A former CIA spy has opened up about a simple trick to making just about anyone trust you.

Have you ever met a person and instantly felt at ease in their presence? Some people have a seemingly God-given ability to get people to open up to them and spill their darkest secrets within minutes of meeting.

You may have assumed that charisma is a trait they were born with - or they might be employing a CIA-backed trick to building up your trust without your knowledge.

Andrew Bustamante, a former CIA agent, entrepreneur, and author, has revealed there may be a way to become the person that everyone feels comfortable opening up to.

Andrew Bustamante was recruited by the CIA in his 20s. Credit: YouTube./Andrew Bustamante

He revealed that there is a “scary but simple” rule the CIA operates by: “You are either in control or under control - there is no other option.”

Bustamante was 27 years old when he was recruited by the CIA, and says that prior to joining, he’d always thought he was good with women, but soon realized he was a “dumba**” because “I spent most of my time talking about me, my history, my experience, my qualifications, my ideas.”

Revealing the key thing he learned to making people trust you, Bustamante explained: “The CIA taught me that there’s a very simple process to rapidly build trust and influence in other people and that process involves asking two questions and then making one validating statement.

“After that validating statement, you repeat the same cycle again. And that the process of asking questions and validating other people’s ideas subconsciously makes the other person think that you are like them and it makes them feel like they are interesting and they are important and they are relevant, and then they have a dopamine rush that makes them feel good being around you.”

He revealed that he usually starts off with questions that are relatable to the person he is speaking to, in order to build up an instant rapport and make the person feel seen and understood by asking follow-up questions.

While he might use this for picking up women, there can be many other instances where this could be seriously useful.

And he also revealed that by using the method, he manages to learn all about the other person while giving away far less about himself by steering the conversation toward delving deeper into questions about them instead.

So if you ever find yourself divulging more than you usually do to a stranger at a bar, and wondering why and how they made you comfortable enough to do so, they might just be using CIA-approved techniques to get you to open up.

Featured image credit: YouTube./Andrew Bustamante

As details continue to emerge following the attempted shooting at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner, attention has turned to a resurfaced interview clip of the suspected gunman, and one body language expert says a seemingly ordinary moment may be more disturbing than it first appears.

The suspect, Cole Tomas Allen, has been described in reports as a teacher, or at least a part-time educator, who also reportedly had ambitions of becoming a video game developer.

Body language expert analyzes old clip of shooter suspect

Now, a short clip from a 2017 interview is being widely shared online. In the footage, Allen calmly explains a technical detail, saying: “The wheelchair brakes tend to lock the wheels, but don't actually lock the chair to the ground.”

On its own, it’s a brief and seemingly harmless exchange, but analysts have begun re-examining it in light of later events.

A body language expert, Dr. G, reviewing the clip stressed that it would be wrong to over-interpret just a few seconds of footage, saying: “We can't draw any major conclusions from that five seconds of interview.”

However, he also noted that even short moments can sometimes offer a glimpse into someone’s interpersonal presentation, how they come across, how they speak, and how they hold themselves under observation.

Shooting suspect's alleged statements scrutinized by body language expert

The expert also pointed to alleged statements attributed to Allen in a so-called manifesto, where he reportedly wrote that he “walked in with multiple weapons and not a single person there considered the possibility that he could be a threat.”

He also criticized security at the event, writing that “the security of the event is all outside focused on protesters and current arrivals,” adding that “this level of incompetence is insane.”

In another passage, he allegedly suggested that if he had been an “Iranian agent instead of an American citizen,” he could have brought in far more dangerous weaponry without detection.

What stood out to Dr G. wasn’t just the content, but the way it was written. He described the writing as “coherent, with punctuation, structure, and clear sentence formation," something that suggests the individual is not “fully disorganised,” even if their worldview may be distorted.

Coherent writing, he noted, doesn’t rule out psychological disturbance, but it does suggest a level of functioning that’s often underestimated in cases involving lone-actor violence.

Some of the most concerning passages appear to show detailed planning. In one section, Allen reportedly claimed he would use buckshot “to minimise casualties” due to “less penetration through walls,” while still acknowledging he would go through others if necessary to reach his intended target.

According to the expert, this reflects someone who has “given this a tremendous amount of thought,” constructing a personal logic system that attempts to justify harm through controlled reasoning.

The writings also include broader ideological statements, including: “Turning the other cheek when someone else is oppressed is not Christian behavior. It is complicity in the oppressor's crimes.”

He says this reflects a perspective increasingly seen in online spaces, where neutrality is reframed as guilt, and individuals feel pressured to take an active stance or be considered complicit.

In this pertinent framing, the suspect appears to construct a role for himself where action is not just justified, but required.

And for the body language expert, that gap between appearance and ideology is what makes the footage so unsettling in hindsight.

Featured Image. Credit: US President Trump via Truth Social/Anadolu via Getty Images

