Volume that confirms a turn — and volume that only decorates
How we teach students to read participation at exhaustion without treating every spike as gospel.
Volume is easy to misuse. A climax spike at a high looks dramatic, yet many climaxes are followed by another thrust. In the Trend Reversal Intensive we compare pairs of charts: one where participation dried up on the bounce after a sell-off, and one where volume stayed lively while price only chopped.
Confirmation we respect:
- Expanding volume on the break of a swing that defines the old trend
- Contracting volume on counter-trend bounces that fail to reclaim structure
- Persistent low participation into a new extreme, then a forceful rejection bar
Decoration we ignore:
- A single busy day inside an otherwise quiet range
- Round-number spikes with no structural break
- Comparing absolute volume across thinly traded names without context
If your broker chart shows tick volume only, say so in class — we adjust the language, but the idea of participation fading at exhaustion still applies.