Murray SawChuck Magician and Comedian on the Power of Deception, Listening, Appreciation and More
This 30-minute Meaningful Meetings show with a comedian and magician sheds light on the power of deception, what one can learn from it, and much more about appreciation and paying it forward.Click here for links to information about EEA engagement solution providers.
Murray Sawchuck has dubbed himself "The Dennis the Menace of Magic.” He has been a headliner at Las Vegas for more than 22 years. He burst on to the scene after becoming a semi-finalist on NBC TV’s “America’s
Got Talent,” on which he was seen by over 22 million people nationwide. He apparently astonished judges Piers Morgan, Sharon Osbourne and Howie Mandell when he produced a Ferrari out of thin-air, transformed a girl in a locked cage into a 450-pound tiger and by making disappear an entire steam train locomotive, all before a live audience. His YouTube show now has over 1 billion views, and he’s a regular guest expert on magic on History Channel’s “Pawn Stars. He has been featured on over 20 reality shows. His act often consists of a mix of comedy, illusions, and magic.
Click here to view and/or listen to the show.
- SawChuck has built a satisfying life that enables him to do what he enjoys doing, live comfortably, travel and meet people in all walks of life, and support the charities important to him. Like with most successful people, the path to success was lined with challenges and setbacks. Here are highlights of what SawChuck has learned as a magician, comedian, and businessperson that he shared with host Bruce Bolger and co-host Jaki Baskow, Founder and CEO of Baskow Talent.
- Many people are readily fooled and subject to manipulation. For instance, he says there are ways for a magician to get many to believe just about anything. “It’s all in the way you speak to somebody or the inflection. For instance, when I’m asking someone to pick a card in a trick, the way I ask them to do it can in fact guide them to the card I want them to take.”
- People often don’t want to believe they have been fooled and may even double down on their misperceptions. “With so much misinformation, it’s critical that people always be circumspect about information even when it supports their own point of view,” he advises.
- Listening is critical to success in life, business, politics, he believes. Listening, he asserts, isn’t about speaking and letting someone respond. It’s about listening first, then speaking. A failure to listen, SawChuck believes, is a fundamental roadblock to success in any domain. In business, that means making it a practice to listen to everyone at every level—from the janitors, warehouse employees, technicians, to senior salespeople and engineers. Echoed by Baskow, he believes organizations experience enormous unmeasured waste in terms of low productivity, indifference, lack of innovation because of a failure to listen.
- Listening is a powerful motivator. “There are so many people who tell me how much they wished their management would listen to them.”
- Companies often lose their soul when they grow beyond the original employees and customers and the founder loses touch. As owner of a landscaping business in Las Vegas, one of his multiple ventures, SawChuck says he takes the time to work side by side with employees. “You can’t believe what you learn when you do that, including better ways to do the job or new services to offer your clients.”
- Expressing appreciation and gratitude are critical and at every level, he believes. He says he rewards loyalty and exceptional work with a hand-delivered engraved watch to people at every level in his business and show productions, or when someone has worked for him for a long while.
- Be honest in business, he urges, and that includes sales and marketing. He and co-host Jaki Baskow agree that there is a growing appetite for authenticity in business. “There are days when I don’t want to go on stage,” ShawChuck says. “I might be feeling sick or otherwise have had a tough day. Instead of trying to hide it, depending upon how I feel, I might walk on stage with a cup of tea, sit down on a stool, and be honest. This isn’t my best day, but you have all bought tickets to come see me, and I am going to do my best to put on a great show. You’d be surprised at the applause I get, and how that in turn energizes me to do a better show.”
- In his appearances at corporate events, he says he incorporates magic in two ways, starting on stage by weaving tricks into the story and then in breakouts in which attendees learn together how to do magic. He also weaves magic into what he believes are the principles for a successful life and organization: Motivation, Attitude, Gratitude, Investment, and Conquer. Working with event planners to understand the purpose and goals of the event, he says he develops a program to “help attendees find their true potential, embrace their individuality and pursue their dreams and aspirations.”
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