The Hindu Business Line : Power of listening

Can you call a person’s bluff easily? If you are a good card player, you perhaps can. In general, however, we are not geared to detecting lies. A person we met recently seems to have found a novel way of getting around the problem. As an economist, one of his requirements is to interpret speeches of central bankers and finance ministers. He was often misled into believing what they said when he watched them on television. After analysing his mistakes, he decided to shift his television to the next room and to simply listen to their speeches rather than watch them. He claims that his ability to interpret the speeches is much better! Why?

The real intent

You and I know that central bankers and ministers cannot always tell the truth. If they did, the financial markets will react badly. The trick then is to figure out the real intent behind a speech.

The economist understood that well. Shifting the television to the next room meant that he could concentrate on the words said and not on the body language. Our words give away our real intent. And that helps us differentiate the truth from a lie.

Psychologists have come to such conclusions based on several tests. In one such test, a person interviewed on television was asked what his favourite movie was. He named two, one of which he really hated. Viewers were asked to vote on which they thought was the truth. The vote was almost evenly split.

The same experiment when conducted over radio drew a better response. Nearly 75 per cent of the listeners identified the lie. The test suggests that you are a better judge when you listen rather than when you read the body language.

How can this knowledge help you? Often, CEO’s tend to portray their company in good light. You would be better off reading or listening to a CEO talk about his company’s vision rather than watch him on television. That way, you can read the real intent better, helping you in your investment decision.

(The author is a Chennai-based financial analyst.)

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