©2004 by Robert E Cassidy All Rights Reserved.
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Table of Contents
The Forer Effect
The General Consensus
Cold Reading and How it is Done
The General Consensus Reviewed
The Why of Cold Reading
The Ethics of Cold Reading
The Importance of Belief
What People Really Want (The Primary Directive)
The Basics of Body Language
Lying
Mimicking
Involuntary Facial Expressions
The Real Work of Cold Reading
The Bacheldor Effect
Cold Reading and Mentalism
I’ve Got your Number
The Coin Toss
The Psychometry Bag
Selected Bibliography
Appendix A
A Numerological System and Framework
Appendix B
NOTICE: What follows is a book within a book. Do not skim. There will be a quiz.
The Worst Kept Secret in Mentalism
“Disinformation campaign a resounding success.”
-Dr. Bob, re: NBC’s Secrets of the Psychics
____________________________________________________________
(Moldavia) 07:30- According to the latest research figures, the basic principles of Cold Reading are
known to 37% of the general public, 20% of the news media, 97.4% of skeptics groups, and all of the
87,274 members and affiliates of the “The Speed-Seduction and Sado-Masochistic Technoporn Web
Ring®” as “The way those fake psychics manipulate people, steal their money, and keep them on
hold.”
Dr. Robert Delacroix, President of the Moldavian Research Council, advises that these figures
are subject to an error margin of +/- 2%.
NOTE: I have been unable to obtain verification of the above statistics from the Moldavian
Research Council because they told me it was none of my business what goes on in Moldavia. It
is, therefore, provided for informational purposes only.
I did, however, receive the following note from a member of the council who has asked to remain
anonymous:
“The research figures are actually much higher!”
I was going to buy a copy of The Power of Positive Thinking, but what good
would that do?
-J. Dimowitz, President, Moldavian Skeptics Society
The Forer Effect
Enter the words cold reading into your favorite Internet search engine and you will be directed to
several hundred websites, books, articles and other resources. You will have access to more cold
reading materials than mentalists who died before 1975 had seen in their entire lifetimes.
Once you start reading through them, however, you will discover that they are all pretty much alike,
and, for the most part, based on the same three or four sources. (Not counting one of Julius Fast’s old
press releases from the 1970’s announcing the release of his pop-science hit Body Language.)
The works of Robert Nelson, George Anderson, William Larsen Sr., C.L.Boarde, et al - the stuff the
pre-1975 dead mentalists used to read - are rarely, if ever, mentioned, despite the fact that they were
once considered essential reading in the field.
It is an omission for which all mentalists should be grateful. At least some things have remained
relatively secret.
Most of the modern explanations and “exposures” of cold reading are based on “The Forer Effect,”
demonstrated in 1948 by psychologist Bernard Forer. To test the “Fallacy of Personal Validation” he
assembled an all-purpose personality analysis from readings he had snipped from newspaper astrology
columns. If you are not familiar with the Forer reading, here are a few excerpts, which illustrate the
types of statements he used:
Some of your aspirations tend to be pretty unrealistic. At times, you are
extroverted, affable and sociable, while at other times you are
introverted, wary and reserved. Disciplined and self-controlled outside,
you tend to be worrisome and insecure inside. At times, you have
serious doubts as to whether you have made the right decision or done
the right thing. You prefer a certain amount of change and variety and
become dissatisfied when hemmed in by restrictions and limitations.
He proceeded to give his class a personality test consisting of five multiple-choice questions. Ignoring
their answers, Forer distributed copies of the previously prepared reading to the students, representing
them to be individually prepared profiles. The students gave the spurious interpretations an average
rating of 4.26 out of a possible high score of 5.0.
In other words, the profiles were viewed as highly accurate by the students who thought they were
uniquely prepared.
The generally accepted explanation for the Forer effect is the existence of a human tendency to find
meaning where none exists, especially when accompanied by wishful thinking, and the belief that the
information was specifically prepared for them.
Forer himself was a bit more direct in his interpretation of the effect. He simply saw it as proof of
human gullibility.
The phenomena later came to be known as the “The Barnum Effect.” Two quotations of the famous
19
th
Century showman have been cited as inspiring the name change:
a) “A circus should have something for everyone”
b) “There’s a sucker born every minute.”
Which one do you think is most appropriate?
Your answer reveals a good deal about you and your attitude toward mentalism, cold reading,
parapsychology and the meaning in life in general.
Think about it before you answer. If your answer was “b”, you are likely to have some difficulty with
the material in this book.
___________________________________
The types of statements Forer used are sometimes referred to as “specific generalities.” Most
experienced readers know that you can ascribe any personality trait and its opposite to an individual
and he or she will generally agree with you, provided that you present both sides of the trait in positive
terms.
Here is an example of Forer type statements written off the top of my head:
While you normally are reserved or introspective, you have no problem
taking center-stage when you feel very strongly about an issue. You
speak what’s on your mind, but only when you feel that it is necessary
to do so. While you sometimes like to argue with friends just for the
sake of arguing, you normally keep your opinions to yourself. You have
a lot of acquaintance and friends but very few of them can say they
know the real you… etc., etc.,
With a little practice you will find that you can “stream of conscious” these things ad infinitum. While
I don’t recommend too much of this in a one-on-one reading, it is an excellent technique to use if you
need to do a series of rapid-fire readings for an audience, or if you are doing readings of people in
photographs that members of the audience show you as you walk around the room.
Basically, all you have to do is describe the first impression you have about a particular personality
trait of the sitter, describe it and follow with “But at other times you…” and then describe the exact
opposite of what you just said.
The ‘opposites approach’ also works quite well if you want to describe a female sitter’s ‘close friend’.
(Don’t say ‘best friend’ because then she won’t be able to selectively pick and choose among her
friends to find the one you are talking about.) Just describe a person who is physically the EXACT
OPPOSITE of the sitter. If the sitter is thin, the chances are good that her good friend is a bit
overweight. If she is a dark-eyed brunette, I would describe the friend as a blue-eyed blond.
Years ago Herb Dewey did just that before a roomful of experienced mentalists, many of whom were
absolutely dumbfounded at the amount of seemingly accurate information he could spew out at a
phenomenal rate. This is not apocrypha. I was there among the dumbfounded.
The General Consensus
If we combine the psychology of subjective validation, as demonstrated by Forer, with a description of
cold reading techniques published in 1977 by skeptical psychologist Ray Hyman, the result is a
general outline of most modern cold reading systems.
Since Hyman’s “13 Point Guide” to cold reading has been accepted as authoritative by
parapsychologists and skeptics as well as a large number of magicians and mentalists, I have
incorporated his point headings in the discussion of published cold reading techniques which follows.
Hyman’s descriptions can be found in “'Cold Reading': How to Convince Strangers that You Know
All About Them." 1977. The Zetetic Vol. I, No. 2: 18-37. (Just type the title into your search engine
and you will find it all over the place.)
There would have been no point in writing this book if I felt that the field had already been adequately
and accurately portrayed. Therefore, I have
highlighted
all of the statements with which I disagree as
well as those that I feel need clarification. As you may have guessed, there’s going to be a lot of
highlighting. There are two reasons for this:
1.
Very few of the “authorities” cited actually perform cold reading for strangers, except when
their intent is to expose the technique.
2.
Almost without exception, explanations of cold reading are written by individuals who have
an a priori belief that all psychic readers are conscious or unconscious frauds and that their clients
are “shut-eyes.” For those not familiar with the term, “shut eye” has at least four different
definitions, depending on whom you ask. It refers to:
a)
Someone unacquainted with the methods of deception employed by fraudulent
psychics and con artists, or
b)
An individual who engages in psychic cold reading while sincerely believing in his or
her own paranormal powers.
c)
Someone who lives in a New Age Lala Land where reality is just a matter of opinion
and where Shirley MacLaine, Ramtha and John Edward are right up there with the Dalai
Lama, Mother Theresa and Ghandi when it comes to being spiritual, or
d)
Anyone who doesn’t see things the way you do.
Cold Reading and How it is Done
(according to the authorities)
Cold reading is the process of interpreting a subject’s body language, together with her verbal and
nonverbal feedback, and giving the information thus obtained back to her later, thus convincing her
that the psychic revealed things that he couldn’t possibly have known
.
An important element in reading a person’s character is the confidence conveyed by the psychic.
If
you look and act as if you believe in what you are doing, you will be able to sell even a bad reading to
most subjects. There is an inherent danger to this approach, though; in that the reader runs the risk of
beginning to believe that, he is actually able to divine a person’s thoughts and character.
A reader should keep abreast of statistical abstracts, public opinion polls, marketing research, census
results, etc. According to Hyman,
“If you can ascertain a subject's place of origin, educational level, and his/her parents' religion and
vocations,
you have gained information which should allow you to predict with high probability his/
her voting preferences and attitudes to many subjects.”
Probability and statistics are important because they help the reader know when a probing statement
is likely to hit. For example,
most male names among Americans begin with the letter "J," while most
female names begin with "M."
This knowledge can be utilized by saying something like,
“I see a man
in your life – his name begins with a ‘J’.” Be sure to encourage feedback by following up with “Do
you know who I’m talking about?”
You should not make excessive claims about your abilities.
If your
only claim is that you are a
character reader
, you are not asking the spectator to believe in anything that could turn the reading into
a “Go ahead and prove it to me” battle of wits. You want to encourage the subject to cooperate by
emphasizing that a reading is a joint effort and that it is possible that she might understand what you
are saying even if you are unsure yourself what it means. The result of this type of approach is that the
sitter will often go out of her way to attach meaning to some of your more obscure or meaningless
statements.
A gimmick, such as Tarot Cards, astrology charts or palm reading can be very useful.
It is not
necessary to actually learn much about
these things
but you should pick up some of the terminology –
not only will this add to your credibility, but in the case of palm reading, as Hyman points out, you can
easily use the lines on the palm to play a disguised game of twenty questions with the sitter by asking
things like
“Do you want to concentrate on the heart line or the wealth line.”
An additional value of palmistry is that it allows you to use a technique known as muscle reading.
Contact with the sitter – in this case holding her hand - permits the reading of involuntary muscle
movements that can be used to gauge a client’s reaction. These reactions inform the cold reader if he is
hot or cold allowing him to go from the general statements that are more specific.
Learn a lot of stock phrases and use them to start your readings and to fill in the dead time when you
are trying to think of something to say. Since people are surprisingly poor at assessing their own
character, any type of character statement should work, providing it’s not insulting. If they are
generally flattering, so much the better.
Predictions are useful and a fairly safe bet as you are in no position to say whether they are going to
come true or not. Better still; why not make a prediction that is self-fulfilling? For example:
‘Now I don’t want you to worry but I want you to be especially careful for the next few weeks. This is
by no means serious but I get the feeling of some kind of accident. Not that I see anyone getting hurt,
but I think if you take it easy you will be able to avoid it’
Be sure to observe a subject’s clothes, jewelry, demeanor, mannerisms and speech. Even someone’s
eyes and hands can hold many clues. Use these observations to make preliminary deductions about the
subject.
