Visual Accessing Cues

One of the most fascinating things I have learned through NLP is that eye movement is a window into our mind. I once read up on the following technique in a PDF file about body language. I did not take the chapter with too much weight because the idea of being able to have an idea of what people are thinking seemed ridiculous to me.

Basically you can tell whether or not someone is lying to you based off of where they look when they are telling you something. These are called "Visual Accessing Cues". I'll let Samuel L. Jackson briefly explain:

Well... he is kind of right. Here is a more detailed chart:

Click for the full, legible image

People look to the right and left when remembering auditory information, and look down when they are reflecting. Pay attention to this the next time you are having a conversation with someone.

Now this is only useful if you are able to remember that chart up there. Things may get confusing considering the eye position changes if someone is standing next to you as opposed to opposite you. On top of that if they are left handed then everything is switched! Ahhhhh!!!!

Fortunately someone actually made an IPhone app where you can practice this. I actually tried it out and the next time someone I was talking to said "My friend once told me that..." I was keen on the fact that she glanced to my left and wrote with her right hand. Try the program out, it is free for the time being and this is a skill that is bound to help you every time you interact with someone.


If you like this article, you might also be interested in Using Visual Accessing Cues for Better Memorization.