Cold Reading Summary (C6): Structure Language

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To be the most effective cold reader you can be, you must learn about communication structures.

There are two types of communication structures: linguistic and behavioral.

All language is made up of two things: structure and content. 

Most (if not all) languages have essentially the same structure. They all have nouns, verbs, adjectives, etc. What changes is the actual words, or the content. 

Why is this important for cold reading?

Consider the following two sentences:

1. Tomorrow I will go to a Mexican restaurant and eat tacos with my best friend and his wife.

2. Someday in the future I’ll go somewhere and eat something with someone.

Both of these have the same structure. It’s just that one is much more specific than the other.

The first sentence is more descriptive and will create specific imagery in the listener's mind. 

The second sentence is much more vague. The listener will still create imagery, but much more of it will be open to their imagination. 

Using either specific or vague language at the right times will enhance your cold reading skills.

To practice, describe things you have seen and put in a vague noun or verb every now and again.

Most things we do are caused by external factors beyond our conscious awareness. These things are easy to spot when observing others, but we rarely notice when they affect ourselves. 

Here are some common external factors. You might know them as cognitive biases.

Authority: We tend to believe things more if they come from someone with recognized authority. 

Social proof: We are more likely to take action if others already have. This amplifies if we identify with the social group. 

Commitment and consistency: We tend to do things that have worked before and are less willing to try new methods in favor of familiar ones. 

Scarcity: With all other factors being equal, we prize things that are more scarce. 

Think of any decision you’ve made in the past. Ask yourself which of the four external factors were present in your decision making. 

Would you have made the same decision if none of them were present?

Think of some things you very much believe to be true.

Now try to justify these beliefs without referring to social proof or authority. You will find this difficult to do because almost all of our beliefs are based on social proof or authority. 

Even hard scientific facts are only accepted by the masses because the expert scientist has authority.

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