How to Control Your Nerves: Part 2
In my previous post about how to manage your pre-show jitters, I talked about shifting your focus to help you quiet your nerves. Now we’ll go into another tip that I’ve followed myself to gain more confidence.
If you’re like me, this will sound familiar to you: You’ve worked on a trick, planned its first showing to your friends, loaded your pockets with the tools you need, then anxiously tried to find the right moment to say, “Hey, who wants to see a trick?”
It’s all going well until you bring your hands out. Even though you mentally feel like you can do this, your body tells a different story.
It’s a horrible feeling when you lose control to the shakes—especially after the hundreds of times you did the trick perfectly in the comfort of your own home. It’s really unpleasant, and it used to happen to me a lot. It still does when I break in new tricks.
Have I got a secret formula to get rid of nerves? I have a formula, but it’s not a secret. It is something I read in Eugene Burger’s terrific book called Mastering the Art of Magic. I live by this rule and I have adopted it as my own.
Here it is: Don’t ever do the trick again. If it makes you nervous when you perform it because the moves are too hard, or your hands are the wrong size, or the script is too wordy and you can’t remember it, then STOP doing the trick.
You might be saying, “But now my show will be 30 minutes instead of 40, or 20 instead of 30.”
SO? Who says your show has to be a certain length? There are reasons why shows are average lengths but these are not written in stone. I am sure any audience would like to see a sweet 20-minute show rather than a flawed 30-minute performance. Ten minutes of your ‘A’ material would be even better. And remember, easier tricks doesn’t mean less entertaining.
So if you really want to stop those nerves, then giving up performing time is the best course of action. Give yourself the confidence to start by giving yourself the best chance of doing your show well. If you’ve got 10 minutes, then give ’em 10 minutes. That will soon grow to 15, then 20, then 25, and so on, and eventually you will have multiple shows.
I have always found that something peculiar happens when I do this. The trick that had been giving me all the grief suddenly becomes easier to do. All that muscle memory I’ve built up doesn’t just vanish—it seems to reorganise itself.
Part of what is happening of course is by choosing less challenging material, your time in front of audiences accumulates, giving you a huge boost of confidence. You start to relax. And when you relax, your personality shines through without you even knowing it. This makes people connect with you better, which makes you perform better. What’s happening here? Your confidence starts to snowball.
Confidence comes through experience, and experience comes when you get in front of people with your tricks. I can’t make you do this. But I tell you, the positive outweighs the negative. Sure you might stumble a bit—I did—but I’m here now, a living proof that it is worth taking the steps.
So if you want to battle those nerves effectively and get the experience that will help you become a more confident performer, keep in mind all these tips we’ve covered:
- Remember, it’s just magic tricks, not life and death. Don’t take yourself or your magic too seriously.
- Don’t focus so much on the magic or the balloons or the bubbles. Focus on being an entertainer, because that’s likely what your audience will remember you by.
- Perform magic you find enjoyable and are comfortable with.
- Be realistic. Start with a smaller show and start it now.
That’s it. Good luck, and don’t let those nerves get the better of you.
