<img src="https://www.bakadesuyo.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/how-to-read-people.jpg"> Wall Street Journal We'd all like to learn how to read people like Sherlock Holmes. And research shows understanding things like body language is even more powerful than you might think. MIT found that the outcome of negotiations could be predicted by body language alone 87% of the time. From <a href="https://amzn.to/28U3vR0">The Charisma Myth: How Anyone Can Master the Art and Science of Personal Magnetism </a>:

Good News: your first impressions are <a href="https://www.bakadesuyo.com/2011/07/should-we-trust-our-first-impressions-of-peop/">usually pretty accurate </a>. Bad News: whether they are wrong or right, first impressions <a href="https://www.bakadesuyo.com/2010/03/are-first-impressions-really-that-big-a-deal/">affect us in a big way </a>and <a href="https://www.bakadesuyo.com/2012/02/are-we-a-slave-to-our-first-impressions/">we are slow to change them </a>. <a href="https://www.bakadesuyo.com/2014/12/how-to-read-people/">Sam Gosling </a>is about as close to Sherlock Holmes as you can get. He's a personality psychologist at the University of Texas and author of the book <a href="https://amzn.to/29bIzqx">Snoop </a>. Here's Sam: First impressions are often quite helpful but you have to be willing to update them quite rapidly. That's what's very hard to do.

And so now that we've been through a dizzying amount of research on reading others, how can you make sure you come off well when others read you? Do you need to pay more attention to your body language? Nope. Your facial expressions or your "behavioral mimicry"? Double nope. When I spoke to <a href="https://www.bakadesuyo.com/2013/03/interview-olivia-teaches-charismatic/">Olivia Fox-Cabane </a>, author of <a href="https://amzn.to/29bQ4xF">The Charisma Myth </a>, she said all of that is doomed to fail unless you have an acting Oscar on your shelf: ...trying to control your facial expressions is not just impossible, it will even backfire. Since the micro-expressions will be incongruent with the main expression, they'll give the impression that something is not quite right and you can end up seeming fake - which, of course, ruins trust and charisma...

Next week I'll cover what research says can help you do that. To make sure you don't miss it, join my weekly email <a href="http://eepurl.com/o6uAD">here </a>. In the end, it really is what's on the inside that matters. We can shape that and smooth it, but you can't go through life acting for any considerable stretch. So try something simple: <a href="https://www.bakadesuyo.com/2011/05/does-putting-your-best-self-forward-reveal-yo/">be the best you that you can be </a>.

(To learn more about how to flirt scientifically, click <a href="https://www.bakadesuyo.com/2013/10/how-to-flirt-scientifically/">here </a>.) Alright, we've learned a lot about how to read people. Let's round it up and learn the real way you can project a better image so when people read you, you come off looking great... Here's how to read people 101: <ul><li>Don't make the usual mistakes: Take context, clusters, baseline, and biases into consideration. </li><li>First impressions are often accurate: With a number of traits you can trust your gut. But know which ones. </li><li>Trust mimicry and emotional expression: But they have to be sustained and consistent. </li><li>Awful people have tells: Pay attention to notice them. And look for narcissists in flashy clothing. </li><li>Deepening voice and touching says "flirting": True for both men and women. </li> </ul>

But most of what you believe about body language and analyzing others is based on myth or guesswork, not real research. So how can you learn how to read people the right way? Let's get answers from experts and studies. But first we need to understand all the mistakes you're making... In <a href="https://amzn.to/28TWa40">The Silent Language of Leaders: How Body Language Can Help-or Hurt-How You Lead </a>the author points out a number of common errors people make in reading people:

Here's what you're doing wrong

A class ring. T-shirts with slogans. Tattoos. Pay attention to them because they're usually accurate signs. Here's <a href="https://www.bakadesuyo.com/2014/12/how-to-read-people/">Sam </a>: Now this is all pretty personal. So what about if you're trying to read someone in a professional context? Want to know if someone is good at their job? Then watch them do it for thirty seconds - <a href="https://www.bakadesuyo.com/2011/06/can-you-tell-if-someone-is-good-at-their-job/">or even just six seconds </a>. Your guess about their competence is more likely to be right than wrong: Want to know if someone's smart? <a href="https://www.bakadesuyo.com/2012/02/can-you-tell-how-smart-someone-is-just-by-loo/">Research </a>says this is hard to tell from mere appearance when evaluating adults. But there's a trick that can help. Are they funny? Because <a href="https://www.bakadesuyo.com/2011/03/why-do-women-find-funny-men-attractive/">funny people are smart </a>:

Before we commence with the festivities, I wanted to thank everyone for helping my first book become a Wall Street Journal bestseller. To check it out, click here. *** We'd all like to learn how to read people like Sherlock Holmes. And research shows understanding things like body language is even more powerful than you might think.