The uncomfortable practice that can help you get better at reading the room

• Today's tip to get better at work: Get better at reading the room by seeking feedback.
• Asking people for honest feedback can help you get a better read on your own blind spots.
• Once you're more aware of your shortcomings, you can judge situations more accurately.

Get better at: Reading the room

Today's move

If you want to read people and situations more accurately, you need to first get a better read on yourself.

Pamela Meyer, a fraud examiner and human behavior expert said that reading the room starts with self-awareness. Asking for feedback is a good strategy to do that because it helps you understand your blind spots.

Why it works

A 2018 study published in the Journal of Management looked at over 2,600 workers across 515 teams. The researchers compared how people rated their own contributions with how their teammates rated them.

Researchers compared how people rated their own contributions with how their teammates rated them. The idea was to measure how well individuals understood their own strengths and weaknesses.

They found that teams with more self-aware members worked more effectively together and also performed better.

Try it today

Choose three people you trust and ask them for one piece of honest feedback. You can ask them about your biggest blind spot or how your communication style comes across.

Pick people who know you well, but don't have a reason to make you look especially good or bad.

Ask for an example of the behavior they mention and thank them for being honest. Pay attention to any patterns you hear from the three people, and choose one behavior to work on.

That may include interrupting people less or being more direct.

Keep a log of what you hear from people, and in a few weeks, ask them whether they've noticed a difference.

The bottom line

Building better relationships starts with understanding how other people experience you.

Source

This insight is drawn from Business Insider reporting on how to read the room, citing advice from Pamela Meyer, a fraud examiner and human behavior expert. Read the full story here.

This story also includes information from a Journal of Management study published in 2018. You can view the report here.

Have you tried this feedback exercise? We want to hear how it went in the comments below.