Test your deductions by asking questions that sound like statements and refer to the things you
have observed and deduced. Statements like these are sometimes called “try ons” They are designed
to prompt a reaction and can include remarks like "I’m getting the feeling that…”, "I want to say
that…" , “Does this make any sense to you…”, “ What is the significance of …?” , etc.
Another way to confirm your deductions is to make general statements that can be interpreted in
different ways. Both of these techniques are referred to by mentalists and psychics as “fishing” and
are used to prompt a subject to open up and either confirm your preliminary deductions or provide
some other information that you can feed back to her later on.
The importance of verbal feedback cannot be over emphasized.
It is far more important than visual
feedback as has been demonstrated by the phenomenal success of psychic hotlines. Through verbal
feedback alone, an experienced psychic can obtain enough feed back information that will enable him
to convince the subject that he can read her as if she were an open book.
Without feedback, though, the process of cold reading would grind to a halt.
And that’s the best way to test a psychic.
If you are in the role of the sitter, be sure not to give any
verbal or nonverbal responses that could give the reader any useful information about you are
something that concerns you.
Thus, the reading proceeds from the general to the specific and as your statements become
increasingly accurate, the sitter will begin to means. When you start hitting in this manner, her
nonverbal responses to your statements will become even more pronounced since any latent
skepticism she may have held is weakening. It is, therefore, very important that you watch carefully
for the way that she responds to your statements. Does she lean forward, shift in her chair, blink
rapidly or suddenly fold her arms?
Once you have gained her confidence and sufficiently impressed her with your insights and
revelations, she will be anxious to talk about some of the subjects and incidents you have managed to
deduce and elaborate on them. Let her.
Even if you have no clue about something you are saying, it is important to act confident and act as if
you know far more than you are actually saying. When you only have a little bit of information to feed
back to the sitter be sure to build it up as dramatically as possible as if it is more important than it
actually is.
Be sure to include liberal doses of flattery in your reading and
Here are a few more general rules you should keep in mind if you want to be successful doing cold
readings.
When a person goes to a reader, they are most likely concerned with a problem involving
relationships, their finances, or their health and welfare.
Generally, there are two types of psychic readers. The first type are the immoral conmen who use the
tricks of the phony psychic to fraudulently obtain money or other favors from their customers. These
include the gypsy fortuneteller types who try to charge exorbitant sums of money to remove imaginary
curses or to deliver messages from deceased relatives.
The other type is the entertainer who typically performs at ESP parties, corporate events, fairs and
other public or semi public events. They emphasize that what they do is for entertainment purposes
only and never seek to exploit a person’s belief in the supernatural for financial gain or to induce them
to receive additional readings. They usually do not read for the same person more than once, as there
purpose is not to provide real advice or guidance, but merely to entertain.
The most ethical of readers do not claim supernatural abilities. They are aware, however, that many
sitters will credit them with having paranormal powers and are careful not to exploit this information
for immoral means.
____________________________________________________________
Almost every article on the subject provides the same essential description of the cold reading process,
and most list either Hyman and/or other skeptical researchers as sources. Among the more popular are
James Randi, noted skeptic, magician and author of numerous skeptical books and articles such as
Flim Flam, published in 1982 by Buffalo’s Prometheus Press, and Richard Kamman and David Marks,
authors of 1979’s The Psychology of the Psychic, another Prometheus publication. Another source
that has become popular of late is Ian Rowland’s The Full Facts Book of Cold Reading, 3
rd
edition
2002,Full Facts Publishing, www.ianrowland.com.
[Prometheus Press, it should be noted, is the publishing arm of “The Committee for the
Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal.”]
____________________________________________________________
Excerpt from Problem Audiences, a Primer for Magicians and Mentalists by R.
Delacroix
“I know how that’s done!”
“It’s a trick!”
“I can do that!”
“I saw that on TV!”
These and similar spontaneous comments are common among the following groups:
Children between the ages of five and eight-
In this group, the comments reflect natural enthusiasm and the development of a healthy ego.
Adolescent boys-
Reflects development of Alpha Male qualities and increasing levels of testosterone. If females
are present, the incidence of these (or similar comments) will be significantly higher.
Emotionally troubled adults-
When similar outbursts are made by an adult, it is indicative stunted ego development and poor
self-image. (That, or they are just drunk, in which case the behavior is normal.) These are the types
who are most likely to explain magic or mental effects to any and all individuals in their proximity
with such inane proclamations as:
“It’s up his sleeve!”
“It’s all done with mirrors!”
Or, since the widespread televised and written “exposures” of psychics and their methods:
“It’s cold reading!”
While the body of techniques now generally referred to by mentalists as “cold reading” has been in use
by mystery workers for centuries, it wasn’t until 1946 that the term came into widespread use.
Ted Annemann, America’s most prolific magical writer, had died just four years earlier in 1942. But,
in none of his writings, including the “Jinx” (from which Max Holden later compiled one of
mentalism's bibles, Annemann’s Practical Mental Effects) is the phrase “cold reading” to be found.
While I have no doubt that Annemann was aware of the processes we now refer to collectively as
“cold reading,” the following excerpt from his Full Deck of Impromptu Cards Tricks, (New York,
1943, Max Holden) shows that the activity was familiar to the average magician of the day, even if not
in widespread use.
…One who can tell fortune [sic] is always the lion of the gathering, and it is
seldom that a magician is not asked if he is so gifted. Just giving a straight
“spiel” reading is one thing, but I’ve found it 100% more effective if one can
answer a direct question in giving the talk.
(Note the use of the words “spiel” and “talk” and the implication that a reading is 100% more effective
if it contains a direct answer to a spectator’s query. This, of course, reflects the core of Annemann’s
philosophy regarding mentalism –the idea that there is “a greater element of wonder when the
performer can reveal unknown knowledge or something personal about the members of his audience.”)
It wasn’t until the publication of William Lindsay Gresham’s Nightmare Alley in 1946, that “cold
reading” became part of the lexicon of magic and mentalism.
“Cold Reading” as such was originally the province of the Gypsy fortuneteller and, later, found its
way into the mitt camps, which often were a side attraction of traveling carnivals.
(For the benefit of my overseas readers - “Mitt” camps are areas in a carnival where fortune telling
was provided. Since palmistry is a very popular system with the Gypsies, it is always in the camp.
Hence the phrase “mitt camp”)
In Gresham’s weirdly wonderful book Monster Midway, a collection of the carnival lore he had
gathered while researching Nightmare Alley, the chapter on “cold reading” is called “The Romany
Trade.” The sample readings he gives as examples of the gypsy methods of fortune telling are
basically stock astrological readings and character analyses. Like the basic Forer personality profile,
they are simply “specific generalities” which are amenable to subjective validation by the sitter.
The practice of giving stock readings and tailoring them to an individual according to their responses
and simple character analysis was called “The Spiel.”
The “spiel” is designed to impress upon the customer that the reader actually has the power to see into
a her past and future, and is really no more than the simple application of common sense, deduction
and the knowledge of human nature that is gained through the combined experiences of generations of
Gypsies plying the same trade throughout the world and, presumably, sharing their information and
knowledge.
C.L. Boarde (the late Warren Schoonmacher) in his classic work on billets Mainly Mental Volume One
refers to both stock readings and cold readings, thus indicating that they are two distinct entities.
“Cold Reading” does not refer to the reading itself, but to the various techniques employed to tailor the
stock reading to the sitter and to elicit amplifying information from her. In Boarde’s book and in
Annemann’s fortune telling routine, the “Speil” (i.e. the stock reading modified by information
obtained through feedback, deduction, intelligent guesses and a basic familiarity with human nature) is
simply the set up to a billet reading effect.
One of the problems with modern approaches to cold reading is that while they pay lip service to stock
readings, they are viewed mainly as “filler” to be used when the reader has nothing else to say. The
main emphasis is on “try-on” statements, feedback and deduction presented without the context that a
good stock reading provides. (Later, I will describe how the use of “correspondences” effectively does
away with the need to remember stock readings.)
While the differences between the terms “stock reading,” “cold reading” and “spiel” might seem to be
minor points, they are not. If there is general agreement about anything regarding cold reading, it
would be that it is a form of communication between the reader and the sitter. Since we normally
communicate via the oral or written word (I’ll get into nonverbal communication later) it seems
fundamental that we must agree on the precise meaning of the word when it is used in a particular
context.
Otherwise, I’d say that what we have here is a failure to communicate.
[Now, quick, think of a movie – an older one. I am trying to send the name of it to you. Did you get Cool
Hand Luke? If you did, I think you will see how the same idea can be used in a performance as a pseudo
explanation of how it is possible for you to implant a thought into someone’s mind. Audiences love this
sort of thing because they can’t wait to get home or to the office so that they can try it on all of their
friends.
If you didn’t get Cool Hand Luke, don’t worry about it. It is probably because you didn’t see the film. If
you did you would probably have been reminded of it when you read the last sentence of the second
paragraph back. “What we have here is a failure to communicate,” is probably one of the more famous
lines from the film and was actually used as its tag line on posters and in ads.
Now if you did see Cool Hand Luke, but didn’t think about it until I pointed the tag line out to you, don’t
worry about that either. It is very easy to miss when you are reading. Were I to have read the lines aloud
to you, you would have picked up the association right away.
I leave it to you all to figure out other ways to use this principle. It is a good exercise.]
It’s generally accepted that a reader should not make a habit of asking direct questions. I agree that
questions shouldn’t be blatantly transparent requests for information that you are supposed to be
getting through paranormal, extraterrestrial or some other strange means.
But what if you were the sitter and I told you something like this:
“I need to get our minds on a common plane so that I can ‘tune in’ on you? And that in order to do that
I want you to visualize something…
“Tell me the name of a favorite movie of yours, or a favorite book if you don’t go to the movies…
“And now just close your eyes and visualize a scene in the movie, or the face of someone who is in the
movie, and I will see what I can pick up from you.”
Now, given the fact that I may totally fail in this preliminary attempt, I realize that this test might not
likely be a very strong demonstration of my ‘psychic’ abilities. But do you realize how much I will
learn about you when you tell me the title of your favorite movie or book? Or maybe you told me that
you don’t read books or watch movies, so we had to settle on your favorite TV show. It’s the next best
thing to being able to go into your home and look at the type of books you have. (Or don’t have.)
This is the sort of information that will often give an experienced reader an excellent insight into your
personality and possibly even provide a clue to your opinions on political matters, your sexual
orientation or just on life in general.
Since I watch movies and read as much as I can on just about any subject that interests me at the
moment, I am usually familiar with the sitter’s choice. I’ve explained in one of my other books how I
go about naming whatever scene they are thinking of, but my point here is that it doesn’t matter a bit if
I am right or wrong. If I have no clue, I will just start describing anything at all that comes into my
head while I think of the title they gave me.
Because the sitter’s eyes are closed while I am doing this ‘psychic tune-up’, I also take advantage of
this opportunity to take a peek at the billet that I switched out earlier, upon which I asked the spectator
to write the three things she wanted most of all in life.
(I asked her to do that just to permanently fix the thoughts in her mind and to act as an aid on focusing
them. Since my request seemed perfectly reasonable under the circumstances, especially since I
pointed out that it was important for the paper to remain in her possession, she didn’t hesitate to
comply with my request.)
