Want to be a hit at the next party? Perform a cold reading, and you can amaze - maybe even frighten - people with your psychic abilities. Don't worry though; no actual psychic ability is required. Cold reading is a classic trick used by magicians, soothsayers, TV psychics, and other entertainers and charlatans. By asking a person the right questions, listening carefully, and making a guess or two, you can convince even many skeptics that you really are able to communicate with the spirit world.
1. Choose a subject. The "subject" is the person on whom you will perform the cold reading.
* Sometimes cold readers will choose a subject well in advance based on information they know about that person but which that pers on does not know they know. Select the person you will "cold read" ahead of time if possible. The more time you have to learn about your subject, the better. Some cold readers actually have accomplices visit or interview the subject prior to the cold reading so that the cold reader can then use this information to dazzle the subject and the audience.
* Asking for a volunteer is also a good way to choose someone, as volunteers are likely to be receptive and, more importantly, will likely want to believe that you can communicate with the dead or that you can see things about the m that you should have no way of knowing. However, watch out for skeptics (see Warnings below).
* "Shotgun" the audience. Shotgunning is a technique in which you make one or more broad general statement, such as "I'm sensing someone who has had some marital problems recently," or "There's someone named, I think, Billy, that's asking to communicate with his granddaughter." As you address these statements to the audience, watch for reactions. There's almost certainly someone who has recently had marital problems or whose grandfather went by the name Billy. You, of course, don't yet know who, but people's reactions - especially their body language - will give them away. You can try to refine your "knowledge" by then making more specific assertions, such as, "This Billy, he lived a long life. He used to enjoy fishing, no hunting maybe - being in the outdoors." Focus on the people who reacted to your very broad first statement, and then look for further reactions. When you're pretty sure you've hit the mark with someone, call them up (if they haven't already run up to you jumping and screaming, "It's me!"). Using this technique allows you to gain the subject's confidence and to amaze the audience before the reading has even begun.
2. Observe your subject. Even if you have only a little time to get to know your subject, you can still learn a lot by "profiling" your subject .
* Look at readily available visual clues about the person that will tell you something about them. Their age, the way they dress, whether they have any deformities or unusual features, their height and weight, the presence or absence of a wedding ring - there are a multitude of clues that can help you immediately learn more about the person.
* Read the subject's body language. Before the reading starts and throughout your cold reading, watch the subject's body language carefully. Involuntary gestures, facial expressions, and changes in posture can tell you whether the person is becoming anxious, which is usually a good sign that you have said something that is correct or are about to do so. Looks of disappointment can signal that you've said something wrong, and if you correct yourself slyly and quickly, the person and the audience (if there is an audience present) will be amazed at your correction. Learn as much as you can about body language, but most importantly, just pay attention.
3. Make a mental list of assumptions about the person. As you observe the subject, think about certain things that you could reasonably guess about them. You don't actually want to make too many guesses, but it helps to sort of build a character in your mind. Some of your assumptions will be wrong, but you'll get aro und this little problem.
4. Prepare the subject. When you meet the pers on, look in their eyes and tell them, if you ha ven't already, that you can communicate with the spirit world. Introduce yourself and get the subject's name. Try to make them comfortable talking to you, but at the same time try to make them a little nervous about what is to come. Explain that the person on the "other side" really wants to communicate with them, but that you are merely a vessel or a go-between, and you will need the subject's help. This makes the reading more dramatic, prepares the subject for the possibility of mistakes, and enlists their cooperation. Be modest about your abilities, but display a quiet confidence.
5. Go fishing. If you're a professional, you may hav e studied statistical information about people, you may be trained to read body language, you may even have accomplices that help you, but let's face it: you still know hardly anything about the person sitting in front of you. If you just start making guesses, you'll almost certainly be wrong, but if you ask questions, you'll get the right answers from the subject himself. For example, you could clarify what you learned in shotgunning by asking, "Now, Billy, he's your grandfather?" Ask questions in such a way so that they can be perceived as statements. That way, if the subject affirms your question, it will seem as though you knew the answer. If the subject indicates that Billy was not his or her grandfather, however, it's okay--you were j ust asking a question.
6. Build on the answers to your questions. Most of the time, the subject will volunteer more information than is necessary. He might say something like, "No, Billy was my uncle. He lived on a farm." You now actually know something about your subject, which is more than you could say before. By using this information to ask more questions you can give the impression that you actually know quite a bit about the subject. This, obviously, requires fast thinking, but if you're a good listener - the most important quality for cold readers - you'll get up to speed quickly.
7. Use Barnum statements. Barnum statements, named after the circus showman P.T. Barnum, are statements that will apply to just about anybody but which will give the impression that you know something about the subject. Using Barnum statements is like shotgunning except you're just dealing with one person. For example, you could say, "You're on the verge of making a big decision in your life." Most people, at any given time, are dealing with a big decision, or at least one that seems big at the time. Still the subject will likely be somewhat impressed that you knew that about them, and they may even volunteer more information.
