How to Make $$$ By Talking to The Dead
by Edward K Lankford

Everyone is doing it. Mediums, psychics, and other types talk to the dead. But then again, so do most people. When a loved one dies, we will sometimes visit their graves and speak to them. We close our eyes and imagine that they are sitting there, listening to us intently.

Since we humans are so sentimental (especially about those who have died), we have a great need to speak with the dead. We want to know how they are doing, do they miss us, can they please listen to one more thing we want (no, need) to say.

For the aspiring entrepreneur, this is an opportunity to sponge off those who need comforting most!

There is big money in talking to dead people. Numerous books about the subject populate the bookshelves of your local bookseller, from James Van Praagh's Talking to Heaven to George Anderson's Lessons from the Light. These guys have made millions talking to the dead and now so can you!

Anyone can act as if they are talking to the dead. Some roll back their eyes, convulse their bodies, and begin speaking in a gurgled, throaty voice with messages from Beyond. But I'm not talking about messages from ancient Egyptians or deceased Atlantians who want us to better our sex lives: I'm talking about talking to the "dead spirits" of those dear to us.

There are many ways to seem like you are talking to the dead. This article gives just one approach that is generally used by mediums like James Van Praagh.

Preparations

Step 1: Be Humble
No one likes narcissists or showoffs. So, when you begin mentioning (off handedly, mind you!) that you can speak to the souls of others' loved ones, be meek and mild. Especially when you're just beginning, look sheepish and qualify your abilities with phrases like:

• "My powers come and go."
• "Specific spirits can be hard to find."
• "I'll do my best."

This way, if you do badly, you can excuse yourself from criticism. Also, clients will usually be very forgiving and may come back next time to try again.

Step 2: Charge Nothing (at first)
Now that you have qualified your abilities, tell the needing individual that you are doing this to "help" them. Tell them that you are sympathetic to their needs and want to do your best. Once you begin developing a reputation, begin charging prices that are small at first and then rise as your popularity skyrockets.

Step 3: One-on-One
When you are first beginning to explore your "powers," try to keep your clients (or marks) to a minimum. It is best to get your marks alone in a room with you and make it a more personal experience. Once you get good at it, you can move on to bigger and bigger audiences and the "minimal charge" will multiply by the hundreds. Group readings are the easiest, but we will focus on individuals first.

Now that you have prepared yourself to rake in the big bucks, you now have to convince others that you can actually do what you said you could!

Talking to the Dead

Step 1: Be Sympathetic
Understand your client's loss. Tell them that you know what they are going through and that you will do your best to help them. They will eat this crap up.

Step 2: Explaining Your Powers
Tell the mark about how you communicate with the dead. Say stuff like:

• "They exist on a different plane of existence and I tune my mind into this dimension."
• "They speak to me in thoughts, not words, and I am their interpreter."
• "They vibrate very fast and they slow their vibrations down while I speed mine up."

The more bizarre the explanation, the more they will likely accept it.

Step 3: Get Them To Tell You

Remember, you are here to sell your powers of talking to the dead, but you don't have to do much work! Let the mark work for you! You see, the best way to begin talking to a specific entity is if you already know whom it is you are speaking with.

Most of the time, the mark will tell you who it is she wants to talk to before you even begin (Note: Most of your clients will be women). If she does not offer this information, you might be able to weasel it out of her by simply asking. You can qualify this by saying, "It makes the task easier on me if I know who I'm looking for." Since she wants so badly to speak to the departed one, she usually will gladly tell you.

Step 4: Ask Questions
Again: you want to make the mark work for you, not vice versa. So, ask questions, about who the person is she wants to communicate with. Ask questions like:

• "Was it a friend or a relative who died?"
• "The death was unexpected, wasn't it?"
• "I feel a pain in the chest, did they die from something like this?

People who come to you will forgive these questions. Although they know that you are the one who should know these things (since you are the "medium"), they will remember all the questions that they answered "yes" to and forget those they responded "no" to.

Humans have the uncanny ability of selective memory. They will remember the stuff they liked and forget the stuff they did not. This is how your questions will (usually) work. If you ask something that gets an affirmative, they will take this as evidence that you know what you're talking about. The more questions answered positively, the more "evidence" there is of your powers.

