Change Feels Risky - Insights From a Motivational Speaker

The Magic of Lower Stakes: How I Tricked Fear into Letting People Learn

In a recent episode of Change Signal, John Zeratsky shared a game-changing insight about leading change:

“Treat change like an experiment. Lower the stakes, increase the learning.”

That resonated hard—because it mirrors something I learned not in a boardroom, but in front of a birthday party crowd with a pack of cards in my hand.

One of the biggest hurdles in teaching magic is not the sleight of hand itself.

It’s the fear.

Magic is binary:
It works, or it doesn’t.
You fool them, or you fail.

And failure in front of people? That feels like humiliation with a spotlight and a soundtrack.

So I started giving beginners a way around it. A simple script change:

Instead of saying, “Wanna see a trick?”, I had them say:
“Watch this… whaddya think?” 

That tiny shift changed everything.

“Wanna see a trick?” sets up a high-stakes expectation.
“Watch this?” is low-stakes and curious—it invites feedback, not judgment.

If the move worked, the audience would go: "Whaaa… amazing!"
If not, the student could say: “Thanks! Can I try again? Tell me if it’s any better.” 

No shame. Just learning.
No pressure. Just progress.

This is the kind of shift we need in all change efforts.
Drop the expectations. Create space for safe stumbles.
Encourage curiosity instead of perfection.

Because when we lower the stakes, people show up.
And when people show up, change happens.

🔁 Try this in your next team meeting, sales call, or strategy session:
Don't pitch the “trick.”
Just say, "Watch this… what do you think?"
What happens next could be amazing.