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The Magic The Mag ic Cafe Forum Index » Index » » The spooky, the mysterious...the bizarre! » bizarre! » » Best cold reading book (0 Likes) Go to page 1 ~2~3~4 [ [Next Next]]
Midnight333
Posted: Nov 26, 2004 03:17 pm
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What is the best cold reading book?
Veteran user 353 Posts
Phil Thomas
Posted: Nov 26, 2004 08:38 p m
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"Igloo Building For Dummies" "How To Catch A Polar Bear"
Sorry. Couldn't resist. Inner circle Newark, Ohio 1117 Posts
Phil "If we lose the sense of the mysterious, life is no more than a snuffed out candle." Albert Einstein
Mark Rough
Posted: Nov 26, 2004 09:12 pm
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Hey Phil, You really need to fight these urges. . . Inner circle Ivy, Virginia 2110 Posts
Mark Midnight333, try The Dance by Brad Henderson What would Wavy do?
scolman
Elite user Johannesburg, South Africa 437 Posts
Posted: Nov 26, 2004 10:59 pm
I second "The Dance", even as a relative newcomer. The CD's produced by Richard Webster from New Zealand are also very good (I only have Commercial Cold Reading but he explains things very well and I read on this forum that he produces a number of other training materials that are just as strong.) The Dance is quite hard to find but I think they still have a few copies available at Stevens Magic. You can also make direct contact with the author author,, Brad Henderson who is a regular user of the Café and seems keen to help, do a search on him and you'll find his user name. (I don't know if its appropriate for me to mention it outright). Simon
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chmara
Posted: Nov 26, 2004 11:40 pm
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Ian Rowlan's "Full Facts of Cold Reading," AND "The Dance." Good balance, solid technique and professional skeptical approach. GC Inner circle Tucson, AZ 1861 Posts
Gregg (C. H. Mara) Chmara Commercial Operations, LLC Tucson, AZ
C. H. Mara Illusion & Psychic Entertainments
mrmysticmike
Posted: Nov 27, 2004 03:41 pm
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There is a lot of great material in Richard Webster's books. There are also some gems in the Herb Dewey books if you can get them.
Elite user Cleveland, Ohio 424 Posts
7th_Son
Posted: Nov 27, 2004 04:58 pm
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This site reviews just about every cold reading book ever written. http://deceptionary.oratory.com/aboutreading.html "Here's to our wives and girlfriends...may they never meet!" - Groucho Marx Elite user Australia 437 Posts
enriqueenriquez
Posted: Nov 27, 2004 05:25 pm
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The link above is great. I second The Dance.
Inner circle New York 1287 Posts
Osiris
Posted: Nov 29, 2004 06:03 pm
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Do bear in mind that THE DANCE is not for the beginner but someone that's been studying the craft for a period of time.
Special user 610 Posts
The best way to learn how to be a READER is to ignore all the Magic oriented B.S. and simply buy an oracle system that you feel comfortable with and learn how to use it properly. You'll be amazed at how hard and accurate a Reading you can deliver in do such. This is something that most who work on either side of the proverbial fence testify of on a regular basis... just as Mark Strivings, Jon Riggs, or (if you need a more skeptical opinion) Rick Maue. The "Psycho Babble" of magic is more prone to confuse you and get you pointed out as being a fraud than it is known to aid someone trying to do Readings. Most of it is "Niche" based and designed for brief retorts from the stage vs. indepth sessions. It has many (did I say "MANY"?) holes in it. This is a fact explained in Bob Cassidy's manuscript on Cold Reading (which I highly recommend, btw). You may want to check out the gang at Blair Robertson's Mental-List.com/Forum --- this is a group of PROFESSIONAL Readers that know their stuff. Another excellent source is Philemon Vanderbeck's OORT series (and I'm not just saying that because I'm one of the key contributors to the book...) For quick and FREE references, check out my columns at OnLine-VISIONS or TOP HAT eZines. CB
mota
Posted: Dec 27, 2004 11:19 pm
Look up Chinese Numerology on the internet...there are free pages. Learn this simple reading and go out and do 20 readings or so. Then go to Doug Dyment's site for his cold reading flash cards, or get Richard Webster's Quick and Effective Cold Reading. The flash cards are Richard Webster's lines in flash card form, with his permission. Inner circle
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1658 Posts
Ian Rowland seems quite pleasant from his posts but I wouldn't recommend that book. It is magician's fantasies about "tricks" you can do. I find it hard to believe that he has done much reading, just theorizing. I feel bad saying this, but the book, Full Facts, is magician's masturbation. I threw mine away and felt I wasted around 50 bucks. To be fair, I don't feel ripped off. He put a lot in this book, I just think it's fantasy. The Dance by Henderson seems to be written by someone who has done some readings, but it is unneeded. That book actually has a card trick in the back with a readings theme. I know it is good magic, but people would rather you spent the time giving them a longer reading. I have done literally thousands of readings since 1973. I have some idea what I am talking about. Learn the numerology readings and do them...then get the Richard Webster books or the flash cards from Doug Dyment. That will teach you palm reading, the most powerful quick reading (10-20 minutes) you can do. To try to learn readings from magic books is a great handicap.
