Understanding Human Behavior 

Remember that it's not always narcissism behind a fake smile, sometimes people are going through stuff and are putting on a brave face.

Sometimes a fake smile, wanting to leave a meeting early, being self focused, etc, are defensive mechanisms displayed by people suffering from severe anxiety. People with anxiety disorders like OCD are not narcissistic, they are stuck in a horribly tormenting cycle of severe anxiety and hyper self focus. Just something to consider as an alternative possibility.

i can never get enough of Robert Greene's content, whether its books, youtube, tiktoks, short videos, interviews, podcasts.. im 24 years old and this man has changed my life completely, i have been abused by narcissits all around me all my life, because of your books i finally know how to get myself out of situations at work, with family, and other relationships.. a big huge thank you Robert, you truly are my idol.

Energy doesn’t lie, always trust what you feel !

Getting a fingertip feel for social interactions is absolutely essential for seeing through people's verbal deceptions and that's only possible by getting yourself out there and interacting with other humans. You can read books about non verbal cues and they definitely help, but only practice and trial and error over time will give you the actual power of accurately reading people.

The best part about his book is that wether you agree with it or not it’s useful to read so you can be aware of the tactics people will pull on you.

This guy inspires me, he became succesful after the 48 laws of power. He wrote it when he was in his late 30’s. I am 37 years old and starting new businesses, it had a slow start but now it is going well. Hopefully it will take off soon, seems it will be. His books are amazing.

I had a shared lunch shift with my coworker, I was definitely early every time because I would never cut into someone else's lunch time. You should always try to offer things to people because graciousness is kind and proves love. Life is difficult, get your coworker the tea they like or try to do something nice. Even the ones who are angry have a backstory that you don't understand. Help is too under rated

I had a situation with people recently. And I am not hurt by them but it made me think, how important it is to have a good relationship with yourself, with all its flaws and good things. That that’s the first place you come home to. Always be warm and settled with yourself. Than you can travel the world save!❤️

This is key to life! You can be the best carpenter; but if behind the facade there’s trouble, then someone who can read you will not employ you.

This info is a confirmation to my study and findings watching narcissist and dysfunctional/toxic individuals/families. It's spot on. I've found myself not being liked because of the ability to read behavior (not get stuck on words). Toxic people hate when they can't manipulate you.

I wish I had discovered Robert Greene years ago. I am consciously trying to read this second language in people now, and it would have saved me a lot of heartbreak years ago, when I found out my friend was really not my friend. Thank you Robert for your books and videos!

I'm 56. I've spent the past decade reading books about Human Behavior. Talking with professionals, etc. In all my research to better understand people, I've learned it's impossible! In spite of what the books say, the pros say, etc. People are beyond understanding. Beyond reason! The only way I found to reduce stress is isolate myself as much as possible. I haven't found anyone worth the stress they give. As George Washington said, _"It is better to be alone than to be in bad company."_

Vanessa Van Edwards knows and teaches this stuff well. Once you get good at spotting microexpressions and understand their meanings then it really helps to reveal what they are thinking and feeling at the moment despite how charming their words may sound.

Robert always nails it. He is full of wisdom.

I think kids who had alcoholic or unstable parents have a knack for this communication -- an apparently preternatural ability to sense the subtle nonverbal communication layer. It's not supernatural and it's not mind reading, it's a survival skill born from an early age. Unfortunately these same kids grow up often having unresolved trauma but if that can be overcome they will have a sort of "gift" -- born from pain.

Robert, I cannot thank you enough for the EXAMPLES you gave us. Thank you. Everyone says this, says that, gives quotes from books, but never examples.

