Everyone has, what’s known in the world of gambling as a tell. A tell is simply something a person does, unconsciously, when they are being deceptive.  This doesn’t necessarily indicate the person is untrustworthy it’s just they want to keep some knowledge they possess, close to the vest (another gambling aphorism). But this can also tell you a lot about another person. For instance, how often, when speaking with this person do you notice this little tick, or whatever it happens to be? A lot or only when speaking of certain subjects?

The tell itself could be anything: a facial expression, body language, does the person look at you directly when speaking or do they seem otherwise occupied (gazing around the room)? Is there some sort of hesitation in the voice? All of these are easy ones to detect and a person can help a person decide whether or not this person is on the level or someone you can trust or not. The best place to train yourself to look for a tell is with a politician. Yes, nearly every one I’ve ever seen has one of the easy ones to detect. Others are a bit more sophisticated but like I said, everyone has a tell. Yes, you and me as well.

Nect time you see a politician on television, or in person, take a minute to try and determine his or her tell. These people try to be gregarious because they want voters to see them as friendly and approachable. As they become more polished in their profession, they may actually hire an outside consultant that will observe them under pressure so that they may be able to better hide their deceptions but controlling one tell usually means another one will pop up. It may me more subtle but it’s still there. 

So while you’re watching all of this nonsense on television with the election the next few days, watch the people that are speaking to you and giving their expert opinions. See how many lies you can detect in their small segment. Watch especially the politicians who support one or the other candidate. Good. Grief. If anything, learning to detect a lie, not just from the ”facts” but from the tell, will make watching at least cable news more enjoyable. After a while, you’ll be able to sus out a lying pundit in a few words.