Well I tried my hand at cold reading.. here is what happened!

[I'm Joe Dirt]

I was at a BBQ and this one girl was using a computer and talking to her friend online. We were all having a good time there and I decided to start talking to her friend using the girl's screen name and told her I was some guy there at the BBQ (she had no idea who I was)

So we had a little silly convo, nothing big or anything we didnt really touch upon anything major. Just kind of whats up, how are you, what kind of music you like, whats your favorite flavor of candy, etc.

The next day I messaged her from my screen name, made a little small talk, and figured this was the perfect opportuntiy to try my hand at cold reading.

Here is the actual AIM transcript of what happened.

Keep in mind that all we talked about before this was whether or not we have a bf/gf and where we go to school, etc. Just general small talk. I figured I'd try the techniques out from Ian Rowland's book and the other book to pinpoint her personality and tell her about events in her past...

Here we go:

first lets find out if she is an outgoing type, which could indicate a sensation seeking personality...

[00:57] I'm Joe Dirt: do you have any interests you like to pursue on your own? like by reading bout it or a hobby perhaps?
[00:58] Kristen: no not really i play tennis if that falls into any of those catagorys, but other than that not really anything
[00:58] I'm Joe Dirt: oh that's cool

*COLD READING BEGINS*

pinpointing personality type

[00:58] I'm Joe Dirt: i sense that youre a sensation seeker as in u like to look for adventure
[00:58] I'm Joe Dirt: rather than waiting for it to come to u
[00:58] I'm Joe Dirt: is that right?
[00:59] Kristen: yeah you can say that i guess in certain aspects, and how did u know that

[00:59] I'm Joe Dirt: oh i donno, i just sensed it
[01:00] Kristen: oh lol ic
[01:00] I'm Joe Dirt: im a very perceptive person
[01:00] Kristen: good

here comes a Barnum statement...

[01:00] I'm Joe Dirt: i also get the feeling u dont take b.s. from people, like ur not easily fooled. when someone say something ur a skeptic first
[01:01] Kristen: yeah i really dont take a lot of bs from people i just say it how it is, but i can be fooled cause i am gullible but it depends on certain things i guess you can say lol
[01:02] I'm Joe Dirt: lol oh i see, well i guess my sense was kinda right
[01:02] Kristen: yeah i would say so
[01:02] I'm Joe Dirt:

Using the trick known as a Vanishing Negative, if she said yes, I'd say, yes thats what I thought, and if she said no I could say, yeah, thats what I thought too!

[01:03] I'm Joe Dirt: u dont have overprotective parents, do you?
[01:03] I'm Joe Dirt: hmmm
[01:04] Kristen: um on certain things kinda but they dont go super overprotective
[01:04] I'm Joe Dirt: ah thats what i thought since u got a job and everything and u seem to hang out and stuff

I am new at this and I wanted to be quick so I went with another Barnum statement
[01:05] I'm Joe Dirt: hmm lets see what else can i sense bout you
[01:05] I'm Joe Dirt: i think sometimes u feel like u have some abilities that ur not giving ur full potential to.. like if u only tried a lil harder it would help u, but u just cant do it..
[01:05] I'm Joe Dirt: is that making sense?
[01:06] Kristen: yes perfect sense
[01:06] I'm Joe Dirt: is that true bout you?
[01:06] Kristen: yeah

Here comes the Trivia Stat trick, naming something many people have but often think its unique to them

[01:07] I'm Joe Dirt: cool.. i also think ur a sentimental person.. do you by any chance still have a childhood toy or some sort of souvenir or something u just cant seem to put away or get ur self to get rid of?
[01:08] Kristen: yeah kinda lol
[01:08] I'm Joe Dirt: cool lol, thast what i thought
[01:09] Kristen: lol you impress me anything else you know about me
[01:09] I'm Joe Dirt: hmm lol

A 3rd Barnum statement, yeah im overusing this technique but again I'm new and couldnt flip through Ian Rowlands book fast enough to find anything better!

