Ian Rowland sits down to discuss mentalism and cold reading, his work training Fortune 500 companies, and the magic of human connection.
Ian Rowland doesn’t call himself “psychic” — but those who meet him tend to.
Ian’s background is in mentalism. It’s the sort of finely-tuned communication technique that borders on the supernatural; a psychological and theatrical skill set that relies on a little trickery and panache, combined with a deep understanding of the way the mind functions, to portray feats like mind-reading, remote viewing, and foretelling the future.
But perhaps a better characterization of Ian is as a best-selling author and top international trainer.
His book The Full Facts Book of Cold Reading remains to this day the top resource on cold reading, the conversational and observational art that allows you to speak to a complete stranger as though you knew everything about them. His latest book People Joy takes that art out of the psychic arena, using communication as a lens to explore the joys of human connection and how to live an exciting, happy, and meaningful life.
As a trainer, Ian has worked with Google, Coca-Cola, Unilever, and even the FBI, teaching skills like practical persuasion and cold reading for business and management.
We sat down with Ian Rowland to talk about the ins and outs of his journey as a communicator, entertainer, and professional.
You’re known for a rather unique and eclectic mix of skills — communication, cold reading, magic, persuasion…it’s tough to put you in any single box.
Can you tell us about how you got involved in these worlds? Are there any formative memories or influences that set the stage for where you are now?
I saw a magician on TV when I was about seven and felt intrigued. I got a magic book from the library and that was that — I was hooked. There are different ‘branches’ of magic and later on, in my teens, I developed a particular fascination with what’s called mentalism, or the mind-reading type of magic. This, in turn, led me to the amazing world of cold reading: how to talk to people as if you’re psychic.
Every year, millions of people go for a personal reading of one type or another. It could be based on tarot cards, a crystal ball, astrology, the I-Ching, the palm of their hand or something else. They tend to go away saying, “It was amazing! She told me things she couldn’t possibly have known!”
I think this is an absolutely fascinating phenomenon so I started to study the subject in detail.
I slowly taught myself to be able to give what I call personal readings (I don’t use the term ‘psychic’) of any kind, including all the options I listed before and a few others. I ought to clarify that I’ve never charged money for a reading in my life. It’s something I do for enjoyment, as a way to entertain people or connect with them, or for demonstration purposes when I’m teaching and lecturing.
At a large conference, for example, I love to demonstrate this live, on stage, with someone I’ve never met before in my life. It’s something that most people have never seen before, and conference organizers like to offer something ‘a bit different.’ Then I show people how to transfer this communication skill to useful contexts such as selling or management. It’s really great fun as well as being practical and useful.
You are one of the world’s foremost experts on cold reading and your book “The Full Facts Book of Cold Reading” is considered by many to be the number one resource on the subject.
Cold reading is most often associated with psychics and tarot readers, so I was surprised and intrigued to learn that you’re training top executives in your Cold Reading for Business program. What has it been like to train such a different type of student, and how can business professionals benefit from cold reading?
It’s been a joy. It really has. When you study it, cold reading is essentially a very sophisticated set of communication skills based on astute appreciation of human psychology. I love demonstrating (a) that it really works, and (b) that you can transfer these skills, and this understanding, to other contexts that have nothing to do with ‘fortune-telling’ or pretending to be psychic.
For example, when I teach Cold Reading For Business (CRFB), one part of the course is about showing people how to greatly improve their ability to empathize with other people — which is a very useful skill to have. It really opens doors and makes it so much easier to connect with people you meet.
The main part of the course is about reversing the usual patterns of conversation. Normally, when you meet someone for the first time, you make small talk and ask questions. I show people how they can make statements to a complete stranger about their life and never, ever be wrong! This is a wonderful skill to develop, and is an excellent way to connect with people and to show that you really understand them. Just imagine how useful that is if, for example, you work in sales!
The response to my CRFB training has been overwhelmingly positive. People have fun learning these skills and can immediately see the many practical applications in real life.
That takes us nicely to your latest book, “People Joy,” which I’ve been thoroughly enjoying. What is People Joy, and what inspired you to write this book?
It started off as a passion project, to be honest. I pay a great deal of attention to the way people express themselves and the conversations they have. I find this absolutely fascinating. Over the years, I noticed so many occasions when people wanted to have a successful conversation but inadvertently ruined it for themselves and the person they were talking to.
There were times when I just wanted to take them to one side afterwards and, very sympathetically, say, “Can’t you see where you went wrong? No expression in your eyes, lack of positive body language, not using your voice correctly, didn’t match the other person’s pace, breathing, vocabulary…” and so on.
The other side of the story is that, without wanting to sound full of myself, I’ve often been complimented on the way I talk to people. I’ve saved sales meetings that weren’t going well, I make friends very easily and people offer me discounts and free stuff all the time! I decided to put what I know into a book and People Joy is the result.
