On Cold Reading by Timon Krause

Timon made a big splash in the magic community with his first release “Which Hand.” Many hail it as the greatest which hand routine ever devised. Timon is back with a full look at his thoughts on Cold Reading.

My Approach to Cold Reading

This is an introduction that describes Timon’s approach which is a strategy for effective communication rather than a method of telling people their deepest desires. This is a method for casual, day-to-day interactions to make those around you feel closer to you, or at the very least, seen by you.

The Mechanisms Behind Cold Reading

Timon details the principles that make cold reading work. He breaks it down into four parts: Natural Self-Fixation, Urge to Be Understood, Shared Human Basic Experience, and Instinctive Pattern Recognition. He breaks each of these down to explain how those elements affect how a reading is perceived.

Revisiting the Original 13 Barnum Statements

Here, Timon details the original 13 Barnum statements and looks at why they work. These statements are the basis for Timon’s cold reading methods. He feels these Barnum statements are so effective that they can be used in everyday conversation to make yourself feel relatable to others so that they are more keen to open up around you.

Using Cold Reading in Daily Communications

This introduces us to two of the concepts from Timon’s toolkit as a way to ease the reader into the methods that are about to be explored in depth. 

Toolbox 1 - Trust Techniques

The first toolbox contains eleven cold reading techniques to build trust/establish rapport with your conversation partner. All of these are really simple ideas that are basically teaching what I would consider to be good people skills. It’s not magical or mind reading, it’s simply being an active listener and using Barnum statements to help start the conversation. 

Toolbox 2 - Suggestion Techniques

This toolbox contains seven Cold Reading techniques to move their thinking in a certain direction. It’s wording these Barnum statements in a way that encourages the listener to take action.

Toolbox 3 - Rescue Techniques

The final toolbox contains four cold reading techniques to use if they don’t accept your cold reading. The goal is to wash the “miss” away while still opening the door to deeper conversation.

The 4 Life Themes

Here Timon offers four themes that follow us through our entire existence. Virtually everything we do can fit into one of these four categories. Knowing these gives you a deeper understanding of everyday motivations, worries, and hopes of your fellow humans. Many of the Barnum statements are already exploiting these four life themes.

The 5 Life Phases

Timon discusses how he breaks up the five life phases and discusses the main things people are typically going through/worried about in each phase. Knowing these phases will allow you to have a little more insight about what your participant is concerned with simply by knowing which phase of life they are most likely in. 

Modern Barnum Statements

Timon details eight new Barnum Statements that he has tested out on over 400 instagram followers and explains why they work and how they were received by his followers. These feel more specific than the traditional Barnum Statements and they deal particularly with things our culture faces in these modern times.

Formulas for Creating New Barnum Statements

This chapter has ten formulas for making your own Barnum Statements including using life themes, personal situations, life phase, statistics, extremes, and so on. These are practical tips that allow you to make up Barnum Statement in the moment.

The Reverse Principle

This is a technique for building empathy with your conversation partner so that you can put yourself in their shoes and imagine how they feel and what they are going through. 

Ezra’s Test

The Ezra’s Test is a 15 second personality test. Timon uses this as an icebreaker in social situations to open up conversation.

The Which Hand Personality Reading

This is a simple which hand routine that ends in a reveal of a thought-of object. The routine is very strong, but it’s mainly used as a way to practice cold readings. It allows you to test Barnum Statements and get the feel for reading people without the pressure of it having to be 100% right or wrong since you have a verifiable reveal each time.

The Mythmaking Sequence

This is a Tarot reading sequence that allows the sitter to mythologize their life and make the changes necessary for them to see the future they want to have.

The Full-Colour Future Sequence

This is a shorter tarot based sequence that uses a tarot card that they color in. This gives them the power to choose their future and the buy in to make it happen.

Pseudo-Scientific Palm-Reading

A new way to do Palm readings that feels scientific instead of esoteric. You are using pseudo science to explain WHY the line being deeper means a longer life, etc.

Q&A: Thoughts on Presentation, Memory-Technique, & Statistics

Timon doesn’t teach his Q&A method here, but he discusses the structure of his reveals which I found unique and I haven't heard of people doing Q&A in quite this way. I can imagine how electric it made the room. He also covers things like how to deal with Challenging Questions, a Memory Technique for memorizing 20 spectators’ billets, and the statistics from his various performances of Q&A about which questions come up most often.

Special Thanks and Recommended Reading

The book ends with thanks and book recommendations for further reading.

Overall, this book was way different than I expected. The majority of the book feels like a self-help book in some ways because it feels like it’s teaching how to be a good conversationalist. I find I already use many of these techniques because, as an actor, I have to be empathetic and be good at schmoozing people. I’ve never directly used Barnum Statements, but maybe it’s something I’ll play with. I think in the wrong hands, it could come off as forced and desperate. It is a fine line between interesting and scary. The reading styles taught are not my taste, but they are solid for what they are.

If you’re looking for something that teaches you how to give deep, meaningful readings that move the sitter, I’m not sure this is it. But if you’re looking for ways to use cold reading to better your conversations and connection with those around you, this is perfect.

Available here:

https://www.mindfx.co.uk/products/on-cold-reading-theory-practice-by-timon-k