“Wait a minute!” I hear someone shout, “That’s not cold reading. You’re not supposed to do that. I’ve
read every cold reading book written since 1975 and that is HOT reading you are talking about now.
This book is supposed to be about COLD reading, isn’t it?”
And to this mythical spectator in the back of the house, I give the following reply – “And what do you
suppose cold reading is about? Did you actually BELIEVE all of that stuff that was in “The General
Consensus” of cold reading materials? It’s time, I think, to explain why I disagreed with the portions I
highlighted in blue.
But first, as to the relative value of hot and cold readings, here are two brief excerpts from Nightmare
Alley, which offer today’s performer a solid truth, and some excellent advice. I will leave it up to you
to decide which is which. (I should point out, by the way, that William Gresham was an accomplished
magician and well acquainted with the various methods of mentalism as they were actually used in the
time period in which the scene is set – the 1940’s.)
In the first excerpt, the protagonist, Stan Carlisle, is reading the notebook of a once famous stage
mind reader. In the second passage, the mind reader is speaking to Stan
1. “Who poisoned our dog?” …Not a big item but a steady. Can pull as cold
reading during stall part of act… There is a recurring pattern followed by the
questions asked. For every unusual question, there will be fifty that you have
had before. Human nature is the same everywhere. All have the same troubles.
They are worried. Can control anybody by finding out what he’s afraid of.
Works with question answering act. Think out things most people are afraid of
and hit them right where they live. Health, Wealth, Love. And Travel and
Success. They’re all afraid of ill health, poverty, of boredom, of failure…”
2. “Stan! Lad like you could be a great mentalist. Study human nature!”
The last quote seems obvious, doesn’t it? It’s really all that you need to do to become an excellent
reader. The problem is that human nature is not something that can be learned simply by reading
books on cold reading. It can only be truly learned through experience and regular interaction with
people from all walks of life. This is why I always have to stifle a laugh when I read letters from
earnest teenagers who have yet to venture forth from the nest ask, “What’s the best book that teaches
cold reading?”
The truth of the matter is that there isn’t one. To become a really good cold reader you have to learn
most if it through the simple processes of living, watching, interacting, listening, and trying to
understand what really motivates people to act the way they do and feel the way they feel. And it
helps a lot if you can avoid being too judgmental about people and their beliefs before you’ve had a
chance to see things from their point of view. So, a good dose of compassion and empathy are also
essential.
Beyond that, all of the books are pretty much the same. They all offer good insights, but with very few
exceptions, they are based on Forer’s conclusion that people are gullible.
Now let’s turn to the specific elements of the “General Consensus” that I think need to be examined
more carefully.
The General Consensus Reviewed
“Cold reading is the process of interpreting a subject's body language, together with her verbal and
nonverbal feedback, and giving the information thus obtained back to her later, thus convincing her that
the psychic revealed things that he couldn't possibly have known.”
This is true as far as it goes. The problem is that it doesn’t go far enough and implies that the only
purpose behind the performance of cold reading is to convince the sitter that you know things about
her that you shouldn’t be able to know by normal means. This, of course, reflects the writer’s
underlying assumption that the only real purpose of cold reading is to allow nefarious practitioners to
put themselves into a power position relative to the sitters. If you agree with this assumption, I
sincerely hope that you have no intention of doing cold readings.
Some modern works on cold reading pay lip service to the notion that the technique is just a
confidence-building set-up to personalized predictions and/or advice that will culminate the reading.
But then they devote the remainder of their work giving examples of how to obtain and feed back
seemingly personalized information to a spectator, convincing her that you know more about her than
you could possibly know by normal means. If any particular predictions or revelations are made they
are prefaced with statements like “I think it is likely that…,” “ It is probable that…”, “There’s a good
chance that…,” or something similarly non-committal.” Rarely does a reading contain anything that is
definitive, either as a clear prediction or an unequivocable piece of advice.
In short, that’s it. There is no payoff, just some general platitudes and uplifting good wishes.
This is why it is generally recommended that sitters NOT be allowed to tape record readings. In the
recently published Tradecraft, The Art and Science of Cold Reading (2002 Trickshop.com), the
anonymous author advises that this is “a dreadful idea… When the subject listens to the tape later, rest
assured your misses will loom large and your hits will seem minor in comparison.”
Well if you haven’t told her anything of value, even though you may have impressed her with your
seeming insight regarding her personality, she isn’t likely to be listening to the tape anyway!
The fact is that most “legitimate” readers have no problem with people recording the readings.
(Herb Dewey, one of the best readers I ever knew, and whose friendship and advice are sorely missed,
actually spent a good portion of his time selling mail order readings which he recorded and mailed to
his clients. The fact that he did a lot of repeat business and obtained many referrals suggests that there
must have been at least some useful information on the tapes!)
__________________________
Many writers have suggested that ethical readers emphasize that their readings are for entertainment
purposes only and that they should never claim supernatural abilities. Since many of them are
obviously unaware of the difference between the terms “supernatural” and “paranormal,” they are
pretty much saying that you shouldn’t claim to be psychic either.
Besides, according to Ray Hyman, you shouldn’t claim things that would invite a challenge. If you
simply claim to be a character analyst, it doesn’t matter if they believe you or not, as you would still
be able to give them an analysis that, through subjective validation, will be accepted as accurate.
While I find this conclusion to be a bit obscure, what I think he is saying is that nobody is going to
seriously challenge you if your claim is modest – i.e. you do not assert that you have or use psychic
ability.
Now this is undoubtedly true if your sitter is skeptical of psychics, but I don’t know that many skeptics
patronize psychic readers anyway, nor are there many character analysts who count skeptics among
their usual clientele.
Do you know the name of the guy who invented “The Character Analysis Hotline?” Of course, you
don’t because there either is no such guy or he went bankrupt before anyone had a chance to notice
him.
Are you an avid reader of the daily “Character Analysis” reading in the newspaper? Is anybody?
Do the majority of people who go to readers assume that they aren’t really psychic but that it is
nonetheless an entertaining experience to visit a phony character analyst who doesn’t claim to have
any unusual abilities?
Isn’t it a little more honest just to face the fact that the reason most people would want a reading from
you is because you have a special power and are not just some ordinary schlepp?
Do I claim to be psychic? To be honest, I don’t claim anything, but I happily imply everything. If I
am asked outright, “Are you psychic?” I will answer honestly, with, “Yes, I believe everyone is
psychic to a greater or lesser extent. It’s just that most people living in the 21
st
Century just don’t have
the time to devote to the development of abilities that don’t relate directly to the path they have chosen
for their lives.”
And that is the absolute truth. I actually believe what I just said. And if I didn’t believe it, I would
either get out of the business of doing readings or I would MAKE myself believe it – at least while I
was doing readings or performing straight mentalism. Similarly, when I do magic I actually make
myself believe that magic exists.
The ability to believe in impossible things or to choose to disbelieve possible things is not necessarily
a sign of brain damage. They are simply wonderful abilities that form the foundation of everything
wonderful that man has created.
________________________
Here are the rest of my problems with the general consensus. It’s been stated that:
If you look and act as if you believe in what you are doing, you will be able to sell even a bad reading to
most subjects. There is an inherent danger to this approach, though; in that the reader runs the risk of
beginning to believe that he is actually able to divine a person's thoughts and character.
In Tradecraft, the Art and Science of Cold Reading, (2002, Trickshop.com) the same conclusion is put
this way-
“The delusion of having psychic abilities is not limited to well-meaning old ladies. It also affects some
experienced mentalists and cold readers… It appears that the cold reader is as susceptible to ‘The
Forer Effect’ as his or her subjects.”
The only difference between the two statements is that the latter comes right out and states that people
who believe they have psychic abilities are suffering from a delusion. The irony is that people who
feel this way are writing instructions on how to perform apparently psychic readings in a convincing
manner.
I always thought that there was a difference between cynicism and skepticism. Apparently this is not
always so.
____________________________________
"If you can ascertain a subject's place of origin, educational level, and his/her parents' religion and
vocations, you have gained information which should allow you to predict with high probability his/her
voting preferences and attitudes on many subjects."
This line is straight from Ray Hyman’s original article. Don’t get me wrong. I’ve met Ray. I like Ray.
I even occasionally agree with some of the positions he has taken. But please, Ray, tell me you were
kidding when you wrote this one.
I mean if I had succeeded in successfully determining the sitter’s birthplace, what degrees he had, his
parent’s religions and their jobs, don’t you think I could do something a little more bold than predict
his voting preferences?
I realize that the common thread that goes through most instructions in cold reading is that the reader
should not say anything that will influence actions that the sitter will take after the reading is over.
That, of course, is because they think it is unethical to tell a sitter a deliberate lie, even if you think it is
for his or her own good.
In his review of Herb Dewey’s and Bascom Jones’s book, King of the Cold Readers, skeptical
reviewer Bob Smet of REALL, after observing that the book promotes the ethical use of cold reading
techniques, states:
As a skeptic, I've generally been hostile to the psychic charlatan who
deliberately deceives the unknowing. Although the tone of the authors
is benevolent, I'm unforgiving about the net effect of their techniques -
promoting the sitter's passive acceptance of the psychic's claims
through the use of benevolently-spirited deception is still deception, no
matter how one packages it.
In defense of the unfair attacks that humanists and, by extension, “The Skeptics Movement”*, have
suffered at the hands of the religious right (who regularly accuse them of being godless heathens
because they promote moral relativism), Mr. Smets unequivocable stance on right and wrong is proof
that there is nothing relativistic going on in his neck of the woods. Nope. It is wrong to lie, even if you
meant well. And that’s just the way it is.
Or is it? The usual arguments are boring and I want to get back to the methods of cold reading, but, on
the topic of the motivations that lie behind a benevolent deception, and those that might prompt an
exposure, I am reminded of a scene from the film version of Steven King’s novel, The Green Mile.
The scene is set on the Green Mile, the name given to Death Row in a Depression era prison. A Cajun
inmate named Delacroix, known as Del,
[no relation to Dr. Crow, btw]
is scheduled for electrocution.
Despite his crimes, he is well liked by the guards and has been permitted to keep a pet – a mouse who
had wandered into his cell one day and decided to stay.
Del claims that the mouse told him his name was ‘Mr. Jingles’ and has taught him to do several tricks,
which have greatly amused the guards and prisoners on the Mile. Except for the sadistic guard Percy,
whose only source of joy is enjoying the suffering of others.
As his execution day draws near, Del is very concerned about what will happen to Mr. Jingles. Who
will take care of him? Paul and Brutal, two of the guards who have been kind to the condemned man,
try to calm Del and promise that they will take Mr. Jingles to a fictitious amusement park called
Mouseville, where he can do his tricks and entertain children for the rest of his days. Del smiles at the
thought and makes Paul and Brutal promise to take Mr. Jingles to Mouseville.
Cut to the execution chamber. Del is strapped in the chair and Percy has just read the death warrant.
Percy: You have anything to say before sentence is carried out?
Del: I sorry for what I do. I give anything to take it back, but I can’t. God have mercy on
me.
(whispers to Paul)
Don’ forget about Mouseville.
Paul and Brutal nod - - and are stunned as:
Percy: No such place. That’s just a fairy tale these guys told you to keep you quiet. Just thought
you should know, faggot.
