Hahahaha.
Well, firstly, see if you can get to know people without using magic. Bob Cassidy once wrote (paraphrased) that anyone who could stand on a box on a street corner, simply speak off the cuff, and gather a crowd, was destined for a future in magic/mentalism. Whilst I'm not suggesting that extreme, I think you get the idea.
Anyway, onto your scenario. You're asking what to do at that point, but I think what you're really asking is how to avoid getting to that point, so I'll address that first.
The first thing to try and understand what happened.
-The thing may simply not be deceiving to those who are more observantly inclined. This is sometimes true. In this case, there's very little you can do except try and practice more, and if it's just not deceptive, then you may want to switch to another sleight.
One reason I never flourish during as an effect is that I've never found doing a false flourish convincing. You're watching a magic trick, then the next thing you know, four packets of cards fly around the place, and the magician says, "Let's cut the deck a few times." That in my view is nowhere near as convincing as calmly taking the bottom half, and dropping on top of the top half. I know what cutting the deck looks like. Laymen know what it looks like. Magicians know what it looks like. And it doesn't look like a four packet flourish. Being confused by a whole lot of packets flying around is not the same as being convinced the deck was actually cut. "The cards went everywhere and therefore must have been cut" is not a sufficiently strong logical progression for me.
-He simply recognised the false cut, or saw through the sleight. Well, actually, people who are "in the know" are often easier to fool than laymen. The reason is this: magicians have a set way of thinking. Laymen by and large aren't exposed to magicians much and therefore don't know how to react. Magicians are around magicians all the time, and know how to react, and therefore are predictable. With some thought, you should be able to fool anyone. To take one example, I have a friend who I know thinks like a magician. If I say, "Pick a number between one and five" he will invariably pick the least likely number to be picked, for fear of falling into a psychological force (i.e. five). Which means he's actually a lot more predictable than he realises. Magicians have this habit of doing things in a certain way. They will watch for the DL, the pass, the whatever.
The solution therefore is two-fold. Firstly, practice more. The great magicians were no less incredible to fellow magicians than they were to laymen. Despite all the inside knowledge amongst the inner circle, guys like Vernon and Marlo holding court were still incredible events. Second, use their knowledge against them. I have a trick that uses a key card for example that is specifically design to convince magicians, if necessary, that there is no key card used, and it works like a charm. If they won't keep their eyes off your deck after you replace a card, watching for a DL... Produce a cow. That'll make them **** bricks. And you won't need any more misdirection for the DL either.
The question is... How far are you willing to go to entertain ALL of your audience, even the hecklers? To be honest, I think you should be looking to erase every possibility. I've posted a lot of posts on this issue so I won't go into much detail here, but... My ideal situation is entertaining everybody. Not everybody but one person. Not 90% of the people. Not everyone except the heckler. Everyone. Most of the time, hecklers are just spectators who need to have their thinking changed. Hecklers are often the most enthusiastic spectators after this occurs.
Don't be annoyed when you run into a heckler. Not at them, anyway. It's an opportunity. Occasionally, you get someone who is truly just a horrible personality. The majority of the time, you can do better. He's not a "noob"... He's someone who caught you out. And he was right, too. That honestly says something about that situation. Not just he was trying to embarrass you, but he actually correctly pointed out that you were doing something, and he pointed out exactly what happened. Which brings me to my last point...
-Heckling/interrupting does not occur in a vacuum. I'm going to refer to heckling for the rest of this post because it's easier. Note however that I don't believe that the spectator was actually heckling, they were just interrupting. However, the way to prevent such a thing happening is the same.
No-one heckles just because (or more precisely, a negligible amount of people do). Some people heckle because they like attention. Some people heckle because your performance wasn't very good. Some people heckle as a power play. There are too many types to go in much detail. There are also different variations of heckling. Sometimes they're just completely guessing. Sometimes they get lucky and get it right. Other times, they genuinely spot it. Other times still, they heckle by attacking you personally, or by eroding your authority. These things all come in time. There are some general guides though.
I would remember these two things.
1) Make sure you're technically sound. Especially when someone accurately and correctly points out what you're doing. Honestly, can you blame a spectator for pointing out what you've done, if they can obviously see it? I wouldn't expect them to sit there patiently and humour you. Don't give them something to heckle about.
2a) Make sure you're actually likable. This is what I was saying before about personality. When you're dealing with magicians... Respectable magicians should realise, with their knowledge, that they are able to see through some sleights simply by nature. As long as they like you, they shouldn't heckle you, because it does nothing except hurt you. However, if you find yourself performing for them, then clever thinking can easily take advantage of the way magicians think.
When you're dealing with spectators... Spectators heckle for a lot of reasons. But all things considered, they won't heckle someone they like, and they won't heckle something important. If you're being classed as a magician... That's another way of saying that you're not connecting with the audience. You're no-one. You're just some guy performing tricks. They are more likely to heckle you, as opposed to someone who is a really intelligent and charismatic, and who also happens to have an amazing ability. Connect with them. They won't heckle you if they like you. Respect your magic - don't just perform tricks. They won't heckle you if they know how much you respect magic; this respect is something that will be passed on through your actions.
As for your specific example you gave... Honestly, it sounds like your sleight just wasn't very convincing. Most magicians won't point it out if you do an amazing sleight, even if they know or suspect what is happening - at least not during the trick. If they do, then you need to take more authority over the situation, and make it clear what is acceptable and what isn't. Most laymen don't know this. Many magicians lack any semblance of etiquette as well. But the best way to avoid it is to simply be more convincing. Most magicians are just laymen with fancy cards in hand, fancy flourishes in motion, bunny rabbits on business cards, and no manners.
Last edited by a moderator: