Intro to Deception
Do you know the difference between a lie and deception? At first, they almost seem like the same thing, don’t they?
A lie is simply telling an untruth, but deception encompasses a whole slew of techniques which use both language and silence, action and non-action.
As children we are told not to lie and always tell the truth. As we grow up we learn to sugar-coat our words in order to spare people’s feelings. Some lies are seen as necessary, and sometimes the truth is best left unsaid.
Other types of lies may be sleightly more unethical, but still don’t necessarily hurt anyone. You may lie about your job experience on a resume or tell someone something about yourself which is not true in order to be accepted.
Whether this is good or bad is not my call, but all lies have one thing in common: They are not based on truth.
You must first create the lie, and hope they will take the bait. Lying seems like an awful lot of unecessary stress to me. Deception, on the other hand, is more powerful, has many more options, and can require very little effort. Although lying is not seperate. It is merely a subset of the game of deception.
For any of those poor souls out there who are just getting there feet wet in the corporate world, let me give you some advice…
Deception is alive and well, and if you don’t know how the game works, you will most likely suffer dearly.
For example, let’s say you have discovered a big problem within your company that is not being addressed, and probably hasn’t been for years. You have a solution that would benefit your company, but some of your work colleagues or those in management may feel otherwise because it may hurt their career or status in some way. They will most likely deceive you and wait until you shut up or leave. Don’t underestimate those who deceive. Some of them have extraordinary stamina.
Here are a few things they might do to lie and deceive you.
They will omit certain truths.
You’re not lying here, you just aren’t giving the whole story, and so that story doesn’t exist. This is disinformation.
They will avoid your topic or issue.
You will either be constantly interrupted, passed on by politely, ignored, or belittled. Again, if it isn’t heard, it doesn’t exist. This is a disinformation tactic as well.
If you unknowingly make a false statement, they will not correct you.
Let’s suppose you get a hold of some bad information, but you think it is legit. If no one tells you differently, you will continue to look ignorant. This makes you look bad and them look good.
They will outright lie.
Lying is a part of deception, and it is very effective if it’s done correctly.
Well, those are the basics. I’ll go more in-depth next time I post within this category.
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