Internalization

Internalization is the process by which something moves from the conscious (you have to think about something to do it) to the subconscious mind (you can do it without thinking about it). I recently went through the law enforcement academy. During our firearms training we learned the steps necessary to draw, fire, and reholster a firearm. In the beginning we went step by step slowly, thinking about each step, and gradually went faster. By the end of training we were able to do all of the steps without thinking about which step was next. It became like second nature because we had internalized it.

In police work you need to have good language skills. Language has three components: verbal –the words you say, visual – body language, facial expressions, and gestures, and paralinguistics – tone of voice, vocal inflections. Of these three, visual and paralinguistics are used the most in law enforcement. For example, if you are interviewing someone about a crime, a person with nothing to hide will look you straight in the eye when talking to you. They will also have good posture while seated. On the other hand, a guilty person will divert their eyes away, slouch, and may stutter or stumble for words as they talk to you. Also in the visual aspect if you walk up to someone and start talking to them,