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Thread: "Cold Reading"

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    Default "Cold Reading"

    I've been wondering about cold reading. It's the technique that Magicians like David Blaine & Chris Angel use to make someone think they're psychic. Some "psychics" use these techniques too. I was wondering if anyone here knows how to Cold Read. It's a cool trick to learn. I've looked on google but every link I've found wants payment for the info. I'm just curious.

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    Featured Member sander8son's Avatar
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    Default Re: "Cold Reading"

    watch the season 6 episode of south park :biggest douche in the universe(episode 615) thatll teach you how to cold read. or give you a basis. i think you just have to get out and do it to figure out how to perfect it.

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    Default Re: "Cold Reading"

    ^ That was a great episode.

    Love me some South Park.

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    Default Re: "Cold Reading"

    isn't it the same as we do in a club when we are assessing the customer, taking in the clues from his demeanor, what he wears, what he orders to drink, shoes, watches, age, etc before we even approach him to determine how we should do it and how many dances/vip, if any, he'll spring for? if so cold reading is all about paying attention to detail, clues, your past experience, listening to your gut, assumptions, etc. Absolute confidence is the key. When you believe in what you say and what you are selling, people will believe too.
    "The herd walks off the cliff because the herd are not a group of individuals - the herd is a mass of followers and followers follow the path of cowardice."

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    Featured Member venusofwillendorf's Avatar
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    Default Re: "Cold Reading"

    also try bringing up broad categories, and looking for hits- expressions of recognition, changes in posture, etc. "i'm seeing water.... something with water"... or "there's someone with a j name..... jennifer? john?" usually people will give you alot of info without realizing it. try watching penn & teller's bullshit episode on psychics, too. it shows some of the greats, like rosemary altea and that crossing over guy doing it.
    be the change you wish to see in the world....
    ~ghandi

    i really love your peaches wanna shake your tree....
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    why not?
    ~anon

  6. #6
    madmaxine
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    Default Re: "Cold Reading"

    It takes a certain kind of personality and intellect to be a good cold reader. I actually freaked out when I saw this thread because I go out of my way to avoid people who are that manipulative and sharp.
    You need practice to be able to do this- that's why strippers are infamous as "untrustworthy," because we get so "smooth" from talking to so many people and being around so many different types, to study human behavior. The way we choose to use this skill is a matter of character. Peace, out!

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    Featured Member venusofwillendorf's Avatar
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    Default Re: "Cold Reading"

    yes- always remember to use your powers for good and not evil.
    be the change you wish to see in the world....
    ~ghandi

    i really love your peaches wanna shake your tree....
    ~steve miller

    why not?
    ~anon

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    Default Re: "Cold Reading"

    Eeeeevil!!! Eeeeeeevil!!!

    "Have you ever been to American wedding? Where is the vodka, where's marinated herring?" - GB
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    Default Re: "Cold Reading"

    I can psychically tell you everything about my own past. WHOOOOOOOOOOO!
    "The problem with the world is that everyone is a few drinks behind."
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    Default Re: "Cold Reading"

    Try the library. If they don't have a book yo want at your local library, they can order it for you from anohter libraty, usually free of charge.

    And if you find a good one, let me know.

    Ther are two books that might help you. "How to read a person like a book" and "How to make people like you in ninety seconds or less." Also, "Superflirt" by tracy cox has some good basic body-language info.


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    Default Re: "Cold Reading"

    It's all electromagnetic fields. The Physics of Conciousness is a good book (just a little dry) that explains it.



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    Default Re: "Cold Reading"

    A lot of the Cold Reads you see on TV are setup and just a trick enhanced by editing, keep and eye out for the magicians exposed series that Fox did.

    However, I was in Underground Atlanta with my father, and a magician was doing a promo for the magic store there. My father's voice is really loud, and he explained a force card trick to someone else standing there, the magician (Eric Anderson), who had obviously been in this situation before, essentially punk'd my dad.

    He did 2 fairly obvious tricks on my dad, and cut my father off both times during his rebuttal of the tricks. So when he cut my dad off on the second trick, the magician put the deck of cards in his pocket and said just think of a card. The magician guessed the card correctly on the first try (according to my dad). It wasn't magic either, it was just another setup (and we were not in on it).

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    Default Re: "Cold Reading"

    Quote Originally Posted by Lena
    It's all electromagnetic fields. The Physics of Conciousness is a good book (just a little dry) that explains it.

    O.o

    Mast.
    People are not ruled by their memories.

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    Default Re: "Cold Reading"

    There's a pretty good discussion of cold reading and related techniques in Michael Shermer's book, Why People Believe Weird Things.

    (or, I may be thinking of an article Shermer wrote debunking the Crossing Over guy...google "Michael Shermer" and "psychic" or "cold reading" or the name of the crossing over guy if you know it...You may be able to find the article.)
    Last edited by Nicolina; 01-17-2006 at 02:12 PM.
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    Default Re: "Cold Reading"

    Cold Reading is a technique often used in sales. Most people actually use this method and never realized there was a term for it. The sister component to cold reading is what is referred to in sales as "eliciting outcome". Essentially it's a matter of asking very specific questions as responsed to other answers, and based on this combination, you are able to influence the buyer into believing that it was his or her own decisions that led to the purchase rather than the influence of the sales person.

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    Default Re: "Cold Reading"

    isn't it john edwards? the crossing over guy?
    be the change you wish to see in the world....
    ~ghandi

    i really love your peaches wanna shake your tree....
    ~steve miller

    why not?
    ~anon

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    Default Re: "Cold Reading"

    Yeah.. John Edwards.. Heh..

    "I sense someone in the audience.. Had a relative who is female... and had hair.. and wore clothes!"

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    Featured Member venusofwillendorf's Avatar
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    Default Re: "Cold Reading"

    lol @ rhiannon
    be the change you wish to see in the world....
    ~ghandi

    i really love your peaches wanna shake your tree....
    ~steve miller

    why not?
    ~anon

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    Default Re: "Cold Reading"

    Quote Originally Posted by venusofwillendorf
    isn't it john edwards? the crossing over guy?
    John used to do most of his work via cold-reading, now he just uses stooges like Sylvia Brown because it's a lot less work. She's not even a good cold-reader and she's on Larry King every week. She had a pretty major screw-up on the radio a few weeks ago though which really flipped the "talking to the dead" industry on it's head pretty bad.

    She was a guest on Cost To Coast with George Noory which is a nationally syndicated radio show which piggy-backs off Art Bell's show. She happened to be a guest on the show the night they were looking for all the minors trapped in the coal mine. While she was on the air, the report had come out (mistakenly) that all the minors survived and one was in critical condition so this was the current news buzzing around. George asked Sylvia about this and she said, "I knew they were going to be found. I hate people that say something after the fact." WHILE SHE WAS STILL ON THE AIR the story broke that the original report was wrong and that all of the minors but one were actually dead. Noory mentioned it to her and you've never seen so much back-peddling in your life.

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