Taxi drivers, waitresses, salesmen - those who, in the course of their
work constantly come into contact with the "unwashed masses", by
necessity develop the skills for sizing up people at a glance. It might
indeed be a wise investment of time to take a temporary or part-time
job that would put you in the situation of having to deal with people
face-to-face. Note, in passing, that the formal study of psychology
fails to deliver on its promises - it provides precious little insight
into personality types and motivations, and yields virtually nothing of
any practical value for dealing with people in real life.
You must be comfortable enough in a social setting to take a step
back, to detach yourself emotionally, to function as an uninvolved,
objective observer. Look past superficial physical appearance,
disregard visceral reactions to a pretty face and provocative curves.
Critically important is careful fact gathering and analysis, and this
means ice-cold clarity of thought and steely
objectivity. Observe the facial expressions and body language,
particularly the posture and muscle tension, the set of the mouth,
and the eyes, the windows of the soul. Sense the movements and
changes in the lines of the face and its features, particularly the
forehead, the eyebrows, and the lips. Read the signals, tune
in on the subtle nonverbal cues. From there, proceed to listening to
and interpreting what the woman says and how she says it, her tone of
voice and gestures. Listen as well to your own experience and that
exquisitely sensitive intuitive judgment of people that you have so
carefully nurtured. Develop an empathy for the woman and let it deepen
to the point where it becomes mimesis, where you share her feelings and
tune in to her intentions. Blur the barriers between you.
There are two basic techniques for figuring out "what people are about". The active or invasive method involves deliberately probing and provoking people to get a reaction, or more subtly, just giving 'cues', and seeing how they respond. Simply asking questions works, too, though this must be done with a degree of finesse. Then, there is the passive method, which uses awareness and focused attention (social sonar), rather than more intrusive techniques of "reading" people. Sharp-eyed observation, gathering impressions, and using logic, judgment, and intuition may be sufficient in many cases to do a "quick-and-dirty" person analysis, or even more... Just as a skilled artist can seemingly capture the essence of a person in a glance and preserve it in a pencil sketch, so can you cultivate a similar artistic sensibility.
Dishonesty / faithlessness
<------->
Integrity / trustworthiness
Foolishness
<------->
Intelligence / good sense
Fearfulness
<------>
Boldness
(caution, conventionality ................. willingness to take risks)
Cold-bloodedness
<------->:
Passion
Indifference
<------->
Expressiveness / warmth
Selfishness
<------->
Generosity
Hedonistic / pleasure oriented
<------->
Hard-working
Passive
<------->
Active
"Weak"
<------->
"Strong"
Define your own categories, as appropriate to your requirements, and to
the particular situation.
A simulated composite rendering of some selected character traits.