Step 5: Be General
Make all your questions and statements general ones. Look at the three statements from the previous step:

• "Was it a friend or a relative who died?" - Who else would she want to speak to? A stranger? Not likely.
• "The death was unexpected, wasn't it?" - Most deaths are unexpected, even when you know the person is dying.
• "I feel a pain in the chest, did they die from something like this?" - A "pain in the chest" could be almost anything: heart attack, various cancers, fatal injury, drug overdose, etc.

You see, people will accept general statements from you if they believe that they are targeted specifically to them. Humans are more alike than different.

Another thing: when discovering who the spirit is, guess at names. "Who's Michael?" you could say. Since "Michael" is a fairly common name, you might luck out and get the deceased's name right. Or there might be a Michael in the mark's family. The latter case will seem astounding to the client. "How could he know about Michael?" she will ask herself and then convince herself that you know who Michael is. If Michael is in her family, then he might have known the deceased and you can say "Michael misses his Daddy, doesn't he?" or "Michael wishes his uncle were still here." Most people do not wish the deaths of others and the mark will nod their head as if you are all-knowing,

If Michael doesn't work, try John, Jennifer, James, William, Mary, or Michelle. Look up the Census Bureau's list of common names and use these to your advantage.

Step 6: Use Non-verbal Feedback
The best way to use your generalities is to see how it affects the mark. If they give a confused look or do not react to what you say, quickly go on and try something else. Keep it up, being sure to keep looking confident until you get a positive reaction. Sometimes the mark will suddenly inhale, or widen her eyes, or move her head as if hearing something familiar.

These and other non-verbal cues will clue you in that you've made a hit. Once you've done this, they will usually forget all those other questions that they didn't respond to or answered with a "no." Become a student of facial expressions and body language. People can give away so easily what they think is hidden. You can benefit from their gullibility!

Step 7: Heirlooms
When a loved one dies, we will sometimes keep something of theirs to remember them by. Sometimes we wear them (like a watch, ring or brooch) or put them where we can see them (like pictures). Begin making note of what things people will keep of their loved ones most often. Watches, rings, necklaces, photographs, hobby objects, etc., are popular items. Mention things like these to see it they get a reaction. Sometimes, you will get a hit. "How did he know I kept father's stamp collection?" she will ask herself wonderingly.

There is a danger in this in that it's hard to get this to work in small groups and individuals. This is a great step, though, for audiences where you are assured that someone keeps a loved one's past possession with them.

Step 8: Cheat
Whenever possible: cheat, cheat, cheat! General questions and statements are forms of cheating, but I'm talking about down-and-dirty cheating. If someone makes an appointment with you, try to get some basic information from them so that you can make a background check on who they are and who it is they might be missing. If they go ahead and tell you, it makes your job easier. Usually, people will want to talk to someone who has died not long ago; perhaps at most a couple of years. After this period of time, most of us have already come to terms with the death.

Check cemeteries and obituaries for possible connections to your client. Drive by their house (if they've given you their address; or do some detective work and figure it out) and note what it looks like. Bring this information to your session and make it seem like you're seeing into their home. If you both know someone mutually, call the third party up and mention the new client. The third party will more than likely give away a lot of information and you can use that to your advantage.

Also, once you've convinced someone that you've spoken with the dead, they will usually refer someone else to you. "Martha would love to see to you," she might say. "Her father passed away last year and she's been wanting to apologize for some harsh words she said to him." Gold mine!

Word of mouth is the best advertising. If a client tells a friend, they will more than likely believe them rather than not. They will probably not question their friend's obvious enthusiasm and take their word for it.

Remember: people are gullible. They will give you money

Step 9: Group sessions
Large audiences are the best for fooling people into giving you money for talking to "the dead." First, if you charge $5/person and sell 500 tickets, you have already grossed $2500 for one session!

Second, your general statements and questions will apply to a good number of people. Say things like:

• "The watch, the watch, who has the watch?"
• "Who is David?"
• "Did someone have a heart attack?"
• "I feel the presence of someone's child."

Once someone has spoken up, begin to use your bag of tricks. Also, if you are off the mark with an audience member, they will usually not admit it because they will fear crowd reactions.

