More from: "My Time in Service:",
Actually, I was out of the Service when I was given this Challenge Coin. I learned a lot from this. And apparently, he thought what I said was worth a Challenge Coin.
We talked about a lot of things, and one of those things was "Liars." Not specific individuals, since we all lie - even if it is just dying our hair, or not telling our real age. LOL And weight...well, when you take a puddle jumper and hear people say what they weigh...you are very glad that the Pilot pulls out a scale. LOL
But I digress.
I read a paper once on : "How to spot a liar." And in that paper it started out with a Question:
"Who do you think would be best at spotting a liar?"
Well, like most folks, right off the top of my head, I thought:
"Mom's for sure. Then I guess Cops? And for a third option...Teachers? Maybe a trained Psychologist."
Turns out those were all wrong guesses. The people who could spot liars the best were: Bodyguards for Heads of State and Big Wigs, and Professional Poker Players. And the reason they were so good at it...is they didn't listen to what you said, they watched you. I guess Poker Players call them: "Tells." And Bodyguards call them "Body Cues."
So basically they can't be talked into trusting you. They aren't listening to your words (actually, according to this guy, they are, but only to match them up with what your body is telling them you mean.)
Those little changes in stance, breathing, balance, even subtler signs like pupil dilation, or slight flushes in the skin...anything out of context, stands out like a beacon. Sure they make mistakes once in a while, but overall, they spot potential problems way before we would.
Anyone can tell a good story...and the Con Men of the world can usually get their words and body language to match up enough to fool you.
So it turns out, if people say what you want to hear...you believe them. If they don't...you start doing what Bodyguards do...and watch their actions, and for "tells."
I thought that was pretty cool.