The Book of Tells (Peter Collett)[unlocked]

THE BOOK OF TELLS
possible to identify their signature tells. The same thing
applies outside the game of poker - it takes several
occasions to recognize the distinctive features of someone's
behaviour and to link these to what they're feeling.
In the meantime one can always resort to one's knowledge
of common tells in order to work out what that person is
thinking.
The study of tells promises to enrich our lives in many
ways. By focusing our attention on the tiny details and
fleeting aspects of other people's behaviour we are
exposed to the enormous complexity of our social world,
and this can only encourage us to be more sensitive
towards other people. Observing other people's tells also
turns our attention back on ourselves - it sensitizes us to
our own behaviour and helps us to recognize that while
we are using other people's tells to draw inferences about
their feelings and intentions, they're doing exactly the
same to us. In addition, the study of tells is potentially
liberating because it reveals how people try to manipulate
others and how they give themselves away; being armed
with these insights helps to protect us from the dangers of
being manipulated ourselves. Finally, the study of tells
invites us to see the world differently, and to recognize
that people are constantly conveying information about
themselves in the form of tells. Unpacking these tells
enables us to read their minds and to understand them
more fully.