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Ian Rowland A Simple Introduction To Cold Reading
Ian Rowland A Simple Introduction To Cold Reading
Cold Reading
by Ian Rowland
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The author teaching an Applied Cold Reading
(ACR) class in central London.
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This is a free booklet from...
www.thecoldreadingconnection.com
— Ian
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Dedication
I dedicate this simple introduction to cold reading to all my
many friends in what might loosely be termed ‘the cold
reading community’. Thank you for all the good times shared,
and for all those yet to come.
Publishing Details
A Simple Introduction To Cold Reading
First edition.
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Contents
Statement Of Values 8
An Enduring Fascination 9
Historical Perspective 15
Related Subjects 25
Non-verbal communication (NVC) 26
Clear communication 26
Voice training 26
Pure language 27
Neuro-linguistic programming (NLP) 27
Persuasion skills 27
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Statement Of Values
This publication is supplied primarily from:
www.thecoldreadingconnection.com
These are my values, and the values promoted via The Cold
Reading Connection.
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An Enduring Fascination
Welcome to what I believe is one of the most fascinating
subjects in the world!
Cold reading has been part of my life for over thirty years. It
has proved to be an enduring passion, as well as an endless
source of fascination and fun. More importantly, my interest
in this beautifully curious subject has enabled me to meet
countless wonderful and interesting people from around the
world, many of whom I’m lucky enough to count as friends.
They come from many walks of life, but share my interest in
cold reading and related arts.
Cold reading is one of those areas where the more I know, the
more I’m aware how little I know, and how much there is still
to learn! I look at this in a positive way. It would be a shame to
ever reach the stage where there was nothing left to learn or
share.
Perhaps you will find that cold reading becomes for you, as it
has for me, an enduring fascination!
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The Joy Of Cold Reading
If there’s one point I ought to make crystal clear, it’s that cold
reading is fun. I love cold reading and what it can do, and I
have had a great time sharing this passion with people all over
world.
I have seen the way that simply gving someone a reading can
transform doubt into hope, and ‘I can’t’ into ‘Maybe I can’.
With my own eyes, I have seen readers bring people together,
and create connections and even friendships that wouldn’t
have happened otherwise. What’s more, I have seen them
provide fascination, entertainment and fun in many situations
where these elements were in rather short supply.
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I have seen the fun that cold reading can create — the smiles,
the happiness, the laughter. In some ways, cold reading is a
gift you can give to more or less anyone, more or less
anywhere.
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What Is Cold Reading?
Because cold reading is a rich and complex subject, we could
define it in many different ways. Here is one good definition
that will suffice for the time being:
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Personally, I think that cold reading in the most accurate sense
of the term involves real-time interaction between the reader
and client, either in person or via phone or internet. Where
this sense of live interaction is missing, such as when a reader
sends a written astrological profile through the mail, I
personally don’t think of this as cold reading in its truest sense.
However, others would take a different view.
Non-psychic Flavours
Not every reader suggests that the readings they give are
‘psychic’ in nature. There are many readers who present and
frame their readings in other ways. For example, some say
their readings are psychological in nature, or spiritual. You
may or may not feel this makes much of a difference — some
would say it’s a case of same bread, different wrapper. It’s
very much a matter of personal opinion.
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What is Applied Cold Reading (ACR) ?
Part of my fascination with cold reading stems from the fact
that it can teach us a lot about successful communication. This
is another of my passions, as well as being a large part of how
I earn a living.
The main purpose of ACR is to make sure that next time you
have any kind of professional meeting or dialogue, there is a
positive emotional gain (PEG) for both parties.
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Historical Perspective
Whatever else you can say about cold reading, it certainly isn’t
new. It’s been around as long as cows.
You can look at every era in history, and every part of the
world, and you’ll find examples of ‘divination’ of one kind or
another. The specifics may vary, because there are fashions
and trends in cold reading as in anything else: tarot cards
might be madly popular in one place, while elsewhere it might
be runes that draw the crowds. Nonetheless, wherever you
look you will find someone offering readings and someone
else willing to pay for them.
In every part of the world I’ve visited, I’ve found cold reading
thriving in one form or another. From America, Australia and
Argentina to Sweden, Slovenia and Singapore, I’ve seen
people offering readings of many different kinds, both
formally and informally — and always with plenty of
interested and satisfied customers. This shouldn’t come as a
surprise. A fundamental component of human psychology is
the desire to know what lies beyond the normal scope of our
knowledge.
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Who Learns Cold Reading And Why?
