Comments on: Overcoming the Jitters

By: Jeff Stone

Jeff Stone — Sat, 07 Dec 2013 06:58:41 +0000

In reply to Richard Dominguez. I always claim that everything went exactly as it happened. My favorite lie is "I meant to do that!"

By: Richard Dominguez

Richard Dominguez — Tue, 26 Nov 2013 19:50:01 +0000

Focusing on the spectators that are enjoying your act is a smart movie, since their enthusiasm is likely to infect the other spectators. Remember that performing magic has one distinction that other arts don’t have, during the vast majority of effects the spectator normally does not know that anything has gone wrong unless you in some way communicate that something is not right.

By: salmononius2

salmononius2 — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 16:50:25 +0000

Great article! I also suffer from stage-fright a lot,so in addition to practicing a lot, what I try to do is convince my mind that there is no way that I could mess up, and that usually helps. Another thing that I try to do (which works in performances for larger crowds) is to focus on a few members in the audience that are noticeably enjoying the show. There are always going to be people in every show who enjoy it, as well as people who won’t, so focusing on those who enjoy it raises my self confidence.

But to quote (albeit not word for word) what someone said on a different forum: Fear is good to an extent. You should use it to motivate you, not incapacitate you. If you’re nervous, you’ll be careful not to make any mistakes. The first time that you aren’t nervous before a show is the first time you mess up.

By: OldZombie

OldZombie — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 04:44:17 +0000

Jason you hit the nail on the head with this one. I recall learning some trick from a Sankey dvd. Jay was doing get readys for double lifts, I thought to myself and arrogantly so, I dont need to do that my strike double is flawless and I hit it 100% of the time. Except when I went to perform the trick, I missed the strike not once but twice which made me more nervous, it was just a train wreck. I view get-readys differently now. As for the relaxation techiques, I have been using this for years to naturally lower my blood pressure and to help me sleep. It is amazing once you isolate varies parts of your body how much tension you can carry in and not even realize it. Great article as usual!