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The Secrets Of Cold Reading

by Steven Peliari (http://www.theartofcoverthypnosis.com)

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Today I'm going to teach you a fundamental Mentalism technique nown as 'cold reading'. !old reading is a technique employed "y mentalists and charlatans (and "y charlatan I refer to psychics# mediums# fortune tellers or anyone that claims false a"ilities) that is used to give the illusion that the person has some form of super natural power. !old reading is "asically the a"ility to analyse a person's "ehaviour# speech and "ody language in order to get an idea a"out a person's life# personality# their past# and what they may currently "e thin ing. The Feeling of Intuition $ave you ever gotten that gut feeling that you %ust new something# even though there was no real reasoning as to why& 'ere you correct in your presumption& Many of us occasionally get (gut feelings)# which is "asically an emotional response we ma e to something without any form of verifia"le evidence. The reason that these feelings are often correct isn't "ecause we have any form of mystical power# it's "ecause our su"conscious learns so much that our conscious isn't aware of# and occasionally it tells our consciousness things that it doesn't now. *id you now the last time you wal ed down the road your su"conscious a"sor"ed many things that you weren't aware of& The colour of various cars# even their num"erplates# would have seeped deeply into your su"conscious mind. If I as ed you to try and recite some car num"erplates to me# you would thin such a feat would "e impossi"le. If I placed you under hypnosis however and "rought out your su"conscious thoughts# you'd "e incredi"ly surprised as to what was possi"le. +ometimes our su"conscious associates certain things together. If for e,ample you slip whenever you see a yellow ('et -loor) sign on the ground# then your su"conscious will associate that sign with slipping. The ne,t time you see a yellow ('et -loor) sign you'll get a (gut feeling) that you'll slip# so you ma e sure that you wal on the floor e,tra cautiously. This su"conscious association doesn't "egin nor end with wet floor signs. .ust a"out every interaction we have is associated with something in our su"conscious. This is how we get those feelings of intuition# those feelings where we '%ust now' certain things# or have a '"ad feeling' a"out something# even if that feeling can't "e %ustified. If we're a"le to identify our own su"conscious associations# then we'll also "e a"le to identify many su"conscious associations that other people have. The funny thing is# is that all humans have very similar su"conscious associations. 'e all now that %umping from a tall "uilding would "e a very "ad thing to do# as we've associated height with danger. 'e also now that if we approach a stranger and %ust start tal ing a"out ourselves then the stranger is going to grow "ored and disinterested in us. 'e learn that "y showing interest in another person# they'll "e more li ely to respond to us positively and en%oy our company. /eople can generally "e divided into two personality types 0 introverted and e,troverted. 1ery few people are at one complete e,treme or the other# most of us are somewhere in"etween. 2ow if you are an introvert# and spea with a fellow introvert# then you're going to naturally have a lot in common with them. 3sta"lishing rapport with the person will "e easier# and you'll have a vague idea what their li es and disli es are "efore you've even spo en to them. 2ow then# imagine

Brought to you by LearnMagicTricks.org if you studied your own life and conducted e,tensive self reflection# and used that as a way of trying to identify how other people# who had similar traits to you# "ehaved& If you found someone that seemed %ust li e you# odds would "e that they shared your same su"conscious thoughts and desires. 'hat a"out for people that were different to you& $ow could you learn a"out their su"conscious thoughts and desires& 4uite simply# if you learn everything there is to now a"out one particular type of person# then anyone that displays similar characteristics to that person will most li ely also thin and "ehave in a similar way. +o "y creating a portfolio of people you now incredi"ly well# you'll "e a"le to identify similar people in day to day life# and relay to them aspects a"out their life that they haven't told you. 'ith practice# you'll "e surprised how successful you can "ecome at telling a stranger things a"out themselves that they wouldn't even reveal to their own family. 5ll introverts have a lot in common# %ust li e all e,troverts have a lot in common. 'hat we're going to do is e,amine each personality type and %ust see what we can now a"out a person "ased off their personality type alone. 6emem"er# the e,amples listed here are e,tremes on "oth ends. 'hilst some introverts will display introvert7li e traits# it doesn't mean that they'll meet all the characteristics of an introvert. The same rule applies for e,troverts. The Introvert 5n introvert is someone who is typically more a"sor"ed and focused on their own thoughts and emotions than they are with the outside world. 'hilst the introvert can socialise# they usually prefer to "e alone# and find social interactions with anyone "ut close friends and family to "e draining. Introverts will normally eep to themselves# however may "e a lot more e,pressive on the internet than they would otherwise "e in real life. If you've identified someone to "e an introvert# they will usually have the following characteristics 7

