People-reading. You've surely heard of it before, even if it is not a skill you're necessarily familiar with. Believe it or not, the ability to read people is relatively uncommon today. And it is not necessarily an ability you can develop over time- but there are techniques you can use to make yourself more aware of the people you should steer clear of. The ability to read people is by no means an exact science, nor is it fool-proof.

Normally when you meet someone for the first time, you greet them, shake their hand, and go on with the rest of your day. But when I meet someone, my brain instantly begins analyzing their behaviors. The words they choose to describe themselves or their situation, their level of eye contact, the way they dress, their posture- and all these factors ultimately determine whether I would be interested in interacting with this person again. Sometimes, after spending an hour or two with someone, I may be able to determine what factors in nature and nurture have molded them into who they are today.

As someone who can read people relatively well, I can tell you that it is both a blessing and a curse. If you're not skilled in this regard, you may wonder how this ability could be a curse. Here are the 4 disadvantages of being a people-reader:

As a people-reader, you may think that you're also a people expert, which is simply not the case. It is certainly easiest to go with your gut, but it is not always the most interesting or even rewarding route. Moral of the story is that even people-readers must learn to be objective and sometimes give people the benefit of the doubt.