Hey guys.. When people are impressed by your magic.. Common questions like "Where did you learn that from?" arises.. WHat are your answeres? Do share..

What if you complete a trick and your audience keeps pestering you to teach them something, saying a trick won't kill.. Or.. You won't loose out anything.. Or.. Why so selfish?(If You Reject) ? What will your reaction be?

When you perform you will get all kinds of question like do again or how its done.. I will just say its magic lol... and thankk them for the attention and maybe talk to them a little off the topic... :D

Nah... never reveal the secret.

If they question about sleight of hands I see no harm in telling them where i learn it from. But it really depends on how they ask.

never ever reveal a secret. if u are left with no choice, swallow a suicide pill.

if they want u to teach them a trick, u can either perform one and provide some false explanation (which must become the entertainment, and they must in the end know that it is false) or just decline by saying u are bound by secrecy, or explaning ur stand, etc.

u can use some one liners if it suits u, and dismisses their request.

Just tell them the truth. I always say that it was self-taught thru books and videos.

Tell them you have a code to honour. Some people will understand. If they persist, tell them to go to the library, learn something from the books.

Correct!

Never ever EVER tell anything. The effect is bewilderment, and when people ask you, you know you did good.

The moment you tell them everything/anything, the effect is lost. Can you/anyone afford that? Well? Is it something worth losing?

The magic show matters a lot. People should respect the secrecy, and they will, when you stay close to the Code. What kind of magician gives in to pressure from friends, they'll wonder.

Right Gordie. Whenever I'm faced with powerful anglers who just want to get some clue how some things are done, I follow the first rule of thumb= bullsh*t. All part of the show.

iamthewalrus

I always use analogies to explain why I can't explain my shit. The most common one I use (and abuse) is my Joke analogy.

"Knowing the secret to a magic effect is like knowing the punchline to a joke. It's alright if you can use that knowledge to entertain people, but on the other hand, the same joke is never as funny anymore."

Get what I mean?

-Kev

So far no people are impressed by my magic..
But common questions like "Where did you learn that from?" arises.. WHat are your answeres? did come from them

Where did you learn that from?

i will tell them i learn from Children Creative Class, Project Smile and IF Magic, books, DVD and Website.

After complete a trick and audience keeps pestering to teach them something, saying a trick won't kill.. Or.. I won't loose out anything.. Or.. Why so selfish?(If i Reject) ? What will my reaction be?

i will teach them the basic move, seach the website......purchase some DVD from online dealer.....go to the library borrow a book and call to Project Smile sign up for a class.

M.A.D. B)

For me, i will never ever tell them the trick is all about bla bla bla..i would use the word Magic instead of tricks!!haha!!some people ask me where do i learn frm so i tell them i paid $75 for PROJECT SMILE..so if they ask me to teach them i would say pay $75 first..haha.. :D

Hm... Interesting.. SOmetimes... If they pester me so much... I'll just teach them some stupid ace trick revealed on da net... And if they're not satisfied.. Haha... a couple of choices depending on diff ppl... irritating ones.. i'll just ignore... Haha... I find that if people want you to show them something... they should enjoy it... not try to find out.. basic respect la... if ppl get me to perform... usually... i don't experience much prob.. cos... friends intro to frenz... it spreads... had these couple of gers who ask me to show them something in da school canteen today.. had to impromptu a bit... but it was fun... haha! no problems with the asking mew to teach.. they simply enjoy it... Usually.. my answer will just be MAGIC.. or just tell them seriously... if i tell u i will have to kill you.. it seriously freaks them out
hahaha!

i will never reveal any secret.. i did once(the banana trick) and i regretted it like hell, lost a bit of sleep even. If people ask me to teach them i will just tell them seriously why i cannot tell them and if they continue to pester me i will laugh it off and try to get away..

Yea.. if stangers ask me tot each tt... i'll just laugh it off and fly too.. But sometimes when performing to firends to pester me so much... haha.... i'll get into some problems... ppl see u as selfish sometimes

never had problems with people pestering me too much.

if it's strangers while i am working, i crack a stupid joke about me needing to continue to eat and i can't do with competition. they laugh it off and i leave.

friends don't ask about my methods; out of a performance choice, i've built in believable presentations that lead them to a "method", however incredible. if they do, i tell them straight up i won't be telling. if they persist, i start to talk about some intelligent sounding topic and they accept it. my line goes: "magic is like music. you learn the chords, then write your own music" they then nod their head like they understand - then stop asking for some reason, like i've just told them how it's done.

anyways, i've just been offered $500 (i'm not kidding!) to teach someone my handling of the invisible palm. it gets hard sometimes doesn't it?

:o

Kevin, I like your joke analogy. haha...

Hahahaha wat i do if i really cant get out of it without teaching them something, is take out trusty ol silk, adn do colour changing silk, with sucker effect.. so i'll 'teach' them and all they need to do is PRACTICE.. lolx !

i dunno why...whenever i do liquid metal to my friends,they will ask,how did you do it?where you learn 1?frm the internet arx?

Is it that i did it so lousily or has really internet become a source of magic or rather FREE magic?Although i did not learn liquid metal for free :lol:


:off: :off: :off: :off:

aniwaes,a simple one will be...
I Don't Know

Just pretend not to hear and continue with other things.. if they pester.. just excuse yourself to toilet etc.. they WILL forget to ask you again when they see you.. even if it's 2 mins later.. lols B)

this is tricky.. guess no one should reveal any secrets at all, no matter how over-exposed X a million it is. once that's done, they subconciously know that all you did are tricks though they can't figure them out.