The stricken look in Del’s eyes tells us a part of him had known all along.
It is too late for anyone to do anything and Percy knows it as he looks at Paul and Brutal and gives
them a “what are you gonna do about it” smile.
_____________
I guess Percy wasn’t a moral relativist either.
_____________
Mr. Smet concludes his review with the following, which should enlighten you as to how the skeptics
are getting all of these books that you thought were only supposed to be sold to mentalists and
magicians.
The books are only about 90 pages long, sized at 8 1/2" x 11" and cost
$40 apiece. Being interested in the field, I called a few magic stores
around the country and discovered that they are the key books in the
area of cold reading. If any REALL members would like to borrow
them, just let me know.
__________________________________________________
…most male names among Americans begin with the letter "J," while most female names begin with
"M."
Statistics like this can be helpful, but keep in mind that they are based on overall averages and are not
usually broken down into racial subsets. (I.e. the above is likely accurate as far as American
Caucasians are concerned, but is questionable among Afro – American names.)
[Question of the day:
What do Franklin Roosevelt and Tyrone Power have in common?
Answer: They were the last two white guys named Franklin or Tyrone.]
"I see a man in your life - his name begins with a 'J'." Be sure to encourage feedback by following up
with "Do you know who I'm talking about?"
Okay. As far as it goes there is nothing particularly wrong with this approach, except its lack of
finesse. Just about any letter other than a vowel, or ‘X,’ ‘Q,’ or ‘Y ‘ is likely to generate a response
from a cooperative subject.
The problem is the follow up, “Do you know who I’m talking about.” This is the kind of question that
is just begging for a “No” answer.
Never ask “Do you know…” or any other question that invites a one word answer. You want to
prompt the subject to search his mind and seek an explanation. So, ask him or her a question that
invites an explanation, one that begins with the old standbys:
“Who,” “What,” “Where,” “When,” or “Why.” The five W’s.
A better way, then, is to say, "I am getting the letter 'J'. Is that John or Jack? Who is that? Something
happened with him…"
The sitter: Oh, do you mean Jim?
Psychic: John…James…oh yes! James. That would be Jim, then?
(Note that the reader has cleverly rephrased his previous statement. 'John' or 'Jack' has become 'John…
James…')
The sitter: Yes, he's the boyfriend I dumped last week!
As in this example, when a sitter confirms a “try on” statement by filling in the details that give sense
to the statement she will most likely leave the reading believing that you were the one who gave the
details. ("How did he know I dumped Jim last week?)
Here is a cute ploy to use in a Tarot Card reading when the sitter seems to respond to one or more of
the cards as you are laying them out:
The reader gazes at the cards for a minute and then suddenly looks up at the sitter, saying, “I’ve got to
ask you this. I’m wondering if that card struck you the same way as it did me.”
If she nods or gives another affirmative response, the reader continues with. “And it just happened, or
is happening right now. Isn’t that right?”
You should not make excessive claims about your abilities. If your only claim is that you are a
character reader, you are not asking the spectator to believe in anything that could turn the reading into
a "Go ahead and prove it to me" battle of wits.
As I already said, sitters who do not already believe in something will not be banging down your door
for a reading.
It is not necessary to actually learn much about these things [systems] but you should pick up some of
the terminology - not only will this add to your credibility, but in the case of palm reading, as Hyman
points out, you can easily use the lines on the palm to play a disguised game of twenty questions with
the sitter by asking things like "Do you want to concentrate on the heart line or the wealth line?"
This is one of the biggest myths to ever come down the pike.
Most people who come to see you as a reader will not, as you may have been led to believe, be
experiencing their first psychic reading. As is pointed out in Tradecraft, there are many people who
have been to dozens of readers and who have read extensively in the areas that particularly interest
them. They may wonder, for example, what you mean if you use the ploy suggested above and ask,
“Do you want to concentrate on the heart line or the wealth line?”
There’s a heart line on the palm, sure enough, but you’d be hard pressed to find a “wealth” line.
Wealth is traditionally determined by the second, or middle, finger, also known as the Saturn finger. It
is interpreted according to its length and straightness. The basic lines that appear on the palm itself are
the life line, fate line, heart line and head line.
If you want to do palmistry and make use of the otherwise excellent suggestion of just asking the
spectator which line she would like to focus on, why not take the trouble to find out which line is
supposed to be which. All you have to do is look it up. Instead of entering “cold reading” into your
search engine, try “palmistry” or, better yet, “Cheiromancy.” The latter is capitalized because it is
derived from the pseudonym of the Victorian era palmist Count Louis Hamon.
If this sort of thing doesn’t interest you, it is highly unlikely that you will convey interest to your
sitter, even if she hasn’t already tumbled to the fact that you don’t know what you are talking about.
(The line - “Do you want to concentrate on the heart line or the wealth line?” is suggested in Hyman’s
article and is repeated word for word in Tradecraft – see what I mean about the limited amount of
available source material?)
In Ian Rowland’s extremely popular Full Facts Book of Cold Reading, he states that he uses
astrology and tarot cards merely as props to subtly boost the credibility of his readings by implying
that they are the result of an accepted system of divination in addition to his own interpretations and
impressions.
He makes no secret of the fact that he hasn’t the faintest idea of what the stars, planets or tarot cards
are supposed to mean and strongly suggests that it doesn’t matter.
In an example of an actual reading, he notes that the sitter is a “Virgo with Saturn rising.” While it is
completely possible for a Virgo to have Saturn in the ascendant, it is not at all indicative of the sitter’s
rising sign, which is normally what an astrologer is talking about when she says “Virgo with ________
rising.” The blank space should be filled with the rising SIGN, not the name of a planet.
Further, his house meanings are completely different from those in any known system of astrology.
These things are common knowledge to people who take astrology seriously and yet Mr. Rowland
thinks they don’t matter.
(I am not suggesting that astrology or any other occult system has any validity in an objective sense.
All of them, however, have an internal consistency that adheres to their fundamental premises.)
He also admits that he has no idea what the Tarot cards are supposed to mean, but suggests that the
reader use mnemonics to memorize whatever arbitrary meanings he feels like using for each card.
Well, if you are going to go the trouble of doing that, wouldn’t it be just as easy to open a Tarot book
or surf the net once again and learn the traditionally accepted meanings? (Yes, I am aware that there
are massive differences of opinion about the meanings of certain cards, particularly among the Major
Arcana. But there isn’t one of them that would call the “Popess” (known as the “High Priestess” after
the early medieval era) a ‘maternal card’. It is not only inconsistent with the number of the card (“2”)
but is slightly confusing when you consider that card number “3” is the “Empress,” and on most
modern tarot packs is depicted as a fertility figure or obviously pregnant woman. Numerologically, as
well, the number “3” would connote birth, where as the number “2” is more commonly associated
with the pure feminine principle.
Again, if this all sounds like meaningless bullshit to you, if you just make this stuff up as you go
along, it will sound like meaningless bullshit to your clients as well.
As I said earlier, Ian Rowland is accepted as authoritative by many and, to be fair, he DOES provide a
wealth of information about the ins and outs of cold reading. This is the reason I included his book in
my “39 Steps” of essential books that should be in every mentalist’s library. It contains so much
information that is valuable to a cold reader that it deserves a position in everyone’s library.
(There are mentalists and readers who consider Mr. Rowland to be an exposer due to his televised
demonstrations of mediumistic and psychic stunts as well as cold reading. That may well be the case,
but it is not a fair basis on which to determine the value of his writings. If you only read books by
people you already agree with or whose conduct you approve of, you are not exactly giving yourself a
well-rounded education and are certainly missing some very interesting reading.)
Why, then, does Mr. Rowland seem to have no problem with just “winging it” when it comes to
interpreting the cards or an astrology chart? I think the reason lies in the fact that he does not do
readings in the context that readings are normally performed. Instead he seems to say in his book that
he only does them for the purpose of demonstrating that it doesn’t require any psychic powers to do
what psychics readers claim to do, that all it requires is what is known as “cold reading” which he then
proceeds to expose. (!)
His readings are done under what he calls “test” conditions and the subjects are not exactly volunteers.
They are specifically selected by the television program or whoever may be sponsoring the
demonstration. He requests that they select subjects, unknown to him, who do not have strong
beliefs, one way or the other, about psychic readings. [Emphasis added]
Presumably, he wants these types in order to show that cold reading works on the average person and
not just on the believers.
It’s just assumed, apparently, that they don’t work on people who claim to be skeptical, although in the
real world, people who claim they are skeptical more than likely do not subscribe to the skeptical
tenets held by CSICOPS etc. Handled properly, it is not that difficult to turn this type of skeptic
around, because all they generally mean when they say they are ‘skeptical,’ is that they have never had
a reading before and don’t think that it’s possible that anyone could do the things that psychics are
supposed to do. And he’d have to see it for himself before he'd believe it, anyway. (The last statement
is common when he secretly wants to have a reading and hopes that it will be accurate.)
Rowland seems to sincerely feel that people should be educated about cold readings so that they can
be avoid being deceived by psychic readers. But by insisting on sitters who don’t have strong opinions
either way about psychic phenomena, it is a virtual certainty that he will be presented with “test
condition sitters” who don’t know (or care) about the techniques of astrology or the meanings of tarot
cards. Thus, his misstatements go unnoticed and reinforce (in his own mind) his conclusion that the
real meanings “don’t matter.”
It would be very interesting if Mr. Rowland were to attempt to do readings for people who said they
had an avid interest in astrology or tarot. I believe that any glaring misstatements of the meanings he
ascribes to the esoterica will, even if they don’t put the sitters off completely, at least confuse them
enough that they will decide that the readings don’t make any sense.
Make no mistake; Mr. Rowland is an excellent cold reader under the working conditions he has
selected. It is entirely possible that even a tarot aficionado might conclude that while he was obviously
confused about the cards, he nonetheless was able to succeed because of latent psychic abilities of
which he is obviously unaware. *
It’s just not very likely.
__________________________________________
* This type of thinking is demonstrated in Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s conclusion that Houdini, who was devoutly
opposed to spiritualism, was an unconscious medium who had the ability to dematerialize in order to escape
from impervious restraints. Believers are like that sometimes. Just not as often as you might think
.
Every system of divination has its general rules. There are systems of occult correspondences, in fact,
that enable the users to transliterate symbols from one system to their functional equivalents in
another. Those familiar with these rather complex correspondences can be very quick to spot an
apparent error, even if they are not thoroughly versed in the system you have chosen to use.
Years ago, magic writers often suggested that all that was necessary while presenting a fortune telling
type effect was to “tell them a bunch of hokum.” That just doesn't work anymore and the suggestion
that it does is just plainly incorrect. Implicit, of course, in this approach, is the skeptic’s belief that all
areas of occult belief are hokum and bunk. This is an attitude that is too easily communicated to an
audience.
Bottom line- if you use a system, don’t pretend. Take the time to learn all you can about it.
_______________________
Be sure to observe a subject's clothes, jewelry, demeanor, mannerisms and speech. Even someone's
eyes and hands can hold many clues. Use these observations to make preliminary deductions about the
subject.
