Understanding Emotional Intelligence in Judging Characters

Daily writing prompt

Are you a good judge of character?

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At this point, I find myself in a bit of a quandary. I understand I’m not exceptionally skilled at judging characters during initial meetings. My approach is simple and tends to mirror the way others treat me. If they’re kind, I reciprocate. Even when faced with those who might be considered ‘on the naughty list,’ I still choose kindness over exclusion. For instance, I can often sense when someone feels down, even if they’re trying to hide it. This helps me adjust my approach and be more supportive.

Sometimes, there’s this niggly little feeling in the back of my mind when I meet certain people, and I would ignore this sense of “something’s wrong” and continue to be around that person or group. It always broke my heart to learn that I put trust in a relationship or friendship and realized they were the reason alarm bells kept going off.

I am not a good judge of character. However, my emotions, instincts, and empath-ability—I’m not sure what to call it—are pretty darn good at judging personalities.