Realtor Safety: Reading the Prospect

This month, we're publishing content from a course on Realtor Safety. This is the eleventh in a series of articles that teaches Realtors how to prevent being a victim of crime. Read the previous article here.

A few of the most useful tools you have to keep yourself safe are your ability to read the prospect's body language, para-verbal communication, and verbal communication. Body language enompasses their body position relative to you, facial expressions, eye movements, hand position, etc. Para-verbal communication is all the parts of speech that are not the words themselves, such as tone, cadence (speed), and volume.

When reading the following, it is important to keep a few things in mind:

• If a prospect is meeting you for the purpose of harming you, they will likely look for a place to isolate you so that you are not visible from the outside of the home. If you are following the guidelines, it will be difficult for them to do so and therefore they will become frustrated. Signs of frustration are detectable if you are observant.
• When someone is preparing for an attack, their adrenal glands will increase the amount of adrenaline in their body. This is also known as the fight/flight reaction. This increase in adrenaline produces observable signs.
• There is no hard and fast way to determine who is and is not a threat, nor is there a single telltale sign that someone has vio- lent intentions towards you. However, the following are some potential red flags.