Many people consider reading somebody else’s mind as a type of control mechanism. If you can predict their next move, you can easily control their future actions.
Reading someone else’s mind has a lot of benefits not only for you but for the other person too because in that way you can completely understand what they want to say, how they really feel and connect with them on a deeper level.
Body Language
Body language can clearly indicate what other people are thinking. If they touch their forehead while talking, it means that they are shy. How do they seat or stand? Pay attention to their posture: do they make themselves seem small – crossing their legs and arms?
When primates in the wild want to show their strength, they open up. Their bodies seem stretched out and their chest pounded out. In this way, the level of cortisol hormone in their bodies decrease, reducing the stress. Similarly, if you make yourself look small, the levels of the cortisol hormone increase.
Therefore, you can read a lot about someone’s personality from their body language and body posture.
Pay Close Attention To How They Breathe
Observe their way of breathing. If they breathe through the base of their spine, it indicates that they are calm. If they breathe in shallow, it means they are stressed. The mental state of a person can be revealed by the way they are breathing.
If you notice that they are breathing is choppy, they are probably anxious and are likely to hide something from you. They may also feel nervous, ashamed or lie to you. When someone is truthful, their breading is calm and relaxed.
Look Directly In Their Eyes
It is true that eyes are mirrors of the soul. They can reveal a lot about the person you are talking with. Pupils vary according to the type of our emotions and it depends on what our brain is thinking. If the brain is overloaded, then pupils usually constrict. Also when we meet someone for the first time they tend to widen. If they widen but immediately constrict it indicates that the person is not interested in you. If they remain in the same wide position, it indicates that they are happy to be with you.
The words are not as important as the tone of voice
The tone of a person’s voice can speak a lot about them. Pay attention to the speed: if it’s fast it indicates nervousness, if it’s slow it indicates calmness. The energy behind the words is way more important than the actual words. Usually we can recognize the meaning of many tones, but sometimes we really have to tune in and listen carefully to be able receive some answers.
Be With Them
The best way to realize what someone is like, is to spend a lot of time with them. Be with them for a few months or a year and eventually you will be able to read each other’s minds. When you are close to someone, you can predict their reactions. You can even feel exactly what they feel without even talking. The moment you see the person you will see the sorrow behind their smile.
This is why I feel surprised when a parent says they didn’t recognize anything wrong happening with their child. They would say that it behaved in a normal way. This often shows that the time the parent spent with the child wasn’t enough for them to recognize how the child felt deep inside. If they paid more attention to the child, no words would be needed for the parent to realize that something is not right with their child.
However, some partners might spend years together and still not know the other person well. Although rarely, it still happens. But in general, we can say that time serves as an excellent tool for taping into the brain of the other person.
Be careful not to fuel their mind with your personal energy
Half of the other person’s reaction depends on you. If you talk to them nervously, they will probably respond in the same way. If we are relaxed and act naturally in front of the other person we would be able to see their true energy and the way they truly behave.
Don’t forget that if you are not sure, you can always ask the other person how they really feel. If you ask it and seem really interested and prepared to listen, then you’ll probably get the true answer.
You always have to begin with you first. When someone asks “how you feel”, take a few seconds to think and answer honestly. If you are aware of your feelings you will be able to start being aware of other people’s feelings too. How would you expect to know other people’s feelings if you don’t even know your own?
