A 'forensic mind reader' has spilled his secrets on how to figure out what someone's had for lunch, if they have been to their lover's house, and even their mobile phone pin code.
'Master of deduction' Colin Cloud was called the 'real-life Sherlock Holmes' after his runaway success at Edinburgh Fringe, and renowned spoon bender Uri Geller has described him as 'one of the greatest readers of all time'.
Colin mixes both mind magic and brain science to uncover people's intimate details, and here he shares the secrets to his wizardry with a FEMAIL writer.
Figure out what someone's had for lunch, if they have been to their lover's house, and even their mobile phone pin code just by looking at them with the help of 'master of deduction' Colin Cloud
For starters, Colin tells me he is 'by no means psychic' but instead he pays a mind-boggling amount of attention to detail.
'You must improve your awareness of people and situations. You need to learn to pay attention,' Colin explained when asked how he works his 'magic'.
So where do I start?
'Without looking, what colour are the eyes of the last person you spoke to?'
'Brown'
'Okay, go on... Check. Were you right?' I actually was.
'Now without looking again - and bearing in mind you just looked at them - what colour was their top and what was the design on it?'.
I have no idea. But I get his point.
'Forensic mind-reader Colin was called the 'real-life Sherlock Holmes' after his runaway success at Edinburgh Fringe, and renowned spoon bender Uri Geller has described him as 'one of the greatest readers of all time'
'As you're hopefully beginning to understand,' Colin said. 'You need to retrain the way you think from one of caring about what other people are thinking about you - how your hair looks, your make-up - essentially that very introverted perspective.
'Instead you need to make the way you think more extroverted and start studying the details.'
Once you have mastered this, you need to go a little further and start piecing together visual evidence to make calculated guesses about someone's life explained Colin... although of course you can get them wrong.
'Every time you state something and it's wrong, be sure to ask for the accurate answer,' said Colin.
'You're constantly learning. Understanding why you got a false read is just as important as being correct.'
Colin went on to share some of the ways people can guess details about someone's private life, their mobile phone pin code and what car they drive.
Warning: it's not easy!
Colin mixes both mind magic and brain science to uncover people's intimate details, adding that he is 'by no means psychic' but instead he pays a mind-boggling amount of attention to detail
Guess someone's private life
To make guesses about someone's private life the clues are on their clothes.
'Look at the cuffs and the collar of their top. Are there any food stains? Oil marks? Paint stains?' asked Colin.
'If so, what were they eating and where serves that? Could they have been changing car oil? Have they been decorating a wall or painting a masterpiece?
'Now look at the body of their top. Are there loose hairs? Are they human hairs? Are they thin from a cat? Thick from a dog? Is there a large volume suggesting a male or less from a female?
'Does that person have a pet? If not, where have they been recently where they would've come into contact with one? A close friend? A family member? A secret lover?'
Obviously it takes a while to learn how to deduct the possibilities.
'Every situation and individual is different,' said Colin.
'As you'll never experience the same combination again, you need to think fast and assess everything that has been laid before you.'
Colin compares the skill to learning how to ride a bike - something you have to consciously think about at first, and then it becomes second nature.
You will also learn the kind of person who's best to try your trick out on.
'I can look at an audience and know who is going to be perfect for each demonstration and who'll allow me to harvest the best information and responses without really explaining how,' said Colin.
It sounds complicated... 'Don't worry,' said Colin. 'In 20 years you'll be as consistently accurate as me.'
After discouraging me not to practice this on people I don't know, Colin explained: 'The beauty of a smartphone screen is that the pressing of any button will be stored on the phone's surface.
'By picking up the phone you'll easily see which combination has been pressed thanks to the slight natural moisture left from the tip of the finger.'
He said to help see the prints, tilt the phone to the light.
Colin says you can figure out someone's phone code by looking at the fingerprint pattern on the screen
The moisture lessens with each fingerprint, and so to figure out the order of the code, you go from the darkest print to the lightest print.
'If you only see three buttons pressed on a four digit code, bear in mind one of them may have been pressed twice,' said Colin, adding, 'Look for smuggling on one of the fingerprints and it will be the double-tapped digit.'
Personally, my phone screen is covered in thumb prints, but I can see an ever so slight increase around my pin code numbers - so maybe by training my eye, I could soon learn to pick them out.
Colin asked for people successful in guessing a pin code to tweet him from the victim's phone at @Colin_Cloud. Although do ask the person who owns the phone first!
'How do you feel about memorising every steering wheel thickness and then having someone imagine they were driving their car to observe this diameter then tell them?'
I don't feel great about that.
'Or memorising the sound each set of car keys makes while jingled in amongst a bunch of keys?
Nope.
'Or even studying the profile and demographic of everyone in the UK and basing it on their income based on the brands of clothing they're wearing, whether or not they are married - look for the ring - or whether they have children - look for the wrinkles.
Colin says the 'easiest' way to guess what car someone drives is to learn what shape different car keys are and check the outline through their pocket
'No? Not got time for all that?'
Er, no.
'Well, slightly more easily, you can learn the different shapes of all car keys.
'Now by either feeling them through someone's pocket for a neat party trick, or studying the shape the keys make through someone's skinny jeans pocket - don't stare too long - you'll very quickly be able to identify the type of car they drive.'
I'll leave this trick for my next party, and ensure it's one I'm unlikely to get thrown out of if I start feeling up people's trouser pockets.
But while I may not be a master at mind-reading, I feel like I've had a sneaky peek inside the magic circle. Perhaps one day I will be Sherlock's Watson.
Colin Cloud is currently on tour across the UK and will be joining the cast of The Illusionists in the Shaftesbury Theatre in November.Visit TheDeductionist.co.uk for more information.
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