There are some people that know that they have a psychic gift and other people that aren’t quite sure if they have any special gifts at all. Someone that is clairvoyant will see that they can make different decisions than other people and so they might be more outgoing than other people are. People that are quiet or shy might be someone that is more independent in their thoughts and so they might not be as secure. Each characteristic that you have can help you to determine what gifts are strongest inside of you. But what if you aren’t a real psychic?
What is a Cold Reading?
There are some psychics that have certain gifts such as being able to read into the future. They can read the minds of people around them and some can even communicate with spirits in the spiritual world. A person that isn’t a real psychic won’t be able to know things about people that they have never met and only a real psychic can do that but that isn’t what a cold reading is about.
A cold reading can only happen when the psychic can get the people to cooperate with the reading. They are able to observe what the person is doing and say things that are broad that are usual for most people. When they say these things to that person, they believe that the psychic is able to tune into them. In other words, they are deceived.
During a cold reading, the psychic will turn the lights down and light some candles while playing music that is soft or they will have out things like a crystal ball or burn incense. These are people that will look like real psychics, and they will basically con people out of their money.
Let the Client Do the Work
A fake psychic will make the client do all of the work by saying things that are vague and letting the client give all of the information. They will force the client to form a memory or will trick them into giving information. They might ask things like:
- When the spirit speaks, it can be a mystery. Tell me what the spirit is trying to tell you.
- I have a blurry vision, help me to understand what is happening here.
Observing the Client
Fake psychics will look deeply at the client and will notice the characteristics of them which can give them information that works based on who they are. They will look at things such as:
- Sex.
- Age.
- Race.
- Issues such as being obese or smoking.
- Kind of clothing and accessories they wear.
- How they talk such as the vocabulary they use or their accent.
- Religion.
- What their relationship status is.
- Their interests.
- Education.
These kinds of psychics aren’t afraid of stereotypes and most of the time they will get it right. They will say things like:
- A close relative has recently passed away. Do you have trouble with your back like they did?
- I feel that you are having problems in your relationship. Are you having career problems too?
Vague Information
This kind of psychic will start saying vague statements and giving vague information that will fit almost anyone. This will resonate with the client. Here are some things they might say:
- I feel that the number five is important for you. This can mean that something is going to happen in the fifth month or the fifth day of the week.
- I hear the spirits telling you that someone’s dad had a heart problem. This could be someone such as an uncle, grandfather, or sibling.
Using probability will help them such as using man names that start with a J or women names that start with the letter M. These are common names, and they might say something like:
- I feel like a J guy is coming to speak to you. It could be Jerry or John.
- I feel that there is pain in the chest, does this resonate with you somehow?
Barnum statements can be used, and this is called the Barnum effect. This is when people will think that whatever is said to them will apply to them. Here are some statements:
- Do you have a scar on your leg or knee from something that happened when you were a child?
- Do you have old photos in boxes at your house?
- Has someone that died gave you jewelry?
- Do you have books from a hobby that you have put on the side?
Once a person gets good at making their own Barnum statements, they will use these for different groups that they do readings for.
Other fake psychics will use what is called the rainbow ruse which means that they take two personality traits and use the opposite such as:
- There are times when you are really positive but there are times when you get upset easily.
- You are sometimes very pushy about your routine but then you will be spontaneous out of nowhere.
Body Language
A fake psychic gets good at looking at body language of the clients. They will notice if the person starts to frown and then they will change the course of the reading to make it more accurate. They rely on confirmation bias by remembering what they got right and what they got wrong.
If they get something right, they will keep going with it such as:
- “Your relative died fast.”
- Client: “Yes they did.”
- “Yes. They said they were here and then they were gone.”
If they miss something, they will handle it by minimizing it so that the client doesn’t realize that they got it wrong. They will start to reference the things that they got right, and they will blame the spirits if they get anything wrong.
Good Listening Skills
A good fake psychic will be able to take information that they got during the reading, and they will keep talking about it as they get things right. They will pretend to be good at doing readings. At the end of the reading, they will summarize all the things that they got right during the reading.
Giving Them the Information They Want
When a fake psychic gets good at their readings, they will talk about things such as careers, health, love, finances, and other things. They will compliment the client and they will make sure to build up the spirits that they think come to them. They will say things like:
- Your dad had a good sense of humor, didn’t he?
- Your mom wants you to know that she really loved you and wanted nothing more than for you to be happy.
Final Thoughts
People will spend a lot of money to go and see a psychic and the best thing is to find one that is true and one that is not fake. People can spend a lot of money using fake psychics to get information, but it never will really get them anywhere in their life.
Can psychics be real? Some people believe that they can, but others see that the information above can be used to trick people into believing in the psychic while giving them a lot of money along the way. Remember, science cannot confirm that psychic powers are real and if science can’t prove it then chances are that there are more frauds than real psychics and that psychic powers might just be a trick to get people to give their money.
Everyone knows that magicians have a knack at doing tricks and they don’t use real magic to see things happen. Psychics are supposed to be able to speak to the dead, read into the future and more. When a psychic does a cold reading, chances are that they are tricking you into paying them for the things that you already know about yourself.
Don’t be fooled by people that claim to be psychics but use these tricks. If you are skeptical, believe it and demand to have more evidence. Be careful to make sure that you don’t give out too much information to a psychic and this is one way that you can find out if they are using real powers or if they are fooling you.