Magician-Entertainer.co.uk

Four Ways to Get the Most Entertaining Speaker for Your Corporate Budget

Use a Speakers Bureau - a reputable bureau is paid by speakers, so their services won’t cost you anything. Plus, with a stable of thousands or celebrities, musicians, comedians and business speakers, they can help you to find someone that meets your needs, budget and schedule.

Book a Speaker As Far Ahead As Possible - remember that your speaker might have to travel a great distance to reach your event. By working months in advance you can minimize last second headaches and costs.

Ask for Condensed Demos of Speakers - your bureau can send you a few video highlights of speakers that match your needs. You can usually form a good opinion of the entertainer within a few minutes, so save time by asking for shortened demos.

Be mindful of your timing - Scheduling the best speaker in the world won’t do you (or your audience) any good if the audience is tired or bored. Make sure that you schedule your speaker for a time when your audience will be receptive.

While the economy has been rough all around lately, few people have experienced as many budget reductions as meeting planners. Whether it’s money for travel, facilities or catering costs, the situation is the same-planners are asked to make more out of less.

Somewhere in this new sea of corporate frugality, where meeting planners are struggling to find the best bargains for all aspects of a event, lie the mysterious fees and budgets devoted to speakers, musicians, comedians and other entertainers. Finding a ‘good deal’ for event entertainment can be tough, particularly because there are so many subjective factors that make it hard to compare any one type of entertainer to another. When looking through bios and demo tapes, it’s hard to size up respective motivational or inspiration speakers the way you might a more tangible product or service.

Even so, there are steps that event planners can take to get a great keynote speaker for fewer dollars. Below are a few tips that should help you stretch out the entertainment budget for your next corporate event:

Think Big Celebrity Names. Big names cost big money, so you can’t save money by booking big name celebrities, right? It really depends. Hiring well-known celebrity speakers costs a big chunk of cash up front, but it can also be a great way to generate a lot of positive buzz about your event-from your attendees as well as the media. Nothing quite excites people the same way as hearing a talk or having a book signed by one of their favorite TV or business personalities. Savvy event planners can take advantage of this fact by spending big bucks on a top shelf speaker and saving even more by capitalizing on free publicity instead of expensive advertising.

Of course, that strategy only works if you have an event that’s large enough to benefit from the increased publicity and attendance that a big name entertainer can bring. What about those planners who have either events or budgets too small to justify the upfront costs of well-known speakers? In that case, you can still save money and get some great entertainment speakers by keeping a few things in mind:

Know The Type of Entertainment Your Audience Will Appreciate.

Many times, a speaker or entertainer who would not be considered or even well known within the general public can be an icon, or even a hero, to a specific group. For instance, not many people would be familiar with motivational sales speakers. But to the men and women working in his former industry, the speaker might be considered an inspirational superstar.

Keep in mind, though, that it works both ways. A business speaker who seems to be a big draw for one gender or age group doesn’t always translate into a home run for another. If you aren’t sure if a certain entertainer will be known throughout your audience, take a couple of minutes to find out ahead of time.

Be Specific on What Type of Speaker or Entertain You Need.

One of the greatest things about today’s speakers market is that there’s something for just about everyone, no matter how specific the need. If you’re looking for business speakers on needlepoint techniques in a post-modern global economy-trust me, there’s someone out there. So, the real trick is pinpointing exactly what type of speaker or entertainer you need for your occasion. Are you looking for a motivational keynote? A technical expert? Humorous after-dinner entertainer? The more you can answer this question, the easier your search will be.

No matter what, just remember that with the thousands of speakers available, a knowledgeable, experienced speakers bureau can help you find someone who meets your taste and budget. You just have to be willing to follow these rules and look for a good deal.

