What can you tell about someone right when you first meet them?

[big brown horse]

That is, with your life experience, what can you tell about someone right when you first meet them. During Sam's hospital stay I got to be very close with her caregivers, and this subject came up when we were all in her room at the same time. The respraitory therapist says she immediately and instinctively hones in on someone's breathing patterns and can tell if they are smokers, asthmatics etc. The clinical dietitian said she can spot an anorexic or an alcoholic right away.

Today at the farmer's market, I spotted 4 fellow horseback riders, that just finished a ride. The sometimes subtle riding "gear" gives it away for me. I always notice riding boots (english or western), hats, breeches or jeans. ("The cowboy" is the easiest for me to pick out of a crowd. ) I notice if the gear is worn or dirty in all the right spots etc.

 

[Wannabefree]

I notice a lot of different things. It doesn't take me more than 10 minutes talking to someone before I know whether I ever care to meet them again or not I don't notice physical things as much as personality traits and whether folks are liars, egotistical, shy, mean, or not. I do notice a few physical things about people, but it is mostly secondary to everything else. I pay attention to peoples hands and eyes for some reason. Generally you can tell about what kind of work they do by their hands, and whether they are being genuine by their eyes. I guess I pay closer attention to body language. What people are wearing has never mattered to me for any reason enough to be noticeable I guess.

 

[freemotion]

I can tell if someone is even a one-cig-a-day smoker by their voice, within one phrase or sentence, even on the phone.

On my massage table....can tell if someone is chronically dehydrated. I can often tell if they've been abused in the past by subtle reactions, but this is not often confirmed....I'd never ask, or rarely.

I can tell if a woman has been or is being abused by her body language. Abusers/predators can spot that a mile a way, unfortunately.

I am usually stunned when someone wrongs me, I rarely see it coming....wish I could spot that!

 

[big brown horse]

Interesting.

My friend is a hair stylist and he says he can't help but to check out other people's hair cut/styles.

 

[danielle82]

I always check out peoples hands. Super soft delicate hands weird me out, especially on men. I appreciate hands that know how to work

 

[Beekissed]

I notice a multitude of things like posture, eye contact, body language, dressing style and speech....but being able to tell with a degree of accuracy their general character from a brief meeting is usually only gleaned by their reactions to the same things in me...posture, eye contact, etc., or having a conversation with them of any length. This can give me enough to know if I want to continue the contact and working with them even briefly can do the same.

But....

I usually give them the benefit of the doubt before I make any final judgements....my ability to judge personality has been suspect in the past, so I don't trust it as much as I did when I was younger.

 

[abifae]

Yes. I can tell if they dance or do martial arts

And I can tell a lot about their posture, what sort of person they are. And I tell a lot by smells. Some people smell scared, some smell violent, some smell distinctly schizophrenic... People who smell very comfortable, I tend to be comfy around.

 

[danielle82]

Yes. I can tell if they dance or do martial arts

And I can tell a lot about their posture, what sort of person they are. And I tell a lot by smells. Some people smell scared, some smell violent, some smell distinctly schizophrenic... People who smell very comfortable, I tend to be comfy around.

now you got me wondering how I smell...I hope I smell comfortable!

 

[abifae]

My sense of smell is autistically acute LOL

I smelled pregnancy on my last dance teacher well before she told the class. I asked Auntie if she'd told us yet or if it was a secret. And I smelled she'd lost it a few weeks before she actually did. I can smell an episode starting on bipolars. I can tell if someone is ovulating or menstruating.

So I think I'm picking up on dopamine and serotonin levels in the scent.

 

[danielle82]

My sense of smell is autistically acute LOL

I smelled pregnancy on my last dance teacher well before she told the class. I asked Auntie if she'd told us yet or if it was a secret. And I smelled she'd lost it a few weeks before she actually did. I can smell an episode starting on bipolars. I can tell if someone is ovulating or menstruating.

So I think I'm picking up on dopamine and serotonin levels in the scent.

You could smell the pregnancy? did you know she was pregnant right when you smelled it, or did it a few times for it to register? That is prettty cool