After reading some of the comments about some signs don't necessarily show something about someone's character like narcissism due to other hidden factors such as social anxiety, going through a tough time etc for example a fake smile, I guess the solution to this is you have to analyse someone's gestures and body language over a certain period of time to get a holistic understanding of them and to create a more certain understanding of their character and personality. If someone shows patterns over time and repeats the same things thats the jack pot, if they do things randomly or periodically that is unusual to them then you can dismiss it as being caused by something outside of their usual personality. I have lived with a Narcissist for the past 18 months and only now have I realised for certain they are one after essentially analysing their actions over the past year and a half. I wasn't certain before and didn't want to make any unfair assumptions, however now due to seeing repeated patterns I am 100% certain they are. Be careful not to jump to conclusions too soon without making a proper judgement and analysis of someone over a reasonably long period of time. Humans are complex, and although we may show signs you could occasionally get things wrong or read into something the wrong way. Just a piece of advice.

Robert Greene doesn’t get the respect he deserves. His books changed my life

You have changed my life Robert. Not matter what books I buy , I’ll immediately finish it and always return to your books Thank you for your intellect good sir

procrastinating work could also be due to anxiety, when people are introduced to something new or when they're asked to do something they don't like.

Human behavior is something to discover

I love Robert’s contents so far.. he hasn’t disappointed me so far with is intelligence, respect, selflessness, wisdom..

I just wanted to thank you for your work and for sharing this kind of stuff. You and your great work changed my life to the better and I can't really tell how much I want to thank you. Keep doing what you are doing.

People watching and observing human behaviour has been one of the most valuable skills I’ve learned in my life.

This person, he could be talking about anything and I'd still listen to him patiently. Such a good speaker. Calm, gets the message through with just enough words, his videos are masterclasses not only for the ideas he is sharing, but the way he talks about them.

Wish this great man could give the world his analysis on everyday's news. We really need more content from him. History cannot forget this man's masterpieces. May whatever the power is out there protect and bless him

How is Mr Robert not a bigger celebrity? You see the likes of Andrew Tate... in the media but not people that bring value to the world. So greatefull for all these books. Literally life changing. Wish you all the best Mr Robert 🙏

You're a living legend, Mr. Greene. Always appreciate and love hearing your thoughts and can't wait for you next book. Thank you.

Goodstuff! He has a very relaxing and calm voice which makes it easy for me to listen to it’s kind of like psychology and asmr at the same time!

I love Robert Greene's ideas and way of making arguments in his books. I wish that we could get him some pre production eqp so we can hear him as clear as possible

The Laws Of Human Nature is truly a masterpiece! I read it last month and wished I did sooner. It’s incredible 🙏🏻 We are all so lucky to live at the same time of this man and his great mind.

I could almost listen to Robert all day everyday. So wise!

Everything ROBERT GREENE. That's all I can say. I have been digesting him and him only for the past 5 days by audio here in Saigon Vietnam. This video has changed everything for me. And he's sooooo right! Thank you SIR!!!

Mr. Greene is soooo on point. His info is so interesting...He communicates cell easily, yet specifically. I've learned so much and it makes sense. He's got a great voice I just expressions say so much. Great communicator.!!!!💯

Robert Greene is a great example of hope

Great meditation to start the day=] I love Woody Allen's statement that 90% of life is showing up. I would call this art of non-verbal communication as the remainder of that 10%. I love Robert Greene's body of work, and many people buy books from ex-intelligence officers so that they become fluent in this "language of the body."

I can’t enough of you Robert Greene😊❤️Thank You for Your Masterful Contributions

Thank you ❤Robert Greene. You changed my life for the better by yours books and videos. They opened my eyes and pulled me of my naiveté about things around me

This made me aware of my own flaws, thank you Robert

Wow, thanks a lot Robert Greene. You can never have the full picture on how you changed my life, for the best ofcourse. And I think I speak for all your fans when I say we are loving these shorts, that you started making on a specific topic not long ago on RU-vid. Please do keep them coming and let the whole world understand each other better. Like a lot lot better. Thanks infinity and hope your live with Ryan Holiday is going to be uploaded for those of us who don't have the chance to see both of you but are very very interested in you both. Again thanks infininity. God Bless You.