Written By:
Matthew Sherwood is an Account Executive with Brooks International Speakers Bureau. You can reach him at 303-825-8700, or at matt@brooksinternational.com

This article is free for republishing
Source: http://www.a1articles.com/article_95850_50.html

The important things are sorted, the ring, the reception venue, the flowers, and now you are thinking about music for your wedding reception. Music is one of the most important elements of the entertainment for your wedding reception and key to creating the right party atmosphere.

Many factors will influence your choice of music. What are your tastes? How many guests are you inviting? What size band will suit your venue? What is your budget? Most wedding audiences include guests with a wide range of ages. How can you be sure that everyone will like the band or DJ?

There are a variety of styles of music from string quartets and harpists to big bands and specialist party bands. It is worth considering something you do not normally listen to as it may be a better fit with the venue for your wedding and the guests you have invited.

When to start looking for a wedding band or DJ

You should really start looking around 12 months before your wedding, especially if your reception will be held on a Saturday. Popular bands and DJs will often booked up more than a year in advance, so the earlier you start, the more you will have to choose from.

What to look for in a wedding band or DJ

When contacting a band or a DJ, ask for their play list. Good wedding music has a lot of variety so it will appeal to a wide range of tastes. A wedding band or DJ should be able to incorporate songs that you want to hear or exclude songs you definitely don’t want!

Make sure the band or DJ has plenty of experience performing at weddings. Seasoned professionals should be able to provide you with a list of venues or previous clients that recommend their services.

Many bands and DJs provide samples of their music and videos of performances on their websites or MySpace pages, and this is a great way to see them and hear what they sound like. But, it is always worth checking if you can see them performing live at any public events.

Above all, while negotiating with the band or DJ ensure you feel comfortable and can communicate easily with them. They should be willing to learn your wedding song and to give you the benefit of their experience in helping to organise your wedding celebration.

A DJ is a great option if your budget is small or if you are looking for more of a nightclub feel for your celebration. A range of DJ are available from a single DJ to more elaborate packages light shows, dancers and MCs.

Find party bands, wedding DJs and ceilidh bands and more in our entertainment directory!

Important questions to ask before booking music for your wedding

• Will the same musicians or DJ that I have seen or heard definitely be the one performing at my wedding?
• Does the band or DJ have Public Liability Insurance?
• Will the band or DJ need feeding?!
• How long will each set be and how long will each break be?
• Will taped music be provided during the breaks?

These tips and questions should help you choose the best wedding music for your big day, whether that is a band, string quartet, harpist, or DJ.

Professional magicians are often asked ‘How did you learn magic?’ This article explains how you can get started learning magic tricks.

People want to learn magic for different reasons. Some just want to do it for their personal enjoyment, while others want to take it really seriously and become a professional magician. Others just want an impressive magic trick to show their friends or impress the ladies!

How you go about learning magic depends on your reasons are for doing it.

To become a professional magician and learn all the skillful magical techniques, all the sleight of hand, takes time - you need to immerse yourself in magic. Watch as much magic on TV as you can, watch instructional videos, read magic books, find magic videos and instructions on the internet and talk to other magicians (join a magic club or society).

Of course, many people want something they can perform straight away. Look in your local library or old shops for books on magic. A lot of the magic books you will find in these places will be for people starting to learn magic. An important thing to remember is not to dismiss magic tricks that are easy to do - it is the presentation that counts. Experienced magicians know that the presentation of a trick requires as much practice (in fact more) as the moves and sleights needed.

You can also buy magic tricks, apparatus that do a lot of the work for you. A few words of caution though:

• Often the advertising blurb will say ’self working’ or ‘requires no skill’ - this is rarely, if ever, true. What this means is that the trick doesn’t require a special ’sleight’ or move. All tricks require practice and familiarity to be performed well.
• Magic tricks can be expensive because you pay for the secret as well as the physical item (and sometimes you wonder if the secret is worth it!)
• After you’ve performed your expensive new card trick, what happens next? Do you put that deck of cards away carefully and take out another? Hmmm, that doesn’t look like magic… Tricks that you buy tend to be good for one performance to one audience. If the trick was any good, and if you are in an informal situation, your audience is going to want more!

