Cold reading is the process of gaining information about someone without that person realizing that they are actually giving up the information themselves.

1. COLD READING
ALI.PK
Pondicherry University.
Department Of Psychology.
muhammedalipk9@gmail.com

3. What Is It..?
• Cold reading is the process of gaining
information about someone without that
person realizing that they are actually
giving up the information themselves.
This is achieved using a series of tricks
and psychological manipulations to coax
information out of the interviewee, and
then to pass it off as being generated by
psychic powers or other means.

4. CHARACTERISTICS
The reading is 'cold' because it does not depend
on any prior knowledge of the client.
 The 'psychic' combines careful observations of
the client's characteristics and behavior with a
series of guesses that are based on deduction,
knowledge of probabilities, and use of general
('Barnum') statements that are readily accepted
by large numbers of people as being true of
themselves.

5. TECHNIQUES OF COLD READING
 Setting the scene
 Observing
characteristics
 Making deductions
 Pigeon-holing and
focusing
 Using Barnum
statements
 Fishing
 Observing responses
 Using verbal tricks
 Reinforcing successes
 Using 'outs‘
 Clinching the deal

6. 1. SETTING THE SCENE
• The cold reader must set the scene for the client,
manage client expectations, and elicit client
cooperation

7. PRESENATION
It is vital that the client has full confidence in the
professionalism and ability of the psychic or
medium and this can be encouraged in various
ways,
 Through advertising.
 By displaying testimonials, photographs with
celebrity clients, in brochures or on the walls of
the consulting room.
 By using professional props - e.g., tarot cards,
crystal ball, pendulum, runes, or other "mystical"
or spiritualist items.

8. MANAGING EXPECTATIONS
Expectations must be managed by briefly explaining to
the client what they may receive from the reading, for
example:
 "We will aim to contact and receive advice from the
spirits of the dear departed."
 "The tarot cards will show you possibilities for your
future life."
 "I will try to answer any questions you have about your
past and future.

9. ELICITING COOPERATION
Cold reading will only succeed if the client is
cooperative and actively assists the psychic. This
needs to be explained to the client at the outset.
For example:
 "You will need to help me to read the signs."
 "The spirits will need your cooperation."
 "It is important that you remain open and
receptive."

10. 2. OBSERVING CHARACTERISTICS
The cold reader carefully observes the client.
Important characteristics to note are:
 Gender.
 Age.
 Ethnicity.
 Weight, apparent health, personal hygiene and
any noticeable disabilities.
 Any scars, bruises or skin blemishes.
 Evidence of smoking, drug taking, alcohol use, etc

11.  Clothing, hairstyle, jeweler and badges, body
decorations.
 Any transfers on the clothes (e.g., animal or
human hair, grasses, mud, oil, or stains).
 Voice quality (regional accent, pitch, pace and
modulation).
 Vocabulary

12. 3. MAKING DEDUCTIONS
From these observations, the psychic will be able
to make some highly probable guesses about the
client. This is sometimes referred to as the
"Sherlock Holmes" technique. For example:
 An engagement ring will generally indicate an
impending marriage.
 Signs that a wedding ring have been removed
(e.g., by noticing lighter skin tone on the ring
finger) may indicate a recent separation or
divorce.

13.  Educational level may be inferred from voice and
vocabulary
 Affluence may be inferred from clothing and
jewelers.
 Particular interests may inferred from T-shirts,
badges, etc.
 If the reading is done in the client's home, much
more information can be gleaned (e.g., from
family photographs, bookshelves).

14. 4. PIGEON-HOLING AND FOCUSSING
 The cold reader will generally aim to pigeon-hole
(stereotype) the client into a particular category of
person.
 The most basic categories are based on gender and
age (e.g., teenage female; middle-aged man; elderly
woman).
 More specific categories and stereotypes can also be
useful
 Having pigeon-holed the client, the reading is then
focused around areas stereotypically of concern to
people in this category, and also around any specific
deductions that can be made based on observations of
the client.

