Lesson 17: Reading Between the Lines

Have you ever felt like someone isn't telling you the whole story?
Look at you all brilliant and reading between the lines! Do you think anyone else will do the same?
When I was a kid, I was taught to "read between the lines" in English class when we were analyzing a particular piece of literature to try to discern what an author was trying to convey.
That's what English class is for: Figuring out what people won't say directly but hide under text.
I have been in two types of scenarios today where I haven't been getting direct answers from people and have felt that they were "talking around the issue." The whole time, I was thinking "This will be GREAT for a blog entry!"
This is especially true with men...why can't men ever be direct?
Scenario 1: When placed into a position where you're assessing someone else, you're compelled and often required to read between the lines. I don't think that people naturally want to talk about everything you may want to know (weaknesses, negative actions, etc), so it's important to try to figure it out based on tone, diction and body language. In these cases, you can usually draw that person's explanations and true feelings out of them because in these cases, you have an idea of what the person is thinking. It's just a matter of getting them to feel comfortable enough to verbalize those thoughts.
This is the easier scenario because the outcomes won't be painful for you. They may be for the other party!
Scenario 2: This occurs when you're on the other end of the assessment and the person who is doing the assessing is about to deliver some bad news but doesn't want to hurt you. But you can tell, again, by the tone, diction and body language that the bad news is coming. And in order to spare that person of having to bring down the hatchet, you merely end the conversation right then and there. And that's the end.
This happens with relationships that likely weren't meant to be in the first place but still hurt when they end. I really hate these all too common situations.
In any case, reading between the lines keeps you on your toes. It keeps your senses sharp, and in some cases, it can spare people from being in uncomfortable and potentially painful situations. It's another one of those lifelong lessons. But the more you master it, the better off you are in professional and personal relationships.
That means I have more fodder for future blogs.