JUST ANOTHER COLD READER
I’ve been referred to a series of “readings” – actually carefully-selected video excerpts – by one Lisa Williams, a “psychic” who took the fancy of a SWIFT reader in Belgium. He then wrote me to extol her virtues, not recognizing that she’s using the same old “cold reading” technique that they all use. Williams says she’s also a healer and an authority on crystals – with all the woo–woo connotations that those subjects summon up. Go to that URL – tinyurl.com/347yxo – and view the first two excerpts, labeled “Kim & Kris,” and “Robin,” respectively, then consider this short analysis that I’ve prepared.
Re the first video, Williams has “contacted” a spirit at the request of the two women, Kim and Kris. She starts out her fishing expedition by saying:
Whoever this woman is, she’s a real chatterbox.
Now, this is an effective way of actually asking who the “woman” is, by both stating that (a) she – Williams – doesn’t know, thus encouraging that further data be provided, and (b) by tossing in an innocuous “chatterbox” qualification. The victims react as expected, nodding, “Yes,” though this observation could apply to almost anyone, so it’s of no real significance, and if it had missed – that is, if the spirit is actually one of a laconic, shy, uncommunicative person – it could still be a “hit.” I say that because on one occasion when John Edward – remember him, the “Crossing Over” show? – gave a reading, the victim was greatly impressed simply because Edward had designated the ghost of her mother as being “enthusiastic, loud, outgoing, and chatty.” And – get this – the victim took that as proof that it was her mother’s ghost, saying with breathless enthusiasm:
You know, in life, my Mom was very shy, withdrawn, and quiet! I’m so happy to know that now she’s in Heaven, she’s become so changed!
Notice: Edward’s guess about the spirit was 100% wrong, but this woman so greatly wanted – needed – this to be the shade of her mother, that she turned it into a “hit”!
Another requirement in cold reading, is that it’s important to elicit as many “yes” answers as possible, so that an overall impression of success is produced. Williams continues:
She’s abs… Okay, she’s giving me, “mom,” so I would have to say she feels like a “mom” figure. Is this “mom”?
Note: Williams says that she has been “given” the “mom” impression, and now she needs to extract either acceptance or rejection of this guess from the victims. She also says that she “would have to say” that this “feels like” – rather than it is, to provisionally label this as only an interpretation – a guess – rather than as a statement, so that she can excuse it if it’s wrong. Williams finally just asks directly if her guess is correct, and gets immediate affirmation from the victims. This sort of detail is often incorrectly recounted by the victim as, “She told me that was my mom!” when she asked if it was…
The second video, of “Robin,” evidently used another tried-and-true ploy of cold reading guessing technique: “I have two persons here, one older than the other.” This immediately provides twice as many possibilities, and if the ghost that is not accepted is also dropped by the reader, no one notices. Williams says:
The younger guy’s very comical, real funny, you know, he enjoys life.
Again, if the subject actually had zero sense of humor when he was alive, this can be turned into “he’s comical now in Heaven”; in any case, it’s a generality. Williams goes on, fishing for a cause of death or injury:
Someone hit my jaw! Ow! Ow! Ow! Ow! Did your brother have a problem with his jaw?
Again, this is a direct question, typical of cold reading. Note that we’re not told whether Williams was guessing at an altercation, a dentist appointment, a fall, an accident, a hereditary condition, or anything specific; the victim is expected to fill in the details, and of course she does. The immediate answer from Robin is:
He had a really bad accident.
But pay close attention to this next question from Williams:
Were there questions about his passing?
When someone dies in an accident, there are invariably such questions, and this is a very good guess to make in a cold reading. But it’s the very quick response that Williams offers – even interrupting the brief “yes” affirmation – that is significant here. She jumps in, adding:
…because he’s telling me there were questions about his death.
This is a gimmick also often used in cold reading by James Van Praagh, making a guess and then when receiving an affirmative answer quickly following it up with “…because he’s telling me…” and giving back the same information that was just elicited from the victim, as if it came from the ghost. Also, notice that Williams – as with any cold reader – is asking questions, not telling the victim anything!
Readers may wish to view some of the other videos on this site, to further look into the “cold reading” methods, and report on them. Meanwhile, to my correspondent in Belgium: Lisa Williams is just another cold reader, nothing more.
http://www.randi.org/site/index.php/swift-blog/172-swift-march-7-2008.html#i4
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