How we change what others think, feel, believe and do

Deception principle

Principles > Deception principle

Principle | How it works | So what?

Principle

Alter the other person's perception by tricks, untruths and other forms of deception.

How it works

In order to live with one another, most people largely trust other people for most of the time. This lays them open to untruths, illusions and downright lies.

The golden rule of deception is management of the other person's perception such that they do not know any deception is happening.

Telling lies

Lies are very difficult to tell face-to-face, as much communication is through body language and voice tone. The results of such lying is that the other person receives a mixed message and may well detect the deception.

To successfully tell lies, you need first to be able to lie to yourself. If you totally believe what you are saying, then you will be able to tell any lie with complete conviction. This is how actors are able to successfully assimilate other characters and draw you into the story plot.

Economy with the truth

A variant of lying which is not really lying is to tell the truth but leave out those things that are inconvenient. The result is that the overall message is some way from the whole truth and may persuade people to do things they would not do if they knew everything.

Elaborate deception

More elaborate deceptions can be used that include factors such as:

• Collaborative lying: many people telling the same story.
• Manipulating evidence: changing what people see/experience.
• Confidence tricks: highly elaborate deceptions.

So what?

Be very careful with deception: if the other person finds out then they may well act in a betrayed manner, taking revenge on you in ways that far outweigh the damage you have done with your deception.

See also

Lying