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The term cold reading refers to strategies used by mentalists and by fraudulent psychics and mediums to give the impression that they can psychically discern personal information about a client. The reading is cold because it does not depend on any prior knowledge of the client. Instead, the psychic combines careful observations of the client's characteristics and behavior with a series of guesses that are based on deduction, knowledge of probabilities, and use of general (Barnum) statements that are readily accepted by large numbers of people as being true of themselves. There are several key techniques that form the basis of cold reading. These are 1. Setting the scene 2. Observing characteristics
6. Fishing
3. Making deductions
7. Observing responses
4. Pigeon-holing and focusing
8. Using verbal tricks
5. Using Barnum statements
1. Setting the scene The cold reader must set the scene for the client, manage client expectations, and elicit client cooperation.
Presentation It is vital that the client has full confidence in the professionalism and ability of the psychic or medium and this can be encouraged in various ways. Through advertising. By displaying testimonials, photographs with celebrity clients, etc., in brochures or on the walls of the consulting room. Managing expectations Expectations must be managed by briefly explaining to the client what they may receive from the reading, for example: "We will aim to contact and receive advice from the spirits of the dear departed.“ Cold reading will only succeed if the client is cooperative and actively assists the psychic. This needs to be explained to the client at the outset. "It is important that you remain open and receptive.“
2. Observing characteristics The cold reader carefully observes the client. Important characteristics to note are: • • • • • • • •
Gender Age Ethnicity Weight Apparent health Personal hygiene Noticeable disabilities. Any scars, bruises or skin blemishes.
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Evidence of smoking, drug taking, alcohol use, etc. Clothing Hairstyle Jewelry Any transfers on the clothes (e.g., animal or human hair). Vocabulary.
3. Making deductions 3. Making deductions From these observations, the psychic will be able to make some highly probable guesses about the client. This is sometimes referred to as the "Sherlock Holmes" technique.
4. Pigeon-holing and focusing The cold reader will generally aim to pigeon-hole (stereotype) the client into a particular category of person. The most basic categories are based on gender and age (e.g., teenage female; middle-aged man; elderly woman). More specific categories and stereotypes can also be useful (e.g., thirtysomething, white, well-spoken, apparently affluent, female non-smoker with a New York accent). Consider, for example, what you probably could infer about such a woman. Having pigeon-holed the client, the reading is then focused around areas stereotypically of concern to people in this category, and also around any specific deductions that can be made based on observations of the client.
5. Using Barnum statements Barnum statements (also known as Forer statements) are those that seem to relate to a particular individual but actually apply to everyone, or almost everyone. Such statements are a typical feature of horoscopes and they are used extensively in cold reading. Because they are easily accepted by the client, such statements also serve to enhance the client's general faith in the psychic.
Examples of Barnum statements are: "You have much unused potential." "You get a little anxious in new social situations." "You have sometimes told white lies to save another person's feelings.“
6. Fishing Fishing refers to making some very specific, seemingly improbable, statements that may or may not be true of the client. If the statement turns out to be true, the strength of the "hit" will greatly impress the client, and the statement will be clearly remembered. If wrong, then the psychic can simply move on to something else and the miss will very likely be forgotten by the client. Alternatively the psychic may prefer to use an out to excuse the failure.
7. Observing responses Especially when fishing, you can gauge the accuracy of your statements by observing carefully how the client responds. In particular, watch the face and hands, and also look out for any uncomfortable shuffling in the seat. These responses can often give away how the client is feeling about what you are saying. In this way it is generally quite easy to tell if you are on the right track, or completely wrong. If you are right, then continue along the same line; if wrong, then subtly change track.
8. Using verbal tricks There are certain tricks and subtleties in the way that language can be used that will greatly enhance a cold reading. Verbal ambiguities Some words have more than one meaning that can be usefully exploited by the cold reader.
For example "I am getting something about a will". This could mean either Will (the personal name) or an inheritance or legal document. By observing how the client interprets an ambiguous word, the reading can then follow up that particular meaning. Stating questions negatively For example: "You're not married are you?" "You weren't brought up in the country were you?" "You're not an only child are you?"
Repeating information given by the client The cold reader should file away in memory every bit of information that the client gives during the reading. This not only allows further deductions to be made from the information given, but the psychic can also exploit the fact that clients will often forget that they have said certain things. This enables the cold reader to repeat back to the client, at some later point, information that the client has given, as if this information was being received psychically.