The Psychology of Reading People
First, what does it mean to read people?
This new technology speeds up our decisions about others.
Facial expressions can be happy, sad, or tense.
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Physical stance can be confident or nervous.
Movement can be calm and deliberate or stressed and jumpy.
Create a Baseline
When reading people, remember that youre dealing with human beings.
Everyones different, and we all have our own patterns of behavior.
In contrast, hunched shoulders or slouched posture can indicate insecurity, defensiveness, or exhaustion.
Watch for Mirroring
Often, people will mirror others.
We have neurons in our brain that fire when someone mirrors us or when we mirror someone else.
When the person were talking to smiles, the smile muscles in our own faces activate, for example.
We want to have matching body language throughout the entire scenario.
Match the gesture with the words and the facial expression to best read someone.
If someone yawns, for example, they might just be tired.
If someones tapping their foot, they could be nervous.
But if it isnt paired with other typically nervous gestures, it could mean something else.
A gesture might mean one thing in one culture, and something entirely different in another.
If someonesdisplaying behaviors that could be suspicious, it might just be that theyre nervous.
Not everyone will act the same way, either.
As Dr. Stratyner says, People have unique personality traits, cultural backgrounds, andcoping mechanisms.
For example, quiet or reserved people might not be anxiousthey could just be introverted.
Making assumptions based on your behavioral norms can lead to errors in judgment.
If you see a group of friends, take a look at their body language.
Honigman suggests keeping a journal of observations, so you might learn as you go.
Were dealing with humans here, and there are so many variables that come into play.
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