Tips for doing a live reading?

tarotbear said:

Three-card spreads are the easiest; familiarize yourself with the CC, but trying to memorize 5-6 spreads 'in case' you might need them will only put undue pressure and stress on you to 'perform'; take it easy.

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I have no interest in using the Celtic Cross (just seems too round-about for most questions in my opinion, not my style. No offence meant to anyone who likes the CC!). If someone asks for it I have no issue saying I prefer using other spreads. If they insist, there are plenty of other readers that might be a better fit for them.

As for the spreads, I have a bookmarked list of 4-6 card spreads I really like for certain things (a few financial ones, a few relationship, etc). I usually choose one of those on my tablet and keep it open for reference when I do an online reading (unless I opt for a 3-card spread, in which I assign my own positions). I might write a few of these in a little booklet so I don't have to rely on wifi. Not looking to memorize them just yet!

closrapexa said:

One thing that rarely comes up in these threads is the issue of diction and vocal clarity. Many people have a tendency to mumble, swallow words or to talk too fast.
Make sure your throat is clear, your diction is good and your tempo is moderate and even. This has a calming and stabilizing effect on the sitter.

Don't be too friendly. Even if this person is a close friend of yours, try to separate the reading from day to day life.
Since you know this person previously, things may come up of which you have previous knowledge.

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The vocal technique stuff is good to know, thanks! I'll definitely focus on this when practising.

This is a friend I haven't seen in quite a while. We keep in touch online a bit, but I really don't know much of what's going on in her life right now. I'm glad for that - I agree that knowing too much can make it more difficult to interpret the cards

earthair said:

Yup, the vocal technique is important- talk just slightly slower and lower than you would normally. To check you're coming across as you intend, record yourself giving a reading to a stuffed toy sitting just above your webcam, then watch it back!

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I don't have a webcam but I have a tablet. I know there's a video camera function on it somewhere..no idea how to use it though.
If I can figure this out quickly enough I'll give it a try. If not, I think figuring out my tablet might be more stressful than doing the reading itself!

Thanks for all the tips everyone! This has been very helpful and encouraging.

I don't think I'd go so far as to ditch a potential client just because they request a Celtic Cross and insist it means a lot to them to have one. Just make yourself a cute little diagram of one and tell them you've never memorized the positions but that you'll be glad to use your handy dandy prompt card to spread and read one for them.

Believe it or not, paying customers are not that easy to come by. One satisfied paying customer can result in half a dozen more through word of mouth. Don't forget that.

I haven't read all the other posts but what I can add is that perfecting the ability to take a non-biased stance in every instance, just saying what you see in the cards without letting your own opinion color the reading is what you need to do. Say a woman asks for a reading about a man who is a real jerk and you know it, but the cards say for her to stay with him and all will be well given time. You can't stand the guy so you're tempted to fudge the reading and give your own opinion. But remember this---everyone's path is different and they have life lessons to learn that the Creator of the universe knows, but we don't. Sometimes those lessons need to be learned on their own, in spite of what we'd do if it were us.

In the case of someone being really aggressive and severly abusive, though, you do need to have emergency numbers to give the client so they can get some help.

Thanks Grizabella!

I'm not looking at doing this for money (at least not yet - maybe down the road I'll think about it). I just like the idea of reading for others, as it gives me a different view on the cards than when I read for myself (and of course helping others access guidance from the tarot is a wonderful feeling too!)
I've tried the CC a few times and have just not gotten much from it. I could practise with it more but I feel that other spreads work better for me.

I do attempt to stay unbiased, but that's sometimes easier said than done! I'll definitely keep this in mind - the message is from the cards, not from me.

I never thought of emergency numbers. I'm not concerned for this particular reading (as I know this woman, and really doubt she's in such a situation). It may be something to prepare for though in case such an instance occurs later on.

Sorry, Deanne. I was distracted when I posted that and I had just read a thread where someone else was going pro and my mind scrambled the two together.

I never much connected with the celtic cross either, until I redid it to meet my reading needs. You could do that too. I kept the cross pretty much as is, but redid the line.works great when I really have to use it.remember that very little is written in stone. The positions are what you choose them to be.
And the client is not in charge of what spread you choose to use.

First reading done!

So, I did the live reading today and thought I's post an update in case anyone is interested.

Her thoughts:
+I spoke clearly, was easily understood
+She liked the pace I kept
+She thought I was neither too serious nor too casual, but somewhere in the middle; seemed relatable while still professional
+The messages themselves were very helpful and seemed on point
+She liked that I focused on specific questions and asked the cards for advice on them (previous readers she'd gone to only did general predictions of her future - while she liked these she didn't find them very useful)
+She liked that I pointed out details in the cards that seemed particularly important (said she felt more involved than if I just 'lectured' her)

-I seemed a little unsure of myself a couple of times
-I have a nervous tic that I kept doing
-I wasn't as articulate as in the email reading I did for her

My thoughts:
+I really liked the conversational aspect of this - we had a nice 'give and take'
+I paused a couple of times to gather my thoughts, but these silences never seemed awkward (she actually seemed to appreciate them)
+Keeping the reading separate from our friendly stuff worked well (we did the reading first, then put it away and had tea/conversation)

-I don't think I went into as much depth this way - we covered more topics (did a few separate readings on different subjects) but I didn't go as deep into the cards as I do for the email readings. I found it more difficult to immerse myself in the cards when someone else was present.
-I noticed myself repeating a couple words quite a bit ('actually' and 'really'). Something to work on, varying my phrases.

+/- I didn't feel the need for set spreads at all. In fact, the method I used is something I'd never tried (or even thought of) before. It just came to me as she asked her first question so I went with it and it worked very well. I'd like to practise it some more and see if this was a fluke or if it's a consistently good technique for me.
(I did a 3-card position-less draw based on er question, then discussed the cards both individually and overall. Then I asked if there was anything those cards raised for her, an aspect she wanted to delve deeper into. If there was, I drew another 2 below that card and read those 3 together. I kept doing this until we'd gone as far as she wanted on the subject)

Overall I think it went quite well and I'm looking forward to getting more practice!

Dear Deanne - good for you!

Congratulations. Good report, many things to think about (myself included), very enlightening.

So glad you reported on your experience. Well done, you