E-Book Content
Full Facts Books are supplied from the website of Ian Rowland Limited. At the time of printing, the website address is: www.ianrowland.com
The Full Facts Book of Cold Reading by
Ian Rowland
Third edition Website: www.ianrowland.com
This book is dedicated with love to my Mother and Father, two exceptional, wonderful and admirable people.
The Full Facts Book of Cold Reading (third edition) Copyright © Ian Rowland 2002 London, England 1st edition published 1998 2nd edition published 2001 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 manner whatsoever without the written permission of the author. At the time of printing, Ian Rowland's website is:
www. ianrowland. com Like everything else on the web, this is subject to change. You can always track down the current version using your favourite search engine, or your psychic powers.
Contents Section 1: Welcome to the Psychic Circus The Greatest Scam In History?
8 8
Overview: what you will find in this book
10
Three things this book is not about
11
Section 2: How Cold Reading works Defining terms What is cold reading? What is a psychic reading? Readings categorised by type Readings categorised by content Readings categorised by delivery Readings categorised by client Terms used in this book Five popular misconceptions 1. Body language 2. Shrewd observation 3. Fishing for clues 4. Vagueness and generalisation 5. Stupid, credulous and gullible? How it works 1/7: The Set Up 1. Meeting and greeting 2. Encouraging co-operative interpretation 3. Establishing an intimate atmosphere 4. Establishing psychic credentials 5. Establishing the belief system 6. Supplying a pre-emptive excuse for failure 7. Checking for recent readings 8. Setting the client at ease How it works 2/7: The Principal Themes How it works 3/7: The Elements of the Reading Elements about character 1. The Rainbow Ruse 2. Fine Flattery 3. The Psychic Credit 4. Sugar Lumps 5. The Jacques Statement 6. Greener Grass 7. Barnum Statements
14 14 14 14 15 16 16 17 18 19 19 19 20 20 21 24 24 25 25 26 27 28 28 29 30 31 32 32 33 35 37 38 39 41
Elements about facts and events 1. The Fuzzy Fact 2. The Good Chance Guess 3. The Lucky Guess 4. The Stat Fact 5. The Trivia Stat 6. The Cultural Trend 7. The Childhood Memory 8. Folk Wisdom 9. The Seasonal Touch 10. The Opposites Game 11. The Push Statement Elements about extracting information 1. The Direct Question 2. The Incidental Question 3. The Veiled Question 4. The Diverted Question 5. The Jargon Blitz 6. The Vanishing Negative 7. The Sherlock Strategy 8. The Russian Doll Elements about the future 1. Peter Pan Predictions 2. Pollyanna Pearls 3. Certain Predictions 4. 50/50 Predictions 5. Likely Predictions 6. Unlikely Predictions 7. Factual Predictions 8. Self-fulfilling Predictions 9. Vague Predictions 10. Unverifiable Predictions 11. One-way Verifiable Predictions Special section: Public Predictions 12. The Neverwas Prediction How it works 4/7: The Win-Win Game 1. Persist, wonder and let it linger 2. I am right, but you have forgotten 3. I am right, but you do not know 4. I am right, but nobody knows 5. I am right, but it's embarrassing 6. I am wrong now, but I will be right soon 7. I am wrong, but it doesn't matter 8. I am wrong in fact, but right emotionally 9. I am wrong in fact, but right within system 10. Wrong small print, right headline 11. Accept, apologise, and move on
43 43 47 49 52 53 56 60 62 62 65 65 68 68 69 70 72 74 75 77 81 84 85 86 87 88 89 89 90 91 91 92 92 93 94 97 97 98 99 99 99 100 100 100 102 103 104
How it works 5/7: Presentational Points 1. Cultivating feedback 2. Sensory empathy 3. The cream principle 4. Emphasising the conditional 5. Provid