I have just completed reading everything I could lay my hands on about Cold Reading – hoping to better understand both today’s Mentalist and today’s audience or spectator drawn to such things. Any review of questions asked of psychics online indicate only that most responding psychics/fortune-tellers are frauds and that most “seekers” have no concept of personal values like integrity or commitment. So, what is the “pulse” of performers doing Cold Reading or making predictions on stage as entertainment?

I make two observations based on my extensive education in communications and decades of practical experience in training and recruiting situations:

1) the available material is out of date, providing highly inaccurate information about the values, psychographics and expectations of various age cohorts. A book published in 2002, for example, will be based on the 2000 Census in which today’s 30 year old was a minor whose opinions were not included. They would have gone through high school with only minimum integration of Distance Learning, limited Cell-phone use and comfortable thoughts of finding a meaningful career, purchasing a home and finding a “like-minded” spouse.

While this “information gap” has always been present in creating text books and training materials, the vast difference between perceptions and expectations of various age cohorts is accelerating with even a five year difference being critical. It is not a matter of which is “better,” only a recognition that views are “different.”

This should mean that the Mentalist desiring to do Cold Reading must be constantly updating their own perceptions of each age cohort, but how is this to be done when the “training manuals” do not even address the problem?

2) Cold Reading is done “face-to-face” and presumes common reactions to various verbal stimuli, i.e. you plan to read a person’s agreement or rejection of an idea based on non-verbal cues such as eye movement. But this presumes that the Seeker has some measure of interpersonal interactions from which to form patterns of behavior and response. Today’s youth have little such experience, and what they do have is with peers equally unskilled in interpersonal communications. In short, a Reader cannot trust that any specific non-verbal response means anything – especial the confirmation of a falsehood or truth.

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I am sure that some performing Mentalists have some viable solutions,
but they certainly are not found in available literature.

I really have to disagree I'm afraid, while times have moved on and technology has advanced, those things that make up tick, our incentives in life are still very much the same as they've always been. We still worry about the same things that our grandparents worried about, health, finances and family. The experiences that we have all shared during different phases of out lives are still very much the same. Ok our grandad might have played marbles with his friends when he was ten, where as someone younger might have a memory of a game on the Nintendo in his friend's bedroom, the basis is still the same. At 16 they're both thinking about girls and have both probabaly already had a fairly painful relationship experience. At 18 they're both probabaly a little nervous of what their future holds. While the exact details will be different, the basic themes at specific points in life are still very much the same regardless of age.

Cold reading is a difficult thing to learn from a book, you can get as much theory as you like but it's not until you get out there and start doing it, that you actually start really moving forward. It's then that you'll build up your experiences and you'll get to know what's likely to hit and what's not.

It's a little harsh to say that young people today have no interpersonal communication skills. Connect with someone and they will respond. The most important thing with cold reading is have them say 'yes' to as much as possible. Once they get in the habit of saying yes to you, they'll find it very hard to say no and will start making what you say fit them. When that happens, you're on happy ground.

Well, for all that, it has worked great for me so far.

If it is for entertainment, it should not really be a worry anyway. A few hits and they're amazed and entertained. Some more so.

Unless of course you really sell yourself as a real Psychic who can read minds and predict the future, then it's your fault really using Cold Reading.

From the point of view of a Tarot reader, cold reading is another (subtle) tool in the tool box. It takes a lot of real life practice. The problem IMHO today is that a lot of folks buy hype and think if they just learn whatever the newest system for cold reading is that they will be able to give 'amazing readings with no effort.' No different than the current state of magic or mentalism.

I think you're dead right, dennper. Another problem is that magicians think that a system is all there is too it and are afraid to budge from the 'rules'. By all means use tried and tested methods to get your first few hits but once you've got the reading going, the best thing to do is to forget about any system and let your instincts and intuition take over. Your intuition is where your best readings will come from. Don't be scared to get things wrong, that will happen but you'll be remembered more for what you get right. The more you practice, the more you'll find yourself getting things right.

I guess I have a problem with “getting it right.” This assumes that:

1) the Seeker understood what you said and visa versa,

2) that the stated or discovered problem is real and not delusion,

3) that the Seeker actually wants a solution to his/her problem,

4) that affirmation, verbal or non-verbal actually indicates acceptance of the solution

so, all you get is apparent agreement with a possible answer to a possible problem

how is this “getting it right?” I guess it is entertaining.

