By April McConnell
There are pros and cons with anything in life and this includes phone readings. There are those who think that getting a reading done over the phone is inferior to an in-person reading. I personally think that as long as you have a competent reader whether you have your reading over the phone or in-person is really a matter of preference. As long as you approach your reading openly, honestly, and willingly you should be able to get a good reading no matter how it is conducted. These days you aren’t even limited to in-person or phone readings, many sites offer chat and text readings as well. There really is something for everyone and what matters most is what you are comfortable with.
There are some that prefer the anonymity that a phone reading provides for them; they feel that taking the visual clues out of the equation for the reader will prevent them from getting what might be just a cold reading. Often people are able to be more honest and say things they might not feel able to in person, like the courage one might feel to speak one’s mind in an online forum, where you think no one can identify you as who you really are.
From the readers perspective, I have heard that some are concerned that those they are reading by phone could be deceptive. In my mind this is no different than an in-person reading. Who hasn’t experienced or heard of clients dressing up or down to try to throw the reader off.
Certainly it is true that the client doesn’t get to see the cards or the spreads used, but in the five years that I’ve been doing phone readings, I can count on one hand the number of times anyone has even asked about the cards themselves. Most people just want the information and you could be pulling it off the back of a cereal box as far as they are concerned, just so long as it is accurate and meaningful for them. You also get to bypass the problem that sometimes occurs when a client focuses on a particular card in the spread as bad. Even after you have put it into context and explained it they might still say: “Oh but it looks bad,” or even later refer to it as the “bad card.” Now I am all for allowing the client and their intuition into the reading, it is their reading after all, but sometimes a client wants to needlessly scare themselves or create drama, and for me it’s just a distraction.
The biggest draw of a phone reading really is the convenience for both the reader and the client. You wouldn’t want to run down to the local metaphysical shop in you pajamas on your day off, when with a phone reading, you can stay in your pajamas and still get your reading.
Regardless of which end of the phone line you are on, ultimately you will only get out of it what you put into it.