[01:11] I'm Joe Dirt: well i think that sometimes some of ur goals tend to be pretty unreleastic, but ur always thinking positivley...
[01:12] Kristen: yes i have had unrealistic goals but i try to think positive
[01:12] I'm Joe Dirt: yeah, thats what i was sensing

Here is the childhood memory trick, which was only a partial hit but in retrospect she will probably remember as a bigger success because of the Forer effect

[01:13] I'm Joe Dirt: now when u were a kid, i think there was a time when u had a serious problem or illness.. maybe an accident or injruy
[01:13] I'm Joe Dirt: and ur parents especially were worried bout u, but it wasnt necessary too much cause things turned out okay
[01:14] Kristen: um i am trying to think i have gotton pretty hurt but i cant think of anything really serious
[01:14] I'm Joe Dirt: oh i see.. well i just sensed that people were worried bout you, perhaps that why i think their worrying wasnt necessary as ive mentioned, maybe it wasnt as serious as i first though
[01:14] I'm Joe Dirt: *thought
[01:15] Kristen: ic

A 4th Barnum Statement! Oh these are too easy!

[01:15] I'm Joe Dirt: but as a person who is an adventure seeker, i think when something doesnt go your way you tend to beat yourself up over it more than some people do
[01:15] I'm Joe Dirt: you give yourself a hard time and get mad at yourself for doing something stupid for example
[01:15] I'm Joe Dirt: where many other people wouldve just let it go
[01:16] Kristen: yes that is true i dont really let things go liek taht i get mad at myself
[01:17] I'm Joe Dirt: yeah, thats what i was picking up ... but there's more.. i think that this trait has held you back a little, like it makes you hesitate sometimes because u r afraid of regretting it later because u know ull be beating yourself up over it
[01:17] I'm Joe Dirt: is that right?
[01:17] Kristen: yes lol
[01:17] I'm Joe Dirt:

A Jacques Statement, a trick that exploits the fact we often come accross common passages in life. I have established earlier that she worked on the same job for 2 years, and that can make anyone bored especially a young lady, so I went for it...

[01:18] I'm Joe Dirt: i also detect a bit of transitional issues on your mind..
[01:18] I'm Joe Dirt: have u been thinking bout changing your routine somewhat? like maybe lookin for new work or trying a new activity?
[01:19] Kristen: yeah kinda
[01:19] I'm Joe Dirt: ahhh that explains that vibe
[01:19] I'm Joe Dirt: that i had

Now I see how accurate I really was by just asking straight up...
[01:20] I'm Joe Dirt: hmm so how accurate would you say ive been on all my statements there?
[01:20] Kristen: actually pretty accurate considering you have only known me for 2 days lol
[01:21] I'm Joe Dirt: hehe
[01:21] I'm Joe Dirt: well msot of the stuff i said up there you never really discussed with me
[01:21] Kristen: exactly



Well there you have it. An actual cold reading performed by me. No psychic gimmick, I just seem to have come off as more perceptive and caring than most people.

Not bad for just having finished the book by Ian Rowland today huh? With practice I am sure I will get better!

Keep in mind also this was done entirley online. I never met this girl in real life! If I had the chance to see her face to face I'd do some of the more advanced tricks that rely somewhat on body language to get right.

I would've been able to expand on some of her statements, especially the one about the childhood accident and the transitional issues if I was there and was able to read her body language to determine which word (job or new activity) struck a bigger chord with her, but thats the limitation of the internet I guess.

So what do you guys think?

 

[Black_Italian]

It doesn’t seem like she was that interested in you. But good work on the actual cold reading.

I cant see how this would work when you meet a girl on the street though maybe one or two examples might work but not over doing it.

Im going to stick to palm reading and handwriting analysis.

but each to their own.

 

[I'm Joe Dirt]

Well I wasn't trying to get her really interested in me (thanks for the compliment though!) , I was looking for someone I didn't know that I can give a reading to in order to practice. It seems like she really ate it up and thought it was accurate about her.

Cold Reading isn't one technique with one purpose. Cold Reading is as Ian Rowland puts it "the most persuasive psychological manipulation in the world".

Now there are many uses of it in dating. One could be just telling the girl these things you sense about her to make you click more with her and make you seem like you understand her better than you really do.

You can also use cold reading to fish for information. I had NO IDEA before the reading that she had some childhood accident but it wasnt that serious, nor had I any clue she has some sentimental items that she hasnt been able to put away.

