#781 How does cold reading work?

How does cold reading work? It is a method of reading a person you don’t know in order to get information. It is the opposite of hot reading, where the person already either knows the target or has a lot of information about them to start with.

Cold reading is a method employed by psychics and fortune tellers, but it is a skill that anyone can learn. A lot of magicians and mentalists employ it to great effect. Psychics are usually very skilled in cold reading and it can seem that they know a lot about their target, but when you analyze it, they are just using broad statements, guesses, and are very good at observing people.

Cold reading uses several techniques that we can look at. They use broad statements that could apply to many different people. They make a lot of logical guesses. They watch for body language and facial expressions. They double down on the things they get right and ignore the things they get wrong. They observe people.

There are several ways that a psychic can make broad statements that apply to a lot of people. They can make shotgun statements, which are extremely broad and vague and could apply to many people. “I see a woman with blackness in her chest, possibly lung cancer, breast cancer, or maybe heart disease.” This statement will apply to a vast majority of the population because most people will know a woman who has had one of these things. The cold reader only needs a few people to bite at the bait and they can move on to other techniques. Another type of general statement are Barnum statements, named after P. T. Barnum. These are statements that appear as though they are directed at an individual person, but they are actually directed at everyone. These are similar to a shotgun statement. Things like, “You’re having problems with a friend or relative.” So many people are having a problem with a friend or relative that this could apply to many people. And then there are rainbow statements. These are statements that give opposite sides of a personality trait. For example, “You are mostly shy and quiet, but when the mood takes you, you can easily become the center of attention”. This covers about 90% of the population. These vague and often contradictory statements work because we look for the things in them that we think fit and ignore the things that don’t. We look for patterns, meaning, and connection where there isn’t any, and we make the connections if they aren’t there. People are also more likely to believe information about themselves if it is mostly positive, but it must have a few negatives thrown in for believability.

Cold readers make very logical guesses by looking at the people they are talking to. For example, if the person is old, they are more likely to have friends or family that have died. If they look wealthy, they are more likely to have money issues. Cold readers look at clothes, jewelry, appearance, and a whole host of other things to make logical guesses about a person. They also pay attention to body language and facial gestures. If they make a statement that is close to the mark, the target will react in some subtle way and the cold reader will know that they are getting close. If they are too far away, the target will react in a different way. They can use this to hone in what they are saying. Some cold readers might give a list of names or situations and watch your face to see which one you react to. The smallest of mouth movements can give them a hint. They are masters of observing human behavior.

One of the most important skills a cold reader has is to double down on the successes and ignore the mistakes. If they say something that is true and you react to it, they will focus on that topic and build it up. If they say something that isn’t true, they will ignore it. They might say, “it’s all very fuzzy” or “it’s hard to see clearly”. If they have said you know a person called Margaret and you don’t, they might say, “ah, you haven’t met her yet, then.” They can play the timeline to explain away the mistakes. For a cold reader to be believable, they can never be wrong. They must also be very confident. They have to sell their act and the more confident they are, the more easily we believe them.

Many cold readers do it as a show and explain how they perform their tricks. However, many other cold readers pose as psychics and take money off bereaved and helpless people. When you know what tricks they are using, they are easier to spot. And this is what I learned today.

Photo by Gantas Vaičiulėnas: https://www.pexels.com/photo/white-moon-on-hands-3278643/

Sources

https://www.vanishingincmagic.com/mentalism/articles/how-does-cold-reading-work/