The Tell

Friday September 10, 2004 - 7:30PM EDT

When I have to filter my words and thoughts to much in order to be PC or fit into a situation it makes me crazy. My hands start to shake and my speech can lose its consistency. But I just love looking for the same thing in other people. Particularly people who attempt to "exert their influence" or think they are superior. I just look for the tell. That body language signal or speech pattern that signifies emmotional weakness. Almost everybody has it. As soon as I find it that person can't intimidate me, and I smile inside because their percieved advantage is gone. It is much easier to pickup if you have seen or interacted with the person in a casual situation, then you can compare their normal tendecies to ones of stressful situations. I just love it when I find the tell, it gives me a rush. I will be truly impressed when I talk to the person who is able to hide all emmotional weakness. Actually there was one person that fit that description. It was my high school principal in 11th grade. When I spoke to him, I couldn't find any emmotional weakness. I found out a few years later from a friend that worked at the local pharmacy that he was a scizophrenic and always doped up on medication. He couldn't show true emmotion if he tried. To not give away a tell when speaking makes your speech truly powerful. Presidents even have tells. Bush has to many to count and although Clinton was a very good public speaker there were some speeches in which he gave away a tell. Remeber the first press confernces after the Lewinski scandal, he was all over the place.