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If you want to “read the room” more accurately, start by getting a clearer read on yourself, experts say. Pamela Meyer, a fraud examiner and human behavior specialist, told Business Insider that “reading the room starts with self-awareness.” Small, structured feedback exercises can reveal blind spots and help you adjust how you show up in groups.
Why it matters
A 2018 study published in the Journal of Management examined more than 2,600 workers across 515 teams and measured how well individuals’ self-assessments matched evaluations from teammates. The researchers used that comparison as an indicator of self-awareness and found that teams with more self-aware members tended to work together more effectively and performed better, the study reported.
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How to try it today
Use a simple feedback loop you can complete in one sitting. Choose three people who know you well but have no incentive to make you look unusually good or bad, and ask each for one piece of honest feedback. You can ask specifically about a likely blind spot or how your communication style comes across.
When they respond, ask for an example of the behavior they describe and thank them for being candid. Pay attention to patterns across the three responses — repeated observations are the most useful signal. Then pick one concrete behavior to work on, such as interrupting less or being more direct.
Keep a brief log of the feedback and the steps you’re taking to change. After a few weeks, follow up with the same people and ask whether they’ve noticed a difference.
The bottom line
Understanding how other people experience you is a practical foundation for better relationships and smoother group dynamics. Self-awareness — and simple, honest feedback from people who know you — gives you data you can act on, rather than guesses about how you come across.
Source
This article is based on Business Insider reporting that cited Pamela Meyer, a fraud examiner and human behavior expert, and on a 2018 Journal of Management study that analyzed self- and teammate assessments across 2,600+ workers and 515 teams.
