Learn How by Using Your Mind Skills

I See What You're Saying
The premise here is that when we communicate, the words we use in conversation actually amounts to about 40% of all the information that is actually being conveyed. The rest is all non-verbal communication. By using our awareness and developing our abilities of perceptual acuity, we can actually train ourselves to perceive and register minute details of other people that we interact with. We can learn how to see the facial tics, hear the pauses, watch the eye movement, pupil dilation, changes of skin color, nods, shrugs, micro-expressions that last for tenths of a second, among many other "tells" that most people are largely unaware of doing, and we almost never see. What looks like ESP or mind-reading is actually doing "a read" on someone's non-verbal communication. The trick is in knowing how to elicit and observe these signals so that they are meaningful to us.

The Set Up of the Exercise
To create an exercise for expanding one's perceptual acuity, use a regular deck of playing cards. By using cards in an experimental and playful setting, we can create an impersonal context or environment where micro-expressions may be elicited, observed and used in "guessing" a target card. The task of the "mind reader" is to try to observe any cues that give away the identity of the card as they mention the various attributes of the deck. The task of the subject is not to mask, thwart or otherwise deliberately misdirect the attempts of the reader to pick out genuine micro-expressions of the face and body. They should strive to be sincere, and open. The objective of the subject is to mentally project a clear thought, in this case, the card that they selected. There is no competition or testing. It's merely a skill-developing exercise, comparable to practicing scales on a piano.

Pick A Card. No, Not That One!
Spread a deck of cards so that you cannot see the face of the cards. Have your subject select a card. Be sure that they get a good look at it. Direct your subject to say the card, silently to himself. Encourage him to shout it silently to himself. Tell him to picture the card. They should keep their eyes open but they can still see the card in their mind's eye. Have him expand it to the size of a poster, or a painting in a museum, or even to the size of a billboard. Get him to blow it up big, really BIG. Silently bellow out that card, turn it into a cheer! Shout it, silently in his mind and make the colors and the details of the card brighter, more vivid. The idea here is to really get an amplified experience of that card.

As they hold that impression of the card, begin to talk about the choices you could make about the attributes of the card that was selected. Speak aloud as to whether it's a red card or a black card. Be sure they hear what you're saying and look for any betraying signal, twitch or sign when you say those identifying attributes. When you say, for instance, "It could be red or perhaps it is black", they may actually look down or their pupils might dilate when you say the attribute that matches the card. Or they might pause their breath or eye blink rate for a beat longer. Keep repeating variations of that choice until you think you see an unconscious signal. Then when you make your choice of which color it is, ask him directly if your choice is correct. Was it a red card? Then proceed with other paired and opposing card attributes. A number card or a face card? Odd or even, male or female? Clubs or spades if it's black, hearts or diamonds if it's red, high numbered or low numbered. Don't just say " red or black ". Work it into a sentence, make it part of a conversation and be sure to look for those signals each time you mention both attributes and pick the one that seems to get an unconscious response. Declare your choice and get a confirmation before moving on to the next set of choices.

If you're unsure which of the paired opposite attributes is getting a response, keep working it until you get something. Keep narrowing down the remaining card attributes until the only remaining possibility is the target card. The signals vary widely from person to person but once established for a given person, the signals tend to be consistent. Don't tell them yet what their giveaway is if you want to continue this exercise with this person. Once you tell them, it will be irresistible for them to edit their responses, even if they do it unconsciously.

As a scientific experiment, this protocol is quite flawed. But as an exercise, it is fun to do and you will learn a few things after having done it. If you are consistently getting better than half of them correct, you're succeeding better than if by chance. Doing more exercises of this type can help increase one's perceptual acuity, not to mention one's confidence in communicating. Skills like these can be developed and used to help hypnotists, magicians, and NLP practitioners alike. Using these skills will make you appear to be a mind-reader.