Are you truly aware of everything that’s going on around you? You might think you move through life with your eyes wide open. You might give any new situation a good look around before taking stock of what is going on.
But situational awareness is likely to take rather more than simply keeping your eyes open – and here are a few tips and suggestions for working on and developing your situational awareness.
There are also some useful books that can provide further tips on improving your situational awareness.
Situational awareness
There are any number of definitions for situational awareness – and all revolve around a particularly developed sense of what is happening in the world immediately about us.
As our blog recently explained, situational awareness essentially involves three main stages:
- perception and attention;
- comprehension and understanding; and
- interpretation and assessment.
Other people
Your head might be full of all the things you have to do today – our natural train of thought is likely to be fairly self-centred.
In reality, though, events and situations we need to negotiate each day are almost entirely shaped and moulded by other people – what they think, what they are aiming for, and, most importantly, what they actually do.
To understand what might be happening in any situation you find yourself, therefore, the chances are that the events unfolding – and whatever develops next – are shaped by other people.
The art of people watching – what they do and how they react to each other and to different events – is a key to developing your own situational awareness.
What they do … and how they communicate
Early on in your people watching exercises, you will soon discover the myriad ways in which people communicate in non-verbal ways.
As you are observing, making a mental note, and taking in the actions of those around you, therefore, remember that many of the apparent actions are, in fact, messages communicated non-verbally. Your situational awareness may depend upon your interpreting those communications accurately.
Mindfulness
It’s become something of a fashionable term – and, as with many passing fads, the purpose and objectives of mindfulness are sometimes lost along the way.
Your situational awareness can be honed and sharpened by remaining forever mindful of every sound, sight, and smell – along with every movement made by others around you. By taking in every detail, including even the most minor of senses and the smallest of changes, you will be so much better prepared to react to whatever happens next – for good or for worse.
Escape plans
In any situation you enter, it makes sense to have escape route in mind. For example, if you are filling up your car with fuel, make sure you know the quickest route to get away should you be attacked. Similarly, if you are sitting outside a café in a busy street and suddenly someone appears waving a knife, you should know where the safest place to hide is.
This isn’t about doom-mongering – in most cases nothing will happen – but it is about being prepared.
Be mindful of the ways you may be able to make an exit – do this all this time and eventually it will become instinct.
Think ahead to the bigger picture
You might not associate it with escape planning, but sometimes you are likely to be thinking ahead and looking at the bigger picture almost as a matter of habit – situational awareness is likely to involve developing more of these habits.
A good example might be something as simple as parking your car. At night, for instance, do you always choose a well-lit parking space, close to well-used spaces, and do you habitually reverse into a parking spot so as to make a quicker getaway?
Do you carry personal a personal safety alarm?
Habits like these could substantially improve your chances of getting out of any sticky situation that develops.
The devil’s in the detail
Perception, attention, and observation are all valuable qualities that will boost your situational awareness. But very often you may find that the tell-tale signs lie in very small details – are the walls covered in graffiti, for example, and what messages do they convey, does rubbish litter the street, are the directional signposts, signs, and street furniture intact or broken down? These might all be clues as to what you might expect in such a neighbourhood.
Bearing
You’ll not want to swagger but by the same token, you don’t want to appear nervous or timid as you negotiate different situations throughout your day.
Carry yourself with confidence rather than arrogance, therefore, stay alert, and don’t keep your head buried in your phone or other easy distraction.
Don’t make yourself an easy target.
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