talkmagic.co.uk

Hello to all and Happy New Year.

I'm starting in Mind magic and keen to learn lots - this takes a long time of course.

Could you recommend good books or other resources to learn about cold reading?

Looking for the top teachers / writers on the topic!

Many thanks

Ken

13 steps by Corinda

Our very own TOMO has written 2 books on mentalism and then there's the infinite wisdom of Craig Browning.

Pop over to the introductions section and read the sticky's in each section of the site.

If you're new to all this, and you've not performed or anything - my advice is to stay away from cold reading for a couple of years. Study 13 steps and Annemann instead.

The thing is this - imagine the scene, you are performing, you use some cold reading and you hit! And you hit big! Wow! Everyone is amazed.

Apart from a couple in the corner, who are also hit by what you revealed. They feel as though you are talking about them as well. They are shocked and visibly upset at what you've revealed. It has reminded them of something very, very painful in their lifes.

What do you do? After all, you said it - no one else. Would you feel responsible for how they felt?

I know that's a little dramatic, and a heavy question to give you. However! It's also a very pertinent one. And something to consider. You can go and learn a simple system to mix in some character reading for example. And you could study some basic psychology and mix those together.

However, with cold reading, some of it can be quite close to the mark. The old one of "an accident involving water" could potentially mean they lost someone dear to them and they died. Now, you said that, so therefore - in my mind, you are therefore responsible for how they now feel. Others may argue differently. Let them.

NLP for Dummies book
Passages - Gail Sheehy (spelling!)
and pop onto the BlackHart's site and pick up one of his easy systems for runes or tarot..maybe he does others these days - i've not popped on there myself for a little while.
Also, it may be worthwhile buying Ted Andrews' psychometry booklet, as though it's not about reading - he is a "shut eye", and it seems he's a very moral guy. Not accepting hits if its only "nearly there" and so on.

Anyway - the books are my recommendations only, no real reason as to why you should pay attention to me. But all in all, they will cost you less than £40 in total.

Many thanks to both - I do have the Corinda book.... I am actually looking at a book specifically, 100% on cold reading techniques. For me it's about fun - so not interested by the darker side, but I do appreciate the feedback, it's very valid.

Don't know about TOMO, so a site would be great...

Anyone recommends Ian Rowland's book?

Cheers

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What do you want out of cold reading? What kind of fun? It may be that what you want to do with cold reading requires other skills as well.

If you are "New" to Cold Reading then you need to develop a foundation first and foremost. For this I point all of my students to the collective works of Richard Webster, which come in two specific forms when dealing with this topic; his audio series offered through Martin Breese there in the UK along side the following titled books;

Cold Reading for Magicians
Quick & Effective Cold Reading
Psychometry from A-Z
Quick Readings w/Numerology (a.k.a. Chinese Numerology)
Cold Reading the Future with Numerology
Cold Reading Variations

All, in this particular order

I will likewise encourage you to get Bob Cassidy's Real Work of Cold Reading so as to aid you in wading through all the misinformation out there on the subject.

DO NOT invest into the Ian Rowland or Tradecraft books until you haven't just completed the above reading list, but given yourself at least one full and very solid year doing readings. Neither of these books are for beginners. Same goes with Brad Henderson's THE DANCE.

Once you've cultivated a reasonable foundation for yourself via the Webster & Cassidy materials you might find Kenton Knepper's Completely Cold of value. I will warn you that not everyone is comfortable with this work but I have found some reasonable results through it. Another awesome resource comes from one of my "mentors" and one of Mentalism's silent legends, Millard Longman. His Psychic Skills Workshop is worth five times the going price (see http://www.mevproshop.com/ while you're there I'll suggest you pick up a copy of Ron Martin's TAROT READER'S and PALM READER'S NOTEBOOKS and Martin Baukin's CASUAL LITTLE MIRACLES, they are without a doubt, three of the most excellent "real world" points of reference ever placed into the magician's market place.)

I never encourage a novice to jump into all the psychological horse pucky you'll find all the skeptics, cynics and inexperienced experts preaching about such as the Forer theory and Barnum principle, etc. Though such studies are practical LATER in life, once you've learned the foundation material and actually gotten some real world experience for yourself, study of such will only confound and confuse you if its the pile of stuff you step into first. The only exception I make on this issue and it's only because he offers a very bare-bones point of view around it, is the Lee Earle's Classic Cold Reading. It will give you a sound skeletal structure onto which you can place the other information you will find in the aforementioned resources. Even at that, I would not suggest it as a starting point but rather, a bit of side study once you are getting the hang of things and gotten a few dozen or so readings under your belt (truthfully, you should have a good 100-200 readings under your belt, working one specific system before moving forward. I know that sounds like a lot but if you just do two-three readings a day you can knock that level out within a couple of months. It's not that difficult... Mark Lewis and Paul Bell will both tell you, it's just a weekend's work )

Yes, I have a book on the market known as EASY READING that can help you in developing this skill BUT I don't recommend it to anyone until they've got a few months of preliminary learning under their belt. And though I've never personally seen it, I have it on good testimony that Mark Lewis' course in Psychic Reading ain't too shabby, giving the student a decent overview in how to deliver a more "complete" sense of experience to the patron.

So there you have it... the guiding list I wish I had back in the late 1970s as I was first getting into this stuff. Then again I learned the way many before me did; I picked up a deck of Tarot cards and simply learned how to work with them exactly as the book (which comes with most all decks now days) tells you to do it. Contrary to the con-jobs bought into by the skeptical mind, that's all you really need; it will amaze you as to how accurate your "impressions" will be once you start to literally learn the cards and the people.

