Honestly, lying is a prerequisite in my job. And truth be told, it is not something I am ashamed of or lose sleep over. No, I don't tell downright, damning lies. When I do breach the Eighth Commandment, it is what parents refer to as "white lies".Very often, I feign ignorance and I do so for two reasons. Firstly, there are sensitivities to be observed, especially when plans and ideas have not come into fruition. Secondly, I am bound by the law to observe secrecy in certain matters.
Now, don't get me wrong. I am not privy to lots of information, much less highly-classified state secrets. And those who know my boss understands that he doesn't unload easily, even if you work for him.
I also dispense half-truths if it can make somebody feel better, especially in dealing with Michael Chong-type complaints. (Better not go into the specifics here.)
Over the past few months, I have honed my skills trying to protect the boss' interests (ok, that sounds better than "lying"). Trying to act natural when you are not telling the whole truth is, honestly, easier said than done.
Body-language experts say poor liars tend not to blink and often look away. But you can't purposely blink or stare at someone just because you have something to hide!
One important thing I have learnt about the art of lying: the less said, the better. It is based on a simple premise that you won't be using one lie to cover another until you have a mountain of lies that you can't hide.
Now, that is reason enough to keep this posting short...
2 comments:
I know of a particular senior reporter who was majorly pissed off with you coz you told the reporter the boss is not having a PC, when the boss was actually having a Chinese-press only PC.
yeah, i told the reporter there was no pc. coz pc was only for chinese paper. as i expalined to the reporter, it was a directive from my boss' boss. so nothing much i can do there. haha.
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