How a Secret Service agent, CIA officer, mentalist and poker pro read people
October 6, 2026 · 17 min read
Evy Poumpouras starts with a baseline and looks for harmony between words and body, Jonna Mendez talks about spotting lies and trusting intuition, Oz Pearlman describes a built-in BS detector, and Daniel Negreanu explains how he reads opponents at the poker table. Four professions that depend on reading people offer methods anyone can compare, and a check on popular myths such as eye contact as a sign of honesty.
The rules, numbers and steps worth keeping in front of you.
- No single cue reveals a liar; a read is information, not proof.
- Baseline first: learn a person's normal, then watch for change.
- Poumpouras: words, body and actions should be in harmony.
- Poumpouras: looking away does not mean lying; gaze depends on the person.
- Poumpouras: never call people out; ask simple questions and watch what they do.
- Notice whether the question was actually answered.
- Over-selling is a sign: oaths, props, surplus detail and points that will not drop.
- Mendez: liars try too hard; impressions rest on a few details that can be manufactured.
- Mendez: track your hunches to learn how far to trust them.
- Pearlman: watch detail, speed and cadence against the person's usual pattern.
- Negreanu: comfortable people give off more information.
- Negreanu: think in ranges and let each action narrow them.
- Be wary of the overtly charming person.
- A good read can still lose; separate decisions from results.
This is the short form. The full insight has every expert's reasoning, their own words and the sources.