While it is certainly a good idea to pay attention to these things, you must be very careful about your
conclusions. Despite the fact that Sherlock Holme’s deductive methods are exceptionally accurate in
works of fiction, this is not the case in real life. The important things to look for are contradictions
among the various things you observe. (More on this when I get to body language.)
The importance of verbal feedback cannot be over emphasized.
Yes, it can be, and this is perfectly illustrated by the principle of Subjective Validation itself. Just as
Forer’s students didn’t have to provide any feedback to come to the conclusion that their readings
were highly accurate, verbal feedback is only one of many tools that can be used to create a believable
reading. It only applies when you are taking the “Twenty Questions’ type of approach to try and
determine where to narrow down general statements into specific ones.
When cold reading techniques are simply used to augment other forms of information gathering (I.e.,
information gained by impression techniques, billet switching, prior information secretly obtained,
etc.) or to simply provide a generalized reading which will be confirmed by subjective validation – as
in “shotgun” type readings, the presence or lack of verbal feedback is not a critical factor.
Without feedback, though, the process of cold reading would grind to a halt.
This is simply not true. It is only applicable, as I’ve said, when the reader is engaged in a “Twenty
Questions” type of approach. It is this type of oversimplification that actually is beneficial to cold
readers. Herb Dewey, for example, used to make a point of the fact that he did not want any feedback
and simply relied on probability matches, sensory overload (i.e., give a great deal of information in a
rapid fire delivery) and a deep knowledge of human nature, to provide readings that were consistently
given high marks – even when the readings were done on tape in response to a mail order request for a
reading.
And that's the best way to test a psychic. (I.e., don’t give feedback)
Ian Rowland calls this “Psychic Baiting” and recommends it as an amusing pastime for skeptics. As I
have noted, feedback can be very helpful, but for the mentalist who is well versed in alternate
information gathering techniques and also has a battery of stock readings at his finger tips, (or a
thorough knowledge of correspondences) the presence or absence of verbal feedback is hardly a
requirement for a successful reading.
Besides, there are, as any poker player will tell you, and as I will discuss shortly, many other ways of
obtaining feedback.
I suggest that the “psychic baiting” technique can be useful in determining whether or not your
physician is a quack. Next time you go to your doctor and he asks you what’s bothering you, just
smugly smile and say, “You tell me, you’re the doctor.” Or better yet, make something up just to see
what happens. If you are misdiagnosed, this is a sure sign that your doctor is a fake.
The Why of Cold Reading
Since this eBook is limited in its distribution, it is fairly safe to assume that most readers are interested
in cold reading as a means to enhance their demonstrations of mentalism.
Among those who use cold reading as their sole method of simulating paranormal ability, the
reasoning is essentially the same that led the physical mediums of the nineteenth and early twentieth
centuries to abandon physical phenomena. It’s a lot harder to detect and expose.
Blanket accusations of “Cold reading!” have done little or nothing to dissuade those who choose to
believe that certain mediums and psychics have genuine abilities.
A third reason is becoming increasingly common among those who have no interest in either
mentalism or giving formal readings. These are the individuals whose motives are simply to impress
members of the opposite sex or to use the techniques to gain an unfair position of dominance. (I wasn’t
joking earlier when I said that there are plenty of references to cold reading techniques – and
specifically to the Herb Dewey Books – on web sites devoted to the art of seducing women and those
that deal with somewhat more perverse topics.)
The Ethics of Cold Reading
There is nothing ethically wrong with cold reading per se. We all use it every time we interact with,
or “size up” another individual.
My feelings toward the subject – in the context of using the technique as a means of enhancing the
performance of mentalism –are adequately summed up in the excerpt from Nightmare Alley (page 35
of the 1974 paperback edition. Carrol & Graf Publishers, Inc. NY):
…I’ve always stuck to the mental business. It don’t hurt anybody - makes
plenty of friends for you wherever you go. Folks are always crazy to have their
fortunes to wish and hope for. That’s all the preacher does every Sunday. Not
much different, being a fortuneteller and a preacher, way I look at it.
Everybody hopes for the best and fears the worst and the worst is generally
what happens but that don’t stop us from hoping. When you stop hoping
you’re in a bad way.
The Importance of Belief
...Why is it that in this highly scientific and technological age
superstition and irrationality abound?
It is because our brains and nervous systems constitute a belief-
generating machine, an engine that produces beliefs without any
particular respect for what is real or true and what is not. This belief
engine selects information from the environment, shapes it, combines it
with information from memory, and produces beliefs that are generally
consistent with beliefs already held. This system is as capable of
generating fallacious beliefs as it is of generating beliefs that are in line
with truth. These beliefs guide future actions and, whether correct or
erroneous, they may prove functional for the individual who holds them.
Whether or not there is really a Heaven for worthy souls does nothing
to detract from the usefulness of such a belief for people who are
searching for meaning in life.
- James Alcock, "The Belief Engine" -Skeptical Inquirer, May/
June 1995
Rarely do I find something in the “Skeptical Inquirer” that I totally agree with, but the above quotation
is a notable exception. The belief factor is the core of any effective cold reading system. I am not just
speaking of the sitter’s beliefs, but of the mentalist’s as well.
I submit that it is highly unlikely that an avowed skeptic will be able to effectively present cold
readings. This is not to say he can’t present them - anyone, after all, can take advantage of probability
matches, open-ended statements, try-ons, quotes from Gail Sheehy’s Passages, and a canned Forer
personality analysis. But they are unlikely to be mistaken for gifted psychics except by the most dimly
lit shuteyes.
[Did I just say “shut-eyes”? Did I just use the very perjorative I condemned earlier in this book? Yes, I
confess that I did. But please understand that as I visualized a skeptic pretending to be a reader that
was the word he was thinking of as he gazed at his innocent mark. You see, not all people who
disbelieve in so-called psychic phenomena are honest men or well-intentioned members of skeptical
societies. Some of them are cynics, and some are thieves. Do you remember what happened to
Gresham’s protagonist?]
(By the way, there is really nothing wrong with being a shuteye.)
Belief is an essential component of successful cold reading. It can even overcome what would appear
to be scientifically demonstrated fact. For example, research in the field of nonverbal communication
indicates that people are very poor at detecting lies. The traditional body language indicators of
deception can also be signaling something else entirely - I.e., the fear of not being believed can elicit
the same nonverbal cues as those traditionally associated with lying.
Likewise, there is a large body of evidence, most recently contributed to by the National Academy of
Science which shows that polygraphs, or "lie- detectors", are ineffectual and don't detect lies at
anything higher than a chance level.
But - and it is a big but- if the subject of a lie detection effort believes that the machine or the
individual has the ability to detect lies, he is more likely to tell the truth or to give nonverbal signs that
actually DO indicate when he or she is lying.
Similarly, it does not take a great leap to come to the conclusion that if a person believes she is
obtaining helpful advice from a reading, she will very likely find the reading to be beneficial, if only
because it serves to clarify her pre-existing ideas regarding the course of action she must take in a
particular situation. (Which is a complicated way of saying that most people already know what they
should do in a given situation and are simply looking for confirmation or validation of their choice.)
What People Really Want (The Primary Directive)
A common nugget of wisdom is that a reader need only tell people what they want to hear. But when it
comes to deciding what it actually is that people want to hear, the advice is usually just to flatter them
and make positive predictions and comments.
But is this what people really seek from a reading? Or do they actually hope to hear the truth about
what lies in their future? Based on my own experience and that of other readers, I would suggest that
neither is the case.
No one objects to flattery, but a good reading, to fulfill a sitter’s expectations, must have more
substance to it than that. And as far as Truth is concerned, it is certainly not “the whole truth and
nothing but the truth” that they are looking for. They are curious about what the future holds, to be
sure, but the fact is that most people really don’t want to know.
“You’re not going to tell me any bad things, are you?” is a common question from nervous first time
sitters. Astute readers are aware of this and make it a point to clarify some issues up front in order to
allay these fears.
For example, when I ask a person to focus on a question that he or she would like me to answer, after
first pointing out that the question should be serious, I explain that there are certain types of questions
that I will NOT answer under any circumstances. Not only does this serve to put the sitter at ease, but
it often serves to squelch any latent skepticism the sitter may feel.
I usually phrase it like this:
Now it’s important that you focus on a serious question, but I want to understand up front that there
are certain questions that I will not answer. The first is any question at all regarding health issues.
While I may receive strong feelings in this area, I am not a medical doctor, and all I will do is suggest
that you see your physician. It is just as easy for a psychic to misread a signal he is picking up as it is
for a doctor to make a misdiagnosis. The difference is that the doctor has malpractice insurance and I
don’t.
Besides avoiding the ethical problems presented by health questions, this statement serves two
purposes that you may not have noticed. First of all, it eliminates health problems from consideration,
thus making your job much easier as far as the cold reading aspect of the session will go. (You’ve
eliminated one of the three most common areas that people usually ask about.) Secondly, the comment
about malpractice insurance injects some mild humor into the proceedings and helps to put the sitter at
ease.
And, please, do not ask me when you are anyone else is going to die. I believe that that is a personal
thing between every person and his or her Creator. The only person I ever knew who knew with
certainty the date he was going to die was my uncle. And that’s only because the judge told him. (An
old joke, but it works for the same reasons as the malpractice line.)
Also, don’t ask me to get in touch with anyone who has already died. I won't do it. When people pass
over to the other side, we say “Rest in Peace” for a reason. I think it’s a good idea that we let them do
just that. Believe me, if they want to get in touch with you, they will, and you’ll have no doubt about it.
And finally, don’t ask me to tell you what numbers to play on the lottery. Not that I can’t, but believe
me, if I get a vision about next weeks lottery number I’m not going to be giving it out to anybody. Any
psychic who claims to give you lottery numbers usually doesn’t bother to tell you that the only ones
he’s giving out are losers.
Again, you have eliminated a difficult type of question and at the same time have subtly created an
impression of honesty and straightforwardness.
In most readings there seems to be a tacit understanding between sitter and reader that there is a point
to the reading that has nothing to do with actually telling the future or revealing things about the
people in their lives. It is simply that the reader will give them all anyone really wants from life in the
first place:
Personal Validation
The search for personal validation, or, as I call it, "The Primary Directive," governs all human
behavior. It is the need to see one’s self as a significant and valuable member of society.
The need for self-esteem, love, personal value and a strong sense of identity are as basic as the
survival instinct. When a person engages in obviously dangerous activity, such as high-wire walking
without a net, or playing with poisonous reptiles, this is certainly not motivated by the survival
instinct. The motivation, rather, comes from a need to be acknowledged by others and to be seen as a
significant and valuable human being who has the power to control his environment.
The greatest gift that a reader, or anyone else, for that matter, can give to someone is the knowledge
that what he or she seeks is within themselves.
The unethical reader encourages a sense of dependence and capitalizes on the sitter’s need for self
esteem by representing himself, or a particular belief system, to be the answer to the sitter’s quest.
The ethical reader, on the other hand, shows that the answer always lies within the person himself and
encourages independent thought and a sense of personal responsibility.
The Basics of Body Language
Dr. Bob’s Condensed Course in Body Language:
•
If a person leans forward, has an open body or arms position and/or
open hands, her body language indicates that she is interested in what
you are saying. If she is stroking her chin and looking upward to the
right, she is evaluating what you have just said. But, if she is staring at
you and tapping her finger or foot it means that she is anxious to add
something to what you are saying or to point something out to you.
