repeatedly lie or fake conviction.
When I first learned this skill, my biggest fear was how
to avoid sounding like a broken record or coming off as
really pushy.
The answer, I learned, is to vary your tactics.
The first time they agree to something or give you a
commitment, that’s No. 1. For No. 2 you might label or
summarize what they said so they answer, “That’s right.”
And No. 3 could be a calibrated “How” or “What” question
about implementation that asks them to explain what will
constitute success, something like “What do we do if we get
off track?”
Or the three times might just be the same calibrated
question phrased three different ways, like “What’s the
biggest challenge you faced? What are we up against here?
What do you see as being the most difficult thing to get
around?”
Either way, going at the same issue three times uncovers
falsehoods as well as the incongruences between words and
body language we mentioned in the last section. So next
time you’re not sure your counterpart is truthful and
committed, try it.
THE PINOCCHIO EFFECT
With Carlo Collodi’s famous character Pinocchio, it was
easy to tell when he was lying: you just had to watch the
nose.