“Everybody Lies”. The phrase made popular the world over by the protagonist on the widely watched series, House MD (of which I’m a big fan). I used to think what this statement meant was that all people lie in terms of big, objective lies like trying like, you know, saying something that isn’t true. Like “I was in bed by 8pm” when you were out clubbing the whole night, for example. But now, I think there’s a subtler hue to the phrase that most people miss.

You see House MD, as the title implies, is a doctor, that consults with patients to try and figure out what ailments they are suffering from and help relieve it. You know, standard doctor stuff (spoiler: but he’s a genius, fighting his own demons). So, a part of the doctor thing involves listening to patients, and deducing how what they’re saying translates to what might be wrong with them. And herein lies the more subtler aspect of “Everybody lies”: people lie subjectively as well. We all know someone who might have an appendage hanging on by an inch of skin who refuses to go to the hospital and believes it’s nothing a good night’s rest won’t fix. We all also know someone who has a zit that they swear is hurting more than childbirth. Objectively, they’re both lies, but subjectively, are they?

Both of these folks might be telling 100% the truth, according to them; but not according to a group of their peers. Therefore, part of becoming a genius is being able to amplify or filter out part of the subjective truth to get to the objective truth. I’m quite convinced that all doctors have honed their radar in this regard after hours upon hours of consulting patients. In a typical consultation, the GP needs to figure out whether to amplify or filter words from the patient in a matter of minutes to get to the crux of the issue. Part of what makes a good doctor good, is a well tuned truth modulating radar.

But I’m certain this communication problem isn’t just unique to the medical sector. It’s also present in all offices and all industries. Are you actively tuning your truth modulation radar? Maybe doing so might boost your career.