WEEKENDER PAGE 12

ABOUT FACENovocastrian Alan Stevens ‘‘reads’’ people for a living and has developed aneducational tool he says can boost the national economy, writes DAVID STEWART.

FEATURE

Alan Stevens makes a living by provingthat you can judge a book by its cover.To demonstrate the point, Stevens

accepts a Weekender challenge for him to studypictures of three high-profile Hunter identitiesand explain what their faces reveal about them.

The first is of mining magnate and HunterSports Group boss Nathan Tinkler.

Stevens says Tinkler’s eyes indicate that hemakes decisions quickly, and is prone toquestion the established way of doing things.

‘‘I’d say that Nathan is fairly patient most ofthe time, but when he’s got a lot on his plate,I wouldn’t go interrupting him,’’ Stevens says.

Next is federal member for Charlton andClimate Change Minister Greg Combet.

The square shape of his face indicates he isstable and reliable, Stevens says.

‘‘Greg’s chin is also fairly broad which showssomeone who is very pugnacious – someonewho will debate the point and who likes agood, meaty discussion.’’

The third face belongs to former Miss Universeand now TV host and model Jennifer Hawkins.The line of her eyebrows shows drama and anappreciation for design, Stevens says.

‘‘It means she puts flair into things, and it alsoprobably means that when she loses hertemper, it’s quite noticeable.’’

At this point, sceptics might say that Stevensreveals nothing that a well-read Hunterresident couldn’t have guessed about all three.

But what tends to derail such sceptics is whenStevens accurately reads their faces, then thefaces of other strangers in the room.

As unlikely as it sounds, Stevens, 59, ofNewcastle, is an expert in reading people.

He has consulted for governments andcorporate groups throughout the world.

And he is the mind behind Human PatternRecognition (HPR), a four-pronged approachto reading people. It involves assessing aperson’s body language and subtleexpressions, and uses neurolinguistic

programming and human trait recognition.Stevens says HPR is a means of reading boththe conscious and unconscious indicators ofwhat a person is thinking, as well as theirpersonality traits and preferred ways ofdoing things.

Think The Mentalist meets Dr Phil meetsDr Cal Lightman from Lie To Me.

Of all the skills in Stevens’s repertoire, humantrait recognition is perhaps the mostcontentious. It involves linking facial featuresto personality traits.

But Stevens says facial features are a livinghistory of repeated expressions.

‘‘When you pull a particular expression overand over again, the muscles involved in thatmovement are going to get stronger. So if youfrown a lot and are unhappy, the corner ofyour mouth will start to turn down,’’ he says.

The chances are that such a person would bepessimistic.

Stands to reason, right?

PAGE 13 WEEKENDER

‘‘If kids are alignedto jobs that suittheir personalities,they are likely tostay in those jobslonger. Whatimpact does thathave on our GDP?It’s massive.’’

DETAILS, DETAILS: Alan Stevens is an expert inreading people. He has consulted forgovernments and corporate groups allover the world.

DO YOU SEE WHAT I SEE?

Nathan Tinkler � Looks at things differently� A details man� Makes decisions quickly� Patient� A perfectionist who expects

perfection from others

Greg Combet � Stable and reliable� A deep and reasoned thinker� A details man� Enjoys debate� Appreciates design

Jennifer Hawkins � A people person� Looks at things differently� Dramatic� Appreciates design� A deep thinker who weighs

up possibilities

h i kl b if ki

But Stevens says facial features can revealmuch more, and this is where it getsparticularly interesting.

People with exposed eyelids, for example,just want the big picture.

Stevens says that when he talks to peoplewith exposed eyelids they usually tire oflengthy, detailed discussion and often,through their body language or their spokenword, urge him to get to the point.

‘‘But a person whose eyelids are concealed isthe sort of person who will ask question afterquestion. They take all of the information in.’’

Concealed eyelids, he argues, are often partlya function of repeated muscle movementsinvolved in focusing and studying fine detail.

But Stevens is quick to acknowledge the roleof genetics, and says that while a newborn sonmight inherit his father’s concealed eyelids,the boy’s facial features inherited from themother have to be considered, too.

‘‘One particular facial feature can [either]moderate a trait, or enhance it,’’ he says.

The main message, however, is that our facialfeatures do not seal our fate.

‘‘Facial features do not necessarily mean thatyou are locked into [behaving in a certainway],’’ he says.

Self-awareness is the key.‘‘Above all, you have choice,’’ he adds. ‘‘If you

are aware that you have a particularpersonality trait, you can decide if it is going torule your life, or if you’re going to take intoconsideration processes that allow you tooperate differently when you feel that traitstart to rise.’’

Being able to read people has manyapplications in everyday life, Stevens says.

‘‘Anybody who is breathing and has a pulsecan use the process.’’

He regularly trains people to see the truth insituations, build rapport, boost sales andimprove recruitment.

But it is the prospect of having his HPR

techniques used by teachers in high schoolsthat Stevens is particularly passionate about.

He believes HPR could be used to help directstudents into study and career paths that bestsuit their personalities.

Not content with just judging books by theircovers, it seems Stevens also wants to helpeach book into the right section of the library.

In his proposal, teachers would be trained inhuman trait recognition. Then with the helpof a software program that Stevens isdeveloping, teachers would assess a student’sfacial features and match them to a list ofjobs, each of which would display acompatibility rating.

Stevens says a student who has their heart seton becoming, say, a banker, but whose facialprofiling suggests that they would best be suitedto a physical outdoor job such as a gardenerwould, of course, be free to make that choice.

That student would, however, be invited toconsider the results of the profiling, and toinclude outdoor exercise in their daily routine.

‘‘It’s all about giving the students some focusand direction and giving them the power tomake their own choice,’’ he says.

Stevens believes that giving students suchdirection would help to reduce the incidenceof destructive behaviour and self-harm amongteenagers. In fact, we’d all be better off as anation, he reckons.

‘‘If kids are aligned to jobs that suit theirpersonalities, they are likely to stay in thosejobs longer. What impact does that have onour GDP? It’s massive.’’

In order to get a foot in the door of schools,Stevens says he would welcome as muchscrutiny as academia could muster.

‘‘I want universities to do some research onthis,’’ he says. ‘‘To all of the academics who thinkthis won’t work – prove me wrong! Let’s dothe testing and let’s do it properly.’’

EXPRESSION SESSIONS

Alan Stevens has qualifications inneurolinguistic programming, hypnosis,neurological reprogramming, humanpattern recognition, and reading subtleexpressions and dangerous demeanour.

He will give single people a fun insightinto what to look for in a date, at the Busyand Single function at Lizotte’s atLambton, Saturday, November 19, from11am.

He will be guest speaker at NewcastleBusiness Club’s monthly luncheon atHarbourview Function Centre on Tuesday,November 22.

For more information visitalanstevens.com.au.