How to Recognize Dangerous Body Language

It’s becoming all too common to see the evening news bulge with stories of violence and criminal offence. Every day, people become victims of muggings, rape or worse. However, in most cases, there are warning signs to help you identify a predator and avoid becoming their prey.

Instructions

Difficulty: Easy

1. Pay attention to clothing. While sinister outfits aren’t illegal, they are a good indication of criminal intent. Men in business suits rarely attack jogging women; however, thugs wearing hoods sometimes do. Baggy clothing helps to conceal weapons, and hats or other headgear that hides a person’s face are common warning signs. Watch out for gang members sporting bandannas, sagging jeans and hiked pant legs.
2. Keep an eye on your environment. Predators will usually stalk their prey, following them for some distance until the target reaches a secluded location with few exits. If you’ve noticed someone matching you turn for turn, head for a populated area and escape in the crowd.
3. Be cautious of approaching strangers. Some predators dress respectably and confront their target with deception. These goons “test the waters” by pretending to need directions or asking for a handout. Ultimately, they will violate your boundaries and test your response. If you show weakness, they will likely attack you and have already positioned themselves to do so.
4. Recognize dangerous nonverbal cues. Besides dressing ominously, stalking their prey and employing deception, predators will reveal themselves through their body language. Prolonged staring indicates intense and unnatural interest. Rigid posture, rapid breathing and squinted eyes are a sign that the predator is considering executing the crime and is growing tense or excited at the thought. Before striking, people tend to hunch their shoulders, knit their eyebrows and clench their jaw.
5. Be prepared. If you can spot a criminal predator before he strikes, avoiding the confrontation is effortless. Nevertheless, some situations are unavoidable. Should you notice a group surrounding you and blocking off your exits or even one person approaching with the body language listed in Step 4, take immediate action. Predators seek out easy prey and prefer to avoid targets that fight back. If you live in a high-crime area, you should definitely carry a handgun, pepper spray or some other form of self-defense. If you’re lucky, the mere sight of it will convince the predators to back down. Whether they do or not, you still stand a better chance of surviving than an unarmed victim does.