A Simple Introduction to Cold Reading

A Simple Introduction To 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 The Cold Reading Connection is maintained by Ian Rowland. The aim of the CRC is to bring you the best information, training and resources about cold reading and related fields. This is a copyright document and all rights are reserved. However, you can copy and distribute it as much as you like so long as you keep it intact, give full credit, and don’t make money out of it or use it to add value to a publication or website. — 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. Copyright © Ian Rowland Limited, 2015, London England. All rights reserved. Published by Ian Rowland Limited. All rights reserved. This publication may not be copied or reproduced in whole or in part by any means or in any way whatsoever without the specific written permission of the author. This publication is free. It is supplied from this website: www.thecoldreadingconnection.com The author’s personal website is: www.ianrowland.com

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Contents Statement Of Values

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An Enduring Fascination

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The Joy Of Cold Reading

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What Is Cold Reading? Non-psychic Flavours

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What is Applied Cold Reading (ACR) ?

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Historical Perspective

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Who Learns Cold Reading And Why?

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How Do People Learn Cold Reading?

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How Does Cold Reading Work? Seven Steps

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The Great 'Psychic' Debate

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Related Subjects Non-verbal communication (NVC) Clear communication Voice training Pure language Neuro-linguistic programming (NLP) Persuasion skills

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The Ethics Of Cold Reading

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My Story: How I Got Into This

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The Cold Reading Connection Your Comments Are Welcome

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Statement Of Values This publication is supplied primarily from: www.thecoldreadingconnection.com Cold reading is sometimes used to give personal readings with a psychic, psychological or mentalist flavour. In this context, I only promote cold reading which is: ·

positive, responsible and benign

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intended to help people to make sense of their life, as well as providing entertainment

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intended to help people to feel relaxed and confident about themselves, their potential, their relationships and their future

Cold reading can also be used in other contexts, such as sales, management and therapy. I call this Applied Cold Reading, or ACR for short. When I teach ACR, I say its purpose is to: ·

promote good communication, rapport and understanding

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ensure that each conversation results in a positive emotional gain for both parties

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. In this short introduction to cold reading, I want to tell you a little bit about the subject and clear up a few common misunderstandings. I also hope I can convey some of my own enthusiasm for the subject, and help you to appreciate how cold reading (in its many different forms) may touch on many different aspects of your personal, social and professional life. Perhaps you will find that cold reading becomes for you, as it has for me, an enduring fascination! So, let’s get started…

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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 know that I’ve given countless readings to people that have really helped them in one way or another (although I have never charged any money). I have given readings in more different places and contexts than I can remember, from a busy nightclub in London’s West End to the streets of Rio de Janeiro; from a quiet café just outside Venice to a sleepy airport terminal in Indonesia. 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. Over the years, countless people have told me stories of how a reading helped them to see things in a new and more positive light, or deal with emotionally difficult times — including some of the most rational and sceptical people you could ever meet. You don’t have to believe in psychic powers to benefit from a good personal reading. I know from experience how the simple act of giving a reading to someone can instil a sense of light, hope, confidence and self-belief that wasn’t there before — or at least was in need of a little boost. Even if you just stop to give someone a free, short reading, you are giving them some time and attention, showing them that they matter and are worth taking an interest in. This might be the most attention that anyone has given them for a long time, a small spark of human connection that makes a huge difference. It could be the best thing that has happened to them that day, that week or that year. 10

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. Cold reading, like music, can cross cultural barriers and provide an international language of communication and positive expression. I must have given readings to people of forty or fifty different nationalities by now, and while the cultural background may shift and change the results tend to stay the same: intrigue, fascination, hope, smiles, confidence and a sense of delight. These are all good things to bring into the world. The joy of cold reading is the joy of connecting with people, and promoting feelings of self-belief and hope for tomorrow. It’s the joy of helping people to feel relaxed and confident about themselves, their potential, their relationships and their future. It’s the joy of fun, shared laughter, good times and good spirits. Perhaps that’s why people have been giving readings to one another since forever. Perhaps that’s why they always will.

