Cold Reading

The following is 13 points to understand cold reading (inspired by Ray Hyman´s Guide to Cold Reading):

1) The key ingredient for a successful character reading is the reader´s confidence

If the reader looks and acts as if she believes in what she is doing, she will, because of subjective validation, be able to sell even a bad reading to most subjects. One danger of playing the role of reader is that the reader may actually begin to believe that she really is divining her subject´s true character. She is then caught in ego-inflation (see my article The ego-inflation in the New Age and self-help environment).

2) Many cold readers make creative use of the latest statistical abstracts, polls and surveys

These can provide the reader with much information about what various subclasses in our society believe, do, want, worry about etc. For example, if the reader can ascertain a subject´s place or origin, educational level, and his/her parents´ religion and vocations, the reader has gained information which should allow her to predict with high probability his/her voting preferences and attitudes to many subjects.

Most of the time readers also utilize known principles of psychology that apply to nearly everyone; or simply: they use generalities.

3) The reader will set the stage for her reading

The reader will profess a modesty about her talents. She makes no excessive claims. She will then catch her subject off guard. She isn´t challenging them to a battle of wits – she can read his/her character, whether he/she believes her or not.

4) The reader will gain the subject´s cooperation in advance

The reader will emphasize that the success of the reading depends as much on the subject´s cooperation as on her efforts. After all, the reader implies she already has a successful career at character reading (the thought distortion Truth by authority is central here). The reader is not on trial, but her subject is! 

The reader will state that due to difficulties of language and communication, she may not always convey the mening she intends. In these cases, the subject must strive to fit the reading to his/her own life. The reader accomplishes two valuable ends with this dodge – Firstly, she has an alibi in case the reading doesn´t click: it is the subject´s fault, not her! Secondly, her subject will, again because of subjective validation, strive to fit the reader´s generalities to his/her specific life circumstances. Later, when the subject recalls the reading, the reader will be credited with much more detail than she actually provided! This is crucial. Her reading will only succeed to the degree that the subject is made an active participant in the reading, and therefore that subjective validation is active in the subject. 

The good reader is the one who, deliberately or unwittingly, forces the subject to search his/her mind to make sense of her statements  

5) Some readers use gimmicks, such as Tarot cards, crystal ball, palm reading etc.

Use of props serves two valuable purposes. Firstly, it lends atmosphere to the reading. Secondly, (and more importantly) it gives the reader time to formulate her next question/statement. Instead of just sitting there, thinking of something to say, she can be intently studying the cards/crystal ball etc. She may opt to hold hands with her subject – This helps her feel the subject´s reactions to her statements. If she is using, say, palmistry (the reading of hands) it helps if she has studied some manuals, and have learned the terminology. This will allow her to more quickly zero in on her subject´s chief concerns – “do you wish to concentrate on the heart line or the wealth line?”

6) The reader will have a list of stock phrases at the tip of her tongue

Even during a cold reading, a liberal sprinkling of stock phrases will add body to the reading and will help the reader fill in time while she formulates more precise characterisations. The reader uses them to start her readings. Palmistry, tarot and other fortune telling manuals are a key source of good phrases. 

7) The reader keeps her eyes open!

The reader will size the subject up by observing his/her clothes, jewellery, mannerisms and speech. Even a crude classification based on these can provide the basis for a good reading. The reader will also watch carefully for her subject´s response to her statements, and notice when she is hitting the mark!

8) The reader will use the technique of fishing

This is simply a technique to get the subject to tell the reader about his/herself. Then the reader will rephrase what she has been told and feed it back to the subject. 

One way of fishing is that the reader says something at once vague and suggestive – (notice that readers never say anything directly – they are alwaysfishing!) – e.g., “I´m getting a strong feeling about....” (something). The reader will have committed to memory such things as the most common male and female names and a list of items likely to be lying about the house such as an old calender, a photo album, newspaper clippings, and so on. The reader also works on certain themes that are likely to resonate with most people who consult clairvoyants: love, money, career, health, and travel. 

If the subject responds, positively or negatively, the reader´s next move is to play off the response. If the response is positive then the reader will say something like: “Yes, I can see that,” anything to reinforce the idea that she was more precise than she actually was.

If the subject gives a negative response the reader might reply: “Yes, I see that you´ve suppressed a memory about it. You don´t want to be reminded about it. Something painful. Yes, I feel it, it is in the lower back (fishing)...oh, now its in the heart (fishing)...umm, there seems to be a sharp pain in the head (fishing)...or the neck (fishing).” 

If the subject gives no response, the reader will leave the area, having firmly implanted in everybody´s mind that the reader really did “see” something but the subject´s suppression of the event hinders both the reader and the subject from realizing the specifics of it. If the subject gives a positive response to any of the fishing expeditions, the reader will follow up with more of “I see that very clearly, now. Yes, the feeling in the heart is getting stronger.” 

Another way of fishing is that the reader is phrasing each statement as a question, and then waiting for reply. For example: “I sense that you have a strong feeling for...(someone/something)...am I right?” If the reply or reaction is positive, then the reader will turn the statement into a positive assertion, etc. Often the subject will respond by answering the implied question and then some. Later, the subject will forget that he/she was the source of the information – this is called “source amnesia” (forgetting the source of information) and is a very common occurrence – especially when enforced by subjective evaluation. By making her statements into questions, the reader also forces the subject to search his/her memory to retrieve specific instances to fit the reader´s general statement.

9) A reader is a good listener

During the course of a reading the clairvoyant´s client will be bursting to talk about incidents that are brought up. The good reader allows the client to talk at will. Afterwards the clients often will praise the reader for having astutely told them what in fact they had spoken themselves. Another value of listening is that most clients that seek the services of a reader actually want someone to listen to their problems. In addition, many clients have already made up their minds about what choices they are going to make. They merely want support to carry out their decision.

10) The reader will dramatise her reading

The reader will give back what little information she does have or pick up a little bit at a time. She will make it seem more than it is. She will build word pictures around each divulgence, and she will not be afraid of hamming it up.

11) The reader always gives the impression that she knows more than she is saying

The succesful reader, like the family doctor, always acts as if she knows much more. Once she has persuaded the subject that she knows one item of information that she couldn´t possible have known (through normal channels) the subject will assume that she knows all! At this point, the subject will open up and confide in her.

12) A reader is not afraid to flatter her subject at every opportunity

An occasional subject will protest, but will still lap it up. In such cases, the reader can add: “You are always suspicious of those who flatter you. You just can´t believe that someone will say something good about you without an ulterior motive”.

13) The reader will always tell the subject what he/she wants to hear!