Tone-of-Voice and Voice Inflection Clues

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Another clue to deception that I have consciously honed into lately is tone-of-voice and voice inflection. Take, for instance, the word “Hello”.

When you answer the phone, and you don’t know who it is, you say “Hello?” as a question.

When you greet a neighbor, for instance, you would say it as a subtle statement or greeting. Hello.

Yet there are other times when you say the word when someone does something silly, or ridiculous, perhaps without thought. You might say in your mind, “What were you thinking??! And then verbalize: Helll-lo! It’s a much stronger statement in this scenario. The inflection of the voice here is most notably different compared to the other two uses.

Yet all three are distinctly different. Try saying them and listening to yourself as you say them:

Hello? Hello. Hello!

Who knew that one word has different voice inflections—which cause the tone of one’s voice to vary when spoken—all depending on the meaning intended. You can exaggerate all of these as well and they will vary, depending on the circumstance used. I suspect we know about this, but we haven’t given it much thought, although we should. There are interesting implications to tone-of-voice and voice inflection.

It is precisely these distinctions that can clue me into people who are deceptive. When someone isn’t confident about something they are saying, or they are making their story up as they speak, some people will attempt to make a statement, but they will say it, unintentionally, as a question, if only through inflection and tone of voice. It’s rather interesting. It’s subtle; unless you focus, you may not catch it. I think many people miss these clues.

The worst offenders in this situation will often hesitate in their thinking, and their hesitation causes them to reaffirm what they just said by saying directly afterward, “Yeah, that’s right”, even though no one asked them for affirmation. It’s quite fascinating and telling at the same time.

Well, that’s all. Just crazy knowledge from deep within my brain that I am now becoming hyper-sensitive to. Who knew?

Observe yourself: You might be surprised by what you learn!

Self-deception

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Self-deception is a very common phenomenon in our society. A website called Truth About Deception talks about it here.

Then, the website offers a great test to take! “These perceptual tricks illustrate the idea that we don’t always experience things as they really are.” It’s fun…

Check it out

Were you deceived?

When someone tells you

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“When someone tells you who they are,” says Oprah Winfrey, “believe them“.

This is one of my all time favorite quotes from Oprah Winfrey.

I can’t tell you how true this is, and yet people often ignore this valued bit of insight.

I’ve seen many people come clean with who they are because they know their weaknesses, and often they aren’t even ashamed about it (when they should be). Worse, those who they tell get sympathetic, and understanding — and tend to connect to them even more because they are being “honest” with them. These truth-tellers are often revered even more — because we tend to think they can’t be that bad because they are being honest with us now.

After all — it must take some strength to admit your weaknesses, right? Yes and no. It takes strength to admit your weaknesses but ONLY when you claim the flaw in them. When people tell you their weaknesses and make no apology — be warned!

In today’s news, Matthew Fox, who plays an attractive doctor on Fox Network’s Lost TV series, makes some shocking self-admissions to Men’s Magazine.

For those who know Fox, his admissions are quite intense. He says:

“I’m a liar and a cheat and a thief and the ultimate manipulator. … I tell lies every day, man,” the 40-year-old actor says in the February issue of Men’s Journal magazine. “And when I say I’m phenomenally manipulative, I am.

“I really enjoy social boozing, and what I enjoy about it is when people I know and care about say and do things they normally wouldn’t say or do,” he tells the magazine. “To make that happen I’ll instigate anything.” (source)

In this instance, if someone tells you they are like this even if you haven’t seen the behavior first hand — trust them. Hands down. Put up your guard and protect yourself.

You’ve been warned by the most trusted source there is!

Is there one truth or many perceptions?

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One of my readers asked me this question: Is there one truth or many perceptions?

I believe there is only ONE TRUTH. However, there are many perceptions which people create when they hang on to little or no truth. You can perceive some pretty strange things when you count half the facts and/or reply on your emotions.