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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: Cold reading is the art of providing a personal reading — of a psychic, psychological or mentalist nature — without prior information about the client. The alternative is, unsurprisingly, known as ‘hot reading’. This refers to cases where the reader (the person giving the reading) does have some prior information about the client (the person she is giving the reading to). The reader might obtain this information either openly or covertly. There are lots of ways to secretly obtain information about someone before a reading — ranging from the very simple to the very devious! By the way, I tend to use the female pronoun when I refer to either readers or their clients. This is purely because most people who give readings, and most people who go for readings, happen to be female. There are of course male readers and clients, but they just aren’t as numerous. It’s interesting to speculate as to why this is so. Cold reading is most commonly associated with the psychic industry. Some readers use tarot cards, runes or a crystal ball. Others give readings based on the palm of your hand, a sample of your handwriting or an astrological chart. In fact, readings can be based on just about anything. Many historical types of ‘divination’ sound rather weird, to say the least. For example, ‘ophiomancy’ is divination based on serpents, while ‘tiromancy’ is a form of divination based on cheese! I’ve never seen anyone give a reading based on cheese, but I expect I’d find it fascinating and hilarious. The field of psychic readings is certainly wide and varied. Most readings are given personally, one-on-one, but readings can also be given remotely, via phone, mail or internet. I get the impression that as soon as any form of communication is invented, someone, somewhere figures out a way to use it for cold reading purposes. 12

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. Cold reading also sometimes crops up in mentalism, so let me take a moment to explain what mentalism is. There are many musicians in the world, but they make many different kinds of music: classical, rock, soul, jazz… and so on. Similarly, there are many magicians in the world, but they specialise in different areas and do different things. Some magicians specialise in close-up magic while others only do stage illusions or kids shows. One branch of magic is called ‘mentalism’. This is magic of the mind and imagination, and it often involves routines with a psychic or psychological flavour — demonstrating telepathy, predicting the future and so on. Many mentalists incorporate elements of cold reading into their work, or give readings in informal situations. Just for the record, I’m a magician myself. I’m a member of the Inner Magic Circle, and mentalism happens to be the area in which I specialise. There are many other flavours of cold reading, but in this short introduction I can’t mention all of them. The main point is that not everyone who gives personal readings is necessarily claiming to be psychic. This is a common misunderstanding.

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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. I have been a professional freelance writer for most of my life. When I tell people this, they tend to ask me what sort of things I write. The answer is: whatever the person paying me wants them to write. It really is as broad as that. I’ve worked in creative media, sales and marketing, the software industry and many other fields. I’ve helped companies to sell everything from shoes to engineering services, and I’ve written plenty of those ‘User Manuals’ that no-one ever reads. I’ve even ghosted complete books for people, which I rather enjoy doing! A long time ago, when I was working mainly in sales and marketing, I started applying some cold reading techniques to the business world. For example, I found ways to use cold reading when meeting sales prospects, or handling negotiations. I called this ‘Applied Cold Reading’, or ACR for short. I define it like this: ACR is a set of communication strategies, to do with the psychology of communication, that enable you to influence what others think, feel and believe. 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. When I started teaching ACR in 2008, I was pleasantly surprised by the sheer range of people that applied to study with me — sales professionals, therapists, students, entrepreneurs, business development managers, housewives, teachers, doctors, political advisors, charity workers… the list goes on and on! Quite a few students said they just wanted to improve their ‘people skills’.

