I am totally new at this. I have never done it but really want to learn from the ground up.

IF I were to get 3 books/dvd/cd's, which would you recommend in order from 1 to 3, of reading/watching/hearing.

I would prefer not using palms or cards. But if that is the way to learn, so be it.

Keep in mind that I am not a mentalist either although I have done a few mentalist tricks. I am mainly a close-up guy.

Please direct me in the right direction.

Thanks,
-Alec

Check 'Lets Make A Deal-books' forum for one cheap goodie that would be good for you.

The dance is very good book. I just got done with it.

even though I have not read it i'v heard that ian rowlands books is very good.

(1) Full Facts book of Cold Reading by Ian Rowlands

(2) Red Hot Cold Reading by Dewey and Seville

3 Master the Art of Cold Reading by Angel Harper

With the caveat that I have never done a cold reading but have only read everything I could find on the subject I would recommend these three books in pretty much this order;

The Tarot Readers Handbook by Ron Martin
The Full Facts Book of Cold Reading by Ian Rowland
The Dance by Brad Henderson

You said you'd prefer to not delve into Tarot or palm reading but Ron Martin gives good reasons why he chooses to clothe his cold readings with the Tarot or palm reading. He includes a very comprehensive bibliography of further reading in his book. Lots of other material is out there but I found these three to be the most informative personally. Again, I've never done a reading so give my suggestions whatever weight you choose. There are undoubtedly much more qualified people available here to make suggestions.

I second The Full Facts Book of Cold Reading by Ian Rowland. That is the only cold reading book I have though. It really explains the most fundamental of how to conduct a cold reading and all its elements.

Not to repeat myself from other posts, but I will...

Buying "cold reading" books and trying to do a reading from them is far more difficult (and not as effective) as just learning a system (palm, tarot) and doing it. While these books appeal to the magician part of our mind that looks for psychological tricks they just don't hold a candle to actually learning an established system of doing readings.

For recommendations for palm reading I will give you three...

Quick and Effective Cold Reading by Richard Webster (book (or the Cold Front flash cards from Doug Dyment...the basic Webster system)). This is a scripted palm reading (if the heart line does this, you say this...).

Speed Learning - Palmistry In Your Own Words by Julian Moore e-book.

Palm Reading Secrets (2 dvd set) by Dean Montalbano (ok, not a book).

The things about these products is they aren't magician's theory...they teach a system of reading palms.

When you are done with these you will be able to do good readings.

All of these have been discussed on this site...search for information by title.

You could also choose another system (tarot, runes, etc..). Those would be other resources.

What three books I would recommend would vary depending on the system you prefer. I chose palmistry as, as I have told many, it is the best, most powerful thing I have ever learned and used.

Completely Cold by Knepper actually works even though the product is OVERKILL Love it though.

James Bond classic reading is a great way to practice to be able to expand on the stock lines and sound genuine while you do it..

Rowland's book is a gem and one of my favorites. The carney Tarot kills with CR.

Richard Webster's audios at lybrary.com These go over the basics of readings, how to practice and learn, how to perform several styles of readings and how to make money with readings

I would highly recommend Richard Webster's Llewellyn books; these are metaphysics books and are available at your local bookstore. I particularly like"
Chinese Numerology
Complete book of Palmistry
Playing card divination for beginners
Aura reading for beginners

Ron Martin's books are amazing.

Leaping Lizards books and DVDs are also amazing!

Posted: May 15, 2010 12:26am
I re-read your post and saw that you are not into tarot or palms.
In that case numerology is the way to go (IMO). Richard Webster gets into it in his audios, and I even more highly recommend "Chinese Numerolgy" (out of print but cheap at Amazon).

Is there a type of reading that does particularly interest you? I think "draw me a tree" by Rudy Hunter is pretty amazing and you'll be doing readings right away. It's not psychic though, it's psychological; in some ways that's a plus.

Seadog has some good recommendations.

I don't understand why you don't want to do tarot or palm...can't tell from your post so it may or may not be an issue. I do stand by my recommendation of palm.

Seadog's recommendation of "Draw Me a Tree" as a good psychological reading (with no psychic overtones) is spot on. When I have done these readings the people always keep their tree drawings. They really like these readings.