Thank you Robert really appreciated the video and how it described what you said in the Laws of Human nature. Ever since I’ve picked up your book I see and hear people for who they truly are. I still have a lot to learn and to be reminded about so thank you for these short summaries, never hurts to keep it fresh in mind. 😊 happy new year! Health and good fortune to you Mr Greene!

I notice a lot of these negative traits in myself and wish to change for the better. I've always wanted to connect with people on a deeper level but my upbringing didn't really gear me towards that path. I've had to discover this news at 31 sadly

More and so much more of this Please!! I got all your books! I'm Always blown away by your generosity of spirit and kindness of deeds! And no I'm not a big narcissist 😅🙏🏽

Im really a big fan of Robert Greene,his work has changed my life ,personally I faced alot trauma when I lost my Dad which made me Isolate myself from people and kept viewing the world as a bitter place and this took a toll on my social relationships with people,I would try and get new friends but I would suddenly break the relationship not because something bad happened but I would always have an illusion someone would abandon me(as my Dads death) so i would abandon them first before they abandoned me so my social relationships wasn't great .Ever since I read the laws of human nature ive started understanding what motivates people's actions and stopped bieng personal and self absorbed with people , i also noticed I'm very empathetic and im able to read peoples emotions which makes me avoid saying things that can hurt people and this has taken a whole dynamic in my relationships.THANKS ROBERT GREENE

Dear Mr Greene , thank you for your work, Sir! You are an inspiration! I love your whole vibe and genuine way you express your wisdom. It shows that you embarked on this journey with true intentions to educate and help others. Thank you for your great efforts and valuable contributions to humanity. We are grateful! 😊

Your books saved my career, marriage, and friendships. I can spot evil in others, and myself now.

You are a gently spoken genius. Love your videos and thank you so much for sharing your wise, wise thoughts.

Thank you for positing this video! It Is making me self-reflect , especially about how I say my goodbyes . I never really perceived it’s importance in this way you explained it .

This Robert dude has so much to give us. I'm so thankful that he's got these videos put. Amazing tips

Amazing video! You're among my favourite authors to read and hear. Thank you so much for sharing so much knowledge 🙏🏻

I was just reading the book, Robert Greene is awesome. Much respect and appreciation ❤️

Excellent Class. ! You learn me something ! You make me better! Many Thanks. Doctor Greene!🎈🎈🎈🎈

Wowww!!! Perfect timing! I appreciate all that you do! 🙏❤️✨

When you talk I went through past relationship and I'm thinking how I was so blind. Totally true about narcissistic behaviour - words, expressions, always late (30mins is still okay, he owns the time). Thank you for your videos and books! Very appreciate your job 🙏🏼

This guy is so clued up about human behaviour it’s scary, loved this so much

Robert has been the greatest thing that's happened in my life thank you for being such a hard worker he truly is the general of the people

It took a lot of pain to get here Mr. Greene grateful for you every day. Thank you for your suffering as it helps ease my pain.

I Love every word you say, and am noticing recently how tired you’re look at times. Please stay safe in your own boundaries holding to self kindness and protection first knowing we are all eternally enriched by your gift to humanity. I pray you stay well, rested, happy & loved, giving only when your cup runneth over so you’re not giving us even a breath of your much needed life blood in any times of greater personal need. Bless you kind soul & may God/life/love keep you safe always. X

this guy is a genius, he is a master of analyzing human behavior. 👏

A great mentor indeed❤

Grate you Robert Greene , I'm adoring you Master, the moment you talked about fake listening from narcissistic people they're just observe the place to hunting you, and yes absolutely I can feel the way people through texting, it's an energy you just feel it,

Love this kind of content - loads of 'protein' 🧠 and fresh perspectives on the whole 'body language' topic - thank you Robert

I really enjoyed this conversation, Robert. I just found out about you on NYE. I’m a bit late in discovering you and I just bought all of your books. My goal for 2023 is to learn a lot from you because I just like the way you present your thoughts. So clear, concise, and thoughtful-not a lot of word salad. I spent a lot of time trying to understand Jordan Peterson. While I do think he’s an intelligent man, I have to say that I get confused by the points he’s trying to get across that his big vocabs have lost their meaning to me. You are my cup of tea. Wishing you a wonderful, 2023, Robert. Looking forward to learning more from you. 🙏

Robert i love these talks. Please keep doing them, i’m a big fan. Sending you love, health & appreciation from Romania. 🫶

Thank you Robert Greene, your ideas and interpretations are mind opening.🌹

This is so true. I'm totally this way, and I can sense people's truth.

