12 Signs You Have a Special Gift for Reading People

Signs that show you have a special gift for reading people. No one can fool you! Do you read people like an open book? Some of us are especially gifted and talented at it. It takes good intuition, a touch of gut feeling and an eye for details. A little life experience can't hurt either, of course. What we might have taken at face value as teenagers quickly loses its power to fool us with age.

Superficial phrases and generalities may still impress us at a very young age, but later on we know a little more about how things work. The following twelve signs are clear indications that you've gotten pretty good at reading people.

1. Looks are worth a thousand words.

Honest people who have nothing to hide and no lies to conceal maintain eye contact. If, on the other hand, their gaze wanders toward the floor or the tabletop, it show they’'d rather be somewhere else entirely at that moment. In addition, glances that drift to the left or right are also a sign that either the memory is currently being intensely taxed or the imagination has just constructed a bold lie.

2. Suddenly someone is completely different.

Changes in a person's behavior can certainly be a dead giveaway. If someone who’s normally calm and composed is suddenly visibly nervous, or someone’s nice when they otherwise act rather bitchy and brusque, or extremely cheerful and boisterous when they’d usually prefer their own company – these are all indications someone has something to hide.

3. Watch them when they feel unobserved.

We can learn the most about other people by observing them. This does not mean spying à la James Bond or Mata Hari. It’s enough to stand back and study them in the cafeteria. How do they talk to service staff and housekeepers? Do they tip? How do they behave at the bus stop or when strangers ask them for information or money?

4. It's not just the Greeks who bring dubious gifts.

A red alert should always be sounded when people show up at your door with gifts for no reason. In this case, gratuitous generosity almost always means that there’s an ulterior motive. You should also be careful when the biggest cheapskates and penny-pinchers start buying drinks at the bar or or coffee on break.

5. Someone means too well for us.

Our intuition will warn us anyway, but it should be said here once again in all clarity: Only the fewest people sincerely care about the welfare of others. If someone suddenly encourages you you to take a vacation, do less work, or give up a certain responsibility, there is certainly an agenda behind it, but not one that will benefit you.

6. What does body language say?

Looking down at your feet, crossing your arms, scratching your head in embarrassment, or desperately trying to keep your own hands under control – these are all signs that someone is not comfortable in his or her own skin at the moment. Unless she or he is madly in love with you, this nervous fidgeting has other reasons of a much less romantic nature.

7. Clothes and makeup are telltale accomplices.

We know you're not supposed to judge people by their appearance. Nevertheless, a careful look at the scenery is always particularly worthwhile when what we’re actually trying to do is penetrate it. Women who suddenly wear makeup or appear strikingly stylish are experiencing a change in their everyday lives or would very much like to bring about such a change.

If a woman wears exactly the same outfit two days in a row, it can be assumed that she did not spend the night at home. Even men on the wrong track suddenly attach more importance to their appearance. And the following applies to both sexes: If the daily grooming routine is neglected, it’s a bad sign. Such signals not infrequently indicate mental or emotional dry spells.

8. Empty phrases, excuses and empty platitudes.

"I'll call you" or "Let's have a coffee sometime?" are popular conversation building blocks, but they usually don't convey any real message at all. Things get interesting when people suddenly hide behind empty phrases or repeat certain verbal niceties over and over again. Liars in particular can be unmasked in this way. They have learned their story by heart, but are not able to repeat it in any other words, because no human being can perfectly remember facts that have sprung from pure fiction.

9. Still waters are still deepest.

If you listen carefully within a group, you will find that the leader or the most opinionated is not automatically the loudest person in that circle. True authority is expressed through a firm voice, not a loud one. Some people who want to be especially sure of their position deliberately speak softly. This forces those around them to come closer to them. In this way, they reel them in on a short leash, so to speak.

10. How's it going?

Whether this saying actually has anything to do with our gait, no one can say for sure. But the fact is: You can also find out a lot about someone by the way he or she directs his or her steps and moves forward. A straight posture with tight shoulders and a forward gaze speaks of self-confidence, a positive body image, and a goal that this person clearly has in mind. On the other hand, a hunched back, a lowered gaze, and dragging the legs as if they were lead are indications that not all is well mentally and emotionally with these people.

11. What action words are used?

Language reveals more about us than anything else. There are strong and weak verbs, and then there are the so-called action words. They are brimming with persuasive power and are a clear indication that this person thinks before they speak and probably even chooses their words quite strategically. It makes an enormous difference whether someone begins his sentence with "I believe that..." or with "I have decided that...".

There is nothing to shake about a decision, this person thinks ahead in tactical moves and offers us no chance for a counter-move. For example, "bring about" or "arrange", "empower", "intensify" or "benefit" also fall into this category. People who deliberately make such strong statements do not tolerate any contradiction and are also well prepared for anything that might be said to counter their remarks.

12. Where is my mirror phenomenon?

When we smile, the normal reaction of our counterpart would be to smile as well. We call this the "mirror phenomenon," an unconscious response that we cannot control because it has been ingrained in our DNA since the beginning of evolution. If someone fails to grant us this nonverbal response, they have something to hide. It’s all too obvious and unfortunately true: he or she simply doesn't like us.

Today’s Conclusion

Life experience makes you picky. With as many people as we meet every day, we’re bound to recognize certain behaviors. At some point we realize in real time when we are being lied to, put off or taken for granted. It's an exciting thing to get to know your fellow human beings better, but unfortunately it can also lead to us becoming even more selective about our interactions as the years go by.