My cold reading experiment - for fun!

[Digitised]

Ok so i was posting messages on a yotube video about a uk psychic, and i was explaining that she was clearly cold reading...and bad at it.

A user who i responded too, asked me to try using tricks on him, since he is a believer and thinks that what this woman does is real, and cold reading is easy to spot. So i accepted his challenge, but i had to throw in a twist.
I explained to him that the reason i was complaining on the thread was because she was not only fraudulent, but i knew it because i was from a family with numerous psychics.

This is of course a blatant lie.

But... cold reading does not work unless the recipient believes in the reader.


So i had to psychologically prepare the guy that i was the real deal, and that my mother and my nan were in fact career mediums and had imparted much of their knowledge onto me. He bought into it and i asked him to send me his first name and date of birth so i could prepare an basic but accurate reading.
I explained that im not as good as my mum, but i would do my best to be specific and meaningful.

So here are the messages we exchanged -

I will put them in code tags to avoid him googling this (since we are still messaging each other). I will of course eventually own up to not being psychic, but i thought i would give this a good shot and see if i could impress myself. (i took ideas and tricks from a book called 'full facts of cold reading - by Ian Rowlands, a very good read so far lol)

Myself -

Ok, the reason i criticised her is because she is fake and i can tell this.

I actually come from a family which has a long lineage of mediums, my mother grandmother are both successful in their trade and have always encouraged me to learn what they know.
I do not do it for a living because i am not as good as them, but i do have a lot of their knowledge and would happily prove it to you.

However i need your date and place of birth and your first name.
This is because im not present with you, and i would find it hard to really hard to get any connection with you.

Would you mind?

I should be able to give you a brief and accurate reading which will convince you.

-Alex

Participant

ok my name is *** my place of birth is ******** and my date of birth is **/**/1985 .. there is cold reading and there is also reading where you mention names, to specifics about a situation or people... but do the best you can and prove me wrong.

Myself - (weak and general reading, testing the water)

Ok, im not there with you which makes this much harder for me. Since i cannot engage with you or the spirits on a personal level. But what i can now tell you will hopefully ring true and make a lot of sense:


As a child you struggled with your identity and often found it very challenging to fit in with other people. Your family life was maybe unstable or ill fitting in many ways which made it difficult sometimes to build a good solid relationship with your parents.

At school you were not the brightest kid, but you were a dreamer and saw your own unique ability which other people missed. This meant although you were probably not academically successful, you knew there was more to you than what met the eye.

You harbour some deep regrets about bad choices you made in teen years, you feel you could have used your time better and made far more of life in those times. You feel a great waste for those decisions, but you compensate that loss with the knowledge that you succeeded in many other pursuits (quite possibly music in your case).

You have a great affinity for people and deeply care about the world at large, which you often realise you could do more to help but feel powerless to help at the same time. You feel an often spiritual connection with love and appreciate that all things happen for a reason, and yearn to know what your purpose is.




Ok thats brief, because i dont want to be accused of making this too general or going outside of what you asked. I cant give you names for the reasons i stated above, that and im not as good as my mum. She could probably tell you all your families names..and their friends...But as i said, this is more of an interest to me than a career.

Let me know how accurate this is anyway, it would be good to hear i havent let my mum down.

-Alex

participant - (editied for size and privacy)

what you said was 100% accurate but I would consider that to be a cold reading... believe me i went to a psychic medium once who is a million times better than *****, i have also met *****....
the psychic medium told me people i was around in college, told me their names and even told me what they looked like and what they do... just one thing to note she told me i would co right a song with the bunch of people she mentioned, which was a band i was in at college... she named the whole band.. and she told me I would co right a song with them all... I told her it would never happen cause i right alone always have done... after me saying this she comfirmed and said YOU WILL... i shook my head in disbelief i dont easily believe people and i know a cold reading a mile away... 2 weeks down the line, we were jamming in college.. the drummer started doing a drum beat he said he wanted to put music too... and noone had any ideas, and within 5 seconds i came up with a riff on the bass thought nothing of it.... BUT THEN everyone in the band was amazed and sadi they loved it and they wanted to turn it into a song.. little did i know until 2 days later... I realized what had happend.....