•
If she has her hands over her mouth, is pulling her ear, or keeps her
eyes down and focused to the left - only glancing at you occasionally
while shifting in her seat - this is a sure indicator that she is either lying
or needs to go to the bathroom.
•
If she blinks frequently, tilts her head, makes lots of eye contact, or
nods, she is either listening to you very carefully or is about to ask you if
you want to party.
•
If she slumps in her chair while staring into space and then leans
forward and throws up on your shoes, she is probably not feeling well.
She will be amazed when you are able to detect this with your psychic
powers.
Body language is generally NOT a reliable indicator of a person’s thoughts or emotions unless you are
able to establish a baseline for his or her particular patterns of movement.
This is because accurate body language interpretation is not simply a matter of knowing what various
gestures or postures are supposed to mean, but what they mean for the particular person you are
reading.
When readings are performed for people he has never met, the mentalist or psychic does not have a
reliable baseline (i.e. an understanding of the subjects ‘normal’ body language) from which he can
measure a deviation, nor does he know for certain what an apparent deviation signifies unless he is
able to understand the context of the deviation.
Because of this, the interpretation of body language is best reserved for use with repeat clients or with
individuals with whom you are already acquainted and whose body language patterns you have
already observed and assimilated.
That being said, a person's body language can speak volumes to the person who is adept at interpreting
it. Posture, eye movements, breathing and skin color, all can provide valuable clues as to what is
going on in the person’s mind, especially when they are not congruent with what the person is actually
saying. Similarly, the tone of a person’s voice can belie what he or she is saying. (But, once again,
unless you have already determined the normal status of the nonverbal indicators, you will have no
way of being certain that a true deviation has taken place.)
In the absence of knowing what an individual’s different body movements actually mean, you should
still take notice when there is a change in his or her body. For example, if she is sitting perfectly still
and suddenly starts twitching or moving her eyes or changes her rate of breathing- that is a good time
to start zeroing in with a few try on statements based on what you were talking about at the time the
change occurred.
Some advocates and instructors of NLP™ (neurolinguistic programming) will tell you that a person’s
involuntary eye movements can reveal whether he or she is processing something visually, aurally, or
kinesthetically. (“Seeing it,” “hearing it,” or “feeling it.”) Skeptics have argued that this is a load of
crap. And, if you haven’t established a baseline for the involuntary actions of a particular individual,
they are probably right. With a baseline, however, this sort of technique can be devastatingly accurate.
There is another aspect of nonverbal language, though, that most readers and mentalists do not take
advantage of - even though it is something that is under their control at all times. I am speaking, of
course, of their own body language and nonverbal signals. They may seem obvious to you, but you
would be surprised how many would-be readers are so concerned with watching for nonverbal
feedback and not being obvious about it that they fail to exercise one of the most powerful tools they
have for establishing a connection with another human being – eye contact.
A handshake and eye contact are among most important things you must do at the very beginning of a
cold reading session
Not only does a handshake, accompanied by eye contact, create personal contact between the sitter and
reader, it subtly encourages openness and honesty on the part of the sitter.
In a recent university study, a quarter was left lying in a telephone booth. When people exited the
booth, the student experimenter approached them as asked them if they found a quarter. Most strangers
lied (even though they were seen taking the quarter.)
However, when the student shook hands and made eye contact with the strangers, only 14 out of 75
lied about finding the quarter.
_____________________________________
As I’ve noted, there are very few body language signals that have a universal meaning that can be used
without first establishing a baseline behavior for the particular individual being read. There are,
though, some exceptions that you may find useful.
Lying
Such classic gestures as covering the mouth, folding the arms and or/ fidgeting are not, as often
believed, reliable indicators that a person is lying. It has been found, however, that by comparing what
someone is saying to the manner in which they move their arms and legs can in fact indicate whether
they are withholding information or fabricating. When the person is holding back or lying they tend
NOT to move their limbs as much as they do when they are being open and telling the truth.
Mimicking
Be careful with this one, because if you are too obvious, you may not get the response you desire.
Reliable research indicates that mimicking another’s face elicits empathy. This also appears to be true,
according to NLP practitioners, if you mirror their body language and rate of breathing. I haven’t had
much success with the body language and breathing, but the facial mimicking has been very effective
for me.
Involuntary Facial Expressions
The following expressions have been found to be involuntary and are found in all cultures and,
occasionally, in other species as well. (although there is not much money to be made in interspecies
readings)
The Tense Mouth
This is the gesture produced by compressing, in-rolling and narrowing the lips to a thin line. The lips
are visibly tightened and pressed together through contraction of the lip and jaw muscles.
The lips are the most emotionally expressive bodily features. Lip and jaw tension clearly indicate
anxiety, nervousness, and emotional concerns.
Thus, a tense-mouth precisely marks the onset of a mood shift, a novel thought, or a sudden
change of heart.
The tense-mouth has been observed as a sign a of anger, frustration, or threat and may also indicate
determination, sympathy or thinking something over.
Tongue-show
A momentary protrusion of the tongue between the lips. This gesture is not only found in adult
humans, but also in gorillas and other primates, as well as in children and all ethnic groups.
It is a universal mood sign of unspoken disagreement, disbelief, disliking, displeasure, or uncertainty.
It may modify, counteract, or contradict a verbal remark. Following the statement, "Yes, I agree," E.g.,
a protruded tongue may suggest, "I don't agree." Tongue-shows can reveal misleading, ambiguous, or
uncertain areas in dialogue, public statements, and oral testimony, and thus may signal probing points
(i.e., unresolved verbal issues to be further analyzed and explored).
Lip Pout
To push the lower lip against the upper in a protruded look of disappointment, displeasure, sadness, or
uncertainty. While pouting is common among children, adults unthinkingly pout, or partially pout
when disagreeing with a comment. The pout is also sometimes the equivalent of a shoulder shrug.
(Pouting is also an unwitting signal given by men and women alike as a courtship gesture, in which
context it signals harmlessness and availability. I trust that the mentalists reading this book will not
take advantage of this knowledge in a lecherous way.)
________________
Whenever you are watching for nonverbal cues, it is best to make your observation of the subject as
unobtrusive as possible. One of the more clever approaches used by Herb Dewey and others were to
do readings at a table whose top is made of clear glass, thus allowing subtle observation of foot
wagging signals, etc. Another approach, advocated by Dewey, was to seat the subject in a chair that
squeaked when the sitter fidgeted, thus indicating when the subject was fidgeting when the reader is
looking in the other direction.
In any event, it is easier to notice nonverbal cues if you gaze blankly upwards, or in another direction,
when giving the reading, observing the spectator with your peripheral vision only.
(This is one of the reasons that blindfolded psychometry can be one of the strongest ways to do cold
reading before a group. More on this when we discuss specific applications.)
But once again, nonverbal communication (body language) is generally useful to the cold reader only
when it indicates a sudden deviation from the sitter’s norm.
The Real Work of Cold Reading
Perhaps the biggest myth of cold reading is that it is something you can learn from a book and that it is
some kind of a logical process that can be learned and applied by following certain sets of logical rules.
The fact is that cold reading is primarily a right-brain activity and takes place, in the hands of its
strongest practitioners, on a subconscious level. The best way, then, to become a proficient cold
reader, is to make it a habit to read people all of the time, and not just attempt to do it in the context of
a reading. You can, and should, learn all you can from the books on the subject, but in the end, your
most valuable lessons will be learned if you become an active practitioner of the age-old sport of
people watching.
The Bacheldor Effect
Not only does cold reading enhance mentalism, but mental effects themselves reinforce the
believability of a performer’s readings. The late, and greatly lamented, Marcello Truzzi, was the first
to draw my attention to the “Bacheldor Effect.” It seems to indicate (to some researchers, at least) that
the introduction of psychic “trickery” can actually serve to encourage actual paranormal activity.
The following discussion offers some insights into why this is the case.
Unacknowledged fears of psi can create unconsciously motivated behaviors that
inhibit and/or distort the operation of psi in the laboratory. Observations suggest that
unacknowledged fear of psi is widespread among parapsychologists, as well as
others. The ingenious approaches of K. Batcheldor and J. Isaacs for producing psi
may be effective because they bypass fears of psi, but have long-term limitations
through not dealing directly with it. A social masking theory of psi inhibition and a
primal conflict theory of psi inhibition are discussed, and 10 strategies for dealing with
this fear are presented. Denial, avoidance of triggering circumstances, rationalization/
distraction, and dissociation/repression strategies all have inherent
psychopathological aspects. Desensitization and bypass defenses have healthy as
well as psychopathological aspects. Cognitive/affective acknowledgement, learning
adaptive coping skills, accepting responsibility, and personal growth strategies are the
most desirable ways of handling the problem of the fear of psi.
-Charles S. Tart, "Dealing with Fear of Psi" - 1984
In the mid 1960’s, researcher Kenneth Batcheldor - one of the first parapsychologists to focus on
obtaining raps and table movement in a séance type setting - hypothesized three reasons why group psi
experiments of this nature (specifically for psychokinesis) could fail.
Lack of belief, for even the slightest doubt could inhibit results; “Ownership Resistance,” a term
coined by Bacheldor to describe subjects who didn’t want to discover that they could be responsible
for psychic manifestations; and “Witness Inhibition,” a reflection of the fact that some subjects not
only didn’t want to possess psychic ability, they didn’t want to witness it either.
To get around these problems, Bacheldor set his pk experiments up in a “party” environment. The
laughter, singing, etc, and the party atmosphere alleviated witness inhibition. To tackle the problem of
Ownership Resistance, he would often employ the use of a stooge to get the psychokinetic
manifestations started.
(Specifically to get the tables tipping or the bottled pendulums moving.)
Many researchers who accept the psi hypothesis believe that Bacheldor’s research, and subsequent
replications, suggests that it is the unconscious can produce spontaneous psychic effects when
interference from the conscious mind is bypassed and a sense of belief instilled in the subjects.
In other words, the trick would create belief, which in turn would allow the latent psychic abilities of
the subjects to manifest themselves. (Cynics may conclude that the trick just induced everyone to get
in on the act, much as in the “follow the leader” phenomena that is commonly seen in stage hypnotism
acts.)
Reread the preceding paragraphs. Do you see the beautiful out you have if you are every positively
caught using trickery? You were “simply using the scientifically established Bacheldor effect to
induce genuine spontaneous phenomena through the creation of a psi-conducive atmosphere.”
Cold Reading and Mentalism
The primary value of cold reading to the mentalist is as an enhancement to other information gathering
techniques used in the course of a reading or straight mentalism demonstration. As such, the two
techniques (cold reading and the specific method of a given routine) act as mutual “logical
disconnects.” (I.e., one effectively misdirects attention away from the use of the other.)
When the cold reading is simply a tool used as part of the build up to a larger effect, both the overall
impact of the cold reading and the effect are greatly enhanced.
