A Johari Window is a psychological tool to help people better understand their interpersonal communication and relationships.
When I did a 14 week course to enable me to answer the telephone at a crisis line centre, this was one of our exercises and it was fascinating.
You are given 55 adjectives from which you choose 5 or 6 that you feel describe your own personality.
People in your group are given the same list and choose the 5 or 6 they feel will describe you.
These adjectives are then placed into the 'arena' quadrant.
Adjectives that are selected by you, but not by the others in the group, go into the 'facade' quadrant.
Adjectives only selected by the others, not you, are placed in the 'blind spot' quadrant.
Of course, those not selected either by you or your peers remain in the 'unknown' quadrant.
This is either because they don't apply, or there is collectiove ignorance about their existence.
This is the quadrant I'd really like to find out about!
I looked at the 55 adjectives again, and these are the ones I chose to describe me:
able, intelligent, caring, bold, complex, friendly, giving, helpful, nervous, searching, wise.
(By the way, a Nohari Window is the inversion of this one, and is a collection of negative personality traits instead of positive.)
