Updated: Dec 1
Cold Reading Techniques
First of all, let's define what 'cold reading' means. Then we can look at how it works.
Every year, millions of people all over the world go for 'psychic' readings of one kind or another. The reading could be based on tarot cards, astrology, palmistry, peering into a crystal ball, graphology (i.e. a reading based on a sample of your handwriting), relaying messages from people who have 'passed over' (died) or some other divinatory system.
People tend to go away from these readings pleasantly surprised, intrigued and astonished. Why? Because the person giving the reading is apparently able to make factually accurate statements about the client (the person they're giving the reading to) -- even though they are complete strangers. These statements could be about the client's personality and character or about facts and events in their life... past, present and future!
Afterwards, clients tend to say things like, "It was amazing! She told me things she couldn't possibly have known!" These apparently amazing results are why people all over the world enjoying going for readings and (in most cases) paying for them.
How is the person giving the reading able to get these amazing results? If you want, you can believe that they have some type of psychic ability or that the system being used (such as tarot cards or astrology) actually works. My personal opinion is that I am not currently aware of any good reason to believe that (a) psychic abilities exist or (b) that any of these divinatory systems actually work. If you disagree, that's all right. It means we get to enjoy the warm, golden light of peaceful disagreement.
The alternative explanation is cold reading. The simple definition of 'cold reading' is 'how to talk to people so you sound psychic'. To go into slightly more detail, it's an elaborate set of techniques, based om shrewd communication psychology, that enable you to give the impression that you're making factually accurate statements about a stranger's life.
There are many cold reading techniques. In my book, 'The Full Facts Book of Cold Reading', I explain about 38 different techniqies, in four categories: character, facts and events, the future and ways of subtly obtaining information.
In this blog post, I can only give a few examples of cold reading techniques and how they might be used. There are two main points to make. The first is that you can make statements to a complete stranger that don't sound trite or obvious and yet stand a very high chance of being accepted as a 'hit' (a reasonably accurate statement). The second is that the client never knows what the 'psychic' might have said if they had given a different response.
Let's look at both of these cold reading techniques.
One of the cold reading techniques for making a statement about someone's personality or character is called 'The Rainbow Ruse'. This basically involves crediting the client with both a personality trait and its opposite. Here's an example: "You can be a very considerate person, very quick to provide for others, but there are times, if you are honest, when you recognise a selfish streak in yourself."
This cold reading technique works because most people are not 100% consistent, all the time, under all circumstances. However, if the person giving the reading delivers the line well, as if it's a remarkable insight provided by the tarot cards or astrological data, it can sound quite plausible and not too obvious.
Here's a cold reading technique pertaining to facts and events in the client's life. I call this 'The Childhood Memory': “In your younger years I get the impression of a particular interest or subject you were very keen on, where you showed lots of promise. I get a feeling that this was something on the creative or artistic side, where perhaps your parents felt you might go on to great things, but it was not to be.” This happens to be true for the majority of people, and is open to quite broad interpretation, but in the context of a reading it can sound quite plausible and not so obvious that it's trite.
My 'Full Facts' book lists several other types of statements that someone giving a reading can use to give the impression that they are somehow gaining profound insights into the client's life.
The second major aspect of successful cold reading technique is simply this: the client never knows what the 'psychic' would have said if they had given a different response. If the person giving the reading makes a statement that the client does not accept as a 'hit', it doesn't matter. There are several ways to convert what seems like a 'miss' into a statement that is a hit or at least not entirely wrong. I call these 'revisions' -- ways of being right even when you're wrong!
The simplest and most versatile of these is the 'Time' revision. It might sound rather like this:
'Psychic': "I get the sense that you've recently been made aware of a new opportunity to do with your work and career. You got some news that has led you to consider quite a positive change in your work situation'.
Client: 'No, not really. I don't think anything like that has happened'.
'Psychic': That's all right. Well, if it hasn't happened yet then I get the feeling it could happen quite soon. Will you watch out for that? Because it could lead to some positive developments'.
You see how this works: the 'psychic' made their statement in the present tense but, when it wasn't accepted, she just converted it into a statement about the future -- which, of course, can't be proved either right or wrong at the time the reading is in progress. It may come true later or it may not, but by then the reading is long since over.
When I teach Cold Reading For Business, I mention seven different revisions in all. When you know how to use all of these revisions, you can make more or less any statement you want, about anything, knowing that you'll be correct or, if not, you can use a revision so that you're not entirely wrong.
This is only an introduction to cold reading techniques. It's a vast subject (which is why I've so far written three books about cold reading) and I cover it all in a short blog post like this. However, I hope this has been a usful introductioin to what is certainly a fascinating subject.