92 Little Tricks for Big Success in Relationships by How to Talk to Anyone

to this hazard, consciously squelch any signs anyone could mistake for shiftiness. They fix a constant gaze on the listener. They never put their hands on their faces. They don’t massage their arm when it tingles or rub their nose when it itches. They don’t loosen their collar when it’s hot or blink because it’s sandy. They don’t wipe away tiny perspiration 01 (001-042B) part one 8/14/03 9:16 AM Page 34
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    beads in public or shield their eyes from the sun. They suffer because they know fidgeting undermines credibility. Consider the infamous September 25, 1960, televised presidential debate between Richard Milhous Nixon and John Fitzgerald Kennedy. Political pundits speculate Nixon’s lack of makeup, his fidgeting, and mopping his brow on camera lost him the election.
    If you want to come across as an entirely credible Somebody, try to squelch all extraneous movement when your communication counts. I call the technique “Limit the Fidget.”
    Technique #7
    Limit the Fidget
    Whenever your conversation really counts, let your nose itch, your ear tingle, or your foot prickle. Do not
    fidget, twitch, wiggle, squirm, or scratch. And above
    all, keep your paws away from your puss. Hand
    motions near your face and all fidgeting can give your
    listener the gut feeling you’re fibbing.
    Now let’s tackle intelligence. “What?” you ask. “Can people come across as more intelligent than they really are?” Well, did you ever hear of Hans, the counting horse? Hans was considered the most intelligent horse in history, and he used the technique I’m about to suggest.
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    ✰ 8 How to Read People
    Like You Have ESP
    Hans, a very clever horse, inspires this next technique. Hans was owned by Herr von Osten, a Berliner, who had trained Hans to do simple arithmetic by tapping his right front hoof. So prodigious was Hans’s ability that the horse’s fame quickly spread throughout Europe in the early 1900s. He became known as Clever Hans, the counting horse.
    Herr von Osten taught Hans to do more than just add. Soon the horse could subtract and divide. In time, Clever Hans even mastered the multiplication tables. The horse became quite a phenomenon. Without his owner uttering a single word, Hans could count out the size of his audience, tap the number wearing glasses, or respond to any counting question they asked him.
    Finally, Hans achieved the ultimate ability that separates man from animal—language. Hans “learned” the alphabet. By tapping out hoof beats for each letter, he answered any question about anything humans had read in a newspaper or heard on the radio. He could even answer common questions about history, geography, and human biology.
    Hans made headlines and was the main topic of discussion at dinner parties throughout Europe. The “human horse” quickly attracted the attention of scientists, psychology professors, veteri 35
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    narians, even cavalry officers. Naturally they were skeptical, so they established an official commission to decide whether the horse was a case of clever trickery or equine genius. Whatever their suspicions, it was obvious to all, Hans was a very smart horse. Compared to other horses, Hans was a Somebody. Cut to today. Why is it when you talk with certain individuals you just know they are smarter than other people—that they are a Somebody? Often they’re not discussing highfalutin subjects or using two-dollar words. Nevertheless, everybody knows. People say, “She’s smart as a whip,” “He doesn’t miss a trick,” “She picks up on everything,” “He’s got the right stuff,” “She’s got horse sense.” Which brings us back to Hans.
    The day of the big test arrived. Everyone was convinced it must be a trick orchestrated by Herr von Osten, Hans’s owner. It was