The cold reading of a person, which is often referred to as psychic character analysis, enables the reader to apparently know the

innermost secrets of complete strangers

Apparently you know things about a person you could not possibly know, and you have never met them before.

Before I go into a character reading let me say this. I do not think it is the best way of making money from a client, by telling them

things about themselves that often amazes

 them. I think cold reading is the gateway. That is to say a character reading leads into some other type of reading, at which the

reader specialises, and this is where the money is made.

To put it crudely, the reading sets them up, for whatever is to follow. If you give a reader a very short cold reading they almost

always say “Oh are you psychic? To which you 

reply, yes I read the tarot or (whatever it is you specialise in) they almost always say, can you give me a reading. To which you reply,

yes is there anything in particular you wish

 to know about. – Joe Riding