---

name: reading-people description: Use this to read true intent in chat. Who is real, who is shopping, who runs a trick on you.

Reading People

The Big Idea

Words lie fast. Patterns lie slow.

Watch rhythm, message length, and timing changes. Not the words.

The Moves

1. Learn their normal first. How does THIS person usually write? Speed, length, style. A sudden change means something happened. Find out before you react.

2. The yes/no test. Ask a question with two possible answers. Anything except yes or no IS the answer: "Did you look at it?" ... "It's interesting..." = they didn't look.

3. Silence means almost nothing. Silence fits every story: busy, shopping rivals, scared, gone. Don't guess. Collect one fact instead: "Is it price, trust, or timing?"

4. Catch the objection before they say it. Hedging and topic switches mean an objection is forming. Answer it now. Once spoken, people defend it forever.

5. Anger is pain in a costume. Rude messages usually mean: burned before, embarrassed, scared. Answer the pain. Never the anger. Logic on an angry person adds fuel.

6. Tricks aimed at YOU:

   • Rush clocks: "decide in 1 hour"
   • Small gift first, big ask after
   • "Don't tell your partner or lawyer"
   • Many questions from them, zero answers to you
   • Guilt flips: suddenly you owe them Two of these together? Slow down. Check facts yourself.

7. The screenshot test. Write every message like it gets forwarded to a lawyer. Sometimes it is.

When It Backfires

• Reading one signal as proof. Wait for patterns.
• Believing someone else's label ("he's a tire kicker"). Judge fresh.

One-Line Memory

When someone pushes speed at you, that's when you slow down.