THE BLURB:
A complete text on how to give brief cold readings to anyone
and astound them with your accuracy.
THE CLASSIC BOOK ON COLD READING.
When the first edition of Quick and Effective Cold Reading
was published, Bascom Jones, editor of Magick, wrote that it
was "one of the all-time GREAT publications in mentalism."
If Bascom was here today, he would not be surprised to
discover this book is now considered the classic book on the
subject.
Cold reading is the art of giving a reading to someone
without knowing anything about him or her beforehand. Quick
and Effective Cold Reading teaches you how to give short,
factual, informative and satisfying readings to people you
know nothing about, and may not have met before. The ability
to give a satisfying reading is a useful, arguably
essential, skill for anyone involved in the psychic
entertainment field.
For many years, copies of this book were hard to obtain, as
distribution was deliberately restricted to people who were
serious about learning how to become good cold readers. This
new, updated edition is especially produced to commemorate
this book's twenty-fifth anniversary.
Pages - 111 - Softcover - Perfect bound
MY COMMENTS:
As noted in the blurb, this classic text had been restricted
only to those who knew how to get Richard Webster's
materials for performers and readers. I do use the word
classic to refer to this book as I agree with many, many
others that it is indeed an apt adjective.
Before continuing, let's discuss the nature of cold reading.
There is a difference between cold reading and stock
reading. Both rely on telling people whom you've never met
things about themselves. However, stock reading relies on
scripted lines (or patter based on scripted lines). Some of
these stock lines are quite good and can work within
context, but it is not the same as cold reading.
Cold reading usually relies on a system, some sort of
divination or reading method. When using Tarot, numerology,
palm reading, or astrology, for example, you don't need to
know the person. You just need to be able to read cards,
the numbers, the palm, or the astrological sign, for
example. By doing so, readers can provide individualized
readings which are, by definition, cold readings, if the
reader and client have never met before.
This is what Richard Webster discusses in his book (5.5" x
8.5" approx., 111 pages, softbound). And the tool he
teaches is palm reading. What he provides is some very
basic knowledge of palm reading and enough information that
you can give a good five-minute reading to anyone. He
provides an overview of the meanings of the major lines, the
thumbs, and the fingers, along with a few other details. He
also takes you through a few sample readings.
For those mentalists who don't want to be readers, this
information is still quite useful. When doing psychometry,
or even when dealing with participants, it greatly enhances
any presentation if you can reveal something interesting
about them just by looking at their hands. Of course, one
doesn't have to, and probably shouldn't, mention you saw it
in their hands. Still, palm reading is a valuable skill for
a mentalist to have and this book is a real good starting
point.
I've talked to countless mentalists who've not only told me
that Richard Webster's writings have inspired and educated
them, but specifically pointed out this particular text as
getting them on the road to learning palm reading and other
reading systems. If you don't know anything about cold
reading, if you wish to learn palmistry or cold reading, or
if you don't have this on your bookshelf, then I highly
recommend getting this.
