User talk:AntonioConstantine
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Antonio's Guide to Sensory Acuity
[edit] CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION
We all have some sensory awareness and use it to gain information about others. The purpose of my article is to train your sensory acuity in fifteen minutes a day for a week or two by allowing yourself to look closely and listen carefully. Because in the American culture though, we are taught not to stare or look too closely, we often are unable to see or hear people's many different unconscious responses. These responses cannnot be consciously controlled, but neither are they easily perceived by untrained people. So basically now, you have to give yourself permission to stare and be in someone's face for the next few weeks. When you go to work or go to lunch just stare at other people. Stop if you become too uncomfortable then just select someone new to watch. Most people will ignore you. Even if people think you are a little strange, the benefits are well worth it.
"What is going on inside consistently shows up outside, at least minimally." -Antonio
So now that we have you staring at people...what are you going to be looking for? Changes. The other person is responding if s/he shows any change.
"Our internal response is reflected systematically in our external behavior" -Antonio
Our thought patterns, our neurons and dendrite firing, cause consistent responses in our faces and bodies. Internal thoughts and emotions show up in external expressions and body postures. The same throuts trigger the same external respinses in a given person.
Most of us dont notice the small changes. We only look for the large changes. Misunderstandings are also a huge factor in incorrectly interpreting what few responses we do see (such as the clenched jaw, the blush, or the crossed arms as more of the common ones). But people overlook the more subtle responses which reveal MUCH more about the person's internal feeling such as responses in muscle tones, breathing rate, minute shifts in the lower lip and slight changes in the skin color.
Interpreting changes in other people is a dangerous pitfall. What do I mean by this? Well we, as predictable humans, assign meaning to other people's responses based on our own experience. When I wrinkle my forhead it means one thing, But when you do it, it may mean something totally different.
Now unfortuantelly, if sixteen people are in a room, you will literally have sixteen different ways of coding reality and repsonding. Eventually though, by listening to my technique, when you have studied a person long enough and with sufficient sensory acuity, you will be able to guess what his or her responses mean.
"Slow down, look, listen, and intuit...You can always interpret later." -Antonio
This is how I do it. This method may work for you or you may find your own way of reviewing a situation. Imagine you have to compile a scrapbook of photographs of the person you are with at the moment. You can take imaginary photos and store them in your memory very quickly and you have an unlimited amount of space to store these photos. You will know when you have taken enough photographs of that person once you begin to notice a pattern among them. Patterns can be anything from repetitions, differences, rhythms, and changes. For example, some people when they feel anxious they begin to shift their weight and pull their ear right afterwards. The person's face may develop pale splotches. At that point, when you begin to see these patterns, you can also begin to check out the meaning of the patterns. You can do this by testing the person by intentionally asking them something that may cause them to become anxious and then seeing how they react to it.
[edit] CHAPTER 2: THE UNCONSCIOUS
Now if you begin to notice things you never have noticed before then refrain from interpreting what these changes mean. Here are the four unconscious responses to watch in others:
Skin color changes
Minute muscle changes
Lower lips changes
Breathing changes
Im sure most of you are probably saying how obvious and easy it is to notice these responses..But this is only true ONCE they have been pointed out and then mastered. These responses are the most powerful because the subject cannot control these factors. Instead their internal conscious conveys their true feelings through these methods. Now of course, many other physiological changes occur besides the four listed above. As people talk, body postures shift in ways both great and small. Weight shifts, head tilits, shoulders moving up and down, necks stretching, and hand gestures are parts of the patterns of response.
"Unconscious visible responses are true indicators of the person's emotional state..." -Antonio
One of my favorite things to take notice on a subject is earlobes. I have studied people earlobes for years because they are very sensitive and responsive to emotion. They show color changes, tension and relaxtion almost immediately if there is any conflict of emotion between the subject's external and internal feelings.
SKIN COLOR CHANGES
The best way to notice color changes in people's faces is not by the ACTUAL change in color, like from WHITE TO BLUE but rather contrast. Contrast the nose with the skin color of the forehead. Which is more pink? contrast the triangle at the ends of the eyes with the half moon under the eyes. Once you can see the contrasts of the different sections of the face, you can begin to notice the changes. Clushes, of course are easy. These color changes are more subtle than blushes. You will find speckles of color appear and disappear. After a short time, you will surprise yourself and be able to detect and calibrate which colors signify which internal states or processes. One test that I like to do for this specific method is the Paris test. Everyone has a Paris, or a place where they would love to go. Bring up the conversation about someone's Paris (metaphorically speaking) and see how their face and skin color reacts, then quickly bring up someone's Minneapolis and notice the changes. Dont pay too much attention to content in order to focus more on the color changes in people's faces. Once you have found the color shifts, notice the tension and relaxation in the small muscles in the mouth...
MINUTE MUSCLE CHANGES
Tension and relaxation play over the small of muscles of the face. These shifts are the most obvious at the outer corners of your eyes, around the mouth, and at the jaw line. Sometimes the nose becomes 'sharper'. The deepening of a crease between the eyes or up across the forehead may also indicate an internal change. These small muscles are specific to individuals, they are NOT universal. With some practice and feedback, you can learn to detect small facial changes and correlate them with the individual's communication process and perceptions. Eventually, you will be able to detect muscular tension and relaxation throughout the body.
LOWER LIP CHANGES
Look at the lower lip of your subject as you interact. Gather as many mental 'photographs' as you can of this lip so you can begin to see patterns such as repetitions, differences, similarities, and gross changes in the size, shape, texture, movement, trembling, firmness, color, wetness, and tumescence. Lower Lips are difficult to control consciously, but not impossible. But it would take a GREAT deal of effort for someone to control the movements of their lowerlip while maintaining focus. Most CIA field agents even after decades at work are NEVER able to master the control of the lower lip. By watching the lower lip you are oerceiving signals straight from the unconcious of the other person. After gathering enough mental photographs you can accurately interpret these signal.