Probably the best magical apparatus you can buy are coin tricks. Coins are common objects that everybody carries. It’s not going to look strange if you take some change out of your pocket and say ‘Hey everyone, watch this…’. Classic coin tricks such as Coin Unique and Skotch and Soda are available from most magic shops, easy to do and look great. You can often perform more than one effect with them and build up a routine.

Remember, even though magic tricks that you buy from a shop may be easy to do, you still have to practice the routine and presentation until they are perfect before performing them.

Here are a couple of websites that offer more advice on getting into magic:

• Beginners’ Corner at the magic talk forum.
• Five Steps For Getting Started in Magic on the About.com site.

The word “corporate” comes from the Latin “Corpus”, meaning “body”. This leads to the idea that a corporation is something close to a group of people meant to act as one through their decisions. The main goal of corporate entertainment is to provide a sort of bondage between colleagues, or team members, even between the lower-ranking employees and their superiors, thus making the “organism” of the company work better. As you are about to see, human interconnections could prove themselves very important, so it wouldn’t hurt checking out what corporate entertainment is all about and how to get in touch with a corporate event organiser.

In most cases, human interconnections prove to be vital. Perhaps many people are familiar with that strangling feeling of being stuck in your office for days and weeks in a row, having to provide creative and effective solutions on command while being supervised by you team leader or department chief as the phone keeps ringing. This is the most certain path to developing frustration, tension between team members and so on. This is why corporate entertainment is so useful nowadays and many companies turn to a corporate event organiser. When more and more corporations come to life and the old ones keep growing, so does the need to relax a bit, to change the scenery and try to work in a different environment. We all hate that routine, don’t we? Well, I know I do…

Visit the UK Entertainer Directory for corporate entertainers and more information on entertainment for events and event management companies.

Corporate entertainment comes in many forms, for example outdoor activities such as sporting or travel. There are many clubs with multiple members from the same company and so on. Fitness, yachting, golf, tennis, rafting, you name it! People have a natural tendency to socialize, and entertainment encourages this. Anyone works better with a friend by their side instead of a stranger. Otherwise, we would all be a bunch of impassive and lonely machines.

Also, many business men or women, develop a way of life out of being part of a corporation and doing business, especially if they get to be high-ranked, so working in a relaxed or at least different environment from time to time could offer a recharge both spiritually and professionally, as well as personally.

Corporate forms of entertainment such as get-togethers are wonderful opportunities to discuss or review projects, marketing goals, to discuss merges or divisions and plan various events. And what better way could there be to discuss business plans, get approvals and so on than a reception or a dinner? Therefore, a corporate event organiser might always come in handy to organize such events. You could also require the agency to provide you with a corporate entertainer, a professional, to lighten up the spirits and to enhance the atmosphere of the party or reception.

A specialized site which offers exactly this type of very much appreciated service is eventsbyoccasion.com.

By going online (the easiest thing to do these days) and visiting this site, you can read a listing to find exactly the kind of event you want organized. This corporate event organizer will assist you in everything you need to get up and running for the entertainment of you company’s employees. There is also guidance concerning bands, banquet halls, limousines and even parades, if you don’t like getting by unnoticed…Just try it and see how easy it is to have fun!

About the Author Rick Martin
Of course, for more information regarding how to enhance the experience that people have coming to one of your company’s receptions, fund raisers or mere get-togethers, the web could always ease your way to find corporate entertainment , but our website is the place to start doing it the professional way.

Magic - Does It Make A Difference?

Magic is always… well… Magic no matter who is performing it, isn’t it?

Every magician has the same objectives and those objectives are to entertain, mystify and trick you into believing what he or she wants you to believe. Whether it is just a quick sleight of hand or a full blown professional production, every magician loves to entertain and mystify their audience.