15. For example:
 A mid-teen female is likely to experience difficulties
relating to popularity, peer pressure and boys.
 A middle-aged, poorly-dressed man who is rather
overweight and wears no wedding ring, may have low
self-esteem.
 A man wearing a wedding ring whose breath and
clothes smell of alcohol is very likely to have marital
problems

16. 5. USING BARNUM STATEMENTS
 So-called 'Barnum statements' are named after the
American showman P.T. Barnum who is often credited
with coining the phrase "there's a sucker born every
minute.
 Barnum statements are those that seem to relate to a
particular individual but actually apply to everyone, or
almost everyone. Such statements are a typical
feature of horoscopes and they are used extensively
in cold reading.

17. • Research by psychologists (e.g., B.R. Forer) has shown
that such statements are readily accepted by a person
if led to believe that the statements apply specifically
to them. Because they are easily accepted by the
client, such statements also serve to enhance the
client's general faith in the psychic.
 Examples of Barnum statements are:
 "You have much unused potential."
 "You get a little anxious in new social situations.“

18. 6. FISHING
 'Fishing' refers to making some very specific,
seemingly improbable, statements that may or may
not be true of the client.
 If the statement turns out to be true, the strength
of the "hit" will greatly impress the client, and the
statement will be clearly remembered.
 If wrong, then the psychic can simply move on to
something else and the 'miss' will very likely be
forgotten by the client. Alternatively the psychic
may prefer to use an 'out' to excuse the failure.

19. 7. OBSERVING RESPONSES
 Especially when fishing, you can see the accuracy of
your statements by observing carefully how the client
responds.
 In particular, watch the face and hands, and also look
out for any uncomfortable shuffling in the seat.
 These responses can often give away how the client is
feeling about what you are saying. In this way it is
generally quite easy to tell if you are on the right
track, or completely wrong.
 If you are right, then continue along the same line; if
wrong, then subtly change track.

20. 8. USING VERBAL TRICKS
 There are certain tricks and subtleties in the way that
language can be used that will greatly enhance a cold
reading.
Verbal ambiguities
 Some words have more than one meaning that can be
usefully exploited by the cold reader.
 By observing how the client interprets an ambiguous
word, the reading can then follow up that particular
meaning.

21. REPEATING INFORMATION GIVEN BY THE
CLIENT
 The cold reader should file away in memory every bit
of information that the client gives during the reading.
 This not only allows further deductions to be made
from the information given, but the psychic can also
exploit the fact that clients will often forget that
they have said certain things.
 This enables the cold reader to repeat back to the
client, at some later point, information that the client
has given, as if this information was being received
psychically.

22. 9. REINFORCING SUCCESSES
 Whenever the client confirms one of the psychic's
statements, this should be clearly reinforced by
saying "That's right", or "Yes ", or "Good", or
something similar.
 This will help to convince the client that the reading is
succeeding.

23. 10. USING 'OUTS'
 Sometimes the psychic will say something that is
contradicted by the client. When this happens, the
cold reader should come up with a plausible
explanation or excuse for the apparent mistake.
 This will help to convince the client that the reading is
succeeding.

24. BLAME THE CLIENT
 Often, the psychic can save face by subtly blaming the
client for not understanding or not agreeing with a
statement The implication is that the statement is
true, but the client doesn't realize it, and is wrong to
disagree with it.
 This strategy can generally be used whenever there is
a possibility, however remote, that the original
statement is true.

25. • E.g. "You will understand this better later."
• The psychic can also directly blame the client for
any resistance to statements, for example:
• "You must open your heart to these messages, my
dear."
• "The spirits will find it easier if you are open to
what they have to say."

26. 11. CLINCHING THE DEAL
 At the end of the reading, the psychic should briefly
summarize the key (correct) information that was
given (including that which came from the client)
aiming to do so in a positive way that will provide
comfort to the client. This should be combined with a
statement that reinforces how accurate and genuine
the reading was.

27. BECOME AN EXPERT
 Much of your success at cold reading will depend
on your observational skills, on your ability to
read character and non-verbal behavior, and on
your verbal fluency and capacity for quick
thinking.
 Some of the techniques mentioned can, however,
benefit from good preparation.

28. Thank Ψou
ALI.PK
Pondicherry University
Department Of Psychology.
muhammedalipk9@gmail.com