to nervous and scared any advice please help
There's not much we can say on getting over that fear, its purely psychological.
Either slowly enter the water by performing at school for friends and let people gather 'round.
I cannonball right into my first performance for a crowd. For me it was better to get it over with.
I must say thats a great way of putting it. Everyone chokes on their first cigarette, but if you keep at it it's worth it!!
Im kidding im not recommending smoking. But the point remains. Just keep truckin'. Keep performing for people. Prepare your approach patter and carefully select who you approach. People your own age are definitely the best place to start, because you can relate to them better than any other age group at first.
Most importantly, know who you are as a performer and how you want them to see you. I dont mean, "i want them to see me as really cool and amazing". I mean, are you a card expert? or a character with magic power who uses cards coins and other objects to give examples of his abilities. Do you read minds? or are you a body language and psychology expert. Convey yourself properly, patter becomes easier once you understand your act. Generally for younger performers (excuse my assumption if im wrong) i would recommend performing one trick at a time in the ,dare i say it, david blaine style. If a teenage magician approaches me and says he has studied the human mind and the psychology that drives it, and with that has an uncanny ability to read people, i simply will not believe him. But if derren brown walked up to me, id run for the hills.
Agreed, after he influenced me to of course, wearing a girdle and doing the chicken dance.
Anyway, for someone just starting to do performances for strangers, I honestly wouldn't worry too much about what type of character you are. For your first few, just getting the effects right is hard enough, you don't want "Am I portraying my character enough so they understand where I'm coming from?" in your head. Just do the effects with your patter, and see what works and what doesn't. After you get more comfortable, then you can start gearing yourself towards the material you like. Once you actually start performing, you realize not everything out there is working material. I highly recommend watching the Wizard Product Review on youtube. I've made a lot of decisions to purchase or avoid some effects because of those guys.
There really isn't a big secret with performing in public. You just have to get used to being the public's eye. I do however recomend rehearsing and practicing your stuff till you can do it blind folded. Once you get to a point where you can perform without having to think about the sleights or routines then it just becomes easier.
As for the fear, I hate to tell you this but you're never REALLY going to get over it. That is not a bad thing though, because it's normal to be a bit nervous or scared when you do things in the public. I recall Mick Jagger saying that after all these decades he still get's the shakes from performing in public. All you have to do is just work on your stuff till it's down pat and then everything else should be easier.
Here's one tip that could help you though. See if your school has Public speaking classes. You won't have to perform any magic for them, but by doing speeches in front of people this should help get you used to performing and should hopefully improve a few other things as well.
As for the fear, I hate to tell you this but you're never REALLY going to get over it. That is not a bad thing though, because it's normal to be a bit nervous or scared when you do things in the public. I recall Mick Jagger saying that after all these decades he still get's the shakes from performing in public. All you have to do is just work on your stuff till it's down pat and then everything else should be easier.
Here's one tip that could help you though. See if your school has Public speaking classes. You won't have to perform any magic for them, but by doing speeches in front of people this should help get you used to performing and should hopefully improve a few other things as well.
For me it was much easier for me to take 3 effects that I knew were practically self working, that I knew couldn't be messed up. I knew the magic was going to happen and I didn't have to worry about sleights. This took a huge load off my shoulders as far as stress, shaking and such. Now all I had to do was be able to approach a groups of strangers or friends of friends and just basically talk to them and ask if they would like to see a few things that I was "working on" so to speak. This left the door open that I might mess up but if not it was going to be a great experience. After doing this numerous times I would gradually incorporate a new effect into the set, one that might require a biddle steal or a DL and just give it a go. Eventually all that pressure and stress and nerves turns to the fun adrenaline rush that then become addicting and you literally love to perform for people after that point.
http://pittandpendulum.blogspot.com/2010/05/getting-over-approach-anxiety.html
My blog post on approach anxiety.
My blog post on approach anxiety.
Have an outline for what you're going to say. You'll notice that as you get more comfortable you'll be able to ad lib. It's very important that you are able to just go with it... That's what make social skills very important. Knowing how to keep a conversation going will do you wonders. Your audience will talk to you throughout most effects. You need to know how to react. and you can't say "shh... I have a script to follow" you have to be able to banter back and forth... Honestly, some of the most humorous moments come from the interaction with the audience... stuff I could never write down in a script.
This is DEFINITELY the case 9 times out of 10. I have had way more funny moments that happen randomly with my spectator interaction.
Well, speaking of scripts. They allow you to go off the beaten path but also allow you to still make the show go forward if you have a bad day or if something happens.
That's why one should have key points to hit, not an entire script. For a stage show, yes it should probably be scripted fully, but for street/table hopping just hitting the lines and points you want to get across are good, and the rest can come from the spontaneity (or lack thereof) of each new audience.
I would like to say, all advice here is great. Easier said, then done but good advice.
I jumped into a performance with one card trick for a group of about 6 random strangers. They were walking by and I stopped them by asking if they wanted to see a trick. Long story short...it was awesome! I did all the moves and said all the right things at the right time. They laughed when they should have and we "all" had a good time. What's the problem, you say. Well, I can't find what it was that made me ask those strangers if they wanted to see a trick. I hope I find it again soon and kangsham good luck to you and I hope those shakes go away for you soon too.
I jumped into a performance with one card trick for a group of about 6 random strangers. They were walking by and I stopped them by asking if they wanted to see a trick. Long story short...it was awesome! I did all the moves and said all the right things at the right time. They laughed when they should have and we "all" had a good time. What's the problem, you say. Well, I can't find what it was that made me ask those strangers if they wanted to see a trick. I hope I find it again soon and kangsham good luck to you and I hope those shakes go away for you soon too.
I have fear i would like to get over , i performed a few times with friends & family but not in public i would like to but im just to nervous and scared any advice please help
I'm less nervous when i do tricks for stranger