5re quite artistic in their words# thoughts and "eliefs /refer not to socialise with large groups of people in real life /refer only to socialise with close friends and family *isli e "eing the centre of attention 5re self conscious and self aware 5re very critical of themselves# thin ing they 'could have done "etter' in an encounter -eel more comforta"le "eing alone 5re highly creative and imaginative

2ow with these characteristics in mind# we'll "e a"le to convince someone# through cold reading# that we somehow have a 'mind reading insight' into their lives. 'e "egin "y pro"ing with rough generalisations a"out the person and their "eliefs. 'e don't want to "ecome too specific immediately# "ecause not all of the a"ove criteria will apply to every introvert. Indeed# some introverts may "e very socia"le people# so we must generalise "efore we start "ecoming specific. If the person responds positively to our generalisations# then we "ecome more and more specific. 5n e,ample of a generalisation would "e 7 (It seems you're a little critical of yourself at times). 2ow a generalisation li e that is very rarely incorrect since all of us are critical of ourselves at some time or another. 'hether this is rarely or frequently doesn't matter.

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2ow we loo how the person responds to the generalisation. There are usually three types of responses 0 5 negative response# a neutral response# and a positive response. 5n e,ample of a negative response would "e 7 ($mm# on the odd occasion). 'ith a response li e this# the person doesn't seem that focused on "eing critical of themselves# so you shouldn't enquire a"out this characteristic any further. 2ow it's important to realise that you haven't lost any of your 'a"ilities' in the eye of the person you're spea ing to# since you haven't said anything that's incorrect. This is why it's important to ma e "road generalisations to "egin with. 5n e,ample of a neutral response would "e 7 (8ea# may"e). This could mean one of two things. It could mean that the person is very self critical of themselves# however they don't want to mention it to you since they don't feel comforta"le doing so# or it could mean that they are only occasionally self critical. 'ith a neutral response you will want to pro"e with another generalisation to do with "eing self critical. *on't ma e a direct statement %ust yet# "ut eep the option open. 5n e,ample of a positive response would "e 7 (8ea.. that's right). This is a positive response "ecause the person has directly confirmed the generalisation. If you received a response li e this you'd now to e,plore the 'self critical' aspect of the person further. 2ow with the a"ove e,ample# all you're doing is pro"ing the person through a generalisation. 8ou're trying to fish to see whether this particular introvert characteristic applies to them or not. 5fter you ma e a few generalisations a"out different characteristics# you'll "egin to develop a rough idea which characteristics do in fact apply to the person and which ones don't. It's at this stage that you can start ma ing more direct statements a"out the characteristics that do apply to them. If the person gave me a positive response to my statement "y replying with (8ea.. that's right)# I could then move on to a direct statement a"out "eing self critical# which could "e as follows 7 (I can see that you're always thin ing a"out how others will perceive you# you're always self conscious in a crowded setting and sometimes find it difficult to rela,. 8ou're aware that you worry too much# and others may have even told you that in the past# however you still can't help it. This an,iousness however is a form of hum"leness# and that's one of the things your friends li e a"out you). The reaction you get from saying something li e this is e,traordinary. 2otice that although I've made very direct statements a"out the person# everything I've said is simply related to someone who is typically a self critical person. 5 self critical person will always "e self conscious of how they loo # how they're acting# and will portray this worry through their "ody language. 2ow I could "e wrong a"out the (and others may have even told you that in the past...) part of the sentence# so notice that I carefully included the word may. I put the word may in there so that if I'm wrong a"out that small statement# I can easily "ac trac from it. The rest of the statement however would almost definitely "e true for a person that's self critical. 2ow depending upon how the person responds# I may delve even deeper into the 'self conscious/self

