---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Whenever I meet people for the first…"
description: "\"Whenever I meet people for the first time, I get them to talk for ten minutes. Then I size them up from the exact opposite perspective of all they’ve t..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/05f/haruki-murakami-21_crazy_whenever-i-meet-people-for-the-first-tim_398413.jpg"
---

#  Whenever I meet people for the first time, I get them to…

![“Whenever I meet people for the first time, I get them to talk for ten minutes. Then I size them up from the exact opposite perspective of all they’ve told me. Do you think that’s crazy? “No,” I said, shaking my head, “I’d guess your method works quite well.” quote by Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/05f/haruki-murakami-21_crazy_whenever-i-meet-people-for-the-first-tim_398413.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/05f/haruki-murakami-21_crazy_whenever-i-meet-people-for-the-first-tim_398413.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/05f/haruki-murakami-21_crazy_whenever-i-meet-people-for-the-first-tim_398413.jpg)

> “Whenever I meet people for the first time, I get them to talk for ten minutes. Then I size them up from the exact opposite perspective of all they’ve told me. Do you think that’s crazy? “No,” I said, shaking my head, “I’d guess your method works quite well.”

[Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

The speaker describes a method of listening to strangers for ten minutes, then evaluating them from an opposite perspective, questioning its sanity.

**In simple terms:** Listens then evaluates people oppositely.

Key Takeaway

Use diverse viewpoints to assess others.

Themes

communication perception judgment social experiment

Mood

analytical curious

Type

advice philosophical

When to use this quote

- interviews
- networking
- psychology workshops

Key Concepts

cognitive bias critical thinking empathy

Questions to Reflect On

- How reliable is this method?
- What are ethical limits of such evaluation?

A Different Perspective

May lead to misinterpretation of others.

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[Opposites](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/opposites/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Perspective](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/perspective/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/)

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