to need her to approve of them and some big, rough, tough bad men call her “ma’am” and will be happy to do whatever she says. It’s been that way for over twenty years.
Conversely, people tend to be good in Rory’s presence because they sense that he will come down on them hard if they don’t. Lawrence is adept at keeping drunken frat boys from doing incredibly stupid things, oftentimes without needing to say a word.
That is the very definition of presence in a force continuum—people often quit being bad when they see other people.
There is one more intangible concept that is tied up with presence, the martial arts concept of zanshin. Humans can sense the intensity of another human being. That intensity derives from both awareness and experience. The more you have been through, the greater your intensity, your presence. The more alert you are, the more you sense and perceive, the greater your presence.
But intensity is almost never the same as tension. Kids trying to look intense give a bug-eyed stare. Truly intense people tend to be calm, relaxed, and watchful, sometimes elaborately relaxed when everyone else is on the edge of panic.
Experience will come with time, but you can always practice being more aware.
There is a certain weight that we all have as humans. When someone is being bad and other people are watching, there is a glitch as the threat wonders how he looks. Humans are social primates and a lot of evolution went into developing concern about how other people perceive us.
It is not super strong. It is strongest in asocial violence where a witness is an immediate threat to the criminal’s future. In social violence, witnesses may be the point. After all, you can’t get a reputation without witnesses.
Just being there, however, gives a chance that the situation will defuse.
There are other factors that can add to this base. How these factors affect the outcome depend on interplay between the threat, the behavior, and what additional signals you bring to the table.
Конец ознакомительного фрагмента.
Текст предоставлен ООО «ЛитРес».
Прочитайте эту книгу целиком, купив полную легальную версию на ЛитРес.
Безопасно оплатить книгу можно банковской картой Visa, MasterCard, Maestro, со счета мобильного телефона, с платежного терминала, в салоне МТС или Связной, через PayPal, WebMoney, Яндекс.Деньги, QIWI Кошелек, бонусными картами или другим удобным Вам способом.
