talkmagic.co.uk

When I was still in school I had been reading about eye contact, body language, and the like. In one class we had our desks arranged in a sort of horseshoe around the walls, so I picked out somebody (whom I didn't know at all) across the room and just started looking at him steadily. No expression, no attempt at communication, just looking.

The effect was hilarious. From a big, cocky teenager he simply melted into a quivering puddle within about 15 minutes. The funny part was that he didn't know why. He didn't connect it to me at all. I don't think he even knew he was being looked at. I felt so sorry for him I stopped looking and let him recover in time for the next class.

In one his books, Desmond Morris tells a story about the time he hired a boat with David Attenborough. They found a nice place to stop and relax for a while but soon a massive yacht pulled up near them and started playing loud music. Des explained to David that when an ape wants to intimidate another, they just stare at them without showing any kind of emotion at all. They both then stood up on their boat and stared at the occupants of the yacht for about five minutes until they left.

I've never had the guts to try it for an extended period of time but if you just stare at someone with a blank expression, without saying anything or doing anything vaguely threatening, they'll start to get really unnerved by it and eventually move away. I'm always worried that they'll just punch me or call me a pervert so I've never done it for long.

That's pretty much what happened. He couldn't leave because it was the middle of class, but he cringed, cowered, sweated, indulged in all kinds of self-comfort movements, and ended up slumping down so far he was practically out of his seat and on the floor. From swaggering dominant to total breakdown.

Not really anything to do with mirroring, but it shows how a little nonverbal communication can go a very long way!

kolm wrote:I hope he uses the bus footage, he mentioned it on his blog last year so it'll be a shame if it never sees the light of day!

I found out the real reason it was left out of the televised version of the show, and if I am correct, it won't ever be shown, for certain reasons that I can't go into on a public forum.

But sadly, it is very highly doubtful that it will be shown to the public now

Blapsing_Beard wrote:

kolm wrote:I hope he uses the bus footage, he mentioned it on his blog last year so it'll be a shame if it never sees the light of day!

I found out the real reason it was left out of the televised version of the show, and if I am correct, it won't ever be shown, for certain reasons that I can't go into on a public forum.

But sadly, it is very highly doubtful that it will be shown to the public now

So it'll just become part of the surrounding word-of-mouth folklore surrounding the event? As others have mentioned - an Indian Rope Trick?

If the footage is ultimately buried, I suspect that might be the real reason.

Pete

Afraid it isn't indian-rope trick-esque

More method-esque, and realised that it was very risky using this method on tv, with youtube nowadays, people can watch back

Step forward Roni!!!

ya beat me to it.

Spray can !

love that twist

really beautifull finish

He starts where others end.

He's also apparently read The Newtonian Casino.

great to see R Paul Wilson in a different setting to that old, tired 'Real Hustle' show... he's cool!

An impossibly posh git wins £175,000 from $5,000. Is that going to be good PR?

LOL!!!