All About Cold Reading! (1 of 3)

Many people who visit my site are interested in cold reading, so I thought I'd explain a little bit about it here. This is a noble and selfless act of public education on my part. It's also an attempt to avoid answering the same two or three questions for the rest of my life.

I will start by talking about cold reading, and then (on page 3) I will explain what the distinct subject of Applied Cold Reading (or ACR) is all about.

(Please note that as well as the information on this website, I have created this separate website all about ACR that also has the dates for my public ACR Masterclasses that anyone can sign up for.)

Let's take it from the top. Most people know someone who has been for a so-called 'psychic' reading, like a tarot reading. They go to see the psychic, and they come back amazed, saying things like, 'She told me things she could not possibly have known!'. (I use 'she' because most practitioners happen to be female.)

Psychic readings and consultations are a big industry. The wrapping paper may change (tarot cards / astrological readings / mediums who claim they can relay messages from the dead and so on), but the basic deal is always the same: you give money to someone, and they seem to know things about you and your life that couldn't be just guesswork.

So how's it done? How does Madame La Woowoo Fake Conartista manage to say things that sound meaningful to a complete stranger?

The explanation...

Some would say this abiity is evidence of psychic talent, so let's deal with this first. It is meaningless to say psychic powers either do or do not exist. Psychic powers are as real as you want them to be. If you want them to be real, then they are real for you, just like political promises and other comforting delusions. If you don't want or need them to be real, then they aren't. And that's all there is to it.

If psychic powers are real for you, then you may as well get off the bus at this point, because the rest of this explanation won't make any sense to you. Farewell, and have a wonderful life. (Incidentally, if you want to write and tell me you know for a fact that psychic powers are real, please use this specific email address. If you're stuck for a good way to start, 'Dear Mr. Rowland, I am afraid you are sadly mistaken...', seems a popular choice.)

So, proceeding on the basis that psychic powers are a delusion, how does the 'psychic' manage to say things that seem meaningful and full of insight? In most cases, the answer is... ta dah!... cold reading. In simple terms, cold reading is a way of talking to someone so that you seem to be saying meaningful things, when in fact you aren't - the meaning and relevance is supplied by the imagination of the person you are talking to.

There are some common myths and misunderstandings about cold reading, and on Page 2 I'll try to address a few of them.

A real psychic person I photographed in New Orleans. 35 years experience, but still hasn't found time to buy a dictionary.