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| Yours truly presenting his balloon lecture at a children's entertainer convention. |
How to twist up to 100 balloons per hour and nobody waits in line.
For some reason many balloon twisters get defensive when they read this article I wrote. They spend more energy figuring out why it won't work instead of actually giving it a try. Odd.
Imagine you've been booked to entertain hundreds of families, mostly children, and you decide that the entire group must wait in line while you amaze and amuse them ONE AT A TIME! Sounds absurd? It is, but that's exactly what the vast majority of balloon twisters do at every gig.
Nobody likes waiting in line, especially parents with children eager to get a balloon. Waiting makes people edgy, irritable and generally unpleasant. So why do balloon twisters force their audience to stand in a line? I suppose because everybody else does it that way. I think it's mainly because balloon twisters don't see what they do as entertainment. They think of themselves as balloon factories, no more than a refreshment booth at a festival or a fast food restaurant... you want fries with that poodle? For them, the emphasis is on the balloon not the entertainment factor.
Years ago I got a great gig... twisting balloons in the food court of a large mall every Saturday and Sunday, about 5 hours each day. I averaged about 70-100 balloons per hour, or 700-1000 balloons each weekend. It was hard work, but incredibly fun! I was paid directly by the mall, and they even covered the cost of the balloons. This gig lasted about 3 years. Here's what happened...