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my view has always been grounded in knowing that some people have real problems,
and desire answers that are relevant and doable. Even though you might only be providing
a demonstration for fun, some seekers and spectators will take it seriously.

It is possible to do authentic divination, and always has been.
Cold Reading is a ‘quicky’ emulation of such methods.

Read the book “Fain Faire Sooth” to better understand legitimate Soothing.

The point here is that it is becoming more difficult to tell when a Seeker is posing a legitimate problem, and to understand what non-verbal affirmation means.

Now what you're saying is depending on exactly why you're doing the cold reading and what you're trying to achieve.

In my mind, cold reading should only be used for entertainment purposes and as with any performance where you could be dealing with a sitters genunie problem, you have to act reponsibly. You shouldn't really be answering personal questions from the sitter, not directly. Guide them and let them come to their own conclusions. Don't offer any sort of advise as you're never going to know the full situation. Just encourage them with the knowledge that whatever they choose or happens, will be for the best.

To answer you points,

1) the Seeker understood what you said and visa versa,

That comes down to your communication skills and not the sitters. Besides it might not really matter if the understand you, only that they think they understand you. If they take what you say and twist it in their mind to fix them, that's no bad thing.

2) that the stated or discovered problem is real and not delusion,

Again, does this matter if, in their mind you're hitting? Responsibility again comes into this and you should be avoiding any serious or potentially serious problems. That's not your job to worry about.

3) that the Seeker actually wants a solution to his/her problem,

Again, that's not your job and anything that you do tell them could be very damaging. I'd avoid answering anything that could be serious.

4) that affirmation, verbal or non-verbal actually indicates acceptance of the solution

Affirmation does indicate acceptance, at least to your audience.

I am pleased by the high degree of ethics indicated by your responses, Rebecca, and your views as an apparently practicing Cold Reader, but, I guess I am not making my questiosn clear enough ...

Given the unreliability of non-verbal clues provided by those unpracticed in direct one-on-one communications -- how do you know if you are dealing with a serious problem or not? If it is all about just giving an entertaining performance then why do Cold Readings at all? If a Mentalist is supposed to portray a sense of "real" as opposed to a magician, then why risk that perception with a Cold Read that might appear frivolous?

I use Cold Read techniques in serious situations like employee recruitments and management training and am "seriously" concerned over my ability to properly "read" a young candidate's truthfullness or level of commitment. I, personally, would never do a Cold Read or any Soothing for fun or entertainment, but am hoping to learn from those who do or can.

Could you tell us how you are defining cold reading and what works you are referring to?

From your posts it seems like your defining cold reading as involving secretly reading body language and using a lot of statistical information. Your also making a distinction between cold reading and authentic divination.

Most of the books I have in this section of my shelves are on legitimate divination and most of the explicit "cold reading" books are still primarily about legitimate divination systems, with an emphasis on how to put the information together for a satisfactory reading. These books may some information on statistics or body language or even hidden divination systems (ie. legit systems that are secretly being used in addition to the apparent method), but this is all just extras to the legit system being employed.

Richard Webster points out in one of his audio tapes that cold reading originally just meant doing a reading for someone that you haven't met before. Which probably explains why a lot of his "trade" books are only subtley different from his Llewellyn books.

I'll extract some definitions while you please define "legitimate divination." My reference was to "authentic divination" that you first used and then switch to "legitimate." Also, what is the standard for a "satisfactory reading?" Satisfactory to whom -- the Seeker, the Reader, the audience? and how does this standard change between a "personal Read" and one done for entertainment?

You obviously have more books than I, so I welcome your input. For me, Cold Read has always meant a one performed with no prior knowledge of the Seeker related to the problem or situation at hand, as opposed to either secretly gaining information in advance or planning to just read answers from a book to a random selection of crads, casters or animal entrails. Most of what I have read makes a distinction between doing Reads (of any kind) for unethical purposes and those done strickly for entertainment.

Cold-Read techniques are not limited to what Mentalists or fortune-tellers do, but embrace the application of psychology to any communication process for the purpose of gathering information or determining the truth of same. Thus, asking a stranger about the meaning of their surname is a Cold Read technique, while peeking in their wallet is not.

It is because of the fact that many on the Café' have used Cold Read differently than I am accustomed to that I started this thread -- plus the question about its viability across age cohort lines.

