Being able to read people (accurately, too) is an admirable skill.

When you do it naturally all the time, it’s easy to forget that not everyone is quite as perceptive as you are with these things.

But believe me, they aren’t!

Your ability to read others so well typically stems from a unique set of traits. These traits perfectly equip you to do what you do so accurately.

If you’re exceptionally good at reading others, you’ll probably recognize all of these 9 traits (and then some!) in yourself.

Up first:

1) You catch the tiny details

Your ability to read others is owed to one thing and one thing alone – your observance! Without your keen observation skills, you probably wouldn’t notice half the things that people around you do!

Nothing escapes your eye – from someone’s slight change in tone to a look they share with someone across the room.

When anything like this happens, you catch it and immediately begin your analysis. You’ll look at what happened just before, what happened just after, what was said, and who said it.

Basically, you’ll go back over every detail and figure out what just happened in front of your eyes.

2) You have strong gut feelings

Your gut isn’t always right. Many a time, my gut told me not to go to a social occasion – only for me to go and have a whale of a time!

But when you’re so good at reading other people, you can almost always trust your gut 100%.

If something seems off, you’re usually right for feeling iffy about it.

Most of the time, your gut feeling stems from just one tiny gesture someone made. Or a slight, slight change in their tone. That’s how good you are at reading people…

3) You have a humble nature

Humility and observance often go hand-in-hand. Why? Well, it’s usually because you know what kind of things are right to think, feel, and say – and what aren’t.

Here’s an example. Say you just got a promotion at work and you’re so unbelievably happy with your job that you come home on cloud 9 every day!

At a catch-up dinner with your closest friends, one of them tells you they currently hate their job so much they can’t sleep.

Another confesses that they’ve just been fired and are searching for something new…

You wouldn’t take this opportunity to say how happy you are in your job or that you’ve just been promoted.

While there’s nothing wrong with sharing good news like this, you know this will make your friends feel bad.

So you’d be much more humble about it, naturally. You might mention it, but you won’t brag or cause a scene (like insisting you all get champagne to celebrate “you”).

You’ll also be more focused on making sure your friends are OK than worrying about getting the congratulations yourself…

4) You ask a lot of questions

When something seems up, you don’t just rely on your gut feeling to figure things out (even though you do rely on it a whole lot!).

You’re happy to seek clarity when you need it the most. How? By asking questions, of course!

The thing is, when you’re so good at reading others, you don’t just ask any old questions. The questions you ask are always intentional, focused, and for a very, very good reason.

Say a friend tells you they’re fine. Their mannerisms tell you this isn’t true. So does your gut…

So you probe, probe, and probe some more. Not in a nosy way. Most of the time, your questioning is just second nature to you!

Besides, because you’re so good at reading people, you can tell very quickly if enough is enough. If something tells you it’s a sensitive subject for this person and they don’t want to talk about it anymore, you stop – pronto.

Which makes you a very good friend – as well as someone who’s an expert at reading others!

5) You give good advice

Ever wondered why people always come to you for advice about something? Well, it’s probably because you give excellent insight into any situation!

Your observance, coupled with your ability to ask pointed questions, makes you able to understand most situations.

Plus, your ability to read people makes it pretty obvious to you how the other person is feeling and what they really want to hear!

Which is why people love your advice so much. And it’s why you’re so good at giving clear, concise, on-point opinions when someone asks for them.

6) You have high empathy

You couldn’t read people so well if you didn’t have empathy, that’s just a fact!

Having empathy means you can put yourself in someone else’s shoes and gain a pretty good understanding of how they’re feeling.

In fact, you can even feel what they’re feeling when your empathy is that high!

Which is why you know exactly what’s going on in someone’s head when they pull a certain face. Or use a certain tone. Or make a certain gesture…

You know in your head what they might be feeling and why, because it’s exactly how you’d be feeling if you were in their situation!

7) You enjoy socializing

Because you’re so good at reading people, socializing is always pretty fun for you.

Attending any social event gives you the chance to put your brain to work. Even when you’re just people-watching in a coffee shop by yourself, you’re having fun!

You get to observe people, understand them, and even help them out when you notice something’s wrong. Which can be a little mood-boosting when you do it right!

However, this isn’t always a good thing. Your ability to read people so well can be tiring. Being alert all the time and in the head of everyone else can quickly become exhausting.

Which is why you’re more likely to be a bit of an introvert. Or, at least, you need time to recharge after socializing.

8) You listen more than you talk

There’s another reason why you’re so good at socializing aside from your observance: Your listening skills!

On any occasion, you listen more than you talk. At parties, dinners, work meetings, or anywhere, really!

You couldn’t read people half as well as you do if you didn’t spend so much time listening.

Plus, most of the time, when you’re listening, you’re paying attention to the things people don’t say as well as the things they do.

While you may think everyone listens just as much as you do, I can promise you that they don’t!

A friend of mine is very good at reading people. And when we debrief, I can’t even begin to explain the things she notices and interprets from what was and wasn’t said!

So it really is unique. And special…

9) You understand yourself

The final reason why you’re so good at reading others is because of how good you are at reading yourself!

When you have these kinds of social skills, you’re a deepthinker at heart. You’re always reflecting on your own behavior and analyzing your thoughts.

All this soul-searching leads you down the path of truly understanding yourself – and I mean truly!

More than anyone you know, you know what you want in life, what interests you, what (and who!) you don’t like, and why you do certain things.

Final thoughts

Being able to read other people really is a skill. When you’re so good at it, it can lead you to live an incredibly happy, fulfilling life.

You can develop truly meaningful friendships, strong connections with coworkers, and a deeply personal relationship with romantic partners.

But still, there are some downsides. Your observance can be a little tiring sometimes. When you just want to switch off, and all your brain wants to do is analyze and empathize, it can leave you feeling pretty exhausted…

So while your abilities are something to be celebrated, make sure you get your downtime and time to yourself, too!

That way, you can harness your skills without letting them weigh you down…