she also told me many things from girls i would meet and girls i had met, previous girlfriends.. when she said something she never ever backed down from it even when i was pretending she was wroong... she was 100% sure of every message she got,, i tried to sway her,, and she was persitant with every detail... and everything she stated would happen .. ALL happend just like she said it would.... crazily there is only one more prediction she made that is yet to come true... and thats the fact i will make it in the music industry.....

but ofcourse even though everything else has happend with immense detail.. i dont believe the last prediction i never do until it happens...


so hahaha you never know in a few years you can tell everyone about this story

Participant - (he sent a second message soon after)

ust a few things baout your reading that didnt really fit for me personally.

because i was actually clever in school but i chose not to be,, i chose to have fun and be popular over doing well in school.. as for being a dreamer i am still ike that now not only as a child..
I never ever intended to do well in school even though i was brought up by a strict dad, i always knew i was ment to do something more,, so i never really found music from being bad at school.. i found music cause i wanted to and loved it..
also for the bit where you say wanted to help people in the world but feel like you cant do nothing about it,... this would relate too 100% of people except for evil heartless people and me... because i do , do something about it.. and ive never been scared to stand up for what i believe.. and yes helping others means alot to people, but it obviously cant mean that much, cause from what i see we live in a world full of scared selfish people... and i am not like that... other than those things you were spot on.. but if i had a reading from you.. i would not believe you LOL as i know what i am looking for..

Have a good day

Myself - (using some really clever little tricks now)

Thanks for your reply,

well 100% is pretty good, but you dont seem to be convinced.
Like i said i am not there with you so it is hard for me to really be quick and give 'facts' about you. I cannot gauge your aura and it is very difficut to get help from spirits if they choose to use me.

However i was waiting for your reply and i felt (through what my mum taught me, is a weak physically suggestive message) that you sometimes get back pains. This causes you discomfort and makes it difficult for you to sleep, (you put a pillow under your back? i got a sensation that felt like you lay flat on it?) Its not life threatening, but you are somewhat aware of this and try to take care of yourself and avoid it.

Is it your house number, or neighbours maybe that has a 2 on the door? This is a door you use a lot i assume its your house or at least one you see or use nearly everyday.

Im also feeling something odd about there being a new television in your home. This was bought possibly within the last year, and its as if someone on the spirit side (relating to you) is almost complaining about it, they think its too big and ugly.

This same spirit seems to also be fussy that things aren't in line in your home maybe pictures or furniture arent straight? Its like a 'tut tut' because you notice it too occasionally.

I also feel some connection with europe, either you have just been there or you are possibly planning something exciting but you are/were worried/restricted about prices. You want to or tried to make the most of it but everything was made more difficult by cost.

Sorry if i cannot be more specific i am trying my best, but if i say what i think it might be and i get it wrong and youd think its just wild guessing. So instead of trying to push myself too far, i hope you can make sense of the above.

Let me know if the reading is clearer, given more time i can make better connections but i cannot guarantee a good and accurate reading. If i could id be doing this for a living, because my mum can make over ,£40k in a good year.

-Alex

Participant - (Seems like these tricks really do work...)

i do actually have back pains and i recently changed my matress just for that reason, but rarely do i sticka pilllow under my back.. but again i believe almost all people have back pains now and again...

yes my next door naeighbours house is number 2 but rarely do i use the door, i am friends with my neighbour but i very hardly see or use their door,, so as for using it everyday you are off.

i havent bought a new television within the last year, i bought a projector which was probally over a year ago, and it is very big...but i dont htink ugly..

again everyone looks at holidays especially at a time like this and feel restricted about money.. BUT we was actually looking at a holiday my parents was paying for it, so there was no restriction of money.. we was ment to go mexico, then it changed to portugul,,, but i myself wanted to go Japan. and wasnt allow which is outside of europe..

like i said im not easily impressed.. but ill tell you the things you mentioned to someone that came to you for a reading its very believable and you got most things correct, to a degree and probally would amaze alot of people,, but they seemed like clever guess work cold rreading than actual mediumship..

This is as far as the conversation has got so far, he is still unwilling to call me a medium in terms of ability but admits im very accurate and do seem to have a chance of 'amazing' other people with my reading.
I will post more as i get more responses, let me know what you guys think.

