Picture the scene, you’re in the work place and you discover your mobile phone has gone missing, you try ringing it but it’s been turned off. You know it has to be someone within the office so you go around asking people if they have seen your phone. Everyone says no without any suspicion, but then you ask Malcolm, who says no whilst gently tapping his trouser pocket. Chances are, he has your mobile phone. When someone is hiding something and feels nervous about it, they may tap it subconsciously in an attempt to feel less nervous. So if you see someone exhibiting this behaviour, then chances are they may have the missing item, particularly if they don’t usually tap their pocket whilst they’re talking.
If you ever find yourself in a situation where something has gone missing, look around to see how people are reacting to it, someone going over the top in trying to find that missing object? When I was in primary school i remember stealing my friends pen because I used to like the way it wrote, kids do strange things. Anyway, when she realized the pen was missing from her try, she told me and I instantly began looking around anywhere it could be, I probably went way over the top in trying to find something that I knew I had in my pocket. So if you see someone displaying this type of behaviour immediately after an item has gone missing, then they may have something to hide.
It’s amazing what people will give away when they’re trying to hide something. Again, imagine your mobile phone has gone missing and you’re going around talking to people about it, you know someone within the office must have it, you’re at the water cooler talking to someone about it and they’re acting a little off, they keep looking over towards their desk, unless they usually do this as their baseline, then they could be feeling nervous because they have your mobile phone. When someone is nervous they give off a lot of information subconsciously, so if you suspect someone, try making them nervous without offending them to see if you can get a better read.
Everything talked about above does not conclusively tell you if someone has stolen an item of yours. However if you are in a situation and someone is showing one or more of the above, then they may be hiding something and you should try and dig a little deeper to find out what that could be.