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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. One thing I have found is that people learn cold reading, or ACR (applied cold reading) for many different reasons. Here are just a few common ones:

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they work in sales or management, and learn ACR to improve their communication skills

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they perform mentalism routines, and want to incorporate a bit of cold reading into their act

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they are full-time therapists and appreciate that ACR can help them to build instant rapport with their clients

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they have a background in counselling, and want to give personal readings as an adjunct to their other work

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they just have an interest in the psychology of human communication, and want to study cold reading in detail even though they don’t have any direct, immediate use for it

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. This approach suits those who invest some degree of belief in whichever discipline they choose to study, and feel they are genuinely gaining some sort of insightful knowledge. On a personal note, I think a fascinating aspect of this approach is what happens when you start to experiment with it and ‘test’ whatever you are taught. For example, suppose you have formally studied the tarot, and then give a reading in which you deliberately say the cards mean the opposite of whatever they are officially supposed to mean. Some demonstrations suggest that the reading will be just as successful as it would be if you read the cards ‘correctly’. The same goes for any other type of personal readings. 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. 17

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. My only reservation with stocks is that they tend to involve recitation by rote, so you need to be a good actor to make the reading sound fresh and spontaneous. My other reservation is that you can spend a long time learning stock lines without ever understanding why they actually work. I’ll come back to this point later.

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. That’s the basic idea of a trigger system: associate preset lines with common variables. The benefits of a trigger system are that the reader is never short of something to say, and each reading is different (or at least as different as the system allows). 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. 18

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. A similar thing happens when school children are learning about mathematics. At first, the teacher puts up one specific equation or problem, and the class learns how to figure out the answer. Then it’s on to the next equation, and the next. Eventually, the teacher explains algebra, or how to think about calculations in abstract terms, rather than dealing with specific numbers. Once the student has understood algebra, she can solve as many equations as she likes because she understands the underlying principles. My own approach to cold reading, as it applies to giving personal readings, works the same way. It doesn’t involve learning any specific lines or things to say. It involves studying the underlying principles involved, so you can give any sort of reading you want. This is the approach that I explain in detail in my book on cold reading. I’ve never given it a name, although I suppose I could call it the ‘Universal’ system or just stick my own name on it! In the next section, ‘Seven Steps’, I’ll attempt to summarise my system in the space of a page or two, which isn’t easy.

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How Does Cold Reading Work? Let’s start with some common myths. A lot of people seem to think cold reading involves shrewd observation based on reading body language, fishing for clues, or just making vague guesses that gullible people will easily accept. In fact, these techniques have little, if anything, to do with cold reading. However, these misconceptions seem immovably entrenched in popular opinion. 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. The main point is to create a pleasant, relaxed atmosphere and to establish a warm, welcoming tone that encourages the client to regard the whole process as something to be enjoyed and shared. 20

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’). The experienced reader therefore makes sure she touches on each of these themes, and waits to see which one seems to be of greatest interest to the client. This doesn’t usually call for any great deductive skills. Most clients will be only to happy to openly state which theme or subject they want to hear about. One client once said to me at the start of a reading, ‘What can you see about my trip to America — will it be as good for my career as I think it will?’ There are other common themes as well, such as travel, education (in the sense of self-development) and aspirations, but these are not as important as the main four.

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: ·

statements about character

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statements about facts and events

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statements that are a disguised way to ask a question and gain information

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statements about the future

In my book, I list about 36 different types of statements in all. I’m not saying this to advertise my book. I’m just pointing out that it’s quite a big subject! 21

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 timeframe 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). Another smart strategy is for the reader to praise the cautious, sceptical attitude and say she welcomes it, as it indicates a very intelligent, enlightened mind. There’s always a chance that this kind of gentle flattery might soften the client’s attitude, and at least the reader is making sure the tone isn’t confrontational or argumentative. That’s a very broad, very loose and very generalised overview of how my approach to cold reading works.

