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Reading People: How to Understand People and Predict Their Behavior- -Anytime, Anyplace
America's top jury consultant, Jo-Ellan Dimitrius, can literally read a person like a book. By decoding the hidden messages in appearance, tone of voice, facial expression, and personal habit, she has accurately predicted the behavior of jurors, witnesses, lawyers, and judges in some of the most celebrated trials of the past two decades. Now in this phenomenal new book, sh...more
Paperback, 320 pages
Published
May 18th 1999
by Ballantine Books
(first published May 26th 1998)
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Someone gave this to me as a gift a long time ago. Perhaps said gift-giver thought I did not read people well enough, maybe that I needed all the help I could get because I was so naive and gullible. Perhaps they thought it would relate to my study of psychology. Nevertheless, I did not read it to spite them. Now that it no longer matters, I'd like to get this book off of my precious "to-read" shelf at home and place it accordingly into either the "wonderful," "good," or "shit" pile.
I'm sad to...more
I'm sad to...more
Hmm. I was told that this was a great book for writers to read. Well, I did enjoy the information about what it's like to work in a courtroom.
Admittedly, there was some good information in this book for observational technique when trying to learn about the people around us. Yet, the author's biases came through so very clearly that it distracted me from what she said. I found her closed-minded and intolerant of any deviation from the social norm.
I suppose it's awfully hard to associate people w...more
Admittedly, there was some good information in this book for observational technique when trying to learn about the people around us. Yet, the author's biases came through so very clearly that it distracted me from what she said. I found her closed-minded and intolerant of any deviation from the social norm.
I suppose it's awfully hard to associate people w...more
based mainlly on personal experiance the book was fun to read however its not the book to read in order to understand the art of reading people or to understand the diff patterns of bodylanguage or lingual patterns
Sep 16, 2011
Anne
rated it
2 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
non-fiction,
read-in-2011
Maybe if you are especially stupid, this book will help you read other people. Although, I don't know exactly how gullible you'd have to be for this book to do you any good.
It's basically filled with sage observations like, Watch how someone treats waitresses and busboys if you want to know what kind of person they really are underneath it all. Seriously, who doesn't already know that if a person treats the 'meaningless' people in their lives like shit, then they're probably an asshole?
I'm not s...more
It's basically filled with sage observations like, Watch how someone treats waitresses and busboys if you want to know what kind of person they really are underneath it all. Seriously, who doesn't already know that if a person treats the 'meaningless' people in their lives like shit, then they're probably an asshole?
I'm not s...more
Im usually not harsh when it comes to rating books, because I believe that each book is unique in its own different way. But this book in particular disappointed me mainly because I felt that the ideas were not helpful and was not 'reader friendly'. It was boring. When I first bought the book, I had high hopes for finding useful information, but half way through the book, it became more of a scientific research. I think it can use more examples for improvement, perhaps cut down on scientific rea...more
I found it neat that compassion, socioeconomic background, and satisfaction with life seem to be the three most telling characteristics to gain reliable insight about how a person is going to most likely respond on jury.
Also I didn't realize that they lawyers actually chose the jury and my father is a lawyer. I thought there was some third party process, and it came down to whether you already knew about the case, and thus your opinion might have been swung in one direction or another. I though...more
Also I didn't realize that they lawyers actually chose the jury and my father is a lawyer. I thought there was some third party process, and it came down to whether you already knew about the case, and thus your opinion might have been swung in one direction or another. I though...more
If you want to hone your b.s. detector, I highly recommend reading this book. It was written by a former trial lawyer who had to read the body language of prospective jurors accurately. One of the main tips that resonated with me was how to read people's actions as opposed to words and how to read hidden emotions like boredom, anger, and most importantly -- lies.