Best of luck in your journey and do not hesitate to tap me on the shoulder should you have any questions on this topic.

Exactly what I was after - this is great

I'll echo that if you begin with Rowland's book in particular, your learning curve in reading will become immensely steeper as a result.

It's not a bad book, but it's immensely analytical - in a way that you should never be as a reader. Elsewhere on the board, Craig has recommended that the best way in is to learn a traditional system, such as tarot, numerology or palmistry, and give readings to people based on that, rather than memorise stock lines or attempt to play psychological games with your sitter.

This approach is an unpopular one with many people, who like to keep a wide berth from New Age stuff, and consider themselves much too rational for that sort of thing, but it honestly is the best way to develop your people reading skills, and establish your own intuitive approach to reading.

Once you've done that, it's easier to dispense with the trappings of tarot cards and whatnot and work convincing readings into mentalism routines (although I for one disagree that cold reading enhances most mentalism effects. I often find that misplaced cold reading just makes the performer look pompous and self-indulgent, as well as slowing down the routine and dampening its overall effect. But that's just me). Anyway, at this point, you can use Rowland's book or Henderson's to squeeze more from each reading, and build on the skills you already have. Without that skills base, these books will probably only serve to confuse. Incidentally, I think The Dance is a tremendous book, but requires the right frame of reference from the reader.

Just my tuppence-worth.

Pete

I can assure you all that nobody knows as much about this stuff as I do. However I am far too modest to brag concerning the matter. I do have a course for sale. A mere $230 plus postage and handling. However you can purchase individual segments separately. Commercial over.

KAN wrote:Many thanks to both - I do have the Corinda book.... I am actually looking at a book specifically, 100% on cold reading techniques. For me it's about fun - so not interested by the darker side, but I do appreciate the feedback, it's very valid.

Don't know about TOMO, so a site would be great...

Anyone recommends Ian Rowland's book?

No one's mentioned Doug Dyment's excellent and actively updated cold reading resource list at his wonderful Deceptionary. The whole site's an utter gem, including his very useful Tarot Tutor. No one's mentioned Joe Riding's excellent "Advanced Cold Reading", either. Despite the name, it's an excellent introduction to the art and craft of creating meaningful readings. Though he died several years ago, I think it's Joe's son who now runs Joe's Magic.

There's no reason why you shouldn't learn cold reading to give people an uplifting, fun time. No reason at all. In fact, about six decades of concerted "horse pucky" have shown exactly why people accept good, positive assessments of themselves and their futures far easier than they do negative ones, and how to deliver those messages in the best way.

Cheers for the shout out, Jordan! The original volume of Naked Mentalism shows how to segue from a naturalistic and seemingly genuine mind reading perfromance into a longer cold reading, but book III will contain a chapter dedicated to using the psychological tools taught in the rest of the volume to deliver readings that don't rely on Barnum statements or the famous Forer effect.

Finally, for a mentalist, it's most accurate to think of Ian Rowland's "Full Facts Book of Cold Reading" as a library of techniques that become more useful the more you know about cold reading.

I haven't heard Doug's name mentioned in years but I know he does produce some decent stuff... As to the Riding book, I've not heard one way or the other on it and it's been out for years. I did forget our own Keith Hart's Tarot market and the fact that Mandrake was doing a Tarot Identification type "chat" here just recently that might not be a bad starting point

What people in the magic world tend to forget is that the Rowland book was not originally compiled for them but rather, as a Coffee Table book... an evil expose. Then again, there's been some other "adjustments" within the book since the first printing as well, such as his encouraging people to rip-off and harass the local Readers.

Once you've got some sense of foundation under your belt however, look up the works of Herb Dewey; especially RED HOT COLD READINGS and KING OF THE COLD READERS.

See... I told you about that Craig!!!

KAN wrote:
Could you recommend good books or other resources to learn about cold reading?

I often wonder what people actaully mean when they use the phrase "cold reading". It seems to be some kind of catch-all phrase used by magicians to signify a reading that it somehow fraudulant - the kind of fakery that most magicians tut-tut at and yet all seem very interested in knowing the details of.

If you're interested in learning "cold reading" for fun, then I do wonder exactly what kind of fun you imagine having with your new-found skills. Telling your mum that she has a scar above her left knee or your best friend that he had an episode involving water when he was younger is hardly going to have them rolling in the ailses - or gasping in amazement. Readings after all only ever work on complete strangers with any degree of amazement, and who would do readings for strangers "for fun"?

My honest advice is to forget all about some mythical reading technique that may or may not be called cold reading, and go out and buy an actual book on how to do genuine readings. If tarot is your thing then there are plenty of "how to" books out there, likewise for palm reading (though I would recommend Johnny Fincham if you're interested), aura readings, runes etc. If you learn a genuine reading technique you will make redundant any "cold reading" techniques that you may pick up from various e-books. If you learn a real technique, you will not be performing a trick. You will be providing a reading. How good your readings are depend on how good a reader you are - simple. I believe that good readers are born not made. And they're certainly not made by reading books. If they are made, they are made with experience of going out into the wild and doing readings for strangers who have paid for the privalige.

Good readers are modest, self-effacing folk with nothing to prove and no chip on their shoulder. You see why it is that most magicians make terrible readers?

If you're a magician looking for ways of working readings into your routines, don't worry - I have a new ebook coming out in around a month (industrious little bee that I am!).

I agree with Magic Wand about readers being modest. I have always been conspicuous by my humility.