I always enjoy sharing what I know and learning from other
people. I’m lucky enough to have made many friends around
the world who share my interests, and the internet makes it
easier than ever to communicate, share and keep in touch.
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How Do People Learn Cold Reading?
There are four different ways that people approach cold
reading.
Formal Study
One is what we might call Formal Study, i.e. the reader
chooses a discipline such as tarot and then studies it, either by
attending a class or buying a course of some kind. There is
never any shortage of courses on offer, as you will see if you
do a quick search online.
I’m not saying this proves that formal study is a waste of time.
Some people get something from it and enjoy it, and that’s
fine. I’m just saying that it doesn’t seem to be essential in order
to give very good and successful readings.
Stocks
Some cold readers rely on stock lines, known as ‘stocks’ for
short. They can get these lines from many sources as well as
from their own accumulated experience of giving readings.
These stock lines can be categorised in many different ways,
e.g. demographic group, context, theme, age of the client and
so on.
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Some readers find they can get by with quite a small set of
stocks, whereas others make it their business to build up truly
vast lists of stocks that they carry around in their head.
This approach is versatile, since you can apply the same stock
lines to just about any form of personal reading: astrology,
tarot, palm or whatever. People who use a lot of stock lines
like the confidence it gives them that they will always have
something to say, and never ‘run dry’.
I know that using a lot of stock lines can work very well — I’ve
met more than a few readers who love their set of stock lines,
which they have painstakingly acquired over many years, and
use them very successfully.
Trigger Systems
A ‘trigger’ system, also known as an association system, is a
refined version of Stocks. The easiest way to explain it is to
give a simple example. Suppose that the reader has learned 26
stock lines, and associates each one with a letter of the
alphabet. She asks the client her name, and then delivers
whichever lines correspond to the client’s initials.
There are countless variations on this idea. They are not all
built around the client’s initials, and they are not all as
simplistic as the example given above. There are triggers
systems for giving palm readings, tarot readings, graphology
readings and many other kinds of readings as well.
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My System
My approach to cold reading is a little different to the other
three. Let me explain the difference by using a couple of
analogies.
Suppose I’m teaching you how to play the guitar (which I play
moderately badly). I could teach you the chords for Tune 1,
and you would then know one tune. I could teach you the
chords for Tune 2, and then you would know two tunes. We
could carry on like this, with you just learning each tune by
rote, but it would be a rather tedious process. Alternatively, I
could teach you a bit of basic chord theory and how it all
works. From that point on, you would be able to listen to any
tune and find the chords for yourself. Instead of just learning
lots of specific examples by rote, you would understand the
underlying patterns, and then you could play as many tunes
as you want.
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How Does Cold Reading Work?
Let’s start with some common myths.
Ten years from now, I’m sure I will still see magazine articles
and online ‘experts’ declaring that cold reading involves
deductions based on body language. It is rather unfortunate
the way some ideas enjoy immortality even though they are
baseless and incorrect.
So, with those myths out of the way, how does cold reading
work? As this is only a short introduction to my own approach
to cold reading, I can’t go into the subject in great detail, but I
can at least sketch the outline.
Seven Steps
I divide my approach to cold reading into seven steps, as
explained below. Please bear in mind that this is a very
simplified overview of a 220 page book!
1. The Setup
There are several things a good reader can do before the
reading even starts to assist the whole process. These include
creating a suitable atmosphere, encouraging a co-operative
attitude, supplying a few pre-emptive excuses for either
failure or vagueness, and setting the client at ease.
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2. Main Themes
Most people who go for readings want to hear about one or
more of these four themes or subjects: career, health,
relationships or money (forming the acronym ‘CHaRM’).
3. Main Statements
So, the reader tries to make sure the reading gets off to a good
start, and is smart enough to stick to the main themes most
clients want to hear about. But what does she actually say?
Well, having chosen a theme, she offers one or two statements
that the client is likely to find meaningful. Note that in each
case the reader offers the statement whereas the client provides
the meaning. This is an important distinction. In my book, I
describe four types:
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4. Revisions
In cold reading, the reader is never completely wrong. If she
offers a statement that the client thinks is correct, or broadly
correct, all is well. If she offers a statement that the client
thinks is incorrect, all is not lost. The reader can use what I call
a ‘revision’ to turn things around, and make an incorrect
statement sound like it was right, or largely right, all along.
There are eight different revisions, such as changing the time-
frame or changing the interpretation of some words in the
statement.
