8 Signs That Can Help You Recognize if You Are Dealing With a Genuine or a Fake Person

High Sparrow
May. 04, 2018
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Sometimes it can be quite difficult to distinguish whether or not a person’s intentions are genuine. Some people pretend to be sincere when they need something from you and if you don’t want to find yourself in an unpleasant situation, you can pay attention to signs that can help you figure out what kind of person you’re dealing with. The things to look out for are simple, but it is necessary to know about them in order to notice them.

We outlined 8 signs that can help you identify truly genuine people from those who are insincere. We’ve also collected examples so it will be much easier to remember these signs.

8. Fake people respect only those who have power and wealth. Genuine people respect everyone.


© Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix/warnerbros © Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban/warnerbros

When a person isn’t solely interested in their own gain, they don’t tend to care so much about the social status of others. People who are not fake respect the personality traits and characteristics of people. For example, if you take a look at the fictional character, Harry Potter, from JK Rowling’s books, you’ll notice that he never cared about his friends’ social status while Malfoy always judged people based on how powerful or how rich they were.

7. Fake people want to benefit from everything around them. Genuine people never try to manipulate others.


© The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader/20th Century Fox © The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader/20th Century Fox

Can you imagine a genuine person trying to manipulate somebody? We’re talking about using dishonest methods of persuasion to make others do what’s best for the manipulator without any regard for the well-being of the people involved. For example, Lucy, the main character in The Chronicles of Narnia, never tried to change others, as opposed to her cousin, Eustace, who used force and threatened people to get them to do what he wanted them to do.

6. A fake person thrives on attention. A genuine person doesn’t like to attract it.


© Shrek 2/DreamWorks Animation SKG © Shrek 2/DreamWorks Animation SKG

Self-sufficient people don’t feel the need to attract the attention of those around them because they don’t find it necessary to prove anything to society. Remember Shrek from the famous cartoon? He never wanted to be popular and always did what was comfortable for him. On the other hand, Prince Charming suffered from the lack of attention and was ready to go against many moral principles just to be noticed.

5. Fake people always brag. Genuine people are humble.


© Beauty and the Beast/Walt Disney Pictures © Beauty and the Beast/Walt Disney Pictures

Genuine people don’t brag about their accomplishments and don’t try to attract as much attention to themselves as possible. One way you can spot a fake person is if you notice that they’re boasting about themselves and their achievements. The classic fairy tale, Beauty and the Beast, shows us a great comparison between the Beast, who was very intelligent and read many books but never bragged about how smart he was, and Gaston, the man who always exaggerated and bragged about all of the magnificent things that he never actually did.

4. Fake people gossip a lot. Genuine people aren’t afraid to offer their opinion.


© Titanic/20th Century Fox © Titanic/20th Century Fox

Strong willpower and high moral principles lie at the heart of the ability to openly express your point of view. Because one person’s opinion may be different from the opinion of the majority, it becomes necessary to have enough courage to confront the crowd. The “Unsinkable Molly Brown” was a character in the movie Titanic and a real passenger aboard the ship who is depicted as a strong woman who never gossips and never conforms to the rules of the elite crowd. At the same time, Rose’s mother puts forth absolutely no effort when it comes to spreading rumors and lies.

3. Fake people often make promises but rarely keep them. Genuine people always try to stay true to their promises.


© Pride & Prejudice/Focus Features © Pride & Prejudice/Focus Features

At the beginning of Jane Austen’s book Pride and Prejudice, it isn’t clear which of the 2 characters is genuine and which is fake. As the story continues, we learn that Mr. Wickham doesn’t believe in the importance of keeping his promises. For example, having promised Mr. Darcy’s father to become a priest, he easily changes his plans. Despite his arrogant behavior, Mr. Darcy has always been known to be a man of his word. By not keeping our promises, we can easily hurt those who care about us and that’s something a truly genuine person would never want to do.

2. Fake people always criticize others to make themselves look better in comparison. Genuine people always praise and inspire others.


© The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King/New Line Cinema © The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King/New Line Cinema

Fake people feel the need to put other people down in order to make themselves appear better. Trying to look better at the expense of someone else is a clear sign of a fake person. In J. R. R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings, Aragorn always did his best to support those around him. The Captain of Gondor, on the other hand, always treated his servants (and even his own son) with disrespect.

1. Fake people are only nice when they need something. Genuine people are always considerate and responsive.


© Game of Thrones/HBO © Game of Thrones/HBO

It’s one of the hidden features that can help distinguish a genuine person from a fake one. If you were Robert Baratheon, the character from the popular TV show and fantasy novels Game of Thrones, then you could probably miss the frightening nature of your wife Cersei. She would be extremely nice to you while planning to kill you at the same time. Cersei is always nice to those who can be useful to her, while Jon Snow is respectful toward everyone he comes across.

Has it ever been difficult for you to distinguish a genuine person from a fake one? Or do you find it easy to spot what kind of person you’re dealing with? Share your stories with us in the comments!

By ZTF