Ways Greene lists to find out other people's hidden intentions without revealing yourself.
Robert Greene's framework, from 48 Laws of Power, pp. 162 to 168.
Use other people
Put members of a target's household or staff on your payroll, accepting the risk that they reveal you.
Be the spy yourself
Pose as a friend, suppress your own personality and make others talk about themselves.
Offer a false confession
Pretend to bare your heart so the other person bares theirs.
Contradict or test
Provoke people or lay small traps so they lose control of their words and show their character.
Plant disinformation
Feed enemy spies false information so they miss their target.
From chapter: LAW 14, pp. 162–168
Information is critical to power, so gather it while looking friendly. Joseph Duveen put members of Andrew Mellon's staff on his payroll, learned Mellon's habits and arranged to meet him in a lift, after which Mellon bought only from him. Greene prefers playing the spy yourself, as Talleyrand did, by suppressing your own personality and getting people to talk, with tricks such as a false confession, contradiction, made-up secrets and loyalty tests. The reversal is that you must expect to be spied on, so feed out false information, as the British did to guide German V-1 bombs away from London.