Funsway:
You may have seen patterns in wallpaper, pattern seeking is vital. IMO cold reading books are mostly nonsense. The first mention of cold reading I found was 1890 it was used by romany to describe what they do when they are tired after a long day doing readings.
james1a

Although funsway's concerns are specific, we're seeing two big confusions that come with discussing 'cold reading':

-- the incoherence of the term, because usage varies from 'not hot reading' through to 'stock readings' with many processes in between, many of which (as Mary Greer has pointed out) are how human beings always interact with each other

-- taking 'readings' as a singular endeavour rather than one with varying possible components -- predicting the future or divining other hidden aspects of reality, interpersonal exploration through symbols, giving advice to specific problems, understanding people, simulating understanding people and knowledge of their lives, etc. When one person says it should be done for entertainment and one says it shouldn't, to what extent is the same thing being discussed?

I can't touch on everything said in this thread as much has been said. However to say that today's cold reading don't connect with the people of today I believe to be false. imho and I have been working now for some ten years in metalism after receiving my psychology degree and being trained as a Clinical Hypnotherapist by Barry Seedman and also being certified by the International Association of counselors and Therapist (I.A.C.T.) If one were to take Completely Cold by Kenton Knepper and apply it with an understanding of sociology and psychology one would find a most powerful tool in the workshop of life when wanting to help others. I'm told also that S.A.R. is something worthwhile that can be used to influence ones perceptions thus affecting their behaviors. That is of course if your a Skinnerest at heart. My point is that Completely Cold is to me by far the best work on the subject ever written and by far the simplest to use as there is little to remember and no pat scripts. Of course this is just my opinion and what do I know.

Cheers.

I think Herb Dewey would disagree too, technology may have changed, but this is not an art that uses anything hi tech and since people really have not changed those old tried and true methods of years gone by, still work, I know, I use them.
It is something that takes a long time to perfect,

Interesting.
Sorry about my own sloppiness, I am using legitimate as a synonym for authentic (although I can think of objections to that), but I basically just meant divination systems as used by believers, not constructed to deceive or "appear" to be doing divination.

As far as "satisfactory," I generally mean to the person having the reading, although if there is an audience it would need to be satisfactory to the audience as well.

For me anyways there is no real difference between reading in a group and individually, except that I have less time and interaction if I'm doing a reading for someone as part of a show, and obviously I have to be more tactful. The week before last I was doing a mini Q&A and I had a question about some sexual matters. I had to give a reading that satisfied the individual and the group, while making my answer clear to the individual but vague to the group (I'm not sure if that makes sense, basically I didn't let the group know what question I was answering).

I think I understand what you mean by cold reads, and I guess I don't really use them much (but I'm trying to learn some Myers-Briggs stuff) and if I do they are just add ons to authentic divination. I also don't differentiate between a reading for entertainment and for real, except that entertainment readings are relatively short.

I haven't found the statistical stuff necessary at all (of course I'm sure it be useful) and general life patterns and personal concerns really don't change much. I've done mini readings for 10 year olds and teenagers and they're all just like anyone else, they have the same concerns and issues and they appreciate hearing about themselves just as much as adults.

I guess I brought the thread a bit off topic, sorry.

Agreed that there is a lot of grey area in the term itself.

Cold Reading technically means exactly what it says: doing a reading cold. That means using whatever oracle you use with zero knowledge of the person you are reading for.

Currently the term is used in a much broader sense.

A lot of systems labeled as cold reading are actually 'stock' readings or a cross between profiling and passive questioning. Other books cover everything from Barnum statements to the use of negative questioning under the umbrella of cold reading.

While there is nothing wrong with any of these techniques, it does mean that we have to clarify exactly what we are talking about when we begin to discuss.

I believe Funways original observations deal with keeping current on the profiling information available, and gleaning information from non-verbal communications. Then we went on to discuss the validity of what we are doing and how to tell if you are dealing with a serious problem. *whew*

If we are doing cold reading as entertainment - we hopefully should not be dealing with serious problems, and shouldn't even be worried about reading the spectators non-verbal feedback too critically. The 'tricks of the trade' will serve you well if you have enough practice.

If, on the other hand, we are a straight oracle reader, we are dealing with serious problems by the nature of why people come to us. If we are to use cold reading it is as I stated previously - one more (small) tool in the tool box. Here the goal is to gain as much information as possible by whatever means possible in order to be able to help the sitter as best we can. The goal is never to entertain or impress, because therein lie dragons.

