Reading People: How to Understand People and Predict Their Behavior- -Anytime, Anyplace (Paperback)

~ (Author), Mark C. Mazzarella (Author) "We've all said something very much like this, probably more times than we care to admit..." (more)
Key Phrases: nonelective traits, occasional liar, predictive traits, United States, Ask the Right Questions, Scanning the Environment (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

It's true that politicians blink much more frequently when they're lying, but what other behavior clues do people inadvertently give off? If you want to know if you're being boondoggled, how to tell if your date is interested in a serious relationship, or if you should take that new job, Jo-Ellan Demitrius will help you figure it all out. She gives away the tricks of her trade--jury consulting--in this eye-opening handbook for predicting the behavior and revealing the thoughts of others. She's consulted for more than 600 jury trials, including the O.J. Simpson, Rodney King, and John DuPont cases, as well as for Fortune 100 companies. If her name rings a bell, it may be because she's been on Oprah, Larry King Live, and 60 Minutes, among other television shows.

Much more than a collection of tips on reading body language, her book is supremely organized, detailed, and thorough, with lists of physical characteristics, vocal patterns, office props, and conversational behaviors that reveal much more than you'd think. She instructs on how to analyze hundreds of details of everyday living, from the style of the picture frame on your boss's desk to the odd way that an acquaintance swears up a storm, in order to uncover personality traits and predict future behavior.

Demitrius isn't a hocus-pocus intuition hawker; she's more of a scientist. "...over the past fifteen years," she writes, "I have tested this method on more than ten thousand 'research subjects.' After predicting the behavior of thousands of jurors, witnesses, lawyers, and judges, I have been able to see whether my predictions came true....I did not always peg them correctly, especially in the earlier years. But by testing my perceptions over and over, I have verified which clues are generally reliable and which are not." Her advice will prove valuable not just to lawyers but to businesspeople, parents, and anyone curious about their relationships. While the book is mostly aimed at deconstructing the behavior and characteristics of others, it's also useful for job candidates and anyone concerned with projecting the appropriate image. -- Erica Jorgensen --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Publishers Weekly

Now famous for her role in the O.J. Simpson murder trial, Dimitrius shares the people-reading techniques she developed over 15 years as a jury consultant. In so doing, she provides a wealth of tips and strategies for ferreting out people's real viewpoints, motives and character traits. Claiming that "reading people is neither a science nor an innate gift," Dimitrius advocates sharpening and fine-tuning powers of observation and deduction. Gathering enough information to establish an overall pattern is the key to her method. Differentiating between "elective and nonelective" traits; setting aside assumptions, prejudices and stereotypes; recognizing body language; and identifying meanings behind personal choices of dress and behaviorAall converge to reveal personality, attitude and life experience. Dimitrius rates people on scales of "hardness" or compassion, socioeconomic background and "satisfaction with life"Athe three most "consistently reliable" predictors of behavior, according to her. Whether interviewing a baby-sitter, meeting a new date or selecting a jury, this thorough, detailed guide of what to look for could probably improve anyone's ability at seeing and being seen. Author tour.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Ballantine Books; 1 edition (May 18, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0345425871
• ISBN-13: 978-0345425874
• Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 5.5 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (85 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #227,192 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

36 of 37 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars When read thoughtfully and from beginning to end, excellent., January 1, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Reading People: How to Understand People and Predict Their Behavior - Anytime, Anyplace (Hardcover)

I find it interesting that reviewers either loved this book or hated it. I think when read in its entirety, and not as a cookbook to human behavior, it is most helpful and thoughtful. I took from this book the importance of not stereotyping or jumping to conclusions about people. Rather, the authors convincingly state reasons for looking for patterns, observing what people do and say, truly listening to others and projecting to others what you really mean to project. I think the disappointed reviewers who made comments here were looking for ways to make snap judgments and fulfilled their own negative expectations. I was looking for insight and ways to avoid making snap judgments and I found them. Thank you to the authors. I'd love to attend a seminar by these people.

179 of 205 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Overstated Thesis, Dry Book., January 21, 2001

By	Richard La Fianza (San Bernardino) - See all my reviews

This books say it can show you "how to understand people and predict their behavior anytime, anyplace." Can you imagine how useful a book like this could, if it were true? Unfortunately, there are no "secret tips" which can "change your life" forever. (This is a quote on the front of the book.) What this book does have are the theories of the writers which include some interesting observations based on their experiences. In science, we call this arguing by analogy. One experience, or three, doesn't make a theory true it just makes it interesting. There are some good tips here. Overall, however, the writing is so stilted and arrogant that whatever you might learn is may not be worth the read.

To begin with the writers preach a seven point approach to "reading people." This first thing this approach says is that you need to "spend more time with people" to understand them. It is almost as if this was an instruction manuel for aliens. The writer then give six more points to be discussed in the book. The very next paragraph, however, talks about something different. Sorta of an introduction to why the authors wrote the book. Writing like this, found throughout the book, can make it hard to follow. It is unfortunate because the back cover of this book has all sorts of interesting and promising topics. "What message are you sending with your hairstyle?" or "What does a man's shoes say about the way he will behavior in your meeting?" If the author had a chapter based on each of these questions, the book would have been more interesting.

Instead, the author takes everything baby-step by baby-step. It was slow, and a little insulting. Applying the techniques taught in "Reading People" I could have predicted this result just from some of the comments found in its introduction where the author states she "endured the world's scrunity, and often its harsh criticisim, because I helped select the jury that acquitted O.J. Simpson." Hmm. I never know that this person helped select the O.J. jury. Do you think that is why he was acquitted? To be fair, who is on the jury always plays a big role in any trial. But the author never explains who she rejected from the jury or how that made a difference. So in this statement, while she appears to be acting modest, she is actually crowing about one of her achievements. One that might be very interesting, if she detailed how she did it in this book. She does not.

There are some interesting tips here. The best one, I think, is that people are usually consistent in their behavior. If they appear to be inconsistant, they may be in crisis, or you may be looking at the wrong clues. With such information, we can answer the questions I talked about above. If a person has very clean, sparking shoes, he is more likely to be a good worker, attentive to details, then one whose shoes are dirty. If a person has a mohawk hair style for example, you may be more likely to hire them at you business, if you want someone who is creative and unconvential.

Do you need a book, do you need this book, to know this? I would say, probably not. If you are still interested in this topic, , there is a much better book out there by Mike Caro. It is about playing poker, but he teaches and demonstrates the same principles found here. If you know anything about poker, his book was a much more interesting read. It wasn't great either, but it was a good read.

34 of 36 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Disappointing, January 20, 2004

By A Customer

To quote the author, you can't judge a book by its cover.

In the airport bookstore, this book looked very promising. The author's specialty is picking jurors, often in high profile criminal cases. The cover promises the book will tell us "how to understand people and predict their behavior." It seems plausible that such an author would have some useful information to impart to those of us who would like to do a better job of understanding the people around us.

The book, however, has a couple of shortcomings:

First, most of the "people-reading" tips are pretty obvious. For example, the author tells us that if a person prominently displays alcohol in their house, there is a good chance they like to drink. Or that people who brag a lot are probably insecure and self-centered. For this I paid $15!

Second, the book lacks focus. Part of the book tells how people's dress, mannerisms, actions and so forth give clues to their character -- and in fairness, some of the author's thoughts in this regard are interesting. But then the book wanders off into the self-help genre, telling us how to use our new-found people reading skills to improve relationships. I suppose this sort of material sells, but it has little to do with the central premise of the book.

In short, my advice is to save yourself some money and pass on this one.