How misdirection can help with nerves
The wonderful book "The Complete Al Leech', contains a whole chapter on mis-direction, it is in my opinion one of the best materials ever on the subject. A snippet of what Al Leech talks about is how mis-direction can help with nerves, which struck me as a really practical solution to an issue we all have from time to time, shaky hands.
Now nerves usually comes when trying a new sleight, most pro's don't get shakey hands because they have doing the same schlick for years, but amateurs though possibly just as skillful, get the jitters because they are airing new material all the time. Practice will only help nerves so far. Part of the problem is we concentrate on a new move so much it becomes our main focus and worry. Consequently all naturalness can go out the window, as we become tense.
Al suggests adding some misdirection for the move so that effectively even if it is a bit sloppy it will go unnoticed. It's not an excuse for sloppy sleights of course, but knowing your hands aren't being burned when trying a new move should help you relax. Everyone does it for the top change or the pass so why not do it the latest addition to your arsenal. It doesn't have to be much, a gesture or a look will do but every bit helps. For more tips on exactly this kind of misdirection and demostrations, I suggest checking out 'The Magic of John Ramsay' DVDs by Andrew Galloway.
Some tricks have built in misdirection e.g they show their friends the choosen card whilst you do what needs to be done. If the card has already been returned, which is normally the case, there is no reason why you can't ask them to "recap the pen", "move the glass" or "check the card box is empty" for example.
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