If you treat it like magic, it's a different story. Though some people may claim that they don't believe in magic and accuse you as a trickster, the fact that non-exposure provides a way for the subconcious to convince them that it's magic.

-phew-

e.g: when asked for the secrets of "the closer", i just said it's magic and comes naturally to me after i trained my mind... a few weeks into it, my friends were rubbing coins hoping they would bend. :wacko:

My current line for the question "Where u learn one huh?" is "I went up to the tibetian mountains to meditate for 5 yrs before attaining these skills".. hahaha.. werks well coz i don't have hair and i look like a monk... hahaha... so normally they'll just stare at me and forget about it...

Nice one Justin HO!!!!

I also say that, i told them that due to the side effect of magic, it will cause u to age very fast, which explain my over dye hair color. Haha!!!

Most of the time when someone ask me where did I learned it from, my answer is this: :g: In Prison... :g:

Normally it'll shock them for a short while before I tell them it's only a joke, other ways to answer this question is:

"You wouldn't want to know, I was born different..."

"I used to be a juggler who juggle knives, and my 'victim' who help in my pervious show was a magician..."

"I used to be a knives throwing instructor who throw knives, and my 'victim' who help in my pervious show was a magician..."

"Harry Potter was my senior, he taught me..."

"You know David Copperfield and David Blain? We're related..."

"Maple Story!"

"My pet rabbit was from a ex-magician, it guide me along..."

"That's a million dollar question, it'll cost a million dollar to answer!"

"During my Army days I was a platoon commander, my LCP was a magician..."

"I found out that my commander was a magician, so during live granade throwing excerise I pull the pin and tell him this: 'Sir, I'm very stress...'"

I hope the above help you get away from the "Where you learned it from?" question by your audience, have a nice day! :lol:

-Alan-

Here's the answer to "How did you do it?" (ways to shut your audience):

"I do it very well..."

"I spent $8000 for a 3 month course, how much are you willing to pay?"

"You wouldn't want to know, I was born different..."

"That's a million dollar question, it'll cost a million dollar to answer!"

"I used to be in satanic..."

"A professional willl never review secrets no matter how easy it is, I'm a professional..."

"That's a question everyone ask me, so far nobody gets any answer from me yet..."

"It's my 2nd nature..."

"That's a very good question but I'm also trying to find out, did you see how I did it?"

I hope the above help those in need, cheers! :lol:

-Alan-

sorry for the post again but I really hope these posts help those in need, here's the answer when you fumble (miss or drop something):

" <_< PRETEND you never see that!"

" :blink: ... ok, here's the next trick! :rolleyes: ..."

" :wub: With such a pretty lady sitting/standing in front of me it's rather hard to concentrate..."

"HEY! What's that!?"

"Dead man tells no secrets..."

"I quarrel with my cards last nite, now they refuse to work!"

"I forgot my magic wand...

"My mana not enough..."

"I'm not fully paid..."

"1/2 price = 1/2 trained...

"Actually I dunno why I'm here, can anyone tell me what's going on? :blink: "

Ok that's all folks! if you require some lines for hecklers or other other questions, look for me again and I'll try my best to give you an answer! ^_^

-Alan-

Those lines were awesome Alan! Thanks. Could I use some of those lines in times of need?

Hey Multi-Talent, good advices you have there. But i think we must use different lines on different audiences. Some audiences may find
"Harry Potter was my senior, he taught me..." lame and not funny but I really like funny ones like "1/2 price = 1/2 trained..."

And Thad, I don't think that is a good way to shut an audience up. He will not be impressed nor amused. Our job is to entertain not insult.

The post I've added in is to help those of you in need, so just use it all you want (I still have tons of one-liner), I can understand that some lines are not suitable for some audience so thats why I've added many different answers for different question, I hope that helps...

By the way one advice for everyone:

What works for me does not mean it'll also work for you, all one-liners serve only as a guideline. You should develope your very own style of one-liner according to your style of performances, and to do that you'll have to gain experience by performing for real-life audience, experience with different questions, and answer them accordingly to your personalities...

Remember, when you have what you develope, there is no way someone can use it as freely as you, because IT IS your 2nd nature...

-Alan-

Na , that post tt i made can be considered a joke.. lol.. sorry.. Okie... what i will do is to use drama sentances.. like: When i was 5 , i kenna electrocuted by the mains.. and i got burned by the oven.. i realised that i have the power... and bla bla bla.. of course , all of them will sae tt what i told them was a lie.. then i will talk and talk until i got out of the subject... B)

Hmmm, doesnt seem like a joke. Hahaha :lol:
Just kidding.

alan's one-liners wud be helpful, thanks!

good one-liners get u out of such situations easily, no need for such long/fake stories.

Hi to all again, here is a very short conversation to reject your audience when they ask you to teach them.

(After watching your performance)

Audience: Can you teach me?
Magician: Can you keep secrets?
Audience: Of coz!
Magician: So can I...

I use this line very often to reject audience who wants me to teach, so far this is the shortest way to reject, and also I find it the most effective, I hope this help.

-Alan-

Lately, I've found out that they'll mostly ask that question when there are dead beats in your routines.

No dead beats, no "can you teach me that?!" questions that can't be brushed off.

Of course, if they tail you to your house and ask you to teach em, you got a true disciple on yo hands :D

-Kev

that is a very very good way of rejecting.. i gonna try this! Thanks a million!

it's really annoying for friends to keep bugging you asking you to reveal the secret.

teaching them for free?! NO WAY!

anyway, i tried it on this friend of mine. haha.. at that instant of "..... so can i" his face changed to -.-

that's a great phrase man, thanks a million too.