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Interlude: Please Sneeze Please tell your friends about this booklet. In fact, please tell everyone you know. I’m serious: every person you know, or have ever known, or live with, work with, love, can’t stand or just met at the grocery store while you were buying a cucumber. Tell everyone. Tell them about this booklet, and about the website it comes from: www.thecoldreadingconnection.com Why? Because ‘word of mouth’ advertising is very important to a small business like mine. One of my favourite authors, Malcolm Gladwell, uses the term ‘sneezers’ to refer to people who are good at spreading news and information so it reaches as many people as possible. So please, sneeze for me. I’m asking nicely, and I’ll even beg if you want me to. After all, I’d do the same for you. 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. I’ve been around long enough to have met many different people with strong views on the subject. I’ve chatted with psychics, scientists, believers, sceptics, researchers and people with interesting tales to tell all over the world. Some people say, 'Psychic powers definitely exist'. The problem with this view is that there is very little credible, peerreviewed scientific evidence to support it. Some people say, 'Psychic power definitely do not exist'. The problem with this view is that in every era in human history, and in every part of the world, you find people reporting 'psychic' experiences of one kind or another. That's an awful lot of human experience and testimony to simply ignore or dismiss as meaningless. My view is that it's a mistake to say that psychic ability is a thing, like the chair you're sitting on, that either exists or doesn't exist. In my opinion, psychic ability is a construct of emotion, experience and perception. I say the truth is best expressed in eleven words: Psychic powers are as real as you want them to be. 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. For this reason, I never see cold reading in isolation. I see it as one fascinating area of study among many others, and I believe readers can tell the rest of us a great deal about good, clear and successful communication. Here are some of the other areas that I have explored.

Non-verbal communication (NVC) This includes, but is not limited to, body language and what are referred to as ‘tells’: small, involuntary ‘giveaway’ clues about what someone is thinking and feeling.

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.

Neuro-linguistic programming (NLP) I’m not a huge fan of NLP, because I think some practitioners make rather exaggerated claims on its behalf, or make claim that have been checked out scientifically and found to be less than well substantiated. However, I don’t see it as my role to get very sceptical about these things. If you study NLP or anything else and get a few good insights out of it, and if it helps you to communicate more successfully, then all to the good. I take the view that good ideas are always welcome, from any source.

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. I am quite sure that discussions and disputes about the ethics of cold reading will rumble on until the end of time, and there will never be complete consensus. I try to treat everyone in a friendly, kind and respectful way, even if we disagree about things. One thing I do know is this: friends can disagree about things, and people who disagree about things can learn to be friends. In my opinion, this is far more important than getting snared and tangled in arguments and debates that never go anywhere, and never will.

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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. I got into magic when I was a youngster, and in my teens I started to specialise in mentalism (mindreading magic). A few magic shops sold booklets on cold reading, so I bought a few. I started giving readings at parties, and found that I both enjoyed it and was fascinated by how and why it works. When I started working, initially in the world of creative media and marketing, I started using some cold reading techniques in my business life. This is what I eventually named Applied Cold Reading, or ACR. And that’s really all there is to it: I’ve been studying, using and practicing cold reading ever since! I have sometimes been asked by TV shows and magazines to demonstrate how effective cold reading can be. I’ve been asked to act as an astrologer, tarot card reader, clairvoyant and spirit medium. I am the only person in history to have demonstrated for TV, under test conditions, that I can apparently relay messages from the dead using cold reading. (Talking to the dead is not something I go around doing in real life.) I have three small claims to fame: ·

I taught mindreading to the FBI (including a session devoted to cold reading).

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I was hired by the British Ministry of Defence to teach them how to tell if people are lying (which involved touching on cold reading theory).

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I was hired to teach persuasion skills, including a bit of cold reading, to the coaches who work with the British Olympics Team.

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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 want to help people with an interest in cold reading and related fields to be able to connect with one another. I want to explore how cold reading connects with a range of other subjects, such as communication skills, persuasion, counselling and entertainment. I also want to explore how cold reading, in many ways, connects with people’s personal, social and professional lives. 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: ·

give you a lot of free information about cold reading and related subjects

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let you know about genuine discount offers from other people that are worth knowing about

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help you to connect with one another

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. I welcome your comments. If there are other things you think I should include, or if you have notes or corrections for me, I would love to hear from you. Smiles and magic… — Ian Rowland

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