In a card game, a cheater whose specialty is the cold deck only needs to cheat once. In the course of
the evening, he observes the other players habits and sees who has the most money to lose. During a
break in the action, he adjusts the cold deck (the stacked deck that will be switched into the game) to
set up the chosen "mark." The point is that the hustler only needs to cheat ONCE in the evening to
come out a big winner. The rest of the time he need merely play well, not winning or losing too much.
There is an analogy here to cold reading. You don't need to know a whole lot about the sitter if you
can do a good basic read. The payoff comes when you hit him hard with the secretly obtained
knowledge. This is where the average mentalist blows it. He makes too big a deal about obtaining or
revealing the stolen knowledge and runs the risk of raising the sitter’s suspicions.
Cold reading, at its best, is an adjunct to revealing secretly obtained information. It also serves to
establish the reader’s credentials far beyond what is possible with straight cold reading alone. The
stolen information is an insurance policy to the reader, which guarantees a successful outcome when
the psychological ploys don't work.
Fortunately, the books and articles on cold reading, which are so readily available to anyone who
wants them, find the auxiliary techniques of mentalism and billet reading to be “outside the scope” of
cold reading. As Ian Rowland says in his book, “With very rare exceptions, these stage tricks and
mind reading routines have little or nothing whatsoever to do with cold reading.”
The remainder of this book is devoted to those of us who make a specialty of “those rare exceptions.”
I’ve Got your Number
Here is an example of how secretly obtained information and the techniques of cold reading can be
used to mutually enhance one another. Earlier, I discussed the value of the simple ploy of simply
asking someone the name of his or her favorite movie or book. The selection should serve to tell you a
great deal about the person.
But as a mentalist, you would probably be much more comfortable in having them write down the
information (the name of the book or move) rather than asking for it outright.
Rarely do I suggest that you use “your favorite method” to obtain information from the spectator, but I
am sure that you are familiar with more than enough methods to secretly obtain what a person has
written on a billet or a piece of paper. Use your favorite one to obtain the name of her favorite book or
movie.
As I indicated earlier, the choice she makes will reveal a good deal about her, but you explain to her
that you merely want to demonstrate how the science of numerology can tell a lot about a person’s
personality and preferences.
Take out a paper and pencil and request her full name and complete date of birth. Jot them down at
the top of the paper and underneath quickly draw the following chart:
Explain that you will calculate her name number, birth number and destiny number.
We’ll suppose that the person’s name is Lois Johnson; her birthday is March 18, 1970; and her
favorite book is The Color Purple.
She’s wearing a simple gold band on her right third finger. She has no idea, of course, that you already
know the name of her chosen book. The selection, though, tells you that she is well read and her
manner of speech is consistent with a person who has had at least some college education.
As you are calculating her numbers, you can comment that she is a Pisces, which of course is a
feminine sign corresponding to the element water. What you know so far should tell you a great deal
about her and it is fortunate that she is a Pisces, because it lets you lead off with the observation that it
is a feminine sign. Do you see why this is relevant?
Standing alone, the ring on her right hand might mean nothing. But coupled with her choice of novel,
strongly indicates that she has feminist leanings and could possibly be a Lesbian. (You DON’T want
to say, “I get the feeling you’re a Lesbian!” If you do, you are an idiot. You just need to keep the
possibility in mind and be careful if and when you start talking about relationships.) The Color Purple
is a strongly feminist novel and the band on the third finger of the right hand is common among gays.
This is why the Pisces bit gives you a nice lead in.
When you are done calculating the numbers, you will interpret them according to their traditional
meanings, but you will keep the information you have obtained so far in mind, together with anything
you get from her in the way of feedback as you go along.
Explain to her what you are doing as you make the following calculations:
First, convert every letter of her name to its alpha-numeric equivalent on the chart. The numbers are
actually the digital roots of each letter’s position in the alphabet. “A” is “1”, “B” is “2”, etc. When you
get to “J”, which is the tenth letter of the alphabet, it works out to be a “1” because adding the digits of
“10” together results in “1”. Explain to the sitter that the same result is obtained by the simple
expedient of “casting out nines” which you probably remember from grade school.
If you were right about her level of education, she will have no problem following you and may even
nod in understanding. If, on the other hand, she seems hopelessly confused, you will know that she
wasn’t a math major. In this case, that confusion, together with her choice of book, probably indicates
that she majored in one of the liberal arts. Do you see how much more we have tentatively learned just
based on observation, her choice of book, her speech and her ability to understand?
When you have calculated the number for each letter in her name, you simply add all of them together,
once again casting out nines to arrive at the digital root. The result is her name number. In this case
L=3 O=6 I=9 S=1 J=1 O=6 H=8 N=5 S=1 O=6 N=5 – Total is 51. 5+1=6. 6 is her name number.
It is also the number of the heart and corresponds to the Tarot card “The Lovers” as well as to
Tiphareth on the Cabalist’s “Tree of Life”. Being a multiple of three, it is considered a perfect number
and it corresponds to the human heart as well as to the Sacred Heart of Jesus in esoteric Christian
tradition.
(None of the foregoing is bullshit; these are the actual things you will know instantly if you make a
point of learning occult correspondences. They may seem useless in other areas of life, but when it
comes to cold reading, a solid knowledge of correspondences and meanings will give you plenty to
talk about without having to worry about memorizing stock readings to fill in dead time.)
Explain what each of these things mean and the Forer effect will insure that she finds it to be
somewhat relevant.
“In regard to the ‘6’, it does have a sublime connotation and is sometimes represented by a rich
burgundy color or perhaps the color purple.”
I had the opportunity, so I took it. In the last sentence, I have interpreted the number in such a way as
to include the name of her book, but I have made it a point not to act as if I recognize the significance.
I will make it a point NOT to bring up her book again. She is either going to burst out with it herself,
or is at least going to be a bit shaken that I have tumbled onto it, apparently unknowingly.
Instead, I continue with the calculations. The numbers, which make up her date of birth, when added
together and reduced to their digital root, produce the birth number. The name and the birth number
added together equal the destiny number. It is around the meanings of these numbers and any feedback
that I am generating that I will build the rest of the reading.
In this case, just to make sure you understand the system, her birth number is “2” and her destiny
number is “8”.
It may just be synchronicity at work here because I made up her name and birthday at random, before I
decided she was wearing a ring and that her favorite book was The Color Purple – but isn’t it
interesting that her birth number – “2” corresponds to the feminine principle and that its
correspondence in the Major Arcana of the Tarot is “The High Priestess” – often interpreted to be the
keeper of feminine wisdom? I tell you – this stuff can get spooky at times. If you look for the
coincidences, though, you will find them. Even the skeptics will agree with this, although they will
say it’s just selective validation on my part – so what? IT WORKS.
I might continue by asking her if the song “Physical,” by Olivia Newton John has any special meaning
to her. If she says “Not really,” I’ll just segue into something like, “It’s what just came into my mind
and it seems to be telling me that you are the type of person who isn’t afraid to take risks, especially
when it comes to standing up for something that she believes in. This is characteristic of the number
“8” which is, as you can see, your destiny number.”
I think you get the idea. You can find all of the correspondences you need in Crowley’s 777, which is
available from the publisher Samuel Weiser in New York, or readily obtainable on the Internet. A
more modern and highly recommended book of correspondences is The Magician’s Companion by
Bill Whitcomb, (1994 Llewellyn Publications)
So that you can get started with numerological interpretations, though, I have included a chart of the
common meanings attributed to numbers in Appendix A.
What was the point of mentioning the song “Physical?” It was the number one song of the 1980’s
according to Billboard Magazine. Since she was born in 1970, the eighties is the decade in which she
matured, graduated high school, and underwent some of the most memorable and influential events of
her life. Many people associate such things with songs, so I just took a shot. No big deal if I am wrong
as you can see by the smooth segue into “It’s what just came into my mind… “
If this sort of thing intrigues you, I have already done the research for you and, in Appendix B; I have
included some very useful information regarding popular music that you may wish to incorporate in
your own readings.
The Coin Toss
Here is an old psychological trick you can use if you ever find yourself in a position to help someone
make a choice, say perhaps between two possible career choices (or boyfriends, or goals, or whatever.)
Hold out two coins, say a nickel and a quarter. Tell the subject to imagine that each of them represents
one of the possible choices. Tell her to firmly fix in her mind which coin represents which choice.
Then say, “You are going to toss both of these coins against the wall over there. Whichever one lands
closest to the wall is the correct choice for you. Do you understand? Good. Now take one of the coins.”
As soon as she takes a coin say, “You don’t have to bother tossing it. You have already made your
choice.”
This is powerful, for it does tend to reveal which of the choices the subject really wants.
The Psychometry Bag
Psychometry is probably one of the best approaches to group style readings. It is especially effective if
done blindfolded, for a good gaffed blindfold that allows straight ahead vision (may I recommend my
own Master Mentalist’s Blindfold?) allows you to secretly observe spectators’ reactions as you “read”
objects they have submitted to be “psychometrised.”
Rather than use the traditional envelope or paper sack approach to psychometry, I have always
preferred to use the Psychometry Bag. While I will be making these unique items available on my web
site in the near future, I will describe the basic construction here, so that those of you with a creative
urge can make your own.
Essentially, the prop is nothing more than a black cloth bag that is divided into five sections. These
sections are made from four felt partitions, which are sewn into the bag, each one a half an inch shorter
than the next. The top of the largest partition is about two inches from the top of the bag proper.
The bag works simply enough. You hold it over your head as you pass in front of five individuals,
each of whom is asked to drop a personal object into the bag. With your right thumb, you are able to
flip from partition to partition, so that each object goes into a separate section of the bag. Thus, even
though you casually shake the bag as you return to the front, you will always know whose object is in
which section.
You can either leave the objects in the bag, withdrawing them one at a time (not in one to five order!)
after you are blindfolded, or you can have your assistant (if you have one) collect the objects for you
and then lay them out on a tray – in a predetermined order – after you are blindfolded.
Back when I was working the cruise ships I used two bags and had two members of the cruise staff –
who were, of course, in on the method- do the collecting while I applied the blindfold. (I had already
selected the ten spectators who would participate and had them stand up, having already arranged with
my assistants the manner and order in which the objects would be collected.)
I considered the contents of the first assistant’s bag to be numbered one to five, and the second
assistant’s were considered to be five through ten. As before, these were laid out in a predetermined
order on a tray before I began “psychometrising.”
I apparently fumbled around on the tray and picked up an object at random, in fact noting from its
position on the tray which spectator it belonged to.
Many writers, notably the late T.A. Waters, Anthony Raven, and I, have noted that the point of the
psychometry effect is NOT to describe the owners of the objects, but rather to tell things about them.
Thus, it is the perfect vehicle for cold reading. When working for a large group, you are necessarily
restricted to short, shot-gun type mini- readings, but these can be very effective, especially since you
know who the objects belong to and can observe their reactions secretly because you are blindfolded.
You may ask, “How do you return the objects to the spectators if you are blindfolded without falling
over people and injuring yourself?” I don’t. I simply give a quick reading for each object and when I
am done reading all of the objects, I remove the blindfold. Then I announce that I will attempt to
match the objects with the owners, and as I return each one I ask some of them how accurate my
readings were. (I know from the reactions I secretly observed where I got some good “hits” and these
are the people I ask.)