truthteller
Posted: Dec 28, 2004 12:06 am
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Hi mota, I make a good portion of my living as a magician, the remainder as a speaker and mind reader. I rarely give readings professional anymore, however at one time they were an important part of my career choices. Inner circle 2586 Posts
The card trick is included for a number of reasons. One, its a good card trick. As The Dance is marketed to magicians I felt they might appreciate it. Two, people need a place to practice cold readings. Cold reading can be a scary proposition. By combining reading techniques with a guaranteed theatrically sound conclusion, one can "relax" a little during the reading, knowing the conclusion will be strong. I would NEVER recommend doing a card trick in a reading context. It is neither warranted and will not be appreciated by the sitter. The reading is about them, not what the "performer" can do. But, by testing the waters in a card trick, the student may someday trust his or her abilities and decide to read SHOULD THEY FEEL THEY CAN DO SO WITH THE RESPONSIBILITY AND SENSITIVITY IT REQUIRES. However, using reading techniques in an entertainment context is very powerful. Of course, the reading for an individual will always be a stronger experience, however we can take advantage of these techniques in our performances - for those of us who do so. So, I thank you for calling attention to the fact that card tricks and readings probably do not mix ( I tend to avoid dogmatic statements) however please try to understand the intent behind including the card trick. It does hurt that you think the Dance did not need to be written. I wanted to offer a text which addressed some of the issues of responsibility and ethics which I found sorely lacking from the literature. I also wanted to convey that reading is a process and not merely a set of canned lines to be pawned off to the "marks." To treat human beings as recepticles for "stock lines" I find repugnant. I'm sorry you did not think it would hold value for others. Brad
mota
Posted: Dec 28, 2004 03:20 pm
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My apologies...I didn't mean to sound like I am slamming the book, though now that I read it, it appears I put it in the same category as Full Facts. So, let me be clear... I did not mean the book didn't need to be written, only that I prefer my own approach (big surprise). Inner circle 1658 Posts
You will get your money's worth from The Dance. I think it will help many, but for my opinion (that and a thumb tip might be worth something) I think that learning a basic system that doesn't confuse your sitter (real astrology is way too c omplicated) and just doing readings will be fine. If The Dance gets you to actually try readings it is worth every penny...for most people that applies. So, if you want to do readings and have some reservation get The Dance, do what he says, and watch the reaction. Again, my apologies on painting both books with the same brush.
Midnight333
Posted: Dec 28, 2004 03:59 pm
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I did a reading for a girl friend of mine, and at the end I forced the lovers card. She freaked out. she said do it again but take that card out... So I top changed it, tabled the other card and forced it again. She was floored. By the way the book I eventually got was called Tradecraft and I think it's really practical.
