How To Overcome Hecklers As A Magician
Hecklers are a nightmare for any performer, leave alone a magician. Being mocked in between your show is often not a pleasant outcome. And, if you are a beginner and hold no experience with handling hecklers. What makes it worse is to worry about it and get nervous. Before we get into how to handle hecklers, let us know who a heckler exactly is.
A heckler is someone who interrupts your performance while you are performing. This does not merely apply to magicians. It may happen to any performer or artist of any field. Hecklers try to talk you over or reveal your magic tricks and ruin your magic show. Be it an in-person event or a virtual magic show; hecklers have not spared any platform.
In the case of magicians, revealing their tricks is the worst-case scenario. They cannot bar hecklers from attending their shows. Therefore, a magician must learn to handle hecklers to save his magic show and tricks skillfully. Listed below are some innovative ways to handle hecklers who try to spoil your magic show. Let us take a look:
Do the Unexpected - Change the Method
If a heckler spills the secrets of the magic trick you are performing, repeat the trick, and change the method. While performing the new procedure, point out what you did was not what the intruder mentioned. Pointing it out would prove the heckler wrong and also mark your expertise in the field of magic.
Do Not Show-off
Never show-off in front of your audience. Showing-off often comes as arrogance, and people do not like it. Not just would this annoy the hecklers, but even the rest of the audience would develop a dislike towards you. Being humble is the key to the heart of your audience. When your audience likes you, they tend to support you, no matter what number of hecklers pops up.
Ignore the Heckler and be Subtle
There are times when a heckler would not want to come into the light and still spoil your performance. He would try to ruin your moment in a soft tone. When such is the case, ignore the heckler. Subtly ignore them. If you pay attention to such intruders, they gain confidence and begin asking more questions. And, in case you miss them, they do not try a second time.
Let the Audience deal with Heckler
When you entertain your audience amazingly, they come to your rescue in times of need. People gather to enjoy your show and not be an audience to the analysis of a stranger. Hence, when an intruder interrupts you, play with words and waste some time. Meanwhile, the audience themselves would shut the heckler down and send across the advice of enjoying the show. This method works well for strolling magic.
Add Humor to their Comment
Adding humor to the heckler's comment will not just brush off the claims but also make the rest of the audience laugh. Speak up your funny words in such a manner that the audience gets satisfied and entertained. This would shut the heckler down, and he would be intimidated to try a second time.
Do Not Interrupt
When a heckler is speaking or trying to convince your audience, do not interrupt. Let the heckler talk. This way, some hecklers make stupid statements and make a fool out of themselves. Others who do make a sensible point do not get further aggravated.
Throw a Challenge
At times there are people who would repeatedly interrupt your performance. In such a scenario, pick a trick that you know is not easy to perform and challenge the heckler to perform it for the audience. This trick always works. No heckler would have the audacity to come upon the stage and perform a joke they do not know.
Fake some Moves
Fake some moves to fool the heckler, and misguide them. This would help in confusing them and shutting them from being a problem ahead in the show. As and when a heckler claims to know your moves, quickly and skillfully, change your move or fake some.
Announce a Disclaimer at the Start of your Show
Preventive measures are always a good start. You can announce a disclaimer at the beginning of your live magic show or virtual magic show that whatever show you put up is merely for entertainment purposes. You do not claim to have supernatural powers; neither do you intend to fool anyone. This trick can calm even the most aggressive hecklers.