Thanks for the help folks! Your encouragement is much needed AND things are getting better all the time. I am able to handle the challenging spectators better and better . . . thanks to all of your help and from something I read in John Carney's literature:

Good judgment comes from experience.
Experience comes from bad judgment.

Thanks to all for the guidance, instruction and encouragement . . . I must go through it to get to it . . .

This isn't so much a heckler story, but this seems as appropriate thread as any to tell it. Just to give you an idea of how green I am, I made my first honest try at doing a trick for someone at work just the other day. I keep a deck at my desk, and while I'm reading email or just thinking of a problem, I'll work on false shuffles, jogs, breaks, card control. Another co-worker sees me doing it and says "Here let me show you something." A few really good tricks by him later and a bunch of us are gathered round.

I decided that this seemed like as good a time as any to try something. So I said "Can I try one on you? I'm not as good as him but I'd like to try something." So, my plan was to do a real simple card select, fake shuffle, control to top deal. Well, the co-worker picks the card and when I ask her to put it on the deck she said "Can I put it in the middle?"

Uhhhhhh.....

I coaxed her into putting it on top, and successfully controlled it, but of course everyone knew what was up. At the end they said "You did some sort of fake shuffle didn't you?" I fessed up and they said it was actually really good, it looked like the deck was mixed up.

I decided rather than be upset, I'd learn something from it. They said the mechanisc were good... so I obviously need to work on presentation. Funny thing is I was nervous because I was insecure about my mechanics. Second thing was to start getting into the mindset of on any trick, try to think of every conceivable thing that can go WRONG and practice dealing with it. In my case I should have said "Go ahead, put it where you want." And adjusted accordingly. Lesson learned.

I think it helped to get some of the initial screw-ups out of the way on people who aren't family or close friends, but aren't complete strangers. Co-workers can be tough, but at least (usually) they won't be mean about it.

A screwup is also an opportunity if you let it be.

Card tricks are very well known -- enough that when you pull out a deck everyone thinks "trick". Try learning some magic effects other than cards. Then at least you might have the lement of surprise in your favor.

Of course, if you are practicing magic on company time you should be shuffling in the unemployment line. and, "a bunch of us are gathered around." In one of my businesses I guess I would have to replace the entire crew. Vanishing employees and replacing them with people who want to work. A stroke of a pen. Magic!

You're joking, right?

Not at all! Doing any kind of personal activity on company time is theft including personal emails, phone calls and pestering other workers. In my seven business I always paid much higher than industry standard and had very loyal employees -- and we all had time for fun because my people produced more in six hours than the competition did in ten with overtime. We worked when it was time to work and played during planned periods -- and we had profit sharing. As a consultant to thousands of business I saved the owners millions by training them to only hire people who wished to work -- which included being on time, ready to work at the agreed time. It's all about commitment and accountability -- just like doing magic. Failure to meet a signed commitment is always grounds for dismissal, just as I would never engage a magician who wasn't on time for a performance.

Well... given that one of the people "not working" was my department head, and the person I was performing the (poorly executed) trick on was my project manager, I'm not terribly concerned. Thank you for helping me love my job even more than I already had.

I agree with some of the other posts in that the "nice guy" isn't always the best way to go. You have to judge the situation. When I get someone that refuses to follow instructions or is intentionally trying to sabotage the trick, say during a card trick, I take a more aggressive but still subtle/comical tone and say something like, "Oh no, why do I always pick the slow ones? OK, sir, I'm going to give you a second chance. I'll go slowly for you this time...try not to embarrass yourself...

When I get someone that refuses to follow instructions or is intentionally trying to sabotage the trick, say during a card trick, I take a more aggressive but still subtle/comical tone and say something like, "Oh no, why do I always pick the slow ones? OK, sir, I'm going to give you a second chance. I'll go slowly for you this time...try not to embarrass yourself...

Excellent mkmager . . . for those of us who are not a natural verbal-dig God or smarty pants, we must have these contingencies in ready to possibly get them to comply with simple directions.

Yes, guitarmagic, I like to take note of other performers when I see them dealing with people in an effective way. I like to have some lines on hand so that I do not need to think on my feet too much in that kind of a situation.

Wow....very good posting....it's important to me to know how to deealing with heckler....thnks ron jaxon

You guys are good to me. Thanks for the continued guidance & help for the slower students!

Respectfully . . .

I enjoy having hecklers in a show, they challenge me and my goal is to win over them without humilitanig them, so that they too enjoy my show. It's all about being a cool guy and letting them know you perform for them. And at the same time let them know you're not stupid ha!
BobC

Great advice Jaxon, Much better than in Bobo's, where you are directed to squirt them in the face with water from your squirting nickle!

Sometimes, you need to turn the table. If you call people out they will quiet down quickly. Make a joke out of what is being said or done If you ever do walk around close-up learn to walk away. There are a lots of people who would love to see your magic.
Just another learning experience, life is full of them.

Here's a related article about other Entertainers in your audience that may heckle or steal your material:

http://magicgizmo.com/home/Showmanship/w......nce.html

I don't have any heckler in my school. Because they KNOW that the tricks have something to do with some gimmicks or sleights. But, pro magicians here in Indonesia could not enjoy such privilege. When they perform (anywhere, could be at stage, national TV, street), people (not all, but not a few either) will think they all use black magic.

Of course it is a selling value for the magicians here to dress up all in black, wearing black accessories, etc. They look unique, and this is what make them good (beside the tricks), but this backfires them. People say they have secret and dark ritual, dealing with satans, etc.

I try to show my magic to my cousin, hes always investigating...

Very tough, but when I can do the magic correct, he is very impressed.