Eleanor Shellstrop

"Right then, we're going to skip back in time a bit, and start near the beginning. William Thompson was an American criminal and con artist whose deceptions caused the term 'confidence man' to be coined," John stated abruptly, once the bell rang. "So all of you aspiring con-artists can thank him for giving you a job title."

"Operating in New York City in the late 1840s, a genteely-dressed Thompson would approach an upper-class mark, pretending they knew each other, and begin a brief conversation. After initially gaining the mark's trust, Thompson would ask 'Have you confidence in me to trust me with your watch until tomorrow?' Upon taking the watch -- or, occasionally, money -- Thompson would depart, never returning the watch. This is because rich people are idiots, and it would have been considered 'rude' to refuse someone of their own social standing, and potentially caused a minor scandal if got out that they were scrooges."

"Thompson was arrested and brought to trial in 1849, in a case that made newspaper headlines across the country. The New York Herald, recalling his explicit appeals to the victim's "confidence," dubbed him the "confidence man." Per the Oxford English Dictionary, the first known use of the term was printed in The New Orleans Picayune. For those of you of the academic bent, the Thompson case was a major inspiration and source for Herman Melville's 1857 novel The Confidence-Man."

"So here's your assignment for today: grab a classmate or two and figure out what small-talk you need to make to get them to trust you. Think about what non-verbal cues you are looking for in people that let you steer the conversation, and give you the advantage you need to gain someone's confidence."