Help Overcoming Nervousness

[jordansisson]

good evening,
i like i am sure many of you out there, suffer from the chokes. a term used by the mighty boosh to describe a state of nervousness. yep i start to shake and my hands go cold and the rest. even when performing to friends and family.
does anyone know of any products that can hep me with this. by products i mean books or summink not drugs.

ta very much
jordan

 

[liamA10]

Hey

When i was just starting magic, and performing in front of people, my hands went numb, and started shaking like hell, but after performing regularly, it stopped. So the only piece of advice i can give to you is to keep performing in front of people, and after a while, you will get over the shaking thing and you will have all the confidence you need

Hope this helps

Liam

 

[CardGuy90]

Hey, sounds like something we all have when we first start. I remember i used to stutter ALOT. But it naturally goes away.
To be honest with you, i never read any books when i was going through this. What i can offer you, is what helped me. Just keep doing it. Eventually your not gonna feel that nervousness anymore. Just... keep doing it.

But since you did ask for reading. I know that this book has helped alot of people because it strengthens your misdirection and performance so it gives you more confidence.

Galloway, Andrew - Diverting Card Magic

All the best of luck to you.

 

[mistasocka]

The Chokes

Try to feel a little more confident in yourself sometimes it doesn't help but this happens to everyone when you just start but you will become more comfortable with it as you go along. Hope this helps

 

[illusionist14]

The best advice I can give you is to just go and perform, eventually you'll get used to it, and you'll have fun doing also.

 

[jordansisson]

thanks guys,
but i dont know if this is just me but i focus so much on the sleight itself but it go tme thinkin that because i am a magician that the sleight must be perfect and if something goes rong and i see it that the trick is completely screwed, so can the sleight not be completely smooth but still fool the laymen? and should i focus on the trick more or the patter?

 

[illusionist14]

I always have that problem, thinking that the sleight is obvious. The only reason that it is obvious to you is because you know what to look for, the spectators don't.

 

[alex65535]

If you don't notice the slight, there's less of a chance they will. I have this same problem. Try doing easy tricks for now until you get used to performing, then gradually get harder. That's my plan, and I think it's working.

I don't have it, but Jeff McBride's "Manipulation Without Tears" is about this except it's more about tips for performing productions and palming than regular magic. I don't have it, so I don't know if it's any good. I think the best plan is just getting out and doing it.

 

[DannyT]

good evening,
i like i am sure many of you out there, suffer from the chokes. a term used by the mighty boosh to describe a state of nervousness. yep i start to shake and my hands go cold and the rest. even when performing to friends and family.
does anyone know of any products that can hep me with this. by products i mean books or summink not drugs.

ta very much
jordan

I had this problem awhile back when performing to kids in my school. You just have to keep working at it. It builds up confidence. If you get nervous performing for friends and family, what happens if a hot chick at a party asks to see a magic trick? lol, just kidding. Who cares if you mess up performing, your learning. Just shake it off and try another.

Say no to drugs-
Crack is wack lol

 

[Mxtt]

Get comfortable with a deck of cards, and the sleights. After that the rest should be easy. When I started out I was always on edge because I kept thinking I'd get caught, and all that did was stress me out. Performing should be fun, not a chore. Once you find the joy in it the shakes should go away.

However, I still shake when someone I idolize asks me to see a trick, because I don't feel like fooling them, hah.

 

[BrianKilledYou]

Hmmm..

Seems to me you are nervous

I had this problem a lot when I started out preforming.
The only advice I can give you is practice practice practice.
May seem like an original line but it always works.
When I started preforming I hated the fact I had to practice
Just get to know the trick better and better.
I should say you should NOT do tricks you are not comfortable with.
Before you buy the trick, read reviews on it if you can.


Best of luck,
BrianKilledYou,
Brian