Learning ventriloquism is not hard. It will take a little bit of time and practice, though. The good news is the practice can be lots of fun. And when you hear an audience laughing along with you and your figure it will be worth all the effort.

When you start practicing vent, it can be helpful to hold a pencil or popsicle stick in your mouth when you’re talking for your puppet. If you lips move – the pencil falls out. Then you know you’re not quite doing it right. With practice you’ll be able to speak for your puppet and keep your lips perfectly still. This is what forms the illusion of ventriloquism.

Ventriloquist use to sit with their figures seated on their lap. Today, most vents have a stand where their puppets stand or sit. This makes it easier for the audience to see your figure and his actions. It’s best if you can be on an eye to eye level with your puppet.

When you’re starting out it’s best to limit your practice sessions to 20 minutes or less. This will keep you from straining your voice. After you’ve practiced for a week or two you can lengthen the practice sessions.
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How to end your act.

Magicians have a rule – always end your show with your best trick or illusion. Singers do the same thing. If they’re known for a certain song they always save it for their big finale. You should make sure your act ends on your best joke. Try to always leave the audience laughing.

When you’re eventually doing a 30-minute show instead of just a 10 minute act, you’ll probably want to use more than one figure. For a 30-minute show you’ll need three or four different figures. It’s good to use a variety of characters. You might want to have one or two animal puppets as well as a child or older person puppet.

Be sure and vary the lengths of your acts. You might do a short five minute skit or song with an animal puppet. As we talked about above, use your best vent figure as your closing act. Your ending skit can be ten minutes or so with a few stories included.
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