MagicGizmo

All performers strive to be remembered for their name, show, and style.  While the people may forget what you said or actually did; they should not be able to forget how you made them feel.  Making the audience feel good and excited is the ideal situation.  This will help them remember “YOU”.

The audience comes into your show with the day’s cares and worries on their minds.  They sit in anticipation of what your show is and that mixes with their cares and worries, which in return add to their level of anxiety.  What they are looking for is being made to feel good and have their entire negative thoughts shift to a mood of enchantment and delight.  An entertainer who can do that will be not be forgotten and will be asked back for many years to come.

My assistant and I did a survey after ten of shows about this very subject and asked three main questions:

1. How did you hear about the show?
2. What do you look for in a performer/performance?
3. Were your expectations met?

We surveyed 250 people over ten shows and really got a crazy mix of answers.  However, the top 2-3 answers in each question follows:
1. How did you hear about the show?
A. Flyers on cars. (41)
B. We were here and saw the closed TV advertisement. (36)
C. Poster outside of theater. (19)  

2. What do you look for in a performer/performance? 
A. To be taken “out of this world” (reality) and made to forget our troubles, forget our cares and worries. (51)
B. To be entertained and amused. (47)
C. To try to see how you do what you do. 16)

3. Were your expectations met?
A. Yes. (111)
a. However, show needs to be longer. (63)
B. No. (7)
a. Thought this was a psychic show. (5)
C. Did not what to expect. (26)

The responses to question two (2) (A) reinforced my curiosity to make sense out of “how to make an audience remember you”; a question I have often wondered if there really was a true answer (you can say this was the premise I was trying to prove).  I have always felt that the audience sees what it wants to see, hears what it wants to hear and remembers you/your performance for a certain things, for a reason (what is that reason?). 

I can remember after a magic show many years ago, I was signing a couple of autographs when I overheard the following description.  A gentleman speaking to several others; “did see it when he made his assistant fly across the room?”  They answered yes and I was truly amazed and mystified.  “I especially enjoyed watching him do his card tricks,” said another.  The kicker to this is, I have never made my assistant fly and I do not do card manipulations.  Thus proving somewhat, people do see what they want to see.  I have also heard days after a show, things about my show that people have mentioned to my friends, again that is not what they heard, but what they wanted to hear. 

Why do audience members remember certain things about an entertainer and what is the reason they do?  I would say with some degree of certainty it would be the way the entertainer makes them feel.  As we all know there are millions of feelings, we want to focus on just a few and pertinent to what we do.

Prior to getting into question two (2), I guess I need to focus on questions one (1) and three (3) and explain why and what we learned from the answers received.  Before answering I need to explain currently I do mostly Casino shows with some private parties.  Question one (1) we asked for marketing purposes and to find out where our marketing funds should go.  We found that allowing the Casino to advertise on their closed circuit TVs was a great bargain (free advertising never hurts anyone).  We also realized that you can have several really nice large posters made (ours are generic as to no mentioning of where and when) was a very good use of our funds.  I have always thought “flyers” on cars, in parking lots (of the casino) is a good tool and semi-inexpensive.  Because of this question and the answers received, we bought our own easels and had more real large full color posters made.

We also put a lot more resources into flyers and handing them out (we cut a deal with some of the casinos to pick up this cost).

We must remember that entertaining is like acting, but acting is not being emotional, but being able to express emotion. Also with any part you play, you must put a good amount of you in it; otherwise it is not acting, but merely a lie.  Now that we have said that, we are at the point of how to instill good feelings from your performance into the audience, so that they remember how you made them feel.

Of course, we better be sure we have a show worth coming to; but before I get into that, I want it clear this applies to those who do the art with some humor and never admit they are not real.  You must have a thorough knowledge of your art, so much so you can get out of mistakes easily.  Your show should have a variety of kinds of your art (in mentalism, do some mind reading, move or bend objects, demonstrations of clairvoyance, ESP, predictions and etc.). 

Give the audience opportunities to be part of your show and DO NOT talk over or down to them.  Try to have your show in a logical, smooth flowing, and entertaining sequence. 

Be sure to establish rapport with the audience as soon as you can (usually best if done in the first 2-3 minutes of your show).  There seems to be about ten guidelines of universal acceptance in establishing “Rapport” with your audience.  Now, some of these will also be found in creating the “how to make the audience feel good and excited”, coming a bit later on.

