I been doing magic for friends and family for the last year and I am struggling with the reaction of some of the people I do magic for( one person in particular). For some reason he feels the need to blurt out how an effect is done and go on and on explaining it to everyone else. What really bugs me is sometimes he is right. I know I'm new to this, but it is not just a matter of him "seeing" how the trick is done or poor technique. Part me thinks I should just practice more, but the other half says that this is a person who I should not do magic for. What do you think?

Duh - why bother doing magic for an a_ _ _ _ _ e. Entertain the people that appreciate what you're trying to do.

Jim

Yes and yes.

"sometimes he's right"?

And likely a good guess.

Doing magic for these types can teach you something that all the practice in the world can't.
If this person interrupts your performance, look him/her straight in the eye for a long pause and say, "Should I continue or should I just stop now?". Then look at the others for a response. Many times they will tell the heckler to keep quiet.

if the hecler is a friend you might try taking the heckler aside and ask why they're doing that.
Let him/her know that your trying to learn about entertaining with some tricks and that the interuptions are not helping.
If that don't work then don't do anything when the person is around.

I hope this helps.

This situation would also be good to learn about audience management. The advice Jim and Jaz offered are also helpful in your case.

I was at a family gathering a month or so ago and was doing some sponge balls for the kids and some of the adults and a friend of my brother was standing behind me (unknown to me at the time) and he was pointing to which hand the ball(s) were in. When I caught on to this I said to everyone that I wasn't aware that we were in the presence of a great magician and I grabbed his arm, pulled him up in front of everyone and handed him my SB's and said "show us some stuff ol wise one" and I sat down with the group. Needless to say he was quite embarrassed and tried to weasel out but I was in a mood so I didn't let up saying things like "c'mon hot shot, yer a big man trying to ruin the fun for a bunch of kids, so show us your best stuff etc". I actually thought the guy was going to cry! I'm usually very laid back and easy going and don't get too worried about these types but the guy is just one of those guys that tries to look good at other peoples expense.
There are so many other (better) ways to handle these situations as you will learn as you go but confrontation is rarely the answer! Good luck and don't let the ding dongs ring your bell!

Everyone has to learn how to deal with hecklers at one point or another. I just say something like "Oh, you know how this is done? Well here *offer them the deck* perhaps you could entertain them for a bit, I could use a break." Or just don't perform for them. Or sarcastically play along with it. Put them on the spot. Or turn everyone else against the heckler.

Oddly enough your situation can be a great learning experience if you look at it correctly.

First, you WILL learn that there are folks that are so threatened by being 'fooled' that they just can't stand it. They have to 'strike back' at that which threatens. You WILL find that avoiding these folks is your best bet. Since what is going one with them is pathological you aren't going to win them over. All you 'could' do would be to do material that just keeps rocking their small encumbered world, making them feel worse as 'you' get better at your craft. It is a spectacular form of lose/lose for the magician.

And, so, again: Do NOT do magic when this person or other of like pathology are about. All it will produce will be pain for both persons involved.

That said, you WILL find folks that just like a challenge and will attempt to figure out the puzzle without carrying in the baggage. For this folk your best bet is to just keep getting better and better at the craft. Eventually, you will have formed a solid bedrock of material that works most if not all the time. You will also know which material fools EVERYONE, etc.

Just stay the course. Really though.....there are folks you will meet that you will discover are NOT a good audience for what we do. Don't take it personally, just don't work for them. Best,

Family and friends can sometimes be the worst possible audiences. Maybe it's because they feel that because they know you so well it's OK to heckle. Sometimes it bothers people close to you knowing that you do magic. I think this is especially true if they knew you before you learned. They knew you when you weren't "special" and now that you are the feel challenged to know how you do it.

Oh man, do I know what you mean...

My sister-in-law is that person. She "knows a couple of card tricks" (the 21 card trick and that one where they slap the spectator's hand until the chosen card is all that's left) and was instantly ready to jump on any mistake I made when I was first getting started. At the time, I was showing stuff that needed practice, and I knew it, but I have to learn things the hard way sometimes... anyway, the decision was made not to perform magic for her again in this lifetime.

That was about a year ago. In the meantime, I have been practicing and busking (just trickling, to be honest... don't look at me like that, just learned these new words the other day and am still trying them on!)

Here's a strange thing that happened... Last Saturday, she and my wife arrrived down at my pitch (another new word, yay!) The timing couldn't have been better as I was just moving into the Chicago Opener, an effect that happens to have a "magician in trouble" moment. When I got to that part, I played it up hard, gave her the best panicked look I could muster... and then revealed.

She actually responded positively, gave me a sincere compliment and everything!

That felt like a win.

So I guess I'm glad for the experience. If someone is around who wants to see me fail, I can use that to my advantage. That's a nifty tool to have in the box.

I would take the advice of Slartibartfast and do both. You should practice until you even fool yourself in the mirror! Also, if you know someone is going to heckle you, just don't perform for them.

People you know are often the worst people to demonstrate to. They may say you're great because they don't want to hurt your feelings or alternatively they can do what this guy's doing. If possible I would explain to that person how unhelpful they are being and if they persist just don't perform for them.

With respect to performing, you know yourself whether you have fluffed an effect or aren't getting the reaction you should. If this is the case analyse why. Is the effect just weak? Is your patter and performance not strong enough? Do you need to present it deifferently?

Bein' from Texas, my thoughts go to guns.

Bullet catch, anyone?

Seriously, try not to waste your time with people who do not enjoy it.
It's kinda like playing classical music to a person who only likes hard rock. It is likely that you will both be annoyed.

Most of all, have fun with it. Life is short.

Peace,
Parson

Thanks for all of the great advice.

It's true that family and friends are the worst audiences, because your friends know you too well and aren't shy about calling you out, and your family thinks you're great no matter what and most likely won't criticize you (siblings tend to fall into the "friends" side of the equation as far as reactions, however).

You need to get a couple of good friends who are "on your side" and have them bring you into some new circles of people you can perform for and get genuine reactions. If you need specific examples of this let me know.

I was in High School when I started doing magic. I told my best friend that what I did were just tricks that you could buy or learn from a book, not real magic. I asked him to watch me to see if, as a layman, he could see something I was doing which gave the trick away. It was a real help to me and I think even though he didn't find the secrets (usually) he felt a part of making my act work.

Once I showed him my vanishing birdcage. Somehow, once it vanished it became disconnected, shot out of it's hiding place and hit him in the head! He guessed that one.