Talking out of both sides of your mouth.

I've spent many years of my life perfecting my radar for detecting when someone is talking out of both sides of their mouth. To be clear I am referring to the phenomenon of saying different things to different people about the same subject.
To my amusement I have gotten better at this. In fact I have found that quite a few of us do this without even knowing we are doing it. This of course might be characterized as a different phenomenon but sharing similar results.
Being caught in the middle of 180 degree dialog can inflict a nasty wound on the unsuspecting. I think we all have been bruised a few times. I'm not talking about light conversation with grandma over a bowl of lentils. I'm talking about high stakes engagements whether personal or business.

What I learned here is to examine the playing field a bit more before fully engaging. Navigate through the players and their strengths in your head. What is their position and what position are they vying for? What are the relationships between the players and how strong are those bonds? Is there room for growth or improvement? I don't mean to sound paranoid but I am. I for one have learned to not digest a first impression entirely. It needs to be chewed a few hundred times into reflection-cud. I've always leaned heavily on my ability to read people but I've learned that reading takes some time. You might have to turn the end table light on and sit up a little more in your chair. The old reading glasses you've been using for quite some time might need to be cleaned and the prescription checked.