Seadog's other recommendation, Webster's take on Chinese Numerology, is also excellent. The late Tony Andruzzi recommended I get this when it came out. The first version was around a dozen or so pages and I did it for years. Like with the tree drawing, people keep their numerology charts.

Often these were on a bar napkin and I never understood how the person made head or tail of the tic tac toe chart with the circles and arrows and all when you were done and they looked at it years later...but they loved them. They would dig out this old, tattered napkin and happily remind me I had given them a reading.

So you have several very nice choices. Still I suggest pick a system. If you want to try basic Chinese numerology you can try it free. Here is a basic way to lay it down...

http://www.essortment.com/all/chinesenumerolo_rehm.htm

Don't let the meanings get you down...just learn the basic meanings of the nine numbers...then adjust. One of a number is just a little of the meaning, two of a number is a good balance, three or more of a number is a lot of that quality.

All things have a good side and a challenge to them...nothing is bad or good by itself.

Circle the numbers as you talk about them...make the arrows as you talk about them. It is a good, free introduction to a nice way to do a simple reading.

Hi,

Have a listen to my MP3s, I think you will enjoy them!

I wholeheartedly agree with the recommendations for Ian Rowland's book, if only because apart from being a crystal clear(no pun intended) read, he's very funny too, which makes it a joy to read in my humble opinion.

For an instant reading system that can get you off to a flying start try Docc Hilford's System 88 as it avoids cards and focuses on 'psychological' or 'scientific' principles and can be adapted for close up and table work and the spec get's a keepsake.

Craig Browning has brought up, on other boards, some points about Rowland's book. Everyone agrees that it is a good book, but depending on what you want to do it may not be appropriate.

Rowland is (apparently) a very good reader, but he only reads for people with no strong feelings either way about psychic phenomena. That is hugely different than reading for someone who is seriously interested in the type of readings you are doing. Case in point: he says there is no need to learn the system you use, just through in a bunch of technical sounding jargon and people will be convinced. That may work if you specifically pick people don't know about readings, but you will have problems in the "real world."

I (and, more importantly, people with tons of real world experience) recommend really learning a system and then, if you feel the need, supplementing it with other stuff.

Anything by Ian Rowland.

Cool Readings by Gene Neilson

It uses one of the things you don't want to use...but you don't use them!

It makes for an EASY system for readings.

Aaron

What I would recommend you is listen to the people here who have actually done a lot of readings. Seadog and mota are experienced and helpful, so you can´t go wrong with their advice.

When I started, I read a lot of books about cold reading but never really used it. Only after watching "Draw me a Tree" I actually DID readings. As suggested by others, it was really helpful and much easier to learn a concrete system.

The advantage of tree readings is that once learned you are always ready to go, people will instantly get curious when you ask them to draw a tree and if you get Rudy Hunter´s DVD you can learn it very quickly. There are a lot of sample readings on the DVD, so you get a good feeling how to actually do readings for people. Besides, Rudy Hunter also teaches some basic stuff about signatures, so if you want to expand your readings as a next step you can get more into grapholgy.

Thanks for the two mentions. As some of you know, my Palm Reading book now has an included audiobook equivalent as part of the package so you can learn on the go. I haven't created an audiobook version of the James Bond book yet as I haven't figured out how to do it! Saying that, I wrote the James Bond book specifically for magicians and mentalists who wanted to add 'cold reading' to their performances without using an oracle such as palmistry or tarot.

Try this book:
The Full Facts Book of Cold Reading: A Comprehensive Guide to the Most Persuasive Psychological Technique in the World: - By Ian Rowland
TGR

I have published an annotated bibliography of cold reading that offers both opinions and some pretty helpful resources on this topic.

I didn't...sorry...and the advice about removing tarot cards is just plain weird...

anyway - why not get involved in something else, other than CR? sure, it well be fun, and maybe interesting...but, for me, enrique enriquez's work on the tarot beats any and everything else...its not psychic, occultish, or anything else...and if you have any knowledge of Carl Jung - that's a bonus...

cold reading leaves me...well...cold, personally...