David Blaine is the same person now, when he is performing amazing tricks for millions, as he was when he started performing magic tricks on the streets of New York years ago. His objectives are the same now as then…to entertain, mystify and trick you into believing what he wants you to believe.

Magicians come in all shapes, sizes, ages, races and religions. Magic is universal. Music is the universal language… it is written and played the same all over the world and magic is the universal form of entertainment for both the young and old alike.

For close-up magicians at your event visit the UK Entertainer Directory. The site also includes a number of magicians who perform for children.

There is no need to speak the same language or be the same age, shape, size or religion as the magician who is entertaining you; it’s all about the trick itself and the showmanship of the magician that make magic a universal form of entertainment.

A great trick or illusion is great all over the world again and again, and again.

There are two universal skills that becoming proficient at performing magic tricks requires in every language and by want-to-be magicians of every shape, size and age all over the world, as well.

One requirement (first and foremost) is practice.

Practice, practice, practice! Your trick has to become a natural part of your conversation and your movements. A flawed execution of a trick pulls the curtain back on the magician and the entertainment value plummets.

The other is passion for the art of magic.

Neither can be bought, begged, stolen or sold. It burns within like a flame that cant be extinguished and it is this passion that fuels the desire to practice and hone the skills.

Those who have a burning desire to perform magic tricks are all entertainers at heart… whether they are your 10-year-old nephew who just got his first magic kit or the David Blaine’s and David Copperfields of the world.

So pay attention when that 10-year-old nephew asks you to pick a card… pick any card, you might be seeing greatness in the making.

About the Author Tammy Foster

For more information on magic tricks be sure to visit www.magic.web-sitings.com where you will find advice and tips on card tricks, coin tricks, magic spells, and how you can start dazzling your audiences.

www.guidesforbrides.co.uk

In addition to the usual supplier directory, this site includes a wedding planner where you can create your own web page to display information about your wedding.

Another useful feature is the wedding fair diary where you can search by region for wedding fairs across the UK.

www.confetti.co.uk

Confetti is one of the biggest UK wedding websites and includes information on just about every aspect of organising a wedding. Like most wedding websites it has a massive supplier directory covering every UK region which includes wedding venues, photographers, jewellers and bridal wear.

The most useful parts of the website are it’s extensive wedding advice section and the section for men, which is quite an unusual feature as most wedding sites concentrate on the bride.

The only problem with Confetti is it’s size - it can be difficult to know where you are in the site and find the information you want. To get past this use the search box which is at the top of every page and is very effective.

www.hitched.co.uk

Hitched.co.uk is another wedding website with an extensive range of information. This includes useful sections on choosing a wedding photographer and a wedding videographer.

A great feature of this site is the speeches section which has a lot of useful information on writing best man, bride, father of the bride and maid of honour speeches.

Check out our wedding resources page for more useful wedding websites.

Why is a Wedding Entertainer Important?

A wedding or civil partnership is one of the most special days in two people’s lives and a day of celebration shared with family and friends.

The wedding entertainment you choose helps to create and maintain the air of celebration, turning the day into a really memorable event. Entertainment at a wedding or civil partnership has many practical uses as well, such as adding structure to the day and breaking the ice between guests.

A Magician as a Wedding Entertainer

Magic is the ideal form of entertainment for a wedding because it is versatile, flexible and suitable for a mixed family audience. Most people, young and old, enjoy magic and an experienced wedding entertainer will be able to perform for all ages.

Despite being more popular than ever, a lot of people have only ever seen magic on television. Seeing magic performed ‘live’ is quite a novelty for most people and will make your wedding day even more special.

Close-Up Magic for Weddings

Close-up magic and illusion is the most versatile and flexible form of magical entertainment. A close-up magician doesn’t require any special equipment or facilities such as power or a public address system and will usually carry all his or her props in their pockets. Also, it only takes a few minutes for a professional magician to get ready before they start entertaining.

