June 7, 2021 (NYC)-Becoming Bulletproof is a Must Read. Evy Poumpouras, former Secret Service Agent and Journalist released this important work last year. She weaves her autobiographical experience as a member of the NYPD, Secret Service Agent and Polygrapher, and news journalist into this practical and interesting guide on how to: “Protect Yourself. Read People. Influence Situations, and Read People.”
Starting with a heartfelt and inspiring look at her experiences during the World Trade Center attacks of 9/11, she moves on to divide the work into three (3) key sections:
- Protection
- Reading People
- Influence
Pompouras, who is as tough and brave as anyone around dispels the notion that we can live a life without fear; however, she teaches us that we can understand our fears and learn to manage them to our advantage.
In Part 1 she offers practical guides to understanding our own responses to things like fear, and using them to build mental resilience and armor. Poumpouras advocates taking a solution approach to problems in our life rather than wallowing in blame. She also artfully encourages the use of mental language to change our mindset from that of becoming a potential victim to that of a counter-predator.
She provides the most practical advice to learning Situational Awareness and proactive planning to mitigate the possibility of “victimization” of anyone other than Dave Young, a frequent contributor to Taekwondo Life Magazine, and the author of How To Defend Your Family and Home. She doesn’t stop at teaching you to “Bulletproof Your Life”. She advocates real, practical self-defense training to prepare the reader for actual physical conflict:
“The most important piece of advice I can give you is to sign up for a martial arts or boxing class- a place where you can not only hit someone, but where someone can hit you back” (page 112)
In Parts 2 & 3 of the book Poumpouras provides a meaningful look at the way we communicate, and ways in which we can make our personal and professional communication more effective. Using the understanding she honed as a law enforcement officer and professional polygrapher she understands the dynamics of verbal communication and paralinguistics as well as anyone. The information she provides transcends the interrogation room; it permeates every level of our communication with people in our lives.
Wouldn’t the world be a better place if people understood that building Rapport with someone you are trying to influence is more effective than trying to embarass or intimidate them with an attack Tweet? What is the proper physical spacing to make a person you are interacting with comfortable enough to start to trust you? What key words can assist you in establishing a line of communication with a new acquaintance, or business associate. These skills are invaluable to the business person, the Martial arts instructor, or even the parent of a teenage child. This book is a great resource and one that I expect a reader can refer back to long after their first read.
The book offers some important lessons from the Presidential cast of characters the author had the privilege to work with over the course of her years in service to the United States. These lessons, told through her observations of President Clinton through President Obama, offer some of the richest sections of the book.
Becoming Bulletproof is an important work and it is available in multiple formats, everywhere that books are sold.
On this week’s podcast, Editor and Host Marc Zirogiannis discusses Evy Poumpouras’ Becoming Bulletproof:
