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Every day, we have to make choices on whether we can trust someone or not. If we make the wrong choice, it could mean a failed relationship or business partnership and all the emotional and financial costs that follow.  

My guest today has spent his career sizing people up in high stakes situations. His name is Robin Dreeke, he spent two decades working as a behavioral analyst for the FBI, and in his new book, Sizing People Up: A Veteran FBI Agent’s User Manual for Behavior Prediction, he shares the tips everyone can use in determining whether or not someone is trustworthy. 

We begin our conversation discussing how Robin’s latest book builds off the work he did in The Code of Trust and the consequences of sizing people up incorrectly. Robin then shares the overarching framework he recommends using when you want to figure out if you can trust someone or not. We spend the rest of our conversation digging into the six specific signs you should look for when you’re figuring out if you want to enter into a personal or professional relationship with someone, and you’re trying to predict their future behavior. 

Show Highlights

• Why trust is so important in relationships 


• Why trust and likability aren’t the same 


• The all-encompassing importance of good relationships


• The big things that all people are motivated by 


• What does it mean to “trust, but verify”? 


• How to know if someone is/isn’t vested in your success/interests 


• Relationship longevity as a sign of trust 


• Making decisions of trust about a person in a short timespan 


• Determining someone’s reliability 


• How someone’s language can be incongruent with who they really are 


• Taking the big picture view of someone and recognizing subtle clues 


• The value of emotional stability 

Resources/People/Articles Mentioned in Podcast

• My first interview with Robin about the code of trust 


• Building Relationships That Don’t Scale 


• The Importance of Trusting Men in Your Circle


• How to Know When Someone Is Lying


• Love Is All You Need


• 15 Maxims for Being a Reliable Man


• Deal Making Advice From an FBI Hostage Negotiator 


• Joe Navarro


• How to Get a Handle on Your Anger


• Quit Catastrophizing


• How to Think Like a Roman Emperor


• Mastering Mindset

Connect With Robin  

Robin’s website

Robin on Twitter

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