Rehearsal as Presentation

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One of the ways to get into a performance with the least amount of friction is to say:

“I have [some event where I’m expected to perform a magic trick] coming up. Can I try it out on you?”

This is just far more comfortable for most people. Especially for people you don’t know very well or people who haven’t seen you perform before.

Put yourself in their position. What if some guy said to you, “I’m going to show you some ventriloquism.” That might come off as a little weird. You might question how you’re supposed to respond to it. But if he said, “So, I signed up to provide entertainment at my nephew’s school carnival. I had to come up with a ventriloquism act. Do you mind if I run it by you? Just to rehearse it in front of someone?” Now, that situation is still a little unusual, but I think it’s far more palatable to most people.

In general, people are much more comfortable in a position where they’re asked for their feedback as opposed to one where they’re asked for recognition or praise (which is what, “Let me perform for you,” often comes across as).

The thing is, I’m not introducing the trick this way for my benefit. I don’t mind if someone thinks I’m corny because I want to show them a trick.

I’m introducing the trick this way because I want to put them in the most relaxed mindset they can be in to watch a performance. And if they don’t know me that well, then this indirect approach can help reframe the whole thing as a collaborative exercise rather than a plea for attention.

Here are some other examples.

  • “My work does a talent show each year as part of a team-building exercise. I signed up to do a magic trick. Do you mind if I run it by you?”

  • “My neighbor’s kid is having a birthday party. His parents know I used to do magic as a kid and asked if I’d perform something. I haven’t done it in a while, do you mind if I rehearse with you?”

  • “My cousin’s getting married, and they asked me to do some close-up magic during cocktail hour. Can I get your thoughts on this one?”

  • “This bartender at a place near me gives me a free drink if I can fool him with a little magic trick. I’ve burned through the few tricks I know, but I just learned a new one. Can I test it out on you first?”

  • “I’m getting together with some friends from elementary school. Back then we used to have a magic club where we tried to learn tricks to fool each other. Now we’re in our 60s, and we’re getting together for one last meeting of the club. Can I try my new trick out on you?”

In general, I don’t use these sorts of intros on people I know well. Those people are already comfortable seeing magic from me. And I’d have to come up with a story that was believable with my everyday life. But when I’m traveling or in a situation where I’m spending time with someone I won’t be crossing paths with again, I can pretty much create any story I want. And yes, technically this is “lying.” Get over yourself. The world isn’t going to spin off its axis because you told someone you volunteered to perform a trick at your kid’s summer camp.

One intro I will use with people I know is that I’ve been asked to show a trick in some situation for kids. This is one of my favorite uses of Rehearsal as Presentation. It brings people’s guards way down. Then I can present a trick with a simple, child-centric premise that’s built on top of a really fooling method. Like predicting how they’ll choose to color an image. Or the name they’ll come up with for my stuffed dog. And because they don’t feel like you’ve challenged them to see if you can fool them—because you’re on the same “team”—they’re almost happy to be fooled. The feelings that are implied in the reactions I get to this type of presentation is: “Oh my god. I know that’s something you’re going to show kids. But honestly, that fooled even me!” Again, not in those exact words. But that’s the sentiment of their reaction.

I’ll be sharing a couple more specific uses of this technique, likely later this month.