Veteran user 353 Posts
Ian Rowland
Posted: Jan 1, 2005 08:16 pm
Quote:
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Ian Rowland seems quite pleasant from his posts but I wouldn't recommend that book. It is magician's fantasies about "tricks" you can do. I find it hard to believe that he has done much reading, just theorizing. I feel bad saying this, but the book, Full Facts, is magician's masturbation. I threw mine away and felt I wasted around 50 bucks. To be fair, I don't feel ripped off. He put a lot in this book, I just think it's fantasy. Special user London 858 Posts
Everyone is entitled to their own opinion. There is a rich selection of opinions about my book on my website -- some of them from people with, perhaps, a little bit more practical experience than some people who post on the Magic Café. Here are a few facts. I have made my own personal choice not to do readings for money. This is just my own personal decision, which I've made for myself, and need not affect anyone else. I have made this decision for reasons to do with my own feelings of honesty (because I know I'm not psychic), and for my feelings of respect for the people I meet. There are some things that I'm happy to be paid to do, such as entertaining people with a mentalism show or giving a corporate lecture on what I call 'real mind power'. There are other things I don't want to take people's money for, and giving seemingly psychic readings is one of them. However, not giving readings for money is not the same as not giving readings. I must have given literally hundreds or even thousands of readings in my life, for all kinds of people, in countless different contexts. Most have been tarot readings, palm readings, astrology readings or graphology readings, but I have done other kinds of readings as well. Some were quick and simple readings, others were 45 minutes in duration. Some were for believers, some for skeptics, and some were done under 'test conditions' for media demonstration purposes. For all these readings, I used my own understanding of cold reading techniques. The techniques I describe in my book work. I am still the only person in the world who has given 'test conditions' demonstrations for TV of four different types of readings: tarot, astrology, clairvoyant and spiritualism, relying entirely on my understanding of cold reading to do so. I was successful in every case. I have hundreds of emails and testimonials on file from people who say they have found my cold reading book to be full of useful, practical information about how cold reading works. When I lectured at the Magic Castle, so many people turned up and wanted to get in they had to transfer the lecture from the Parlour (the usual lecture venue) to the main theatre. This was something they've only had to do for about 4 or 5 lecturers. I demonstrated how to do a Question & Answer act using pure cold reading, nothing written down, no prep, no advance info. Greg Arce here on the Café was kind enough to say he thought it was the best demo of a Q&A act he'd ever seen. I recently had lunch with Ron First, one of Israel's premier mentalists and certainly the one with the most TV credits to his name, when he recently visited London. He asked me to demonstrate this Q&A cold reading technique. I did so for him, right there in the pub. He said it was amazing. All I was doing was using some of the techniques described in my book. I did the same for Dimis Michaelides from Cyprus, who was also recently over here in London and wanted to meet up. In Australia, for Sean Taylor (Syndey's biggest magic dealer) I gave a 4 hour workshop for mentalists, a substantial portion of which was devoted to cold reading. Sean wrote afterwards: "His confidence in his material comes not only from his years of honing his craft but from his superb grasp of cold reading which beautifully frames many of his performances. This understanding allows him to control and steer lay people towards buying into his effects. If you can master some of the techniques he describes and can add even a small segment of cold reading to your act it will without doubt change the way in which your audience perceives you." So there you go. Each to their own opinion. I think I know a thing or two about cold reading, and I think what I know is based on practical, real-life, real-world experience. I stand by the material in my book. www.ianrowland.com . Working Magic.
Natural Mystic
Posted: Jan 1, 2005 09:30 pm
Ian Rowland, "I demonstrated how to do a Question & Answer act using pure cold reading, nothing written down, no prep, no advance info." Elite user Atlanta, GA 470 Posts
What specific parts of your book address how to do a Cold Q&A? When are you going to put your Question & Answer lecture into a DVD format, for those across the pond? Peace "You never change the existing reality by fighting it. Instead, create a new model that
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makes the old one obsolete." -- R. Buckminster Fuller
mota
Posted: Jan 4, 2005 04:37 pm
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Magicians everywhere agree that Full Facts of Cold Reading is good...too bad most magicians don't know squat about readings. The ability to be a stage psychic and ability to do one on one readings are two entirely different skill sets.
Inner circle 1658 Posts
You don't have to use "tricks" to fish for information. You are only impressing yourself. It's a magician's mindset and handicaps you. At the risk of aggravating the Randi disciples I must say that when you do readings like this you are using the wrong part of your brain. There is some very good porno in video's, but that doesn't mean there aren't real women. It can add, but if that is your life, it is lame. The Full Facts of Cold Reading is very good "cold" reading porno...kind of like the "Debbie Does Dallas" of readings. It can help, but if after thousands of readings your are still just doing this stuff, you are short-changing yourself drastically. I saw a site once where someone did five readings using the Full Facts techniques. He had one good reading, three just ok, and one flop. He then went on to say if he practiced he could become a "rich and famous psychic" or some crap like that. Of course he was too "moral" for such things. One out of five is pathetic. Psychological techniques can help flavor the frosting of a reading, but don't mistake them for the cake.
Wendy Wylde
Posted: Jan 11, 2005 02:51 am
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Hi Mota! Quote:
New user Littleton, Colorado 53 Posts
On 2005-01-04 17:37, mota wrote: Magicians everywhere agree that Full Facts of Cold Reading is good...too bad most magicians don't know squat about readings. The ability to be a stage psychic and ability to do one on one readings are two entirely different skill sets.
