I did tricks at school today and people kept wanting to do the same trick over and over but i told them i couldnt...because your not suppose to repeat a trick. so i went on showing just a few other tricks..how do i tell people that i cannot repeat a trick? usually they get mad when I say that i cant show them again.

thanks,

John

"Tricks only work once a day."

heh !

I just say "Sorry, it's the rules"

Or even more effective:

"Why?"

They usually say something along the lines of "Oh, I was hoping to see how in ^&^ ^& $�@� �%$^ you did that...."

It is obvious to them that they are answering their own question. It is very rare for me to come under serious pressure to repeat, and under those circumstances I do something similar, but actually totally different...

When they say do that again, I say, "okay look, pick another card" They get all excited thinking I'm going to do it again. And I say, "instead of having your card jump to the top [or whatever happened in the last effect] we're going to try something else" and do an equally impressive trick. It usually stops the questions because they realize you're not going to do it again. And by not even acknowledging their request, they seem to understand it's a moot point.

If you they're pestering you and it wasn't a card trick you just performed the same principle applies. Don't acknowledge the request, instead answer with another effect.

yea but thenthey go back and there all like..."no no no ...do that other one again"

Huh? Other one? What other one? I didn't see anything.

"Dude, I just showed you two illusions. Maybe you need to cool it a little, I don't want to overload you"

If they are your only audience then it's ok to put them on the spot a little. In which case:

"why?"

From here they could say


in which case;

"It's never so awsome the second time. That'd take the fun out"


or



" *smile* "


Treat those responses as flattery, it seems to be a very common reaction to a trick which is either really visual or really stumps them.

The answer to watch out for is:

or

Either they are lying, in which case you have failed to build a good relationship with your audience or maybe they just aren't the sort of person who will appreciate you, or, much worse, they really didn't understand what was going on. This is your fault, and you should think about how you can make your presentation clearer and more attractive. Either way, I think the best thing to do is apologise for being unclear. Either they deserve that apology, or it'll make them feel guilty about lying to someone who is only trying to entertain.

My opinion on doing tricks more than once for the same person... you can do it... with certain effects. I've recently gotten to be a HUGE fan of paper balls over the head. If you don't know this classic, I reccomend you learn it. It's great for comedy magic. Anyway, so for an example, this actually happened earlier this evening. I went to visit a friend at her work, and it was somewhat slow there so I managed to pull her and a friend of hers out from behind the counter to sit down for a couple minutes. So, I grabbed a couple of napkins and asked her friend if she wanted to play a game. Of course she said yes. Then I went ahead and performed the effect. I did two balls over her head and she was never the wiser until she started to look around for them. So, she managed to find one before I could grab her attention back to me. I took advantage of this to prove how I truly have "power over her mind". I went ahead and finished the effect and did it flawlessly. Even though she knew what was happening, she had no idea when. The misdirection that I use is quite strong, so I kept just getting her so bad on the offbeat. I ended up having a huge ball of napkins vanish and she never did figure out how I was getting them behind her without her seeing my hands going that way.

So, long story short, you can do the same effect for people, it's just a matter of knowing it well enough so they can't figure out the method.

well certain effects can be done more than once, and some work better the second time around, it varies really. but back to the main question, if asked to repeat a trick, I usually respond with something along the lines of "I can't........ it's a union thing"

i just transition to my next trick

say " hey let me make you dissapear " usually if you make them the specticle get them involved and if you dont like them humiliate them show them whos boss , you'll find people wont want to heckle any more

"I'll show you something more amazing. Watch." And proceed to the next effect in your routine. Hence why we must routine our effects in the right order as opposed to performing "tricks" at random. First and most important step is to start off with something not too amazing, and proceed with the routine while the effects beome stronger, until the end of the routine for the big kicker. If what you show them next is planned (routines) and will be even more amazing than the previous thing you showed them, then after you finish their mind will be stuck on THAT effect and they WON'T actually ask you to do the previous effect again. That goes for both sleights and gimmicks.

Just say you have something better to show them. Or a quick slap in the face
ohh and usally if you have something to give as in a signed card or coin, Do it when it matters the most it gets the croud to concentrait on that rather then asking you to do it again.
I like slaping them most of all though gets them on there toes.

i just say if i do it again theyll break my legs

There was great advice given recently on this forum, I can't remember who, but it went like this:

First time's entertainment, second time's a lesson.
Entertainment's free, lessons are $20 an hour.

Uses humor, stops the pestering, and allows you to either continue or finish the act.