Love your content mr.Greene you changed my life🤟🏾❤️

Thank you for all the amazing help Robert Greene....

wish Robert knew how much his writing means to people ….. a great writer , mentor , inspiration

Oh my goodness…. I will listen to this another time or two. So many of your points resonated immediately with me. Thank you for sharing what you’ve learned about the language outside of words. I can’t wait to buy and read your book to get a greater understanding. We reveal ourselves in so many ways and I’ve put far too much weight on the words of others while looking at their actions and expressions as a lesser cousin. Thank you again. I already follow you on YT or I’d press the subscribe button. Only sorry I can’t give you more than one Thumbs Up.

I'm so socially uncalibrated I nearly feel bad even being around people because I just cannot express myself naturally in many of the ways Robert Greene describes. I feel like I have "dead eyes" and fake smiles for absolutely everything, not that I'm a narcissist as I'm extremely empathetic, but I guess I've spent so much time isolated I can't relate to peoples positive emotions outwardly in terms of body language and tone of voice. I've completely agreed with what people have said and they wonder if I'm being sarcastic or not, they can't tell what I'm thinking or feeling, many people assuming I'm mad or irritated when I never am. But I don't have any idea how to fix this either. I feel things so deeply but express feelings so awkwardly.

To quote Mark Twain : “Action speaks louder than words but not nearly as often.”. I always believed everything you need to know about a person is in their behaviour but that hasn’t stopped me from feeling bad or questioning how my own behaviour may have contributed to someone behaving badly towards me. As an overly sensitive person, I go to extreme lengths not to tread on peoples toes. And even when I know I did nothing wrong, it doesn’t stop me doubting and questioning myself. This is the first time I am here listening to Robert Greene and feeling I have found the missing pieces to the puzzle. I can’t wait to read his books and to listen to more of his content. Thank you!

I watched this video twice and will prob watch it again. One of the best videos on youtube and prob the entire internet. I can't even begin to describe how valuable Mr. Greene's content is...how valuable he is and can be to everyone.

Some people are very good at giving the facial expressions that make you think they care or happy for you but they really have other motives. You have to really pay attention to those ones for a well . Sometimes people use that to draw personal things out of you to jab you later with .

I’m a female with Asperger’s syndrome, I mask my symptoms fairly well (I think) but more often than not, too much eye contact and prolonged goodbyes are very difficult for me. I can love the people I’m with, but feel completely overwhelmed by them too. It might look like I don’t care, but I do.

Every hats off and and every head bowed !! Just keep making this short videos these are so much informative. Just know that we all apppreciate u a lot for the wisdom u are providing us ❤❤❤

i feel like ur entire life is structured on understanding everything in a fundamental level and even though understanding a lot of things can definitely benefit you as a person its inportant to understand the flaws of being too dependent on having a personal hierarchy of understanding can bring you out of alignment with your instincts and natural seemingly pointless tendencies that benefit u in a way that we are not yet developed enough as a culture to understand how and why it benefits us. yet u have been a great contribution to my life. iust felt like pointing this out. have a nice day robert 😄

Thank you for your contribution to humanity. You're really helping us. I think our own suffering qualifies us for a lot of knowledge. You can read a lot about motivations that are not expressed but until you have software for it you will not understand. I do agree with you in so many ways but if the receiver is distorted in their shadow with any past resentments unhealed, they will be incapable of correct sight yet they will relish in belief that they are correct in how hideous they believe that communication was when in truth they have a perception problem due to unhealed traumas. They are in a defensive projective haze blocking the actual love that is present. You know this, I'm sure, but belief and experience and knowledge are all things of the past that don't actually exist so they can make us dumber if we rely on that for direction rather than being present. We are trained to accept always that those before us have more correct perception but that often is used to override our own selves as second or irrelevant and that's when we get into really bad situations. So this is a balance we're trying to figure out together. We also may really need to remove the competitive ideation because if one person is competitive and the other is cooperative the cooperative person is canceled. It's breaking down very quickly, so we need a new way.