Well, to be fair, they're two entirely different professions too. (Think as you will of me) I've been working as a professional psychic for years now (as both a shut and open eye reader)and only just started seriously doing magic as well. But I never, EVER combine the two. They don't go well together at all. If I'm working as a "psychic advisor" and I suddenly break into card tricks all of my credibility is shot. I become a magician doing tricks. If I'm doing magic tricks, even mentalism, and offer to do a private reading, I remain a magician looking to fool the sitter. Cold reading IS a powerful technique, wherever you use it, and every mentalist should be familiar with it. But I don't see any reason for magicians/mentalists to know anything about doing one on one readings. Few of them will ever want or need to. It isn't a fault that a magician/mentalist doesn't know anything about doing private readings. They're completely different types of performance. And as a side note, I agree with everyone that recommended "The Dance". Fantastic book. Anything by Richard Webster is good, including his books for shut eyes (there are some great divination tools in there!) I will definitely have to check out "Full Facts of Cold Reading", it sounds fascinating! Wendy Wylde at Harp http://www.wendywylde.com
"You can find your own damn three of spades!" - Steve Bryant
Withnail
Posted: Jan 11, 2005 05:52 am
Sorry for another no brainer, but what's the difference between the 'art' of cold reading and the 'craft' of cold reading? Another question while I have your attention: I have no cold reading skills, so what would be the best book to start with? I want to convince someone that "the spirits are giving me information" - where is a good starting point, other than Absynth Special user
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969 Posts
StrangeMagick
Yet again that oaf has destroyed my day Posted: Jan 11, 2005 02:32 pm
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Quote:
I will definitely have to check out "Full Facts of Cold Reading", it sounds fascinating! Special user 574 Posts
CoyoteQuixote: Beware, Ian's writing style might be fount, um, well, offensive to one who has worked as a shut-eye reader. I personally believe that the "Full Facts of Cold Reading" is over-rated for it's actual information on "real" cold reading, as it seems to oversimplify readings ... but that's just me. I also haven't read it for a few years. Just my 2c. Dave
Wendy Wylde
Posted: Jan 11, 2005 03:35 pm
Hi Dave! Quote:
New user Littleton, Colorado 53 Posts
Beware, Ian's writing style might be fount, um, well, offensive to one who has worked as a shut-eye reader. I personally believe that the "Full Facts of Cold Reading" is over-rated for it's actual information on "real" cold reading, as it seems to oversimplify readings ... but that's just me. I also haven't read it for a few years.
Thank you for the heads-up about this book. I'm pretty hard to offend, though. I have no illusions about what I was doing when I was a shut-eye reader (though, I really did think I was psychic. I'm not proud of that. But it turns out at that time the best illusion I did was for myself.), but I think having had that experience helps me deal with shut-eyes when I run into them now. Cold reading is easily oversimplified, and honestly, to describe it it DOES sound very simple. It's when you tr y it in practice that you realize that it is very much a dance, and it's something you don't fully understand until you do it. Having read Mr. Rowland's post about his history, and cold reading "credentials", I think I'll still have to check out his book. My theory about study has always been to study EVERYTHING, and pick from it the pieces that work for you. There are very few books written on mentalism and cold reading that have NOTHING of value in them. (Off the top of my head, I can't think of one, actually.) But thank you for the kind warning. I appreciate it. Wendy Hi Withnail, Quote:
On 2005-01-11 06:52, Withnail wrote: Sorry for another no brainer, but what's the difference between the 'art' of cold reading and the 'craft' of cold reading?
Well, it'd be the same as the "art" and the "craft" of magic. Any idiot can do "S cotch and Soda" within minutes of reading the instructions, that would be the craft of magic. But to make it a decent trick, to make it miraculous, is an art. Cold reading is no different. Any idiot can whip out the Barnum Profile and do a reading. There are even tarot cards with the keywords for the cards right on them. And because of the way the human mind works, and the desire for you to be
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right (in the case of most sitters), most of the time you will succeed. To make it seem as if the spirits are giving you messages, as you say you want, is an art. Quote:
Another question while I have your attention: I have no cold reading skills, so what would be the best book to start with? I want to convince someone that "the spirits are giving me information" - where is a good starting point, other than Absynth
I highly recommend the book "The Dance". Also, Richard Webster has some really good books on the subject. He uses palmistry, but you can use the techniques for whatever kind of reading you choose to do (how are the spirits going to get this information to you? Crystal ball? Scrying mirror?) Apparently he even has a couple of videos out, but I haven't seen them. I'm told they're really good, though. Anyone? Good luck! Wendy Wylde at Harp http://www.wendywylde.com
"You can find your own damn three of spades!" - Steve Bryant
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