Brought to you by LearnMagicTricks.org critical' portion of their lives# or e,plore another introvert characteristic. This is where I li e to use what's called the 'direct question'. It's a question which is also sort of li e a statement# "ut can "e interpreted as either depending upon the circumstance. 5 direct question I would now use would "e (+o# do you ever feel an,ious when others are o"serving you# as if you're "eing %udged&). 2ow if the person replied (2o) then I could simply reply with (I didn't thin so# you don't seem to "e effected when others o"serve you# "ut later on you tend to self reflect a little). +ince almost anyone that is self critical and introvert li es to self reflect# this statement will almost certainly gain a positive response# and it diverts the attention from my question. It turns the question into a positive. 2ow if the answer to the question was a (8es)# then I can ma e it seem li e the question was a statement. I can then go on to say (8es# I thought so. 8ou seem to let what others thin of you effect you quite deeply at times). 2otice how my direct question cannot "e wrong& It can't "e perceived as "eing wrong# "ecause if it is wrong# then I turn it into a positive anyway. 5nd if it's right# I simply ela"orate on it further. This gives the illusion that I'm somehow reading into the person's inner thoughts# when all I'm doing is simply playing with words. /sychics will use the same technique. +o the process then in order to truly ama9e people with cold reading# is as follows 7 Ma e generalised statement : If response is positive : Ma e a direct statement. : If response is neutral : 5s generalised question a"out same topic. : If response is negative 0 5s generalised question on different topic. 8ou're trying to pro"e each one of the person's characteristics in order to see which ones apply to them and which ones don't. ;nce you've created a list of which characteristics do apply to them# you can really start to ma e accurate predictions a"out the person through the use of direct questions and statements. The Extrovert 5n e,trovert is someone who prefers to divert their energy in an outgoing manner. They don't focus on themselves as much as an introvert does# and they see little point in pondering ideas "y themselves for prolonged periods of time. If they have an idea# they'd prefer sharing it with another person or group of people in order to gain feed"ac . They gain their energy "y spea ing with other people in interpersonal settings# and always loo for acceptance within a group. They tend to "e more optimistic a"out things# and will try and ma e light of "ad situations in order to maintain a positive atmosphere. The characteristics of an e,trovert would typically "e as follows 7

3n%oys interacting with other people in a straight7forward# direct manner Is not so much an artistic thin er# is more of a practical thin er *oesn't follow strict formalities in a conversation 1iews conversation as a way to gain critical feed"ac for ideas Is e,pressive when in a group setting 3n%oys "eing the centre of attention when the energy is there 3n%oys meeting new people

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Is una"le to function "y themselves for prolonged periods of time /ictures themselves as more of a leader *oes the "est to en%oy themselves whatever the situation

