Bshack, I can't help but wonder why you were being heckled in the bathroom. LOL!!! But don't fret, there's many ways to 'enhance' yourself i'm sure

There are 2 main heckler put downs I use. "Eat [edited]!" is one of them (obviously only for an adult audience). Unexpected, and often gets the rest of the audience laughing at the heckler.

My personal favourite is to say "Don't tell me how to do my job! Do I come you your job and tell you how to sweep up?/flip burgers?/clean toilets?"

The scary part is that some of the people here really believe this stuff works.

I've never had to use any of these due to my doing mostly kid shows. I found these from a joke book for ventriloquist's. Thought they were funny so wanted to share them.
WAMP19- You actually tell someone to eat Sh**t? I hope that you are good at defending yourself. Usually your heckler is someone with an attitude problem anyway or intoxicated. These two groups don't take to something like that for the most part, I'd pick up on something else.

You really need to fight hecklers by giving them a taste of their own medicine... They are a particular breed of person...Almost a race of their own... If they are the only person u r presenting to just end the routine right there... If there are other specs there, say something or stop and give them a smug look and turn the rest of the specs against the heckler... Make them feel like they are ruining the presentation and the "good" time... Make them feel bad for being an a**hole... Or break out the routine that you know for sure that they don't know... Then heckle them... turn the tides into your favor and take control of the situation!!!

alot of those will instigate a fight more than it would get them to leave you alone

...Kick 'em in the Ding ding...

If a spectator is heckling it isn't that something is wrong with the spectator....

it's that you need better crowd control...

The above advice, while funny, would lose the support of the rest of the crowd.

When somebody starts getting out of hand, I try to deal with them positively, but give some hints that convince his/her friends to calm him down.

I had one guy who went on and on once though... he said 'I know that's impossible, you had to have done something' (really specific, huh)

and I started talking about movies... (I use movies in my patter a lot) and I ask if anybody saw the movie (ANY MOVIE HERE)

and I mention the scene where the hero dies as I'm shuffling. Then I put the deck down, and remark, "but you know what makes me angry, I just saw (ACTOR NAME) on TV yesterday. He wasn't even bruised....

I can't believe they tried to decieve me like that...[melodramatically] He didn't really die!!!

I am looking straight at the guy as I finish the last sentence.

he got the point,.

That was REALLY good, maybe I'll stop kicking people in the Ding-ding from now on


But, seriously that was a really good point.

I once saw Tom "Foolery" Mullica in Atlanta Ga. when he had his permanent show there in Buckhead. During one of his performances a man "started" to heckle and Tom laughed at what he said in an obviously over the top fashion. You know, he went :"ARRR-ar-ar-ar-ar!" and slapped his knee exageratedly. He then produced from no where a tiny squirt gun and gave the guy 3 squirts. It got a HUGE laugh from the audience and the guy was smacked down and well behaved for the rest of the performance.

Throw the deck on the ground if you are heckled. I hear that works.

Why would you just throw down your cards instead of trying to discover a clever way to actually deal with the situation in a way that is creative and will possibly make you abetter performer?

I was joking and refering to something silly someone said in a different thread. Now my post makes no sense.

i always have a blank card in my pocket with the following type of message on it:

"hi there. first,you picked this card because i wanted you to. second, im here to entertain which i cant do if your trying to ruin my performance. plese stop so that i can continue entertaining your friends"

if i get heckled i add this card to the deck and force it on the heckler.
that way i dont make him feel small or anger him,i dont lose audience support, and i dont have to rack my brain for tired anti heckler lines.

JackT

What GREAT idea!

How do you proceed from there? Do you have the "Conserternate-er" pick another card or what? It's such a good idea how do you play the rest of your bit once the "Heckler Stopper" card is forced?