Iago shows himself to be a master manipulator and an excellent predictor of other people's behavior in “Othello”. He plants himself beneath Brabantio’s window to give him information about his daughter’s elopement, but he has the sense to hide himself from Brabantio’s view so that he can deliver the information and still be able to deny doing so. He knows that Brabantio is ultimately a racist, that whatever respect Brabantio has for Othello’s skill as a military leader will be trumped by his disgust at a black man marrying his daughter. He plays on Brabantio’s prejudices brilliantly, and manages to get Othello called in front of the Senate to defend himself, all the while making sure no one suspects he’s behind it.
He's also extremely good at manipulating Roderigo by playing on Roderigo’s desperate, unrequited love for Desdemona. Iago mentions he’s made Roderigo his “purse” – he’s getting Roderigo to supply him with money – and convinces Roderigo to carry out parts of his plan that he can’t prudently perform himself, like the (unsuccessful) murder of Cassio. Iago is a scarily good manipulator of people and continues to puppeteer them right up until Act Five when he realizes that he’s been unable to predict or manipulate the one person he assumes he knows best – his own wife.
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