Try it yourself. If you’re in a meeting and your boss looks to you for affirmation, don’t give it to them. That doesn’t mean stare at your phone or off into space while they’re talking. By all means, maintain eye contact and show that you’re listening. Just don’t offer them any nonverbal feedback beyond that. I promise that if you do that, the person who’s speaking will become fixated on you. Subconsciously, they will be thinking, “Everyone else is giving me verification. But this person isn’t giving me anything. What’s going on?”
