Not all people who claim to be psychic are telling the truth. Some of them use a technique called “cold reading” in order to give convince others that they have psychic abilities.
What is a Cold Reading?
A cold reading is set of techniques that someone can use to give the impression that they have insights into your life and can help them in some way. The person who uses these techniques manipulates others into giving them money for their service. You will find these manipulators in all kinds of professions such as: faith healers, salesmen, advertisers, con men, and psychics.
A cold reader may falsely claim to have psychic abilities. This pretend psychic will read the subtle clues that a client unknowingly provides through their body language, and what they say, in order to give a reading. For instance, they may look at what you are wearing and how you are carrying yourself in order to guess about some of your personality characteristics. Then they will begin the reading and provide what seems like correct insights about you. However, the insights are general enough to apply to almost anyone. Then they read your subtle facial expressions and movements to discern if what they are saying is accurate.
For instance, “You are an independent minded person. You look for proof that something is true without just trusting the opinion of someone else. You have friends that you enjoy spending time with but you also enjoy solitude. You enjoy a certain amount of change and new things entering your life and grow dissatisfied by too many restrictions and limitations. You regret some important decisions that you have made in the past. You will project yourself as a confident person while feeling uncertain about yourself on the inside.”
Once a cold reader has you convinced that they are legitimate, and are able to discern something about you and your life, than you may volunteer information about yourself. Then the cold reader can use that information to make the reading seem even more specific and accurate.
How to Tell if a Psychic is Real
The best way to not be taken advantage of a fraudulent psychic is to understand the techniques that they use. While the reading is going on try to listen carefully without providing any kind of feedback either verbally or through your body language. Imagine that you are a poker player and don’t want to reveal to the other player the type of hand you have.
The difference between a real psychic and a cold reader is the ability to provide specific information about you and your life situation. Be careful that you don’t project anything about yourself into the more general comments that a psychic may make.
Listen carefully to what the psychic is saying and wait to hear specific details about your life that only a real psychic would be able to know. For instance, “You were recently divorced and are finding it difficult to manage taking care of the kids on your own. Your mother wants to move close to you in order to help out but you don’t know if that is a good idea. You recently started dating someone with dark hair and brown eyes who really makes you laugh. However, you don’t know if the difference in your ages will prevent the relationship from working out in the long-term.”
And the most important thing to rely upon is your intuition. If you get a bad feeling about a psychic then leave. If you feel good about them then give them the benefit of the doubt and listen to what they have to say.
