By the end of my first day, I’d learned a few rules of serious eavesdropping. First, the people who talk the loudest almost always have the least to say and can be ignored. Second, everyone has his or her own unconscious perimeter, and if you trespass within it, the person will either stop talking or move away; the only way to find out how big someone’s perimeter is, though, is to test it. Third, the perimeter can sometimes be safely trespassed with the use of decoys, such as earphones, sunglasses, and a newspaper you pretend to be reading. Also, people will allow you to approach quite close, and will continue talking, if you simply turn your back to them. And four, good eavesdropping is where you find it. There’s no substitute for being in the right place at the right time.
via First Person: The Art of Eavesdropping | Essay | Chicago Reader.