5. Presentational Touches
In cold reading, what you say is important and so is how you
say it. There are many good presentational techniques that
readers can use to assist the success of the reading, such as
using simple language that’s easy to understand, speaking at a
relaxed yet consistent pace, and using sensory empathy to
imbue the reading with some feeling and emotion.
6. Improvisation
Cold reading is an improvisational skill, and good readers
tend to be good at ‘thinking on their feet’ and shaping the
reading to suit the wants and needs of the client at the time.
It’s not a case of drearily droning through a dry, preset script.
For example, a good reader pays close attention to the client
and everything she says, even down to the smallest comment
or bit of feedback, so she knows when to expand on certain
subjects (that the client is really interested in) and not talk so
much about others (that she apparently isn’t bothered about).
Another important idea is that of ‘bridging’. It’s supposed to
be one coherent reading, not just an assortment of statements,
so a good reader looks for ways to link the parts of the reading
together and bridge smoothly from one section to the next.
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7. Handling Sceptics
Experienced readers don’t often have to deal with sceptics or
sceptical attitudes, but every once in a while a client may turn
up who seems to have a negative attitude towards the whole
business. This isn’t a problem for experienced readers, who
have several good ways to handle people like this. For
example, they may use a bit of ‘re-framing’ to present the
reading not as something the client won’t accept (e.g. a
manifestation of psychic powers) but as something she will
(e.g. a little bit of psychological insight).
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Interlude: Please Sneeze
Please tell your friends about this booklet.
www.thecoldreadingconnection.com
So please, sneeze for me. I’m asking nicely, and I’ll even
beg if you want me to.
Thank you!
— Ian
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The Great 'Psychic' Debate
As I have explained, not everyone who uses cold reading is
necessarily claiming any psychic ability. Nonetheless, since
there is often an association with the psychic industry, people
often ask me whether I think psychic powers are real.
The good thing about this view is that I’m not asking you to
take my word for it. All the available evidence supports this
view, and none of the available evidence contradicts it.
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Related Subjects
I have mentioned that I am fascinated by the subject of
communication. As a professional writer-for-hire, I have had
to learn a great deal about the difference between successful
and unsuccessful communication.
Clear communication
A professional writer’s job often comes down to one simple
ability: to say what you mean, mean what you say, and get rid
of everything else. This looks like a very simple formula, but it
can be very difficult to achieve in practice. It applies to the
spoken word just as much as it applies to the written word.
Voice training
We tend to take speech for granted, but it is in fact a rather
remarkable and impressive human faculty. The sad thing is
that very few people ever learn how to speak clearly, or to use
their voice to their full advantage. This is a shame, because
learning to use your voice to its full potential can reap big
rewards. My friend Anthony Wade, who works professionally
as ‘Dr. Voice’, helps people from all walks of life to use their
voice to its full, rich potential.
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Pure language
My friend Judy Rees teaches what she refers to as Pure
Language. Normal, everyday speech involves lots of
metaphors. You probably use half a dozen metaphors every
minute, without even realising it. This isn’t normally a
problem, but it can be very unhelpful in some contexts, such
as some forms of therapy. Pure language is about speaking
without the needless clutter of unhelpful or distracting
metaphors.
Persuasion skills
Persuasion is a subject I’ve studied in great depth, all the way
from Aristotle’s theories of motivation to meme theory; from
Gestalt psychology to sales techniques such as SPIN and ‘yes
sets’. In addition, I know about persuasion from the point of
view of mentalists and other stage performers, whose work
often depends on being able to make people do what they want
them to do, while seemingly exerting no control whatsoever!
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The Ethics Of Cold Reading
Cold reading necessarily invokes some ethical issues. This is
why, on The Cold Reading Connection website, there is a
separate page about ethics. It summarises pretty much
everything I want to say on the subject.
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My Story: How I Got Into This
I often get asked about my own story, and how I came to
study cold reading. Here’s the short version.
And that’s really all there is to it: I’ve been studying, using and
practicing cold reading ever since!
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The Cold Reading Connection
The main idea behind The Cold Reading Connection is simply
that final word in the name: connection.
I hope that you will sign up for the website Newsletter. I know
that you are wary about signing up for things, but I won’t
send you any spam or pass your details to anyone else. The
Newsletter is my way to:
It’s true that I sometimes also tell you about new items I’m
offering for sale, and I’m not trying to hide the fact. But this is
only one, small part of what the Newsletter is all about.
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Your Comments Are Welcome
This is a living document. I hope it will grow, develop and
evolve over time.
— Ian Rowland
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