What Drake writes is correct, but that's a completely different technique. As far as I know it is done rarely, and only for trees for exhibition that have (a few) needles that are too long.
Needle pulling/plucking is something different. You can pluck needles - pulling them out in the direction of the needle, or you can cut them close to the base.
I prefer the last method (though it's a lot of work, and I do pull needles too when I get tired of cutting).
I learned this by Googling for it, examining pages, and taking the tree to the club, where someone showed it to me.
Yes, it has worked. I have more foliage now, I think that's visible on the photos.