The Convention Experience

I hugged my dear friend Jim as we parted for the final time.

The convention was over, and I had that familiar, bittersweet feeling.

On one hand, I was exhausted and looking forward to getting back to life as normal.

But I enjoyed the convention experience: seeing old friends, getting stimulated by lectures, and giving lectures.

I’m relatively new to magic conventions, having only attended five in my lifetime. But I’ve attended a lot of hypnosis conventions.

I’ve learned a few things that can help you maximize your own convention experience.

Bear in mind, this may all differ based on your experience level in magic.

When I started going to magic conventions, I was already an experienced pro.

If you’re just starting, you may be tempted to forgo some of the tips I’m going to outline.

Trust me, the following tips will enhance your convention experience.

• Don’t try to go to every presentation.

To me, this is key.

Conventions are wonderful creatures. But they can be overwhelming.

When I started going to conventions, I wanted to stuff my brain with as much useful information as possible.

This was years ago when I was building my hypnotherapy practice.

At the National Guild of Hypnotists annual convention, there were a ton of classes you could take.

Throughout the ‘main’ Friday through Sunday convention, you could take any number of one-, two-, or three-hour classes.

Most of the time, up to eight different classes were starting every hour.

It was impossible to see them all.

The classes would run all day, so you could attend as many as ten classes a day.

That doesn’t count the pre- and post-convention full-day or multi-day classes.

That’s a lot of learning.

The first two years I attended the conference I tried to attend as many as I could.

I thought I was doing myself a favor.

What I wound up doing was becoming so ‘crammed’ with information that I only used a tenth of what I ‘learned.’

So don’t try to go to every class.

Afraid you’ll miss something very cool or worthwhile?

Many conventions have recordings of classes available for purchase.

This way, you can get everything you want and absorb it later at a more relaxed pace.

Admittedly, this is less of a concern at smaller specialized conventions.

The wonderful Kidabra convention offers plenty of workshops and lectures, but it’s not crammed to the breaking point like the hypnosis conference.

Still, I found myself gravitating toward visiting with my friends. But I’ll get to that later.

• Don’t try to implement everything you’ve learned.

Even if you minimize what you take in at a convention, it’s likely still going to be too much to act on in one key area.

Routines.

The magic conventions I’ve attended emphasized learning new tricks or routines.

There’s nothing wrong with that.

But if you’re a working pro, trying to shoehorn all these new routines into your working sets is going to be problematic.

Why? Simple.

All that new material needs smoothing out.

I don’t care how polished that new routine you learned from the presenter is.

It’s going to be new to YOU.

You’ll need time to become comfortable with the scripting, blocking, and mechanics of the effect.

This is a normal part of adding new stuff to our shows.

Now imagine trying to add, let’s say, six new routines to your show.

You’ve got all this new material you’re not comfortable with.

And it will likely show.

Don’t misunderstand me.

I’m not saying to stop learning new stuff.

Simply be mindful about adding too much new stuff to a given set list at once.

Space it out.

Get comfortable with one new routine. Then consider adding another.

When you do this, something wonderful happens.

The new stuff percolates in the back of your mind.

And when you’re ready to add it to your show, your subconscious has been working on it in the background.

You may wind up with something more wonderful.

Here’s an example.

A few months back I bought the effect “Toon Balloon” for my Halloween shows.

If you’re not familiar with it, it’s an animated balloon effect. You draw a face on a balloon.

Suddenly, the mouth starts moving.

Plenty of opportunity for comedy, venting, etc.

When I bought it, I originally intended to use the balloon as a sort of Jack O’Lantern effect.

It’s been suiting in my office for so long that when I finally started working with the effect, I came up with a brand-new routine.

Now the balloon is going to be “Franken-Balloon,” with kids offering suggestions on how the balloon’s face should be created.

More opportunity for engagement, even before the magic happens.

That’s because my subconscious mind has been working on the effect in the background.

Cool stuff.

• Listen

My final point on enhancing your convention experience is simply to listen.

You meet the coolest people at conventions.

I’m content to let them talk most of the time.

I’m a pretty shy person when I’m not on stage.

So in social situations, I’m happy to listen and let others lead the conversation.

You learn so much incredible information this way.

About magic, marketing, and just what makes people ‘tick.’

In conventions, there is an accepted ’truism’ that the biggest value in the attendee experience is the unintended, spontaneous conversations you have in the hallways.

I’ve definitely found that to be true.

Adding to that point, many professional magicians lead solitary work lives.

Many of us drive alone to gigs.

We perform alone.

We do our marketing alone.

So conventions can be good for the soul.

Enjoy your next convention.

I know I will.

Have a great week!

--Cris

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