 

[MRaverz]

I think he's been alerted to the possibility of cold reading simply because it was the topic which got your two talking. As you say it works best when the person believes you're a psychic, yet he was doubting you from the start.

 

[Demojen]

You're not going to convince this individual.

In order to prime someone, they must not be aware that they are being primed.
You've already destroyed your credibility.

 

[Digitised]

I dont think i will convince him im good, but he certainly thinks im being genuine.
I still have tricks up my sleeve, so let it play out, something interesting may happen...or not, who knows.

 

[Case]

something interesting may happen...or not

You gotta be careful, it's starting to take over. :lol:

About 8 years ago I did something quite like this. Just that I didn't claim to be a psychic, I was chatting with someone... and back then, I had what I would call 'finger intuition'. I didn't really think about the things I wrote, my fingers just sweeped over the keyboard and the conversations unfolded. I can't find the chatlog anymore, but sometimes it had a sort of free-association character. I'd ask something like "what color was your room, back when you were a child?" and she'd say how interesting it was that I'd bring this up, because there was a story behind it. :lol: Good times. But yea, some people just want to believe, man. Especially women.

 

[Digitised]

BREAKTHROUGH!

I had a big hit...

Myself - (last message sent earlier today)

Well thankyou, i hope you appreciate that im not there with you.
Obviously it would make things so much easier if i was able to meet and discuss the things i recieve with you.
So much is based on reciprocation and feedback, since i am just an interpreter between the living and all other external phenomenon.

The door was an image of 2, and its something which you felt a connection with and see a lot of, i figured it was a door you use or saw a lot.
Your plans to travel were definitely restricted to europe and i still see money as a major factor to that, maybe it wasnt your decision but something about value for money was important in why portugal was chosen. Maybe you can ask your parents why that is and see what response they give you?
Hopefully that would convince you there is merit in what i experienced.

The image from your projector was considered quite hideous due to the size, i guess an older relative who has passed on holds this view. I know old people do not like big television screens and probably dont even understand projectors in those regards. But there was a feeling of disgust about the size of this thing, as if it was all too much for the room. This is definately a female but i dont understand much of what she is trying to convey to me, was she a good english speaker? She says something about May? is that when she passed or when you bought the TV? I really am having trouble and i didnt want to mention it before.

-Alex

Participant - (now clearly spooked)

well ok if you was random guessing and giving cold readings i guess you kinda proved me wrong.. because it was actually pretty good.. and when you said may i could have easily took that as a female woman that recently passed this year who is NOT A RELATIVE but i called her my nan and think of her as a relative.. as she looked after me from the age of 6 months till i was 12 years old because my mum and dad was working alot... and her name was MAI.. which as you mention you didnt quite understand what she ment by MAY.. cause she didnt die in may. and i didnt get the projector in may..

so for random guess work.. its actually pretty good..

Participant (second message, he keeps doing this after a think)

money wasnt a factor really to going europe, but we was ment to go mexico, but the plan fell apart cause my dad only wanted to sit in the hotel.. and i said whats the point paying all that money to go mexico when all your going to do is sit in the hotel.. so we said we were going to go portugul.. but now its all fallen apart, my sister is going tenerife with her boyfriend.. i am staying at home. and my parants will be going out of europe... so money was never the factor as we are selling our business and using some of the money for a holiday... but then again that message could have been taken,, i guess...

i find this little test quite fascinating. lol

Im just using tricks and i promise i will reveal this to him soon afer i have convinced him of my 'abilities'.
I have no intention of taking people for a ride which is why i am posting this here for reference.

 

[nasher168]

:lol: :lol: :lol:
Fantastic. Be sure to shatter their belief as thoroughly as you can... Unless you're a nicer person than me perhaps...

 

[Case]

Prediction: "You have real medium talent, you just haven't realized it yet / are denying it, rationalizing away the forces that be."

Meanwhile, there's surely a guy on some other sceptical thinking site... posting his conversation with another guy who claims he's an aspiring medium. :lol:

 

[Squawk]

Hmm, maybe I'm just reading this with my skeptics head on, but it reads to me like he's not impressed.