One of the most important things I want to emphasize about cold reading in general, and psychometry
in particular, is to never be afraid to “take a shot” or try to do it “for real.” Sure, you will sometimes be
way off the mark, but not as often as you might think, once you get your readings generating from the
right side of your brain.
Above all, remember the Prime Directive, learn your correspondences, and develop empathy and
compassion for your fellow human beings. With these points in mind, and your abilities honed to
perfection, you will not only provide memorable entertainment, but you’ll find you can truly bring
hope and happiness to the people you have the privilege to read. (And if you always remember that it
IS your privilege to read them and not vice versa, you’ll be assured of staying on the right track.)
If the skeptics of the world have a problem with that, all I can say is
“Tough.”
Bob Cassidy
Seattle, Washington
February 2004
Selected Bibliography
Knepper, Kenton - Completely Cold
Tieger & Barron-Tieger, The Art of Speed Reading People
Dimitrius & Mazzarella, Reading People
Rowland, Ian, The Full Facts Book of Cold Reading
Dewey Herb, Red Hot Cold Reading
-with Mark Sky Mind Blowing Psychic Readings
Dewey, Psychobabble
Jones, Bascom, King of the Cold Readers
Trickshop.,com (no author named) Tradecraft, The Art and Science of Cold Reading
Boarde, C.L. (Warren Schoonmacher) Mainly Mental, Vol 1
Gresham, William Lindsey, Nightmare AlleyBooth, J. Psychic Paradoxes. 1984. Buffalo: Prometheus
Books.
Gordon, H. Extrasensory Deception. 1987. Buffalo: Prometheus Books.
Hyman, R. '"Cold Reading': How to Convince Strangers that You Know All About Them." 1977. The
Zetetic Vol. I, No. 2: 18-37.
Marks, D. and R.Kamman. The Psychology of the Psychic. 1980. Buffalo: Prometheus Books.
Randi.J. Flim Flam. 1982. Buffalo: Prometheus Books.
Snyder, C.R. and R.J. Shenkel. "The P.T. Barnum Effect." 1975. Psychology Today Vnl S7.S4
Appendix A
A Numerological System
and Framework
These may be applied to card reading as well as number work. Simply associate the meaning of the
number with the meaning of the suit. Spades=action, conflict, stress, strife; Hearts-emotional and
spiritual matters as well as relationships; Clubs=occupation, activities, creative efforts, etc.;
Diamonds= Money, luck, good fortune, etc.
1
Confidence; alone in front of/behind the crowd; individual masculine principle
Path of independence; tools are determination and ambition
Should rely on yourself; active period filled with changes
Must develop will power yet not be domineering; earn respect
Want to boss or star; needs praise & to share; honest and loyal
Appears creative and magnetic; distinctive clothing/home
Here to be a leader; meet obstacles with courage and will rise to the occasion.
2
Non-aggressive, background work; diplomatic, musical, sensitive,
Feminine principle
tools are tact and diplomacy with aggression
Best within a partnership or to follow; use patience to win it all
Test of sensitivity; don't be used or copy others; build image
Seeking harmony and truth; refined yet timid; cultivating purpose
Neat, clean and modest; soft, loose clothing; pleasant disposition
Here to be a peacemaker/ideal partner; strong memberships; build
3
Versatile, social, lucky, fickle; adaptable; may handle lots of $
Path of self-expression; tools are mentality and creativity
Time to develop artistic abilities; should express imagination
Avoid scattering talents, wasting time; bring joy through feelings
Need mental/verbal freedom; seeking deep-thinking friends/family
Don't overdress; look good in all colors/styles; add accessories
Here to express knowledge, bring joy/imagination; could acquire $
4
Dependable, practical, strong; works well with hands; patriotic
Path of organization; tools are justice and determination
Set strong foundations; hard work pays; if 1st, serious childhood
Time to survive on your own; avoid being lazy, negligent, sloppy
Ambitious for material power; mechanical abilities; needs love
Tailored clothes, straight lines; may be overweight; conservative
Here to build/organize; can assume great responsibility; home body
5
Traveler, salesmanship, sensual, unstable moods, impulsive, mental activity
Path of freedom; tools are wit, enthusiasm, and energy
Time to adapt to new changes; teach and learn; many contacts
Control impulses; practice moderation; avoid abuse of freedom
Attracted to, and by, people and sex; non-conformist; philosopher
Leader in fashion; always youthful; versatile, can be eccentric
Here to enjoy the experience of life; good in public relations
6
Hopeful, cheerful, fortunate, self-sufficient, with proud spirit
Path of service; compassion and harmony are tools, love is reward
Duty & responsibility will pay; can make $ thru caring for others
Test of ideals & love of humanity; avoid domination & interfering
Seeking home/family; natural teacher; both public & private
Neat, attractive, charming; stylish but practical & comfortable
Here to help humanity as a "cosmic" parent/teacher; Good musicians
7
Intuitive thinker; not always understood/appreciated; not domestic
Path of specialization; tools are facts followed by spirituality
Time of educational/mystical pursuits; use honesty and patience
Tests of generosity/understanding; avoid rebellion over conditions
Seeking knowledge/wisdom; dislike noise/confusion; love of nature
Well-groomed, expensive materials; distinctive, perfected attitude
Here as educator in science; possible mysticism; need "loner" time
8
working executive/analyst; can be combative/selfish; literary
Path of management; efficiency, authority, and courage are tools
Good financial period; authority/fame possible; use judgement
Time of challenges; must discover latent power to meet obstacles
Want to direct big business; bringing vision/organization/strength
Should look influential/successful; wear tweed/plaid; dress sports
Can make money; first learn to balance material and spiritual
9
Must rise above personal desires; idealist; spiritually developed
Path of a seeker (reaching for life's mysteries); be tolerant
Time of completion; if 1st, divorce or loss of love; be universal
Want to be a healer to mankind; generous, artistic; born to share
Use/Wear all colors; avoid black; watch carelessness in dress
Here for universal service; to give is to receive; psychic
An alternative system, which may be easier if you are already familiar with the Tarot, is simply to
associate the numbers from one to nine with their corresponding cards in the Major Arcana.
1-
The Magician
2-
The High Priestess
3-
The Empress
4-
The Emperor
5-
The Heirophant
6-
The Lovers
7-
The Chariot
8-
Strength
9-
The Hermit
Appendix B
Top Singles by Decade
The Fifties ('50-'59)
1. Don't Be Cruel/Hound Dog Elvis Presley
2. Cherry Pink And Apple Blossom White Perez 'Prez' Prado
3. Sincerely The McGuire Sisters
4. Singing The Blues Guy Mitchell
5. Mack The Knife Bobby Darin
6. All Shook Up Elvis Presley
7. Rock Around The Clock Bill Haley & His Comets
8. The Wayward Wind Gogi Grant
9. Sixteen Tons "Tennessee" Ernie Ford
10. Heartbreak Hotel Elvis Presley
11. Love Letters In The Sand Pat Boone
12. Jailhouse Rock Elvis Presley
13. (Let Me Be Your) Teddy Bear Elvis Presley
14. At The Hop Danny & The Juniors
15. Love Is A Many-Splendored Thing Four Aces
16. Rock And Roll Waltz Kay Starr
17. The Poor People Of Paris Les Baxter
18. The Yellow Rose Of Texas Mitch Miller
19. Memories Are Made Of This Dean Martin
20. April Love Pat Boone
21. The Battle Of New Orleans Johnny Horton
22. Young Love Tab Hunter
23. It's All In The Game Tommy Edwards
24. The Purple People Eater Sheb Wooley
25. Tammy Debbie Reynolds
The Sixties ('60-'69)
1. Hey Jude Beatles
2. Theme From "A Summer Place" Percy Faith
3. Tossin' And Turnin' Bobby Lewis
4. I Want To Hold Your Hand Beatles
5. I'm A Believer The Monkees
6. I Heard It Through The Grapevine Marvin Gaye
7. Aquarius/Let The Sunshine In (The Flesh Failures) The 5th Dimension
8. Are You Lonesome To-night? Elvis Presley
9. In The Year 2525 (Exordium & Terminus) Zager & Evans
10. It's Now Or Never Elvis Presley
11. I Can't Stop Loving You Ray Charles
12. Love Is Blue Paul Mauriat
13. Big Girls Don't Cry The 4 Seasons
14. Big Bad John Jimmy Dean
15. Sugar Shack Jimmy Gilmer & The Fireballs
16. Honey Bobby Goldsboro
17. To Sir With Love Lulu
18. Cathy's Clown The Everly Brothers
19. People Got To Be Free The Rascals
20. Get Back Beatles with Billy Preston
21. The Ballad Of The Green Berets SSgt Barry Sadler
22. Sherry The 4 Seasons
23. Can't Buy Me Love Beatles
24. Sugar, Sugar The Archies
25. (Sittin' On) The Dock Of The Bay Otis Redding
The Seventies ('70-'79)
1. You Light Up My Life Debby Boone
2. Night Fever Bee Gees
3. Tonight's The Night (Gonna Be Alright) Rod Stewart
4. Shadow Dancing Andy Gibb
5. Le Freak Chic
6. My Sharona The Knack
7. The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face Roberta Flack
8. Alone Again (Naturally) Gilbert O'Sullivan
9. Joy To The World Three Dog Night
10. Bridge Over Troubled Water Simon & Garfunkel
11. Best Of My Love Emotions
12. I'll Be There The Jackson 5
13. Silly Love Songs Wings
14. Maggie May Rod Stewart
15. Bad Girls Donna Summer
16. It's Too Late Carole King
17. Killing Me Softly With His Song Roberta Flack
18. One Bad Apple The Osmonds
19. I Just Want To Be Your Everything Andy Gibb
20. Stayin' Alive Bee Gees
21. Raindrops Keep Fallin' On My Head B.J. Thomas
22. Da Ya Think I'm Sexy? Rod Stewart
23. Kiss You All Over Exile
24. Tie A Yellow Ribbon Round The Ole Oak Tree Dawn Featuring Tony Orlando
25. American Pie - Parts I & II Don McLean
The Eighties ('80-'89)
1. Physical Olivia Newton-John
2. Bette Davis Eyes Kim Carnes
3. Endless Love Diana Ross & Lionel Richie
4. Every Breath You Take The Police
5. I Love Rock 'N Roll Joan Jett & The Blackhearts
6. Ebony And Ivory Paul McCartney with Stevie Wonder
7. Billie Jean Michael Jackson
8. Eye Of The Tiger Survivor
9. Flashdance... What A Feeling Irene Cara
10. Lady Kenny Rogers
11. Say Say Say Paul McCartney And Michael Jackson
12. Centerfold The J. Geils Band
13. Call Me Blondie
14. Like A Virgin Madonna
15. (Just Like) Starting Over John Lennon
16. When Doves Cry Prince
17. Jump Van Halen
18. Upside Down Diana Ross
19. All Night Long (All Night) Lionel Richie
20. Maneater Daryl Hall & John Oates
21. Another Brick In The Wall (Part II) Pink Floyd
22. Crazy Little Thing Called Love Queen
23. Total Eclipse Of The Heart Bonnie Tyler
24. Down Under Men At Work
25. That's What Friends Are For Dionne & Friends
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