Experts in psychology have identified a behavioral clue that could hint at psychopathic tendencies.Experts in psychology have identified a behavioral clue that could hint at psychopathic tendencies—body language. Credit: RapidEye / GettySpecifically, expansive or dominant postures might be linked to traits associated with psychopathy, according to recent research.Susan Krauss Whitbourne, a former professor of psychological and brain sciences at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, delved into a study from McGill University in Canada in her article with Psychology Today.The study analyzed the postures of 608 adults and found a significant connection between body language and personality traits.Participants who exhibited open, expansive poses scored higher on traits tied to psychopathy, such as manipulativeness, competitiveness, and belief in social dominance. On the other hand, those who slouched or frequently shifted their stance displayed lower self-esteem.While these findings are fascinating, Whitbourne warned against using them as definitive proof of someone’s psychological state. She explained, “The test can’t tell you exactly what’s going on in their noggin', it can give you some clues.” Body language, she emphasized, is just one piece of the puzzle.Participants who exhibited open, expansive poses scored higher on traits tied to psychopathy, such as manipulativeness, competitiveness, and belief in social dominance. Credit: Andrew Bret Wallis / GettyPsychologist and neuroscientist Abigail Marsh from Georgetown University expanded on the idea, linking unethical and antisocial behaviors across multiple areas of life to psychopathy. Speaking with Big Think, Marsh explained, “It’s not just one thing or one domain – you see unethical and anti-social behaviour across domains.” She added that psychopathic individuals often exhibit a pervasive sense of superiority, believing that “other people are dumb, other people are ignorant, other people are easily duped.”Credit: Malte Mueller / GettyThis combination of behaviors—dominant body language, manipulativeness, and superiority—offers potential clues about psychopathy. However, Marsh and Whitbourne both cautioned against jumping to conclusions based on any single behavior.Psychopathy is a complex condition that requires comprehensive evaluation for diagnosis. Relying solely on body language or surface-level traits can lead to misinterpretation. Still, these subtle cues can provide insights into someone’s underlying personality and potential tendencies.As research continues, understanding these indicators can be valuable for psychologists, researchers, and even the general public in recognizing and addressing psychopathic behaviors in various social contexts.Featured image credit: Andrew Bret Wallis / Getty

Narcissists sound a lot more sinister than they actually are. Maybe it's because the word sounds a bit like sinister, the idea of someone being a narcissist seems pretty threatening, if not a little frightening. However, a lot of the time, narcissism just refers to someone absolutely loving themselves. Kim Kardashian is presumably a narcissist, Simon Cowell almost definitely is, as, I imagine, is Donald Trump.

But, while it's easy to label narcissists as simply self-loving and vain people, they do have a dark undertone to their character. They often make good first impressions, appearing to be likeable and charming, but they also exhibit self-centred and selfish behaviour. Narcissists, as a rule, often have a grandiose view of their own abilities or appearance.

However, while spotting a narcissist is easy to do once you get talking to them, it can pretty hard to identify them off of appearance alone... until now.

Apparently, if you're looking for a way to weed out the narcissists from the good guys, simply take a look at their eyebrows.

A team of researchers came to this surprising conclusion after they photographed around 40 undergrad students with neutral expressions. They then got participants to carry out a psychological test known as the Narcissistic Personality Inventory to test the strength of any narcissistic traits. The researchers then showed the photographs to other students and asked them to guess how narcissistic each person was based on their appearance.

At first, the results showed that people were particularly good at making an estimation of someone's narcissism based on their eyebrows. In particular, the eyebrow thickness and a high density of hair were most likely to be used to judge the narcissistic tendencies.

They expanded on this by measuring the extent of how the perceptions changed once they swapped the narcissists and non-narcissists eyebrows. Suddenly, participants rated narcissists’ faces as less narcissistic when they donned non-narcissists’ eyebrows and vice versa.

The researchers concluded that this shows "distinctive eyebrows reveal narcissists’ personality to others," as well as strongly influencing whether people view you as narcissistic from the get-go.

But why eyebrows? Will, researchers didn't look for an exact reason to explain the link but they did note how eyebrows are highly important for social functions and nonverbal communication. Furthermore, the researchers stated that eyebrows can be used to as a microcosm of a person's wider personality and identity.

Narcissists seek to be admired so maintain a high level of grooming. "Individuals reporting high levels of narcissism tend to wear more fashionable, stylish, and expensive clothing; have a neater, more organized appearance; and look more attractive," the study authors wrote.

Not only do eyebrows reveal your narcissistic tendencies, but they are also very important for facial recognition and mate selection (in both females and males), and a pair of meticulously well-kept eyebrows suggest the owner knows this.

So, I guess that Cara Delevingne is the queen of all narcissists then?

A body language expert has shared three tips that are a tell-tale sign someone is lying.Now, no one appreciates being lied to, but what if I told you you could spot a liar from a mile away?Vanessa Van, a body language expert and author, appeared on an episode of the Diary of a CEO podcast and revealed that there are three sure signs you can look out for to tell whether someone is lying.The first thing is question inflection.Credit: Pixelfit/GettyThis refers more to how someone says something rather than the words they're saying. If the tone of their voice rises towards the end of their questions, then they could be telling you a little white lie.Recalling an experiment conducted in her lab where people played the game of two truths and a lie, Van Edwards explained that most people tend to ask their lie statement instead of telling it."We noticed people asked the lie because they were asking 'do you believe this'," she said, giving the host an obvious example.She noted that the brain can pick up on something like this as it is receptive to tone of voice."Highly competent people do not mistakenly use the question inflection, they actually go down at the end of their sentences," she added.The second tip is to look out for incongruences in speech and body language.When it comes to non-verbal signs, the biggest is some sort of mismatch in one's speech versus their body language."The biggest and most obvious one is when someone says yes but shakes their head no, or says no but shakes their head yes," Van Edwards stated. "When we agree with someone, say yes, or are telling the truth, we typically agree with ourselves and shake our heads yes."The final tip is to watch out for mismatching facial expressions.Some liars tend to feel "off" when they're trying to convince you of something untrue."Disgust is an expression people make without even realizing it," she said. "When we don't like something or we smell something bad, we crinkle our nose up and flash the upper white of our teeth."You'll notice liars typically feel dirty when they lie. So oftentimes they'll show disgust with themselves for lying."But that doesn't mean they can't hold it back.So there we have it, folks, if you want to see if someone's lying, make sure you look out for these three tell-tale signs.Featured Image Credit: Bymuratdeniz/Getty