Those are just examples though, if you know what kind of information you are fishing for, cold reading may be the way to get it. This helps you learn about a person.

For example if you got her infront of you and you can use some of the more advanced tricks, you can probably sense her former relationships and be able to pin point what happened. Maybe she cheated on him, so now you know she's a cheater. She didn't tell you this but cold reading helped you pin point it yourself.

The possibilities are many.

You can of course also go around telling people you have psychic abilities and be able to use cold reading to impress girls like that.

What kind of palm reading/handwriting do you do? I bet its crap like "oh that line means youre going to have a healthy love life" or "that line means you will live long" or crap like that.

That's boring and ordinary (if thats what you do, if its not you should start a thread of your own to tell us exactly how your readings work).

Good palm reading that is actually insightful and impressive involves cold reading (and in fact a palm with lines drawn on it in ink is the cover of Ian Rowlands book).

Cold Reading = little known and practiced, thus very rare, and when used right very useful and impressive.

There is just so much you can do with it... oh yeah, and another thing to keep in mind is I used maybe like a few of the tricks, there are 38 in Ian's book alone and some other good info in other sources as well. Imagine what I could do once I master them all!

 

[green69]

sounds pretty interesting. Who cares about it being a gimmick to win girls over...it's pretty cool and a good skill to have.

 

[quest]

too long and boring to read.

u asked generic questions, and she answered as you would expect.

you'd be a great fortune reader/gypsy thing.

can't see that getting you any chicks without emotional problems.

 

[Jaun_Don]

Nothing means **** until you are with them in person and reading there body langauge.

 

[Q-Pid]

So let me get this straight - you opened up all of these conversational topics with a girl you're into and didn't pursue them?

Dude stop making yourself into a one trick pony. Cold readings are supposed to be the key that unlocks the door - once the door is open walk through it - stop alternating keys.

 

[Flyer]

you sound like one of those fortune tellers.... and horrorscope writers..

 

[manuva]

You guys criticising him are a bunch of numpties.

1) He's not 'into' this girl, it's a random contact he made

2) it's meant to be vague - it's cold reading, duh

3) he's teaching himself to do it fluently, which means he has to spend a lot of time working on it initially. It doesn't make him a one trick pony.

Christ. This place can be like Battle of the Dummies sometimes.


Good work Joe, keep us updated on how it goes and how effective it is.

 

[Life-Trainee]

That was boring and too obvious. You need to package those techniques into your own style and make them sound less prefabricated.

 

[I'm Joe Dirt]

Dude stop making yourself into a one trick pony. Cold readings are supposed to be the key that unlocks the door - once the door is open walk through it - stop alternating keys.

Well I was talking to her over the internet.

As I mentioned, if I was there in person and could read her body language I would've been able to use the more sophisticated tricks and actually dwelved deeper into some of the things.

The Barnum statements were general, yes, I agree, but at the very least you gotta admit that the statement about a childhood souvenir that she hasn't put away was pretty impressive.

Keep also in mind that the goal of the trick was to get some practice doing it, not to get into her panties.

You need to package those techniques into your own style and make them sound less prefabricated.

Of course, and thats what I'm working on. What part of this is the first cold reading I did after I read the book that same day didn't you understand?

I am probably going to be rereading the book today and memorizing some of the other techniques. I could've perhaps gone deeper into some topics if I could formulate the information extracting tricks as well, which I haven't mastered yet.

What I did there is just scratching the surface, if even that, of cold reading. Not to mention I was handicapped because I was doing it over freaking AIM!

And as someone said the goal in this particular reading wasn't to get her more interested in me or to like me, I was just looking for a stranger to try my hand on cold reading with. You can't really do it on friends because you already know them, so anything you tell them about their personality or past experiences is going to be stuff that they probably told you during the course of your friendship.

Cold Reading is called COLD Reading because you go into it cold, meaning you don't know the person. So the only real effective way to try this out is to meet strangers and start reading! Once I get good enough at this I will try my hand at approaching strangers with the goal of getting them to participate in a reading. My ultimate goal is to get good enough at this so that these tricks become second nature.


THANK YOU all the people who are supportive. I will definitley keep everyone posted on how things develop.