Editing Cold reading (section)

== Basic procedure ==
Before starting the actual reading, the reader will typically try to elicit cooperation from the subject, saying something such as, "I often see images that are a bit unclear and which may sometimes mean more to you than to me; if you help, we can together uncover new things about you." One of the most crucial elements of a convincing cold reading is a subject eager to make connections or reinterpret vague statements in any way that will help the reader appear to make specific predictions or intuitions. While the reader will do most of the talking, it is the subject who provides the meaning.

After determining that the subject is cooperative, the reader will make a number of probing statements or questions, typically using variations of the methods noted below. The subject will then reveal further information with their replies (whether verbal or non-verbal) and the cold reader can continue from there, pursuing promising lines of inquiry and quickly abandoning or avoiding unproductive ones. In general, while revelations seem to come from the reader, most of the facts and statements come from the subject, which are then refined and restated by the reader so as to reinforce the idea that the reader got something correct.

Subtle cues such as changes in [[facial expression]] or [[body language]] can indicate whether a particular line of questioning is effective or not. Combining the techniques of cold reading with information obtained covertly (also called "[[hot reading]]") can leave a strong impression that the reader knows or has access to a great deal of information about the subject. Because the majority of time during a reading is spent dwelling on the "hits" the reader obtains, while the time spent recognizing "misses" is minimized, the effect gives an impression that the cold reader knows far more about the subject than an ordinary stranger could.

[[James Underdown]] from [[Center for Inquiry]] and [[Independent Investigations Group]] said, "In the context of a studio audience full of people, cold reading is not very impressive." Underdown explains cold reading from a mathematical viewpoint. A typical studio audience consists of approximately 200 people, divided up into three sections. A conservative estimate assumes each person knows 150 people. Underdown says:

{{blockquote|This means that when John Edward or James Van Praagh asks the question "Who's Margaret?" he is hoping there is a Margaret in the 10,000 people in the database of that section. If there is no answer, they open the question up to the whole audience's database of over 30,000 people! Would it be surprising for there to be a dozen Margarets in such a large sample?<ref>{{cite web|last1=Underdown|first1=James|author-link=James Underdown|title=They See Dead People – Or Do They?: An Investigation of Television Mediums|url=http://www.csicop.org/si/show/they_see_dead_people_-_or_do_they_an_investigation_of_television_mediums/|website=CSI|publisher=[[Skeptical Inquirer]]|access-date=July 11, 2015|archive-date=September 27, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120927150614/http://www.csicop.org/si/show/they_see_dead_people_-_or_do_they_an_investigation_of_television_mediums/|url-status=dead}}</ref>}}

Mentalist [[Mark Edward]] relates from personal experience as a "psychic performer" how powerful a hit can be when someone in a large audience "claims" a phrase such as a "clown in a graveyard" statement. Edward describes a mental image of a clown placing flowers on graves and adds, "Does that mean anything to someone?" whereupon a woman stands up and claims that he is speaking directly to her. She remembers it as Edward specifically stating that ''she'' knew a man who dressed as a clown and placed flowers on graves in her hometown. Edward reports that it took some convincing to get her to understand that he was ''not'' directly talking to her, but had thrown the statement out to the entire audience of 300 people. She made the connection, and because it seemed so personal, and the situation so odd, she felt that he was talking to her directly.<ref name="Graveyard">{{cite web|last1=Edward|first1=Mark|author-link=Mark Edward|title=The Clown in the Graveyard|url=http://www.csicop.org/specialarticles/show/the_clown_in_the_graveyard|website=Skeptical Inquirer|date=20 April 2016 |publisher=Center for Inquiry|access-date=22 April 2016}}</ref>