Hello everyone, Im new to this place. I was wondering if anyone else has had this problem. When I do an affect my hands shake. This can be an affect that ive done for years but for some reason it always seams like my hands will start shaking. I know its nerves. But it does't matter how long I do an affect. If the affect does't have hand manipulation I'm ok, but onces I try to do a slight its all over. And I notice that if after I do an affect that has a slight in it and then go to another one that doesn't my hands will still shake for a while.

Welcome to the club!
I think that most people have experienced this. Me too. Now that I'm older (but not wiser) I usually panic a few hours before the performance and then, as I start, I seem to calm down and get through it.

At the beginning, though, even a few years ago after my comeback to magic, I suffered the same problem.

Sorry, but I do not have any solutions :-(

mlippo

Well I have lucky not experienced this problem. But I know some people that have this problem and one way they have dealt with it is to try acting in front of people. The other way I combat my nerves in other areas is just trying new things that I don't normally do. This makes me use to strange situations and if you start to become placid with changing enviroments then it may help your nerves.

Its mostly from a lack of confidence
that you have in yourself.the more you perform
in front of people the more confidence you
will build in yourself.and while your performing
just think to yourself these people would be a nervous
wreck too if they were out there doing this.
todd

In a public speaking class I took, we did observations and learned that many people who feel their hands shaking don't display any actual physical movement. It feels like your hands are shaking, but no one on the outside can notice it; kind of like the huge crunching noise a person hears while eating chips.

I agree it's a lack of confidence. Note that it only happens when you try to do something that takes sleights/manual skill.

But...fear not...you are NOT alone. You would be amazed at how many folks have this problem.

Here is a suggestion that's worked wonders for students of mine over the years and is essentially a 'desentization behavior protocol'.

Here's how this works: I want you to select a card trick that uses just ONE basic sleight. Like a Glide or whatever move you KNOW you can do. Just ONE MOVE...that's very important. Practice this routine until you are just sick of it.

Now, do it for someone that offers the LEAST amount of anxiety, etc. for you. Mom, girl friend, bff, whatever. Don't sweat screwing it up. Just do it? How did it 'feel'? How did it go? Totally smooth? Great do it for someone else. Shook a little? Great, do it for someone else. Do this ONE trick until you just simply don't have a problem. Do not stop until you have achieved this. Do not go on.

O.k., you are comfy doing this first trick. Select another. If possible a bit harder than the first. Do a double lift trick. JUST ONE lift. Practice and then do that one until it's doesn't bother you.

Got the idea? Just ramp up the difficulty and the places and persons you do them for.

I have never had this fail in about 50+ tries.

Last word: I've written at great length about the following, but I'll try for the short course. The only reason anyone is 'lacking' in confidence is because they are worried about screwing up a trick. Answer: Who cares if you screw up a trick. What is the worst thing that could happen? Seriously? Now, if you KNOW for CERTAIN that if you screw up a trick ten children will spontaneously die...well, that's a drag. I want to suggest that if you mess a trick up ...... absolutely NOTHING will happen. Trust me. I messed up oddles of tricks in my time. Get over it. I mean that in the kindest possible way.

Look....I love magic and have for 43 years. It's a wonderful profession and hobby, but it's not like being a surgeon. I really do NOT care if I hear a magician made a mistake. But, it really freaks me out when a surgeon does. You HAVE to keep it in perspective.

If you do make a mistake: Do NOT say anything just keep going. Don't sweat it. In almost a 100% of the cases the audience won't even know unless YOU tell them. Mess up so bad you can NOT get out of it? Make a joke about it! "Oh, man....I just totally blew this trick...here, let me set up and start over." That's EXACTLY what I said during a paid show. I mean...what are they going to do? Everyone laughed along with me laughing at myself and the show went on.

Remember from the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: "Don't Panic" ;-)

Best,

Good stuff Brad.

Brad is right most worry about messing up a effect.
once I understood that it can and will happen once
in a while.and when it does just laugh with the audience
and say even us magicians arent perfect.it will leave you.
I go in to a show to do the best I can.but I know a effect
could go wrong.but it doesn't bother me any more if it does.
and that helped change my whole outcome on being nervous.
we all go out to try to prove how good we are.but even the best mess up.
todd

Great advice from Todd and Brad. Build up your confidence and you will suprise yourself. My challenge is (Todd will laugh at this) that my hands start to shake whenever I get ready to spike the needle into the balloon that Todd holds so confidently in hi avatar. I always manage to do it successfully and it really looks like the balloon is shaking with fear, but... it's me.