Minute three is so awesome thank you for saying that and the way you said it. I had a client who struggles with schizophrenia and I am a seasoned mental health worker I’ve been in peoples homes who have severe mental illness symptoms for 20 years so I very quickly would pick up on things and I would say oh is this what’s going on with you or is this going on etc. etc. and it freaked out my client so bad because a big part of his symptoms was believing that people could read his mind and he just was a little bit autistic to and he just did not understand reading nonverbal communication and it was all a mystery to him and it was such a point of trust me trying to explain I can’t read your mind but I can read your movements I can’t read your mind but I can read your nonverbal language I can’t read your mind but I can infer this right now. And I just really appreciate your work thank you

George Will lololol Robert Greene pulled no punches on this guy. He straight up called him out. Respect.

Thank you so much Robert, you are amazing!

100 % agree with this if their is one thing that doesn't lie its body language, and genuine displays of emotions. I also think you need to take into consideration the context that surrounds such because body language can be deceiving in the form of the nuance to the interaction. Context is king socially, and the rules that follows can be interpretation of another person's state. Toxic in one situation is justified in another. Kind and genuine can be a rouse to get power.

Robert please consider using a good-quality microphone. Great video as always.

I woke up this morning knowing that today will be difficult. I had a bad mood. Then I encountered one of Robert's videos and immiedtly my day took a positive sharp turn. He reminded me the magic I often tend to forget. The magic is that the best thing I can do for myself is looking at people with fascination. Some will call it compassion but let's stay simple. I took a walk down the street, committed to this refreshing approach, without sharing this with anyone. Applying this practice just as a personal inner experience. I was looking at a man who walked by, and I tried to physically feel for a second what he was experiencing as being himself at that moment. The effect was utterly incredible as I was forced to step out of my "poor little me". At once, I wasn't as heavy, my mood had completely changed and a superb powerful energy flowed in, lifting me up. I felt like a feather. Then I spent my entire morning doing similar exercises. I can't say it's always successful but I really don't know of anything more spiritual than this

Well said sir. The Laws Of Human Nature is my favorite of yours that I've read so far. So well written and insanely interesting. Thanka for sharing your gift with the world. 🙏

Thanks for sharing this valuable insight with similar examples we experience. Also, thanks for publishing the Daily Laws, it’s been apart of my morning routine and great way to reflect on the day.

