ARE YOU A PROFILER?

[CROWN COUNCIL]

With the many political challenges associated with illegal immigration at the present time, much is being said about profiling–the tendency to guess if people are in the country illegally and what you can expect from them based on their race, age, sex, and even general appearance.

 

Regardless of the illegal immigration issue,  we can draw some very erroneous conclusions about people if we are too hasty in responding to what may be an almost subconscious tendency to draw conclusions about them without realizing that we have a subconscious bias or prejudice that is influencing our decision.

 

So how can you overcome this almost automatic tendency to draw hasty  conclusions?   For starters, it is well to remind yourself that there are many interpretations or conclusions that can be drawn based on anyone’s general appearance.  But to “read” and understand people effectively, you must gather enough information about them to ensure that your conclusions stand a fair chance of being accurate. To keep you from being too hasty and help you to arrive at an accurate conclusion, there follows a mention of some additional things you might explore even if you just want to get better acquainted with someone.

 

The references will be “he” but of course includes she.

 

1. Does he stand and walk confidently like a leader-type or slouching with perhaps an inferiority complex.? 

 

2.  Does he associate with others  Is he a  gregarious people-person  or more of a loner?

 

3. What are his touching characteristics?  Is his handshake firm,   two-handed, or fishy?

 

4.  Is there some nervousness or uneasiness indicated by tapping fingers or feet, twiddling thumbs or hands over mouth?

 

 

5. What evidences do you see of defensiveness, embarrassment, fear, resentment, worry?

 

 

With this for starters, you could easily add some other things to this list of characteristics.

 

In addition to developing a satisfactory system for profiling others, it might be interesting and profitable to profile yourself.  Look in an imaginary mirror and pretend to be someone else who is analyzing  you.  Look at your hair, your clothes, your posture, your body language, etc.  Evaluate the tone and volume of your voice and the manner and content of your speech.  This will help you in the development of your own profiling and perhaps make some corrections in your own appearance or deportment that will give others a more accurate profile of your true self.

 

Since everyone is a profiler whether it is intentional or subconscious, all of these insights should help you to be a more accurate one.

 

 

Gregory B. Anderson–director