“There are only two kinds of stage hypnotists: those who have had a disastrous show, and those who are going to.”
Member of Hypnothoughts
Online Community
I now fall into the first category as I have put on a
terribly disappointing and unfulfilling show.
It has taken me two days to emotionally recover to the point that I
could write this blog post.
This past Sunday I hosted
an event to honor the Operation Renewed Hope Foundation (ORHF), a charitable
group that provides financial and support services to homeless veterans. I support ORHF because of the importance of their
mission and the respect I have for the group’s founders and
leadership.
The good news is that I helped fill the Splash
Lounge in Rockville with nearly 70 guests, including a myriad of my own friends
and family. This helped ORHF raise
enough money through raffle ticket sales and donations to make it a worthwhile
evening.
That’s the extent of the positive. The venue’s service was sluggish and poor; the
DJ playlist and musical entertainment arranged by the event’s other organizer
missed the mark; and my show was dreadful.
Here the low-lights from the Hypnotic Experience
show:
--The
set-up of the venue was not conducive for a hypnosis show. Bright lights and loud music was pumping
through the speakers prior to the show.
Food and drink orders were shouted out from the kitchen. The Confederations Cup soccer game was playing
on the TVs ringing the bar. No
excuses: it is my responsibility to work
with the venue prior to the event to construct the right environment.
--Guests
and the restaurant’s staff would not quiet down when I attempted to begin my
performance.
I tried a couple of approaches to engage those chatting the crowd, yet
was unsuccessful at commanding the room.
It resulted in a disjointed start of the show and positioned me as
having little control.
--I
mixed in nearly 20 minutes of additional stand-up comedy as part of my pre-talk
and it bombed.
My anecdotes ran way too long, resulting in audience annoyance at the
pay-off. Plus, I confused the
crowd. Was this a comedy routine or a
hypnosis show?
--The
hypnotic induction was unsuccessful because I had my volunteers initially focus
on a part of the room where there was a lot of activity and background noise. What a mistake! There is nothing worse than a demonstration
of the power of visualization when no one is able to visualize.
--And finally (and most important), I have been on
such a run of super
shows that I was over-confident and arrogant. Did I prepare enough? Did I think through how to construct the best
possible show? No…and as a result, the
guests had only a so-so time.
I’m moving forward now and using this set-back as
inspiration to grow, get better and have more respect for future audiences
.
A Hypnothoughts member shared these words of
encouragement in a note he sent me after hearing of my poor showing:
“Hey, best of all, you've already experienced a
terrible show... the next 1000 will be child's play!”
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