Ray

I tell you all a little story. it use to bother me more to perform for few people that I knew.than a whole room full that I did not know at all. that's when I realized that I thinking I had to prove how good I was.once I figured that out things calmed downed a whole lot with my nerves.ha ray when I get ready to stick the balloon I always tell the kids this makes me nervous.because I'm shaking a little bit too.lol
todd

Nice to see I am not alone to feel this once in a while. I had big problems with shaking hands and adrenaline rushes when I got back into magic a year ago. But after a while it calmed down, even tho I still feel nervous now and then. Just get in the frey, and the nerves will calm down. The best way to get rid of this is to expose yourself to this feeling, and get used to it.
Usually I am nervous as heck before a show. I mean JUST before the show. And hour before I am calm, aswell as when I am up there in the middle of it. But just before I get on, I got tons of butterflies in my stomach.

Its natural to be nervous and affraid to mess up. You just have to learn to not let that feeling effect you. Comes thru experience and practice. Performing for other magicians is something that freaks me out the most..

Great advices from Brad and Todd (and everyone else).

Ronnie

Great post brad. This has a lot of great advice. Read it break it down work on it.

A variton I would like to add is when I started I had to faithful tricks. Silk vanish and Proffesor nightmare these I could do happy and with confidence. I would sandwich a new rick in the middle. If new trick went wrong I would carry on to the old faithful. I then would do something were I would get one new trick working well, then have another new one to put in.

Aslo keep notes of what work and what went wrong. You migth see trends appearing like it goes wrong when uncle George get drunk and shouts out.

The other thing is it is fine to be nervous. I feel people put to much pressure to not get nervous. This has a reversed effect and builds the nervous. The nerves will go as you get use to them and keep breathing. Also the more you prepare and perform they will go.

Rember every one has dealt with this good luck.

I run into the same issue and I love the advice I've seen on here. I'm sure once I get more comfortable with performing, it will ease. It always has in other public speaking situations.

Thanks everyone for the support and advise. I'll keep trucking along and put some of the advise into use. I'll keep you posted.

I'll tell you a story that ONLY other magicians could understand. For understand why it's so funny. I stood behind a magic counter for over 35 years demoing the latest and greatest, etc. I remember when the Needle Thru Balloon first came out and I just loved it. Wonderful effect and essentially easy to do.

So I began demoing it. Get this: I performed it at least 100 times without the balloon popping once. Not kidding. So, one day I'm doing a demo of the trick and the balloon popped...... I was so startled I thought my heart was going to stop!!! Totally freaked me out. Set to do it again....second balloon popped!!!!!!! Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh! O.k., set up to do it a third time...by now, and I'm not kidding....I'm shaking with anxiety that the bloody balloon is going to pop again! Success. It didn't pop.

But..... now, I'm leery of the darn trick! Every time I try to do it I'm shaking a little. So what do is..I blow up 20 balloons and holding them next to my face....I pop them one after the other.

By the time I'm done...no more shaking. You can take from that story what you will, but in fact at the time despite the 'problem' I thought it was all pretty funny. ;-)

Best,

Very funny story brad.

Hahaha, that is awesome! Good for you for setting up the third go around. I love the 20 balloon trick to stop shaking too. I don’t know if my nerves could handle popping 20 balloons by my face.

Brad greta story. I think the elements are very useful. Something went wrong you just carried on. After you realised it shock you a bit. You analysed and came up with a soultion. Yes I know iam over anlyising this story.

Few other thing to help with nervous is drink plenty of water. Also cut down coffee and any caffeine or sugar high drinks. Sleep well be for a gig also allow plenty of time to get there and set up.

Thanks all. The thing was...I just wasn't prepared for the bloody thing to burst! Then it was like a horse being gun shy. I realized that I was literally 'afraid' of the balloon popping, so I just popped a bunch in my face. I probably could have stopped at 5, but I tend to over due stuff. But, seriously it never bothered me again. I remembered to prepare myself for the 'possibility' that it could break. I had a joke ready, etc.

By the by, there's a solid argument for it being better IF it breaks the first time and I have known performers who deliberately break the first balloon.

Best,

Quite funny!!