A Decision’s Decadence

The ability to understand people isn’t something we’re born with. While some are more apt to learning than others, the knowledge must still be gained through hard work. Unlike every child’s attempt to dig to China, the work done here is well worth it.

Through studying people and research, the ability to understand people becomes clearer, dragging its benefits along behind it. Some of the decisions that are sometimes needed are required after a short period of time. This type of understanding is usually a generalized one. Oddly enough, the use of generalizing requires much more practice because it takes time to define the generalizations and to realize when to use each. It helps in various occasions that have a short amount of time. A specific example would be deciding whether or not a person you just met, who had offered to give you a nickname, would give you reasonable nickname. Understanding people could be the difference between The King and Bathroom Boy.

Opposing the quick decisions stands the long, drawn-out decisions. The ones that make you spend hours upon hours, days upon days, just thinking about the possible choices. Then there’s the time on top of that, spent construing every possible outcome for each choice. Nobody enjoys this month long process, but luckily, understanding people can make this easier too. It’s easier than making three payments of nineteen ninety-nine; it’s even easier than listening to the voice that has to say that ten million times. This is because understanding people can help if there are other people involved. Obviously this complicates things, for you need to know each person on a more in-depth level. Once they’re known, you can predict how they’ll react to each option that you have. This can be the difference between casting a smile on your face and casting your arm in plastic.

The last general benefit of understanding a person comes when you’re trying to help somebody else. Understanding can help people infinitely in this case, because the information isn’t always served up on a plate like a toaster strudel straight out of the microwave. The less information you’re given, the more you have to work to understand. In order to give good advice you always want to understand all sides of the problem. This can mean talking to a person and reading his body language, or it can mean watching how he interacts with other people in and out of the situation. It’s no question that your understanding of each side effects the advice you give. Your advice and therefore your understanding could be the difference between landing with the leaves as they settle down and kicking up a storm.

Understanding can help you help yourself as well as others. That is more rewarding than getting to China, shutting off stupid advertisements, and receiving a mouth-watering toaster strudel combined. Understanding aids in so many cases like this, yet people still don’t bother to make any attempt to understand one another. Don’t be one of those provincial fools.

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A Head Full Of Hints

For centuries, artists have tried to convey emotions through the portrait of another. Based on the portrait’s features, any viewer can look at the picture and feel that emotion racing through their veins. While an artist will use colors to emphasize a particular emotion, a practiced eye can still pick up on the emotions of an actual person. Of course, the person’s entire body conspires to reveal his emotions, but just his face will sell himself out.

As a young man reaches his arm around the waist of the nearest woman, it is her ruby lips that cause his hand to pull away. Here, it is partially the tension that sets her lips a straight line that sends his hand spiraling back to his side. Her lips could’ve just as easily settled into a soft smile, allowing him to place his hand upon her hip. It’s all hanging on the amount of tension that draws the lips into a straight line. The more tension in her lips, the straighter the line they make, and the greater the amount of displeasure that pulses through her thoughts. Similar to the lips, the jaw also fluctuates based on tension. The strain caused when the jaw is clasped shut is usually sudden, making it an easy feature to pick up on. This sudden rigidity, the swift clasp of her teeth, could have sent the message just as clearly. Maybe it was the slight pout caused by her jaw sliding forward, clearly displaying her urge to whip around and slap his arm away. The jaw is a mark of tension or anger or, in some cases, reluctance. All of these slight motions would have sent her disapproval careening in his direction. Taking account of these simple details can lead to understanding pieces of the person’s thoughts or emotions.

Just as the lips and jaws lock into a setting, spilling all of her secrets, the tilt of her head tells just as much. In confusion, she’ll tilt her head to the left; it’s always left. In reaction to her question, he’ll tilt his chin up slightly. Even though it demonstrates how easily he’ll get defensive, it’s his way of looking down on her. It’s an attempt to make the other person seem small, hopefully causing her to back down. More lucidly, this shift is a method of self defense, portraying something powerful when it’s not there. Her reaction, another message sent through the tilt of a head, is less subtle. She drops her head forward, feeling both upset and disappointed. Here, the tilts of their heads divulge confusion, a defensive manner, and a hurt flow of emotions. Learning to recognize these shifts can lead to a better understanding of a single person or people in general.

The tilt of a head, the setting of the lips, and the position of a jaw send messages to those willing to receive them. Whether it is aimed at an artist or a random stranger, the features are still set in place in order to provide some type of communication. It is up to the receiver to decide how the knowledge is used, either opening the Golden Gates or unleashing Pandora’s Box.

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Liabilities of Lying

Telling a lie is a battle against human nature; it is attempting to replicate the natural habits to an unfathomable degree. This leaves space for mistakes, habits that leak the true feelings and thoughts of any person. Through mere observations, people have learned to detect lies. This is due to the fact that, with any common aspect, human nature has patterns; observing these aspects, such as lying, causes these patterns to become clear.

A common way in which people reveal their true thoughts is through body language, so it is no surprise that it doesn’t fail to reveal when a person is lying. A liar will most often turn away from the person he or she is speaking to; this can mean the entire body, just the legs, or just the head. Not to mention, the resistance to looking the other person in the eye; the liar will usually look up to the right, stimulating the creative side of the brain. A more elaborate lie will require more imagination; therefore the liar will look up to the right more often. Additionally, the dishonest person will attempt to simulate the responses of an honest person; this can either hurt or help. For a liar who has not yet mastered his or her facial expressions, they seem stiff. Authors refer to this habit constantly within their writing; it’s always something along the lines of “he smiled at me, but the smile did not reach his eyes.” This role is commonly left for the lover that lies in attempt to spare the other. Also, the liar will become unbearably fidgety. A continuous stream of motions will spill from their veins; they’ll twist and untwist their fingers or place object after object in between the liar and the innocent. The body language can range from something as blatant as placing a bowl of popcorn in the middle of two people, to something as subtle as the motion of the hazy-green eyes that twitch to the upward-right corner of the room.

Actions may speak louder than words, but that does not mean that the words do not speak. Even words in text, plainly written for any eyes, can be picked apart. While this is vague and requires more of a background to the person, a small hint about contractions can help sway previous thoughts. It’s simply that contractions flow more fluently through honest writing, while a liar will attempt to sound sophisticated and more knowledgeable on the subject. When a question is asked, the lie will most commonly be treated as an open response question. The liar is pulled back to the days in elementary school, where his English teacher taught him to answer a question by simply restating it. It’s even the short responses, like “yes, I am okay,” that can seem awkward or out of place for a certain person to be saying. Of course, this comes when the person isn’t attempting to give the ever-classic half-lie, which is only a statement that implies the lie. Teens favor this form of lying, especially when it comes to their parents and a party with no adult supervision. Not to mention, there’s always that one girl that will prattle on about the smallest of tasks. A simple “how was your weekend,” turns into an hour long speech, until it reaches the point where it seems unctuous. With words, a lie will sometimes flow just like the body language, stiff and unfamiliar, while other times it will be the complete opposite and give too much information.

To detect a lie, it doesn’t necessarily require understanding why, but it requires an understanding of human nature. The signs and patterns weave throughout life, begging to be understood by anyone who thinks ignorance isn’t bliss.

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