So far, I’m pleased to say the book has met with a very positive response. I hope it’s going to help a lot of people, whether you want to do well at a job interview, close more sales every month, manage your team or even ask someone out on a date!
You also train people in your Practical Persuasion Method. Can you tell us about that, and in your view, what are most people missing when it comes to persuasion?
The Practical Persuasion Method (PPM) is one of my most popular courses and I love teaching it. The starting point was simply this: many people are interested in being more persuasive and so they read the work of experts such as the great Robert Cialdini. But in many cases they find that, although they know all the theory and principles, when it comes to a real-life situation where they want to be persuasive…they still don’t really feel they know what to do.
I wanted to put together a course that gives people a solid, 100% practical approach to persuasion that they can use in everyday life. As the name implies, the PPM is a method. It’s systematic. You can apply it to any situation and it works. I could reel off scores of examples.
The key is that most people think about persuasion in a rather unhelpful way. They think it’s about being able to make other people do what they want. This is really ‘magic mind control’ rather than persuasion. At the start of my PPM course, I give people a new definition of persuasion that’s far more helpful and productive.
How do you incorporate magic into what you do, and at the risk of sounding lofty, what is your philosophy on the role “magic” plays in the human experience?
Magic isn’t my job but I am a member of the Magic Circle and I’ve performed magic shows all over the world. I like to add touches of magic and entertainment to most of my work (assuming that my client wants me to, which is almost always the case). It’s relevant in three ways.
First of all, let’s say I’ve been hired to speak at a conference. A touch of magic can add fun and visual interest and is a great way to get people engaged with the event. It also makes my talk distinctive and something ‘a bit different’, which is what most organizers want. Nobody wants attendees saying their conference felt just the same as the last ten they went to!
Secondly, let’s say I’m training people. Nobody learns anything when they’re bored. I use magic to spark interest, add some fun and get people engaged. I love the idea of ‘magic as metaphor’ — a little touch of magic can be a great way to illustrate a particular point or get it across in an interesting way.
Finally, there are also times when clients just want a magic show as a sort of ‘curtain-raiser’ to the conference or main event, which I’m happy to provide. I love entertaining people! Alternatively, some clients ask for a show after the main event as a way to round things off. When I spent a day training FBI agents, we all went to an Italian restaurant afterwards and I performed a small after-dinner show!
I find there are a handful of characteristics that can be considered “magical” in certain ways. For instance, being extremely funny or witty, being an excellent wordsmith, or emanating a sense of love.
One word that comes up time and time again when people describe you is “charming” — can you tell us a little about “charm,” and how it fits into the work you do?
You’re very kind! I think being ‘charming’ is really quite a straightforward notion. In People Joy, I start off by saying that people are utterly, endlessly, beautifully fascinating. I think if you have this attitude, and take a warm, genuine interest in people, you’re well on your way to coming across in a charming way.
To get a little more sentimental, it’s really about learning to love and appreciate people. The other side of the story is learning to feel good and confident about yourself. ‘Charisma’ essentially comes down to living your life free from the horrible, toxic effects of self-doubt. I think those are the basic ingredients of what people refer to as a ‘charming’ manner.
This relates to my work in several ways. For example, when I teach my People Joy course, obviously I include these points about appreciating other people and the richness of making good connections.
On a more pragmatic level, let’s say you work in sales. All else being equal, someone who is charming is going to do better than someone who isn’t. I also like to help the vast army of people who are self-employed. When you have to market yourself effectively, talk to prospects and get yourself hired, a little charm can go a long way!
Today, human communication is changing more rapidly than ever. Generative AI is here, and communicating via language is the first thing it learned to do. Now, one person might ask ChatGPT to create a report for their supervisor, only for the supervisor to have ChatGPT summarize it and respond.
People can now speak any language fluently through a digital avatar in their own voice, or send 100 unique emails at a time. What is the state and future of communication in 2026?
I welcome all these development for one good reason. I’m very fortunate. I happen to be quite good at writing and it’s always come fairly easily to me. Throughout my life, whenever I’ve needed to write something, I’ve been able to do it. However, millions of people aren’t that lucky.
They may have many other skills, talents and aptitudes that I don’t have but struggle a bit with written communication. If these modern tools can help them to write and to express themselves, I’m all in favor. It can make life a lot easier for a lot of people. I think this is a good thing. I don’t like to see people struggling to express themselves.
I’m no expert when it comes to assessing how all this new technology will play out. There are other people who study this type of thing far more than I do. I expect it will be just like any other new tech — we have to slowly learn how to use it well, as opposed to using it badly, and make sure it remains our servant and not our master.
For more from Ian Rowland, visit www.ianrowland.com