Hi there,
I often perform card tricks in school. At times I find that it is hard to get an audience interested. Sometimes people drift off in the middle of a routine and look somewhere else or they are not interested at all. I'm sure it is not the trick that's bad or the boring pattering as the same trick and patter has brought wows and smiles from others. How do you guys get people interested? Do you do things like whipping out a pack of cards and say, "let me show you something"? How do you draw a crowd?

You must adapt to your audience. All the people are not interested in the same things. a trick might work for some people and not for some other. you need to find the tricks that will interest them personnally.
It 's one of the most difficult thing to learn if you want to be a good performer.I think the best thing to do is to be able to change your patter according to your audience. the patter can be pretty much the same except that you had a couple of lines specificaly to your audience. so it the doesn't look like you are saying you patter by heart.

Also you are performing in a place quite difficult to do: school. You have a lot to compete with. girls, boys, friends, teacher... It's also a place where people think a lot about their look: "what do I look like if I look at the magician?" "what my friends are going to think of me if I look at the trick?"

But keep on trying because the only way to be good is to do the most shows!!

A couple of points.

Firstly, as mentioned above, Friends and family are by miles the hardest audience you will ever have to play to.

By miles.

Ever!

I've covered my thoughts on why this should be elswhere on the forum, but take my word for it.

Secondly, Many peole see card tricks as being boring, no matter how good. Everyone has an uncle charlie who does card tricks, need I say more? There are obviously exceptions to this, but not many, Try starting with something else, then introduce the cards during the routine.

I usually start with "Invisible Deck", Whilst this is a card trick, it is different, very different, and I think gets people who might be anti-magicians, or anti-card tricks, to at least think, " This might be entertaining after all."

Also try to do effects that realy involve the people, Things with borrowed rings, or that happen in their hands, are usually far more "Gripping" than stuff that they just watch. Think back to the last time someone told you about a great magician, The story almost always starts with, "He borrowed MY ring........ " or " He put it in MY hand...."

Final point, (I think,) Watch for their reactions, Some tricks that you may think are Great may die on their A**e ( English spelling of A**) Some that you might think are just O.K. may kill them, The more you perform , the more you will be able to adjust your act to interest the most people.

Cheers

Andy

Well said Andy!
I agree with your comments.

Family members are the worst kind of audience.

Work your card trick into your routine. But start with something else.

Of course if people aren't interested, you could always not bother showing them. The last thing you want to become known as is a magic bore!

Paul.

Nate Leipzig said never to perform unless begged. I follow that advice at school, and lo and behold, my English teacher (who I wrote a research paper on magic for) has begged me to do a few tricks for the class before graduation . . . I have the opposite problem though . . . I'm just about too bashful to show my tricks at school . . . it's all got to be coin work, 'cuz cards and rubber bands and such are not allowed.

Perhaps the wisest advice ever given here at the Cafe! Heed Paul's words! Heed! Heed!