If you love books, films and TV series about psychics, mediums, mind readers, etc., then you have probably seen in practice what cold reading is and how it works. This is a technique in which you show a person that you know much more about him than you really do. This method is actively used by fortune-tellers, mentalists, illusionists, etc. It allows you to receive the necessary information from a person, win over you and, of course, convince you of your extraordinary abilities. Sometimes cold reading is used in conjunction with hot reading. Let's figure out what these techniques are and how they work.
For the sake of brevity, in this article we will call everyone who uses cold and hot reading mentalists, and those who use these techniques as volunteers.
What is cold reading
The cold reading method is based on the fact that a mentalist analyzes a volunteer and draws preliminary conclusions about him based on his appearance, supposed social status, clothes, things - in short, everything that comes into his field of vision. Then these thoughts are voiced in such a way that it seems to others that the mentalist has received accurate knowledge about a stranger due to his supernormal abilities (reading thoughts, information from space, talking with spirits, etc.).
Sherlock Holmes used a similar technique for drawing conclusions based on what he saw, only the detective had the goal of establishing the facts, and the mentalist does not have such a goal. His main task is to convince that in some magical way he possesses all the information about the volunteer, although he sees him for the first time in his life. Cold reading allows the mentalist, among other things, to inspire confidence in himself and his "abilities".
Cold reading techniques and techniques
In order for a person's cold reading technique to work, as a rule, the mentalist adheres to the following principles:
- He formulates sentences in such a way that they sound like concrete, but in fact they are rather general and vague. This often forces the volunteer to respond and provide the mentalist with additional information. The tool is based on the fact that a volunteer
- will hook itself
- for what concerns him, leaving out all the unnecessary. For example, a mentalist might say, "I see that a woman older than you has played a big role in your life, but I'm not talking about your mother." It seems that almost everyone can remember such a woman, be it an aunt, a teacher or a neighbor on the staircase. To a person of age, you can say “I see that you have already lost someone close to you” (after all, the older a person is, there is a higher probability that someone dear to him has passed away). In addition, “loss” can also be interpreted as the termination of communication due to any reason (quarrel, move, cardinal change of interests, etc.). The fact that people not only agree with such formulations, but also consider them amazing accurate information conveyed to the mentalist in a metaphysical way is called the Barnum effect, or the Forer effect. In turn, shooting a shotgun.
An important point - despite their generality, the phrases uttered by the mentalist should still seem specific. And for this, the facts and conclusions that he made by analyzing the appearance, gestures, behavior, reaction, of a person come in handy. Therefore, cold reading requires observation and the ability to notice details.
- Most people tend to agree with positive characteristics or phrases that highlight their positive aspects, and put them in a good light. It is important here not to get carried away and not to fall for flattery. Such assumptions should be fairly universal, but vital (and can also be rather vague). For example, something like: "I see that once you helped a not very familiar person, and this had a great impact on his life, although you yourself may not know about it."
- The mentalist carefully monitors the reaction (non-verbal cues) to his phrases . This approach helps him to understand whether he is moving in the right direction and to correct the information received in a "metaphysical way" in time. In practice, it looks something like this: "I see that your mother played a big role in your life ... No, no, not your mother, but another woman older than you." To understand how a volunteer non-verbally expresses agreement and denial, at the beginning of communication, the mentalist can ask trial neutral questions, the answers to which are a priori known in advance (this also happens when testing on a lie detector). The mentalist needs to carefully write these questions into the conversation so that they look casual and at the same time inviting conversation.
- If the voiced guess turns out to be wrong, the mentalist quickly changes the subject and switches the attention of the interlocutors to something else.
- How does a mentalist get information from a person? First, as we noted above, this is the very formulation of phrases that prompt you to give any answer. Secondly, human psychology is such that, surprised by correct guesses, volunteers themselves often try to confirm such assumptions . For example, “How did you find out about Aunt Gal? My best teacher! "
What is hot reading
Hot reading - "reading" based on previously obtained information about the volunteer. This can be a targeted collection of information (in social networks and other sources), a “random” meeting between an assistant and a “test subject” on the eve of reading, snippets of conversations that the mentalist heard before communicating with a volunteer, and any other options.
For example, before the start of magic shows, information collectors are often present in the crowd of real spectators, who carefully listen to conversations around and pass them on to the mentalist. Another example is a clairvoyant, knowing that a client will come to her, can find information about him on the Internet.
In a hot reading, the task of the mentalist is to present the facts as if he only learned them now and received them in a paranormal way. For example, don't be too precise. If the mentalist looked at a photo from the volunteer's Instagram, he will not say, "I see that yesterday you ate lobsters in such and such a restaurant." He will say something like: "I see that yesterday you were able to pamper yourself with something pleasant and expensive ... Or maybe someone pampered you?"
Is there a warm reading?
Besides hot and cold, some experts give off warm reading. This term is much less common, and we would call it a special case of cold reading. So, the technique of warm reading is often understood as the use of the Barnum effect on volunteers, that is, the formulation of phrases so vague and statistically probable that they cannot but turn out to be true. At the same time, from all that has been said, the subjects focus on things that relate specifically to them. As a result, they consider such general characteristics to be accurate information that the medium could not have known in advance.
How to learn cold reading
Cold and hot reading are used in various shows, fortune-tellers, psychics, etc. But similar techniques can be useful in other, quite everyday situations - for example, when meeting new people. To strike up a conversation, it is guaranteed to draw attention to your person and form the image of a very perceptive and knowledgeable person, it is enough to say 1-2 phrases in this technique when meeting someone. Cold reading is useful for people in sales or any other person who needs to convince someone of something. Guesses based on this technique will help to appear in the image of an experienced person, whose judgments can be trusted.
Tips on how to learn cold reading
The universal advice on how to learn cold reading is to practice, no matter how trite it may sound. In fact, learning is about observing how others are using this method and trying to “read” the person yourself. The more you practice this technique, the better you will get. Remember, three things are critical:
- First of all, you need not only to look at the person, but also to see and notice the details.
- Secondly, from these details it is necessary to extract information and draw conclusions. These skills will be useful not only for this technique, but also in other areas. As we noted, cold reading does not require you to draw conclusions at the level of Sherlock Holmes. You don't even have to be very precise. On the other hand, good cold reading is different from general phrases or compliments spoken to win over the other person. You need to notice something special in order to draw a conclusion about certain traits of a person from what you see.
- Third, don't forget about artistry and charisma. Thanks to this, among other things, you will be forgiven for inevitable mistakes and inaccuracies.
Here are some practical tips.
- Phrases should be positive and spoken to the point. So, at an interview, you should not tell a potential leader that a woman whose name ends in A or Z has played a big role in his life. Instead, you should dwell on professional qualities, success, etc.
- Do not be too specific - build streamlined phrases and use the words "Sometimes", "Sometimes", "In many cases", etc. This will make it harder to disagree with your proposals. In addition, categorical statements can be off-putting, even if they are accurate. More accurate assumptions do not generate such negative reactions.
- Useful links to "sources" - that you would like to explain on what basis your assumptions. In everyday use of cold reading, it is better not to appeal to superpowers. It is more expedient to say something like “My intuition prompts”, “My experience speaks”, etc.