Here is my paraphrasing of the ten guidelines to “how to build rapport with your audience”:

1. Talk to the audience; make each and every one of them think you are talking to just them.
2. When you talk, talk with confidence, certainty, sincerity, and speak in simplicity.
3. Establish eye contact immediately; remember “people trust you if you look at them.  Do not stare at the big spot at the back of the room or look over the people’s heads.
4. Do not try to impress them; just be yourself.
5. When you are setting up your show, approach your presentation from the audiences’ perspective.  Try to please them and not yourself.
6. Avoid offensive humor or jokes.  Make sure your humor is clean and not full of innuendo.
7. Dress appropriately.  Try to dress in your persona’s attire.  Do not forget good clean hygiene goes a long way.
8. Help them laugh.  You must have specific parts of your show where you make them laugh.
9. Be you. Make sure you are comfortable; be prepared for almost anything.
10. Smile, smile and smile some more.

I realize this sounds very elementary, but I do believe we all tend to forget most of them at some time.

Now I guess you are wondering how this goes with the creating the “how to make the audience feel good and excited”.  I will now try to show how the ten (10) guidelines for rapport are intertwined and help you instill the components that make the audience feel good and get them excited about you.

There are a few items that I am taking for granted.  First, that you have a show.  That you are good at what you do (professional or a good amateur).  I am relying on the fact you are not doing a silent show; if so most of these will fit if tweaked a little. 

If you make an error or mistake, forget it and continue like nothing happened.  You do not need to make excuses, as most will not even know you made the mistake.  This is like trying to get over the thumb tip; we know we can see it, so we think the audience can also see it.  Forget it! They will never know.

Know your show thoroughly.  Make sure it is in a logical order.  Always open strong and end even stronger.  Follow the old magic saying: practice, practice and practice some more.  Always have a few ways out of any situation, if you do mess-up.

Maintain eye contact (remember, I said they might overlap or mimic the guidelines for establishing “rapport”). Use the 3-second eye contact method: look directly in the eyes of an audience member for 3 seconds and then move to someone else in a different area of the audience.  Every now and then glance at the entire audience; this makes everyone in the audience feel involved and that you are performing just for them.

Speak with conviction and confidence.  You must persuade the audience that you are who you say you are (mentalist, Psychic, and/or Magician).  If you are trying to come across as a mind reader, you must truly believe that you are.  If you are doing magic, you must believe you are magical.

How you are perceived is one of the most important aspects.  You need to be your persona (be and stay in your character), dress appropriately for your persona.  Look and be pleasant, enthusiastic, confident, and by all means remain calm and collected.  You must establish “rapport” with your audience.

Body language is very important.  Standing, walking or moving about with the proper hand gestures and/or facial expressions, are much preferred over sitting down, reading from a prepared document, and standing still with your head down.

Speak to your audience, respond to their reactions, be prepared to adjust and adapt instantly.  Be sure you do not speak in monotone, take some speaking classes or get a speaking coach.  Remember that communication is the key to effective and successful presentations. 

The use of “pause” is very important.  Do not machine gun them with effect after effect.  Give the audience time to digest what you have accomplished and by doing that, you subconsciously are asking for applause or acknowledgment.

Do not forget to add humor at appropriate intervals.  Remember an interesting presentation (by adding humor) makes time fly by rapidly and a boring presentation makes it drag out forever.  Here again, I want to stress that good clean humor is far better than getting a “dirty” laugh.

Make sure that all your equipment/props are in good working order and they are clean and shining (if they are meant to be), have back-ups if possible.  If you can, check out the location and all that is there, prior to your show.  Make sure that if you need things (whiteboard, lighting, sound system, water and etc.) that they are there and you know where they are.

You must use your assistant effectively and efficiently.  You do not really want to be known as a performer with a female assistant in a “G” string, skimpy outfit or for having a hunky, muscle-bound male.  They should not be seen in the effect, unless helping and never let them up-stage you.

For goodness sake, be entertaining, amusing, interesting and enjoyable and for goodness sakes have FUN.  Make sure your show is fine-tuned and you are in your persona and ready to go.  You can be all of these things if you just have the confidence to do so.

When you work in the inner mind, you invoke and receive the help of the impersonal, unlimited resources of the universe.

Please remember: “They may forget what you said, but they will never forget how you made them feel.”
Lastly, you must constantly smile, smile, SMILE !!!

If you have any comments or just need some help with your show, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Maggio i vostri giorni sono pieni della gioia e dell'amore;

Massimo, of The Mental Institution, LLC.

massimo.mentalist @gmail.com