Compared to many of the things that need organising for a wedding, the close-up magician is easy - tell him the date and time, and leave him to it!

A close-up wedding magician will mingle with guests, either seated at tables or standing in small groups, and spend a few minutes with each group entertaining them with amazing magic. It is a great way to break the ice amongst people who have never met before because they come together while enjoying the entertainment.

It also provides a great talking point, even for those not directly involved in the magic at a particular time. While the magician is entertaining one group, everyone else is wondering about the sounds of astonishment and laughter coming from across the room. And those who have already seen the magician are discussing what they have just witnessed and trying to work out ‘just how did he do that?!’

Close-up magic can fit into any part of the big day. There can be times at weddings and civil partnership celebrations when not much is happening, especially for the guests. Close-up magic can fill these lulls and turn them into a highlight. For example:

• When guests are arriving at the reception or waiting in the reception line.
• While the wedding party are being photographed.
• While guests are waiting for the meal to start.
• Between the courses of the meal (especially if there are a lot of guests to cater for).
• While guests are waiting for the buffet.
• Between the daytime and evening functions.

A professional wedding entertainer will not be too intrusive and will enhance your special day without detracting from it or taking it over.

De Montfort Hall is probably the largest live entertainment venue in Leicester and hosts a wide variety of national and international performers such as mentalist and psychological illusionist Derren Brown, pop bands such as McFly, traditional entertainers like Ken Dodd and classical music played by the Philharmonia Orchestra. (See the UK Entertainer Directory for classical musicians at your event.)

De Montfort Hall also offer an Executive Club for entertaining corporate clients and staff. It provides access to some of the best entertainment in the country, and an exclusive bar area if hosting a reception or party, free parking, and advanced notice of concerts and events. Membership can be tailor-made to suit your organisation and can include everything from corporate events to full-blown season sponsorship.

Other venues in Leicester for events and entertainment include Houston’s bar and restuarant (a popular venue for parties and events), De Montfort University Student Union (www.mydsu.com) and the University of Leicester live entertainment venue (http://www.le.ac.uk/su/). The UK Entertainer Directory lists more entertainers in Leicester and Leicestershire.

In a nutshell, magic has it all. Mystery, suspense, excitement, surprise, humour, and uniquely, it can generate childlike wonder in the most cynical observer. There is a style of magic to suit every taste, from the grandest stage illusions to inexplicable mind reading to a coin changing in your hand - magic can entertain everyone. Most importantly, it is the only form of entertainment that can give us a glimpse of the impossible.

Magic has come a long way and has just about broken free from the ‘rabbit in a hat’ cliché. International entertainers and magicians like David Blaine and Penn and Teller, and UK stars like Max Somerset and Derren Brown have dragged magic into the 21st century. There are now numerous talented professional magician and other related entertainers, such as hypnotists and mind readers, who provide entertainment for events throughout the UK.

So why don’t you get in on the act? Book a magical entertainer for your next party, wedding, banquet or corporate function - get the best form of entertainment going and make your event one to remember!

The UK Entertainer Directory is a new site for finding entertainers and performers in the UK. There is a big demand for entertainment at weddings, parties and corporate events, and this directory allows people go straight to the performer rather than through agents.

Listings in the directory provide a link to the entertainers or performers site, a short description of the entertainment service they offer and contact information. Listings are organised into a variety of categories, including one for magicians (with sub categories for close-up, cabaret and stage magicians, and illusionists), massive ones for general musicians and classical musicians (big because of the number of different styles of music and bands), and other categories for more unusual entertainers and acts like circus performers, comedy waiters, drag acts, after dinner speakers and living statues.

From the point of view of people looking to book an entertainer, the site is pretty easy to use. All the categories are listed on the front page, so users can click on them to browse whatever type of performer they are after. There is also a search function for finding specific listings and an option to find entertainers in a particular region.

The site is a useful resource both for people who know what type of entertainment they want for their event and for bookers looking for ideas and more unusual entertainers.