Funsway - I think you have gained a good knowledge of the subject as the questions you ask show depth and thoughtfulness of intent. Be careful what you wish for, because your pursuit of becoming proficient at this subject to this degree may lead you from being an entertainer to being ... oh my ... a reader

There have been many useful observations and clarifications for which I am grateful. My views on the changing values of younger people come from my recruiting experiences, but that may not apply to the entertainment field. Perhaps they are more real for fun than they are in a serious situation. My grandkids are no better.

My Cold Read experience is neither entertainment nor oracle, but applied to business consulting and training. For about 15 years I trained and used these techniques in Cold-Call situations (live, not by phone). Imagine walking into a business with no prior knowledge. You have the space from the door to the counter to gather information about the state of the business, contentment of employees, degree of organization, etc. You meet with the business owner/President with no introduction and have 30 seconds to impress him into giving you two minutes. You then evaluate him and the situation to see if it is mutually beneficial to arrange a further meeting to discuss problems and solutions. It is critical to evaluate whether any follow-up is worth your time – not because of a potential sale, but because of the sincerity and honesty of this owner to address his problems. Everything comes to bear in a few moments: demographics, body language, psychographics, inconsistencies, emotional reaction and “gut feelings.” This is “prospecting” rather than “selling,” and requires more presence and empathy that any magic performance or mentalist demonstration I have ever done – and I did it about 40,000 times.

Thus, I read post by Mentalists with little life experience and one book under their belt talk about messing with people’s lives for fun. Maybe I’m jealous because I can’t do that. If I were to do an on-stage Cold Read I would find myself asking internally, “Why aren’t you revealing your real problem? How do you function with this hidden grief? When was the last time you saw a doctor?” – whatever I learned from the interaction. You see, I know that everyone has some fear, some unresolved problem, some discordance between a memory and fact that I will sense and want to help with. I can’t do it for fun.

For those of you who say, “Don’t deal with a serious problem,” then what do you ethically do with what you learn? Do you slip them a card, meet with them afterwards – what. For example, you start the Cold Read for fun and realize that this woman is pregnant and that something is wrong. She wants to talk about buying a house. How do you get her to a doctor. Please don’t say, “That’s not your job.” If not that, what?

Last year I did two “authentic” divinations for people in serious “life crossroads” situations. Each took about eleven hours to complete over a three day period – for which I charged nothing. Now I want to write about some of my experiences but am not sure anyone cares.

Thus the questions – thus my concerns …

But... as an entertainer that really is not your job. Don't let things get that heavy!

Drop in some CR when performing a drawing duplication etc and you'll enhance he effect. Start performing readings etc and you're in another zone (one in which I have no interest or expertise).

I have to say that the idea of someone using CR in business is, to my mind, both concerning (from a legal and ethical standpoint) and a little creepy. And if you are asking questions about CR on the internet then you might reconsider using the techniques in real-life situations where people's jobs are concerned.

T.

Ted, if you read all of the posts you would know I said "using CR techniques" - nothing about doing a CR in a business setting. Actually, the techniques are rather universal, regularly used by psychologists, financial analysts, etc. They are not the providence of CR, but of "elements of determination."

Why should I reconsider using these proven client evaluation techniques when they were successfull 40,000 times? Now that I am mostly retired I am exploring using my expereince/skills in other areas. In the process of exploring CR for entertainment I came to some unsettling (for me) observations that I have shared.

Turning your statement around, I find the idea of someone using proven interpersonal communications techniques in a frivolous manner a little creepy.

You say, "that is not your job -- the very thing I asked you not to say." You don't answer the question of what you DO when you have that information. It isn't a matter of "letting things get that heavy" -- they are what they are. If the alternative is to pre-screen everyone so that the only CR are silly, meaningless frivolity -- then I think you abuse the process and would hardly be considered "real" in any subsequent Mentalism demonstration.

My experience suggests that no serious mentalist should ever do CR for entertainment. If you do CR in a consulting venue then you are "doing it in business."

I re-read the line, "as an entertainer that is not really your job" and tremble as you validate that personal integrity has gone to the dogs. Either you have it or don't, and can't just turn it off when walking on stage.

Funsway,
check your PM I sent you an example of how to handle these situations of pregnant women.
-isi