I got this book from a friend of mine , the title attracted me because since i was young i was interesting in psychology , when i finished reading this book i think my talent improved , now i can read the people easier than before , but there's some subjects in this book maybe it's only apply in USA and maybe in another places too but there's a lot of another places that these subjects don't apply in it because of course not all the cities and towns have the same traditional and fashion , in my...more
Overall good book, reinforces a lot of facts that are either common sense or I already knew. I wouldn't recommend to read this unless you are seeking self-assurance of the many things you already know. Also, some of the things are quite circumstantial.
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
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The author works w/attorneys in jury selection. Nothing terribly new here but perhaps of interest to a very young person who comes from a sheltered background and finds herself out and about in a large city.
Never again. It doesn't take an adept people reader to conclude that a person who dresses up at work but keeps a tattered house is showing off to impress his coworkers. Nothing much to learn from this book.
I registered a book at BookCrossing.com!
http://www.BookCrossing.com/journal/11107104
http://www.BookCrossing.com/journal/11107104
First paragraph in ... I am hooked. Well written and super interesting. Am looking at ways I can apply it to life though.
Apr 06, 2012
Justin
rated it
5 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
how-to,
tips,
techniques,
communication,
interpersonal,
sociology,
culture,
jo-ellan,
dimitrius
Unique book on reading people. The author relies heavily on anecdote, but the advice really feels prescient.
I continue to read this book, some chapters I go back to like a personal life manual.
Very interesting insights into behavior and motivation. SOme of it's enlightening and some is just common sense.
Interesting topic, but poorly written book. I don't think I finished this one.
Nice book good insights but bit repetitive after a few chapters.
It helped me to not look at the superficial.
good for paperplanes and other craft.)
Excellent reference once you read it.
2
so basic it hurts... if people sweat and will not look you in the eyes they are probably hiding something... no shit Sherlock??
Oct 10, 2007
Peggy
added it
Jo-Ellan Dimitrius selects jurors for trials. She worked on the O.J. Simpson trial. She states that for years she was able to "read" people to be jurors, but why couldn't she "read" them in her personal life. She wrote a book about this. I thought she made some very interesting observations. However, I enjoy reading about "what makes people tick!"
P.S. - It was recommended to me, by a friend, who is a prosecutor - thinking that I would find it interesting.
P.S. - It was recommended to me, by a friend, who is a prosecutor - thinking that I would find it interesting.
I wish I had read this book 20 years ago. This was written by a behavioral expert who has helped attorneys "seat" juries, the most famous being the O.J. Simpson (original) trial. She has a lot of insights--many of which are obvious and intuitive--and is able to put them into somewhat of a formula. The instructive aspect of it for me was that you have to look at the composite--body language, speech, grooming, etc., and that your first impression may not be accurate.
Honestly, the title hypes this book up a little more than deserved. Yes, it is interesting. But it is far from a definitive resource for "predicting behavior anytime, anyplace." It's possible that I was less than impressed because I have read much more detailed, academic work on the subject. Perhaps the average person who has done less reading on behavior and sociology, would be more impressed. To me it was more like, "Intro to Understanding Behavior".
I appreciated the straightforward material. Explained well with examples, some of the chapters were a bore and I did a hard skim. I would appreciate more acronyms to use as personal reminders when reading people. Although, I think most books in this genre could use more acronyms.
This was NOT the best book on body language and interpersonal...but it had some interesting points. If you're interested in law and picking learning how to pick a jury this book is perfect for you. If not, I'd suggest Body Language by Tonya Reiman.
I started this book with high hopes for finding useful information for character building in my writing. I forced myself through half the book before I gave up. It's common sense: pay attention and people will tell you everything you need to know. I did find the Appendixes quite useful.
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Jo-Ellan Dimitrius, Ph.D., has consulted in over six hundred jury trials, including the Rodney King, Reginald Denny, John DuPont, McMartin Preschool, and O. J. Simpson cases. She has appeared on Oprah, Good Morning America, the Today show, Larry King Live, Face the Nation, and 60 Minutes, and she has consulted with many Fortune 100 companies. She is the author of Reading People.
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Aug 10, 2010 01:33am