8. Make the subject's answers your own. Much of what a cold reader does is simply repeating back what the subject has said. Do this in such a way so that it appears you already knew the answer. If you manage to do this cleverly, the subject will tend to forget that it was he or she that gave you the information. Suppose the subject affirms that they are on the verge of making a big decision. You can simply say, "Yes, that's right," thereby claiming their answer as your own. You can even go further, by saying, "Yes, that's right. It's been troubling you for a while now." The more information the subject volunteers, the more information you can claim.
9. Delve deeper. Once you're on a fruitful line of questioning (or "reading"), keep going. So the subject is making a decision. You could follow that with another Barnum statement, such as, "But this decision involves another person, too." Most decisions do involve at least one other person to some extent or another. If you're observant and brave, you might notice the subject's wedding ring and say instead, "But this decision needs to be made with your husband." If you're right - because the statement is so obvious yet also targeted toward an observable attribute of the person, you probably are right - you'll be that much more impressive.
10. Use pregnant pauses. One method of fishing around for information is to pause long enough for a reaction from your subject. If, for example, you mention that the decision needs to be made with her husband, you can wait a moment to see if the person has anything to say about that. He or she may immediately tell you you're right or wrong, or they may be expecting you to tell them more. In the latter case, watch their physical reaction. If you see some reaction that tells you you're on the right track, take up where you left off: "He's worried about the decision," for example.
11. Cover your errors. Since you are in fact just asking questions and repeating information back in a different way, you shouldn't really make mistakes as you would if you were guessing things. That said, sometimes a question will simply be off the mark, and this can ruin the illusion if you don't recover quickly and gracefully. Suppose, for example, that the person says they are not on the verge of making a big decision. There are myriad ways to handle this. One would be to say that poor, dead Uncle Bill (if you're communicating with the spirit world) must be talking about someone else that you both know, a relative perhaps. Another would be to change the time frame, to ask, "But you made a big decision in the past year, something of a new start." Still another way would be to subtly change the way the question is framed: "I'm sensing something new is happening in your life or is about to happen." You don't abandon the original line of questioning. Rather you twist it just a bit until it makes sense to the subject. After all, if they then admit that something new is happening in their life, they must feel a little foolish for not recognizing the psychic message you were getting about the decision.
12. Make a positive analysis of the situation. Once you've helped the subject to open up and you have some idea of what you're talking about (or at least the subject believes you know what you're talking about), you can bring the reading to a satisfying end by relaying a message from the deceased friend or relative, or by simply giving some prognostication based on your ability to see the future. You don't need to be exact, and you don't need to give advice. Just tell the subject what he or she wants to hear: that everything will go well. You could say, for example, "Billy wants you to know that he's always watching over you, and he misses you. He's happy, and he wants you to be happy, too. And you will be. You're going to make the right decision." You may, of course, want to warn of challenges ahead to give a more realistic tinge to your reading, but when all is said and done you want the person to feel good.
* Keep the encounter brief and mysterious. If you know you will encounter the person again soon, develop other points based on future visual and response cues.
* Props, such as a Tarot deck or tea leaves, can heighten the drama and take some of the attention off the actual process of cold reading. Props can help the subject suspend their disbelief.
* You will be convincing as long as you make it seem like you know more than you do. Remember, the subject likely wants to believe in your "powers," and you just have to foster that belief. He or she will then attribute more knowledge to you than you actually displayed.
* Practice your showmanship. Learn some buzzwords. Learn how to be a convincing actor. Set the mood.
* Employees with name tags often forget that they have them on. A simple cold read is to guess the person's name. Most of the time, the person's mother will have been the primary name-giver. You can mention this, and it may reinforce their belief you have special powers.
* The "rainbow ruse" is similar to Barnum statements. In a rainbow ruse, you make a general statement about a personality trait that the subject has, but you also hedge your bets (and invite the subject to open up) by also attributing the opposite trait to them. For example, you might say, "You like to make decisions carefully and patiently, but sometimes you're impulsive."
* Be very careful whom you choose to use this technique on. There are people, for whatever reason, who will not respond well when you reveal this is just a trick (and you must always reveal it as a trick, do not lead people on to believing a cold reading was a real one) - If you pick the wrong mark, they may respond with anger or hurt. Be prepared to lose friends and respect by trying this on the wrong person! Messing with people's emotions in any way is cruel, and there will be consequences.
* Some skeptics will volunteer just to make a spectacle of debunking the cold reading myth. If you hear someone talking proudly about his or her skepticism, or if a potential subject seems too haughty, choose someone else.
* This should be used just for fun. As good as you get at this, it is simply a gimmick.
* Be aware of the effects you may have on someone. A cold reading can be beneficial because it encourages the subject to think about certain situations that may be troubling him or her. Talking about these troubles may clarify things in the subject's mind and help the person find his or her own solution. Be very careful about giving advice, predicting bad news, or opening up emotional wounds. After the reading, let the subject know that it was just for entertainment and that you don't really have any special powers.
* There are many unscrupulous cold readers and "psychics." While many just want to scam a little money, some are more dangerous. Cult leaders and criminals, for example, have been known to use these techniques to dazzle their victims.
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randi.org Examples of exchanges between celebrity cold readers and subjects
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DenisDutton.com A good discussion of the Barnum effect
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skeptics.com.au - The skeptic perspective on cold reading
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