占座5

Thefollowing elements are all concerned with obtaining information from theclient, and then putting it to good use. In essence, they involve obtaininginformation by the simple expedient of asking for it. This sounds very blatant,but the psychic can disguise this process extremely well if she has to. Sowell, in fact, that the client may feel she never provided the psychic with anyinformation at all.

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Direct Question

Iwill begin with the simplest and most transparent approach. In the case of theDirect Question, the psychic simply asks for the information she wants, likethis:

"Tellme, what is it that's on your mind?" or like this:

"Mostof the people who come to see me have something that has been weighing heavilyon their heart, perhaps an area of life where they are looking for some answersand some light at the end of the tunnel. What would this be in your case?"

Thismay seem far too facile to play any part in cold reading process, but this isnot necessarily the case. It all depends on the nature of the reading and theclient's attitude. Many of those who pay for psychic readings arepre-committed. They trust the psychic and the belief system, and neither seeknor require any "proof" of the psychic's gifts. As far as they areconcerned, they want help, the psychic is there to give it, and the sooner theycan get down to details the better.

If apsychic knows she is dealing with this kind of client, she may use openinglines which readily acknowledge this situation. A seductive reference to thenotion of 'value for money' can also help. It might go something like this:

"Howwe get started, and how we use this session, is entirely up to you. After all,it's your time and your money isn't it? If you prefer, I could take my timewhile I try to 'tune-in' to the kind of areas you want me to talk about, andthe specific problem you'd like me to help you with. I'm happy to do it thisway - and my intuition doesn't often let me down - but on occasion it can takeme a while. I mean, it could be so many things couldn't it? The other way isthat you just tell me what's on your mind and then we can get off to a flyingstart. I'm here to listen, and I do want to help you."

Deliveredto a suitably uncritical and pre-committed client, this kind of pitch will coaxforth all the information the psychic could possibly use. In extreme cases, thepsychic's toughest problem may be to stem the outpouring of personalinformation long enough to get the reading started.

DirectQuestions are most often used at the start of the reading, to establish theparticular focus the client is looking for. However, if the client is sufficientlyuncritical and receptive to this kind of blatant inquisition, then the psychicis free to use Direct Questions throughout the reading:

"Tellme, are you currently in a long-term relationship, or not?"

"Areyou satisfied in terms of your career, or is there a problem?"

"Whatis it about your health that concerns you?"

"Whois the person that has passed over that you want to try and contacttoday?"

Somuch for the artless Direct Question, and readings which rely upon it. Most ofthe time, clients are a little more discerning and psychics a little moresubtle in the methods by which they extract information.