Background information on the subject of "knowledge of human nature"

Assessing people correctly, recognizing their individual qualities and using them optimally for professional tasks is a high goal for managers. Having knowledge of human nature is therefore one of the desirable competencies. The ability to recognize people, their qualities and their character is subject to a variety of conditions.

In order to form a judgment about people, a purified self-perception is required. One's own prejudices, personal resentments are an integral part of every human being. They form the basis for judging strangers and distort the result. An assessment of new team members or applicants that is as accurate as possible only succeeds when one's own reservations are known and cannot influence the assessment process.

In addition, the circumstances of a meeting are an important factor. A first meeting is always just a slice of someone's life. Getting to know someone in an interview or a meeting requires attentive and multifaceted perception that must also consider multiple interpretations. Managers and recruiters should be aware of a wide range of human behavioral possibilities.

Frequent contact with people in various contexts supports the learning process of people skills, because elements of body language, facial expressions and gestures can be observed and scrutinized here. Because this knowledge is also part of the basis for learning to know people: A body always sends signals that can be perceived, decoded and acted upon. Reading faces, interpreting gestures and movements, and the words used are important factors that enable the open-minded observer to form an opinion about a person and make a judgment in terms of knowledge of human nature.

People skills can be trained in open and in-house seminars as well as individual coaching sessions at the Management-Institut Dr. A. Kitzmann.

Author: Management-Institut Dr. A. Kitzmann