Psychology: 5 things people with good people skills pay attention to

knowledge of human nature
If you’re trying to gauge a person’s character, pay attention to these little things

Especially in the first few seconds and minutes we intuitively judge a person when we get to know them. Based on our experiences and the patterns derived from them, we decide in a flash whether we can trust someone and whether we like the person. This ability to quickly get a first impression and a preliminary picture of a person is undoubtedly helpful. In addition, this first impression is often extremely useful – otherwise the method that our brain uses would probably not have prevailed in this way.

In order to be able to really assess a person, however, it takes more time than just a few seconds and minutes. Knowledge of human nature is not based solely on intuition, but requires observation, interest and the willingness for (self-)reflection. Those who have a good knowledge of human nature typically pay attention to the following small things.

5 little things that people with a good knowledge of human nature notice in others

1. Body language

Crossed arms, tense shoulders, a tapping foot – a person’s body language reveals a lot about their emotional state, their self-image and their character. When body language doesn’t match what a person is saying, it usually indicates that the person is hiding something. Microexpressions on the face, especially around the eyes, often allow conclusions to be drawn as to whether someone is stressed, nervous, thoughtful, calculating, anxious, distracted or relaxed and alert at a certain moment.

People with a good understanding of human nature pay attention to all the small signals that others send out through their bodies. However, when interpreting them, keep in mind: there is no universal code for body language. What one person’s frown means may mean something completely different to the next, and it can also vary depending on the situation. People with a good knowledge of human nature collect as much information as possible and derive hypotheses from it – no final judgments.

2. Emotional energy shift

Anyone who has a good knowledge of human nature usually also has a high degree of empathy and sensitivity and can therefore sense when a person’s emotional state changes in a certain situation. Signs of impatience or being distracted, an increase or decrease in reactions or their speed – people who are good at assessing other people perceive such changes and register the moment they occur. In this way, they gather more valuable information about those around them, even if they may not be able to make sense of it right away.

3. Situational behavioral changes

Most people adapt their behavior to different social environments. In groups we behave differently than as a couple, towards people who are close to us differently than towards colleagues or complete strangers, as customers differently than as service providers and so on. Observing how other people adapt can help improve your own knowledge of human nature. What always stays the same, what qualities does a person seem to lose in no context? In which role does someone feel particularly comfortable? In which one is a person particularly clumsy? All of this can tell a lot about a person’s character and story. And people with a good knowledge of human nature pay attention to this.

4. Authenticity

The term authenticity means a certain coherence between the character and condition of a person on the one hand and their behavior on the other. Or to put it another way: We all wear different masks in different situations. If we are authentic, we always wear the mask that suits us best for the context in question, with which we feel comfortable and which lets our core character shine through. If we are not authentic, we wear a mask from which we expect a certain effect and behind which we can easily hide.

People with a good knowledge of human nature notice the difference in others. You can tell whether someone is using humor to intuitively conceal their own insecurities (authentic) or pretends to be relaxed in order to convey a certain image (inauthentic). They sense if a person exhibits people-pleasing tendencies or feigns friendliness.

The eye for authenticity usually arises from a combination of experience, a strong power of observation and empathy. Even people with a good knowledge of human nature are usually not born with it – and can occasionally be wrong in their assessment.

5. Communication style

Does someone talk particularly fast or slow? Does a person ask a lot of questions or avoid most questions? Does a person like to talk about themselves? About others? About the person sitting across from him? How and what someone talks about usually allows some conclusions to be drawn about that person’s character. So if you not only follow the content of conversations, but also look at them from a meta-level, you gain interesting information about others and can thus gain a strong knowledge of human nature.

Sources used: hackspirit.com, psychologytoday.com

sus
Bridget