By: Sean Spellecy
Smile Bodyguard Smile…
No Neck, No Smile, Intimidating Stare, Mean Looking, No Smile, etc… Sound familiar? It is the way bodyguards have been described for years. It is time we changed the way we look. I own a personal protection agency in Tulsa, Oklahoma and one of the first things I look for in a prospective agent is the ability to smile. Why you ask? Are not bodyguards supposed to scare people off without even so much as a movement? Do we not want people to intimidate just on a glance, a glance that tells any would be threat that coming near our asset would be a mistake? The answer is of course we do!
However, the problem rests in being mindful enough to turn it on and off. The “Bodyguard Industry” needs rejuvenation and reinvention and it starts with a smile. What we have done here in Tulsa, and what will be replicated throughout the country in the next two years is not just learning the importance of smiling. However, it does lend itself to the recipe for our success. “Smiling” lets your client know that you have a personality, that you know how to enjoy life, and most importantly, you are confident in who you are and what you are doing. Does the ability to smile make up for the ability to recognize a dangerous situation beforehand? How about the ability to disarm a threat, or move your asset through a hostile crowd? Absolutely not. Yet, I have had men and women through my door (and then out again) that I am sure could handle themselves quite well.
They just never smiled!
Mike
Interesting
Mike (The Bull) Smith
Carlos Amaya
I agree, smiling does not diminish your ability to have an imposing physique if and when necessary, and it can help break the ice with other people who might be around your principal – like at a Hotel or Club where people might want to know who the celebrity is and if they can go and ask for an autograph, once the ice is broken with people it is easy to tell them in a friendly manner that the principal is not signing autograph today because he/she wants to have a quiet evening and for the most part people will respect that when you tell them in a friendly, respectful manner.
POTTER
Smiling and advance work go hand in hand. Hotel rooms magicly become availible, last minute reservations can be made, and special requests are oftain granted when you smile. It takes a tenth of a second to go from smiling to “stonefaced” if needed.
Smiling can even defuse some potential altercations.
POTTER
Military Police
Baghdad, Iraq