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While he was working as a salesman for Apple Computers, Danny Archer asked a magician to show him how to perform a card trick.
Archer started using it as an ice-breaker during a sales presentation.
"They'd go from having their arms crossed to laughing," Archer, 43, says of the people he did his magic for.
Some companies know what Archer discovered: Magicians can be useful beyond entertainment at awards banquets. Companies hire magicians for trade shows, as motivational speakers and even as seminar trainers.
"Magicians are being used more and more in a corporate setting," says Archer who is now a corporate magician, living in Denver. "The underlying reasons: A good magician can make something memorable and unforgettable."
According to Exhibits Surveys Inc., magicians are the most effective attention-getting technique at trade shows, second only to product demos.
Like magic, people remember a company and a product. At trade shows, some companies spend millions of dollars on multiplex screens, attracting four or five people, while about 30 or 40 people are watching a magician doing a card trick, says Rick Allen, a 50-something corporate magician from Benicia, Calif., near San Francisco.
Not all magicians can do corporate training, Archer says. Orlando is home to one of the best corporate magicians, he says. That's Giovanni Livera, an Orlando native.
Pat Williams, manager at RDV Sports, says Giovanni is the best.
"He is a very unique talent," Williams says. "His ability is a notch below David Copperfield just on pure talent. But factor in his showmanship, the force of his personality, plus the motivational message, the uplifting he brings along with that that makes for a package that's unmatched. "
At 22, he worked as the official magician for the Magic basketball team. At 24, Giovanni captured the world championship of the International Brotherhood of Magicians in 1992. In addition, Giovanni is one of six magicians ever to receive a Gold Cup from the Brotherhood for Excellence in the art of closeup magic.
But instead of pursuing a career on a Las Vegas stage, Giovanni specializes in corporate entertainment.
"I love the creative part of tailoring my programs to their business. Over the...