Help on Rejection

[Cardmaster211]

I want to help you guys that get rejected by people on the the street.

1. If they give a nice no thanks, what would be a great thing to say is you don't know what you're missing... and they usually turn around an if they don't it's okay, go for someone else,if they do turn around do something flashy that will make them go to you, then show them a actual effect. This works!

2. If they give a rude NO!, and call you something, just walk away, you do not need to take that and anyways that means they probably wouldn't be a good magic watcher.

3. If they say yes, but hesitate, give a funny joke, if they laugh, you are perfect! but if they do not laugh, purposely mess up on some-kind of a technique, this will give you a way to prove yourself with great magic!

So those are some tips that I actually use while I'm out performing, and I hope you take in this information.

 

[BRoop13]

wat do u do if some1 says yes and is excited but constantly looks away looks at their phone n doesn't pay much attention

 

[Aaron.Williams]

wat do u do if some1 says yes and is excited but constantly looks away looks at their phone n doesn't pay much attention

Easy, just tell them to pay attention. And if that doesn't work just stop and tell them that if they're not gonna show some kind of interest then you don't need to waste your energy.

 

[S.G]

wat do u do if some1 says yes and is excited but constantly looks away looks at their phone n doesn't pay much attention

Take their phone, throw it as hard as you can on the ground, stomp on it, and then yell "Gator Boots" as Garcia does.

 

[Robert//Livingston]

wat do u do if some1 says yes and is excited but constantly looks away looks at their phone n doesn't pay much attention

Take their phone and perform Pressure.

 

[Rev]

...or you could just get over yourself, realise that card tricks aren't that important and that the stranger you just ambushed in the street probably has better things to do that watch you make their card jump back to the top of the deck.

Seriously, magic on the streets is cool and all, but over the last few years I have come to realise that it is kind of rude to just walk up to someone who's going about their day and then just demand their attention. If you want to perform magic, go to a bar or coffee shop where people are relaxing, don't bother trying to figure out ways to get people to stop in the street when all they really want to do is get to the post office.

Rev

 

[TeeDee]

Prevention is better than cure, so the best way to deal with rejection is to learn how to minimise it. You won't ever cut it out completely, but it can be reduced hugely. One key point is to gauge your audience before you even approach them. Are they busy, are they in a hurry, and so on. Maybe you'll decide not to approach them at all. The second main thing is to relax your shoulders. Having tense shoulders is a massive non-verbal cue to make the potential participant tense up too and just want to get away, and I would say you'll have at least fifty percent fewer rejections if you follow this tip. The more relaxed you are, the more relaxed they are, and the more you can get away with. If you pay attention to your own state, you'll actually be able to feel when you're in rapport with your spectator, and then you can even say apparently quite rude things like, "Sorry to interrupt, but I know you weren't talking about anything very interesting anyway, so you might as well watch this!".

Like everything else, it's just practice and experience. If you want to get good at approaching people, you just have to approach a lot of people, take your rejections, and learn from them. Gradually you'll notice you're being rejected less and less, even though you might feel that you aren't doing anything different. You'll feel comfortable approaching different kinds of groups, and be able to take control of them. One bit of general advice I'd give is to study the techniques of salespeople. Their skill set is pretty much geared towards building rapport quickly, taking control of a situation, and making their participants do what they want them to (ie, hand over money).

 

[MalibuARMY]

Thank you very much for the advice.

I find the best way to approach someone is not to have a deck of cards in your hand or anything "magical" in sight that says you are a magician. Just make sure they are NOT BUSY and politely walk up to them and shake their hand. Introduce yourself and ask if they can help you with something. This generally works for me when I'm in Hollywood heading to the castle and I'm bored as hell.

A wise man at the castle told me and my good friend that if you are at a table on the street and you are messing around with a deck of cards people will come to you. They are curious on what you are doing and wonder if you are a magician. You will see feet around your table. You look up and go from there.

 

[Randy]

Rev pretty much nailed it. It's understandable that you want to perform for people on the street and show off your new magic tricks. But the problem is that it's just plain rude to go up to people bother them with it, If somebody was to come up to me and say that, I'd probably also tell them no and go on my way. People have lives and there is a time and place to perform. The only reason David Blaine can get away with it, is because he is famous (sort of) and because he has a camera crew with him. So most people pretty much know he means business.

With most young kids trying street magic, it's just rude and often times annoying.

 

[MalibuARMY]

Rev pretty much nailed it. It's understandable that you want to perform for people on the street and show off your new magic tricks. But the problem is that it's just plain rude to go up to people bother them with it, If somebody was to come up to me and say that, I'd probably also tell them no and go on my way. People have lives and there is a time and place to perform. The only reason David Blaine can get away with it, is because he is famous (sort of) and because he has a camera crew with him. So most people pretty much know he means business.

With most young kids trying street magic, it's just rude and often times annoying.

I agree, Rev nailed it. I perform in Hollywood because people are there to see the sites and the street performers.