In addition, put some of your cronies in the audience. Give some friends a cut of the dough by having them sit in and become "marks." This will help convince the audience that you are genuine. The best way to put plants in the audience, though, is if the person is someone you already have information on. Doris Stokes, a medium from the UK, has used this method. A potential client would call her home and speak to her husband. He would then ask a few innocent questions, just making some friendly conversation mind you! He would write the answers down and then send free tickets to the mark for Stokes's next show. The mark would usually forget that they had already given away information to the husband and be astounded when the medium began telling her specific things. Again, even if they do realize that you have cheated, they will usually not admit it with so many believers around (and also because they may be embarrassed by their own gullibility!).

Step 10: Use Your Common Sense
Your best weapons are experience, your wits, and your common sense.

If an old couple needs your services, who might they want to speak to? Their parents? Probably not since they have more than likely come to terms with their deaths. Siblings? Possibly, however if they both want to speak to them this might not be the case. The best guess would be a child. The death of a child is usually the most painful and old people (and parents in general) usually feel guilty for their children dying before them.

Younger people will usually want to speak to parents, friends or spouses. Ask cunning, careful questions to get specifics.

Step 11: Consolation
Remember: you are consoling those who are still alive. Tell them that the spirit wants them to "Be okay." Tell her that "He's watching over you and is very proud of you." Clients want to hear good stuff so avoid saying anything bad. Don't tell them:

• "Your wife is suffering greatly in the next life."
• "Your father resents the things you did to him."
• "Your son wants revenge!"

Instead, tell the mark things like:

• "Your mother forgives you for those things you said."
• "Your daughter loves you very much and wants you to know that she's in a happier place now."
• "Your husband misses you but wants you to keep living your life. Don't worry, you will be together again one day."

These are things that will bring you the deepest emotional responses. They will weep heavily, nod their heads gravely, cry tears of joy. You've been sold! Charge money!

Step 12: Covering Up
You will be hounded by skeptics to prove your powers. When they challenge you, scold them for their lack of faith and keeping others down. Your followers will do most of the work for you and denounce criticism. They will give personal testimonies as proof and become irate if they are not accepted.

Tell the critics that come to you for proof that their skepticism impedes your communications with the dead. "You're disrupting the energies that allow me to talk to the dead," you could say. Above all: never admit failure. Always remind them of your successes. You have helped many people after all and they are happier because of it.

Sometimes, the skeptic will become more sympathetic if you tell them that they have to believe without evidence if they wish to speak with spirits. Even skeptics have a need to talk to the dead and they will sometimes give in to their emotions and become a follower. What better endorsement than from someone who says of you: "I was a skeptic but now I believe!"

HOOK!

LINE!

SINKER!

Parting comments

People go through a lot of pain when a loved one dies. They can't help it. They loved the person very much and wish they were still around to talk to.

When mediums like James Van Praagh tap into these deep, emotionally disturbing experiences to make money, it makes me sick. They give excuses that they are helping people deal with their loss. This is a sham. Do not believe them.

How can lying about this help? If your "marks" ever found out that you were a fraud, how would you explain yourself to them? Moreover, how would you be able to sleep at night in the first place?

I usually advocate the use of psychic tricks to expose people's credulity. When one does this, people become aware that even they can be fallible. However, in this case, I do not support even the slightest suggestion that you can "talk to the dead" to expose credulity because you can hurt someone very deeply and they might not recover.

This article is for exposing common credulity in this area without having to test it personally. This does not somehow "prove" that people cannot talk to the dead. On the contrary, the burden of proof is on the one making the claim.

However, the more charlatans that are exposed for who they are, doesn't it become apparent that even the most skeptical of minds can be deceived? The track record for paranormal events is bad, riddled with hoaxes, mistakes, and misconceptions galore. One should learn from this track record and be more critical of extraordinary claims.

If someone you know has had a loss, do not send them to psychics or mediums. Be there for them yourself. Only the living can take care of the living and reaching out to each other is the only way we can bear the burden of loss. Make sure that if you're not there that they have family and friends to support them. If the sense of loss is severe, consider medical treatments that have helped countless others in their times of need without the bamboozling.

Charlatans do not help us. They confuse and disillusion the living. Only heartfelt caring can help someone in their time of need. To believe otherwise is to be inhuman.