Appreciate your insight ✨

This is why I love Robert Greene and the books

Thanks Robert for keep giving us knowledge and wisdom, God bless you 🙏

Really good info. This is something which I always pay attention to in the people around me. What frustrates me is many don’t learn how to connect on this level, and you end up with a situation where someone views another as this one dimensional judgement based off of their own projection as you said. Some of my friends lack this type of perception… I don’t fault them for it because it takes a certain degree of emotional intelligence and also self awareness which not everyone learns naturally. I think this style of thinking comes more naturally to someone who leans toward intuitive thinking, also those who are higher in neuroticism (which is essentially empathy) - it’s hard to develop this perception for someone who doesn’t naturally possess these traits. The reason it frustrates me is because when it comes to interactions with people who don’t read these cues, it becomes very hard to see eye with them. I know that they’re not viewing me or the people around them as they truly are. They’re just seeing a reflection of their own unrealistic judgement. It also hurts me when I see the people close to me get messed around by narcissists and toxic people who are clearly untrustworthy. I try to warn them not to trust people who I identify as being untrustworthy, but it’s hard to make a case when it’s based off an a priori judgement. The only way for someone to understand is by observing the behaviour themselves. It’s like trying to explain what a tree looks like to someone who has been blind their whole life. Thanks for the video, maybe if I can show this concept to my friends, they’ll learn to recognise these cues themselves.I think if more people learned to think like this it would solve a lot of unnecessary tension and disputes among people. I like that you used 'power' as the carrot too, because this will definitely appeal to the type of person who lacks high level empathy haha. One thing I’d like to tack on - you mention a lack of sensitivity to time tends to indicate a level of selfishness. I’m guilty of this, however the reason is usually because I get stuck day dreaming a lot and I lose track of time because I have A.D.D. and depression/anxiety. I also experience insomnia and I have a really messed up circadian rhythm. So often I'll show up late and miss deadlines because I’m feeling anxious or depressed (especially first thing when I wake up... every day I wake up feeling stressed with a sick feeling in my stomache. I just lie there feeling exhausted while my mind races moving from one negative thought to another). When I show up late, I understand it comes of as being disrespectful but I just can’t help it sometimes. I feel terribly guilty because I know I’m letting people down, which often causes me to procrastinate even more due to the added anxiety it causes. When I arrive late due to lack of sleep or anxiety/depression, my friends will call me out on it. I try to explain to them I mean no disrespect and it’s due to my experience with mental issues… the judgement tends to be “that’s still no excuse” and I’m not working hard enough to overcome my personal issues. I understand that this is a projection of their own ideals and they're not being completely uncompassionate because they still tollerate my erratic nature. If I could find a way to overcome this issue I would have done it by now. I’m in my early 30s - old enough to have the awareness that this will only cause problems. There is nothing to gain from wasting mine and other's time. It’s caused so many problems for me and the people around me. I've lost many jobs due to this reason alone, and I can only work freelance remote jobs where I can finish the work in my own time (thank God for remote work and the always expanding IT industry). I'm by no means lazy, I just tend to be at my most productive during odd random hours. A lot of my work gets done at 4am on a weeknight because I can't sleep and surges of motivation come at completely random times of day or night. If I knew how to solve my issues, I definitely would have done it by now. Living like this is hell and I'd do anything to just have a consistent circadian rhythm and not be burdened so often by anxiety which makes me sick to my stomach…I feel misunderstood in a lot of ways, even by the people who are closest to me... just as others would for many other reasons. Anyway… I think the common/conventional judgements on character and behaviour aren’t always what they seem - for instance there’s always a fine line between shyness and rudeness. So I always suspend my judgement when analysing people’s behaviour. We should also be broadening our scope of judgement beacuse things are not always what they seem. Social dynamics are very complicated and I think it’s essential to keep an open mind when profiling people in this way. All things considered, we should all do our best to try and understand the people around us on a deeper level, because being misunderstood hurts and everyone is inevitably misunderstood on some level. Human existence would be must less painful if we all took these ideas onboard; the benefit of learning this kind of analysis isn't just 'power' alone :)

I am trying to figure out your mood as I watch this video. You're calm, you don't talk about yourself but you talk to the viewer, you use word "you" alot. You not in a hurry(confident) and you smile a little at the end.

Hey Robert, your book The Laws of Human Nature had and has a huge impact on my life and how I deal and observe people. Thanks so much

Fascinating!

I love this man

The text and email yes definitely shows who they are. However they always come with excuses like oh " I always sound the opposite" but not what I meant at all. Or they would asked me does my email/text sounds bad. Ones you catches who they are they tried to reverse their persona lol. Yes I totally agreed with you. I learned so much by paying attention to people's face expressions tells me a lot about them. Thanks to your videos! 😊

Robert Greene to me is a wake up call, thank you so much, God Bless you!

Phenomenal content!! I appreciate you sharing your work!!!

Omg! This is so true. In order words, we're dealing with alot of fake people. I got rid of that negative energy last year. Great message, Robert. 🤗

I have RBF and have been misjudged many, many times despite my overall pleasant demeanor. I am now mindful to wear a slight smile when interacting with others, particularly on Zoom calls. It’s sometimes fake but done with good intentions.