The EXO Profile
This is the life story that is held by the overlooked and most embedded part of the population (9%). It features the elements of an autonomous somatic orientation, which goes back to that relatively self-sufficient 4th year of life. People with this PRIMARY DOMAIN are the more perceptive somas that seek that formal, more functional vibe from other people. Their attention focuses on deepening that systemic connection, which makes them very sensitive to changes in their highly structured world. They draw their coherence from impersonal sources and use an analytical awareness to access it. Their reference point for wholeness is usually their tools, technologies and methods. They strive for the most universal and objective level to relate or communicate. They learn best in observational, predicable settings so a more regimented approach is favored. They can also easily gravitate to multimedia formats. Their optimal interpersonal distance is what's known as 'public space', which is from 12-25 feet from other people.
Are You An EXO?
Before you can understand or appreciate how deeply influential profiling others is, you need to first learn how to profile yourself. The golden rule in somatics is that it’s all a 1st person experience. In that sense, there’s no need to label people with these tools. What you’re learning to perceive is how their behavior reflects the perspective a particular domain expresses. To get there, you’ll need to learn the NARRATIVES of each domain first. By having even a basic idea of these, you can find out which one your organism internalized during the early stages of your social development. We’ll be repeating this step each time through the S-List, so get used to the drill…
The way you choose to describe yourself reveals your ‘closed identity”, which is 80% hard-wired by the time you’re 4 years old. This core is used to build the reality only you experience. When you ask yourself or any individual this question, their true colors are slowly revealed.
Read the following narrative three different ways...first to yourself as you see it here on the screen. Then print it out and read them in a mirror, as if you're trying to converse with your reflection. Then, if you're up to it, read it to someone else. All of these experiences are universal; self-talk, self-recognition, and self-disclosure. What you'll discover is if this narrative captures your life story or not. The words will flow easily if the biological level of your belief system buys what you're saying. You will have identified your PRIMARY DOMAIN. From there, the closed world you had can open.
The EXO Narrative…
I consider myself a very intricate and precise person and need structure to be at my best. I value and nurture information and enjoy customizing new technologies to suit myself. I can easily ignore others and feel a profound sense of irritation when that's not possible. I'm a team organizer and thrive in group settings where I can analyze their productivity. Some would say that I'm overly serious, but in fact I need to make some kind of classification in order to know I'm fully interacting . Data is my guiding force, and I'm very good at methodically tracking multiple layers of detailed information. I like being considered an expert translator, synthesizer and skilled worker. More than anything, I want the world to become more open to the facts that run our lives.
Image Exercises
So now that you have a general idea how an EXO acts, thinks and feels, let’s learn the practices you’ll use to notice how someone else expresses them. In that sense, what you’re really PROFILING is someone who is engaged in EXO-ING, since all we can do is perceive these signatures in action. What you’ll need to learn here is how to break that process down to simple and reliable practices that you can easily incorporate into your day.
Behavior Patterns
The EXO world operates on the principle of integration. Here’s a simple checklist of their more prominent ways to navigate a conversation that you can use as ‘fast reads’ to learn where a person is drawing their clarity from in their interactions with you. The more EXO-ing you can spot, the easier it is to BUILD with others in the moment and over time. ;)
Formal, Closed Greeting
Perceptive, Understated Body Language
Aloof Listening & Matter of Fact Voice Tones
Analytical-Oriented Word Choices {given situation, inferior people, unsafe road}
Polite, Detached Bodily Contact
Attention to Continuity, Future To Present, Upgrading the Status Quo
Communication Habits
EXO’s are more interested in WHAT your saying, than HOW you speak. Keep these tips in mind and if you’re in a jam with them, these verbal ‘jug handles’ will help repair the bumps.
Concludes Deeper, More Intimate Talk – Lots of Awkward Silence
Dovetails Multiples Ideas Into One Activity, Please Don’t Interrupt Them!
Look For “The Stare Of Validation” From Them When They’re Listening
Practical Values Matter [production, usefulness, relevance etc…]
Gesture To Their Right To Reinforce New Ideas, To Their Left For Old Ones
Use Pragmatic Words For Change: {Scrap, Improve, Redesign, Overhaul}
EXO Spotting
Here’s a simple list of signature behaviors you can use to develop your EXO radar more
EXO WALK – careful strides, rolling steps, subdued, sporadic arm swings likes to offset the pace when walking with family, friends, partners, often wandering ahead
EXO TALK – loves to analyze, sorts for evidence, preemptive in conversations
EXO TECH – prefers RSS feeds, meta-search engines, databases, anything fact-sorting
EXO WORLD – works to optimize current case scenario, holds organized view of the future
Here's some celebrity EXO's to get you started 'somaspotting'
For a complete introduction to somatic PROFILING, read our e-book