+o# let's say we've identified someone to "e an e,trovert and we want to do some cold reading on them. The process of cold reading an e,trovert is e,actly the same as an introvert# the only thing that changes are the characteristics. The guideline we follow is still 0 Ma e generalised statement : 5nalyse 5nswer : *irect statement or generalised question (depending upon answer) +o let's "egin pro"ing the e,trovert with a generalised statement 7 (I sense that you're a more outgoing person# you en%oy "eing in a good crowd). 2ow since this is quite a general statement# it could apply to anyone that shows any degree of e,trovertism. If for whatever reason the person says (2o# I don't li e "eing in crowds)# then we could always say (I said you li e "eing in a good crowd# meaning with your family or friends) 7 which would apply to anyone. 5lthough we didn't mean family or friends initially# we pretend we did if it goes wrong. 'e must always give ourselves a naturally sounding "ac up plan for a generalised statement in case it does go wrong. If however you've successfully identified the person to "e an e,trovert# it's highly unli ely they'd flat out say that you were wrong. 2ow# a realistic answer that the introvert may give could include one of the following 7 A negative response: (+ort of# only with people I now though). This response shows that the e,trovert only li es a crowded setting with people they now. +ince we're trying to identify whether they're outgoing people even with strangers# then an answer li e this would indicate that they most li ely weren't. 'e'd therefore a"andon inquiring into this characteristic any further# and inquire a"out another characteristic instead. A neutral response: ('ell# if I get on well with the people# yea). This response could "e ta en as one of two ways. It could mean that the e,trovert only en%oys a crowded setting with people he or she already nows# or it could mean that they en%oy a crowded setting even with complete strangers# so long as they're good company. +ince e,troverts tend to spea more directly and less inferred# the later would most li ely "e true# however we can't say for certain. 8ou'd need to ma e another generalised statement a"out spea ing in a crowd and see how they'd react to that in order to see whether they'd give you a more positive or negative response. A positive response: (8ea# I always en%oy spea ing with people). 5 response such as this clearly indicates that the person en%oys a crowded setting. -rom this we can also conclude that the e,trovert most li ely 'views conversation as a way to gain critical feed"ac for ideas'# since people that en%oy tal ing with other people will often "e more open to a friendly de"ate. If the positive answer was given# we could then move on to a direct statement 7 (I can see that you en%oy openly socialising with fun people even if you haven't met them "efore.

Brought to you by LearnMagicTricks.org 8ou're also not afraid to go up to a stranger and introduce yourself if you "elieve they loo li e an alright person. In fact you view conversation itself as the perfect way to e,press any ideas you have and give other people critical feed"ac on theirs. 8ou don't li e to sit down "y yourself and thin a"out things too much# you'd much prefer to share your ideas with other people and get their input. I can see that you gain a lot of energy from "eing around others). This is a very direct statement and delves into the 'Is e,pressive when in a group setting' characteristic. 2otice I've slightly touched on the '3n%oys meeting new people' characteristic# since that is heavily related to interacting with other people# "ut I've also given myself an escape option %ust in case that is incorrect# I've said 'if you "elieve they loo li e an alright person.' This ensures I'm not left out in the open too much. 3verything else a"out spea ing with other people and sharing ideas I have said with confidence however. I could now loo at the characteristic 7 '3n%oys meeting new people' as another characteristic I could ma e a direct statement a"out# depending upon the reply I'm given. If the person replied ('ow# that's ama9ing# that's <==> correct)# then I'd realise I could delve further into every aspect of my direct statement. If they replied (very impressive# that's pretty accurate)# then there could "e something that wasn't entirely true# so I should "e cautious "efore ma ing more direct statements a"out the additional characteristics. 'ith practice of the a"ove techniques I can assure you that people will thin that you're some sort of mind7reading psychic. I do trust however that you won't ta e advantage of anyone. 5lways come clean with your intentions# and at the end of the day if someone questions you# don't try and pass yourself off as having any sort of super natural a"ility. About The Author: +teven /eliari is a world renowned Master $ypnotist and author of the course The 5rt ;f !overt $ypnosis. The a"ove guide is only a very small e,ample of the type of Mentalism performed "y famous psychics and psychological illusionists. If you want to learn the in7depth principles of !overt $ypnosis# 2eurolinguistic /rogramming and Mentalism then it is highly recommended you chec out +teven /eliari's course at 0 http://theartofcoverthypnosis.com/ This course will teach you how to use hypnosis in order to ma e others want to do almost anything you tell them. The techniques can "e used on friends# lovers# even complete strangers. The course will also teach you how to replicate the techniques used "y psychics# illusionists# faith healers and many other people that use mass hypnotic principles and deception. The 5rt ;f !overt $ypnosis is the only course on the internet that teaches you the three fields of $ypnosis# 2?/ and Mentalism together within one# easy to follow course. -ind out more at http://theartofcoverthypnosis.com/