hospitality industry.

Mr. Reggie Semos, a certified Personality Behavioural Profile Instructor has introduced a "fun, but enlightening'' programme, called People Smart, designed to keep visitors occupied during in-between hours and rainy days.

A former sports reporter with the Mid Ocean News , Mr. Semos' own expansive personality is almost certainly one of the reasons for its runaway success in the hotels. He likes to point out humorous, if exaggerated descriptions of the basic four types of personality. And while people may chuckle over these, he claims that just about everyone recognises certain truths about their own personalities, once they have gone through the programme.

This he achieves by getting his clients to fill out a simple questionnaire.

Through a carefully researched system of evaluation, he is able to quickly pinpoint a person's basic personality type. In his experience, few, if any, have challenged his findings.

"Basically,'' he says, "people like talking about themselves and finding out about themselves, what makes them `tick'.'' Personality characteristics, he explains, may be divided into four groups.

These are: Dominant (D), Interactive (I), Supportive (S) and Compliant (to your own standards) (C).

"Or,'' he goes on, "D is about power, I is about influence, S is about stability and C is about rules and quality control.'' "Dominant'' people are those who have high egos, are natural leaders, competitive, efficient and independent. On the down side, these same people can, at times, be pushy, domineering, impatient and harsh.

"Interactive'' people are people-oriented, talkative, stimulating and persuasive. On the other hand, they may be undisciplined, manipulative and vain.

"Supportive'' folk are cautious, calm, contented and dependable, although they can also be insecure, possessive and wishy-washy.

"Compliant'' people are perfectionists, sensitive, accurate and persistent.

On bad days they can be stuffy, picky, slow decision-makers and critical.

On the golf course, he says he would describe Arnold Palmer and Nick Price as `D' personalities, Nick Faldo as an `S', Greg Norman as an `I' and Dan Forsman as a `C'.

At the moment, Mr. Semos is concentrating on the Golfers' Profile, a system that has been devised to improve golfing performances. It is extensively used, he says, by professional and amateur golfers as a means of understanding their own golfing behaviours.

"Of course,'' he adds, "if you understand your own personality on the golf course, it almost goes without saying that you can also apply it to your work and social life.'' Since he introduced People Smart into the hotel environment, Mr. Semos has found some people are instantly captivated: "For some, it's merely entertainment, for others it becomes a way of life.'' His presentation, which lasts about an hour and a half, begins with an introductory talk.

"I talk a bit about personality traits in general, and then I get the people to answer a few questions on a questionnaire. It's not a test, so no-one can pass or fail. From that, I can work out their basic personality type and then we have discussions on that. Very often, I hear a wife telling her husband, `Now I understand why you act the way you do!' The whole thing is kept very light.'' Mr. Semos believes this is the first time the programme has been adapted for the hospitality industry. It is already scoring a big success at the Southampton Princess Hotel. When manager Mr. John Federer was introduced to the programme, along with his staff, he immediately saw the possibility of utilising the concept as an additional activity for guests at his hotel. Its possible potential in a broader application is obvious.

Mr. Semos is already building a secondary market among couples, church groups and individuals looking for personal growth.

"There is no such thing as a `wrong' personality,'' he emphasises. "Every sign has positive, attractive qualities. But it doesn't hurt to be aware of the down-side, negative aspect of our characters. We can't change what we don't know, but if we are aware, we can change! There was one guy who felt he had all the `down-sides' of what we call the Dominant personality. He said he was worried about this and asked what should he do. I told him this was a real emergency and perhaps we'd better ring 911 right away! He got the point that we shouldn't take ourselves too seriously.'' Identifying a person's unique behavioural style, he says, can help us all understand ourselves and those around us.

"Many of our problems in life are a direct result of misunderstanding and simple personality conflicts that get out of hand,'' he explains, adding that personality clashes can range from a snub to an out-and-out brawl.

"These are the sort of energy-draining confrontations that can be avoided if only we could develop a little understanding of our own and the other person's personal behavioural style.'' The four basic traits can, he says, be applied in several areas, such as the animal kingdom and even to nations.

For instance, an obvious `D' would be the lion, and countries such as Germany and South Africa, a typical `I' would be the peacock, Ireland and Italy, `S' would be the dolphin, Poland and Spain and `C' would suggest the owl, and nationally, England, Sweden and Switzerland.

Going on to famous personalities, Mr. Semos points out that, in his opinion, some are easily identified.

"When you think of a `D' person, people like Margaret Thatcher, Saddam Hussein and Norman Schwarzkopf come to mind. I would say Bill Clinton is an `I', along with Eddie Murphy, Lisa Minelli and Muhammad Ali, but George Bush, Perry Como and Mother Teresa are `S'. In the `C's' I would include Barbara Streisand, Henry Kissinger, Meryl Streep and Woody Allen. Of course, the ultimate `C' is Data on Star Trek.'' He says, that as someone who, for the past 20 years, has been deeply interested in any system that can foster understanding between people, it is the programme's up-beat, positive approach that appeals to him.

"My primary purpose for entering this new career was in the hopes that I could make a small difference in helping people to understand themselves and others. Frankly, I've always had a problem with all this hype about the world being largely dysfunctional. I simply do not believe this is true. In fact, I would go a step further. Constantly telling ordinary people that their behaviour is dysfunctional, is actually creating dysfunction. What is now fashionably labelled as `dysfunctional behaviour' is simply people behaving negatively out of their own unique behavioural style. People are paying an awful lot of money to find out there's nothing wrong with them.'' He also makes the point that negotiators, such as managers and union leaders often tend to be the same personality types. "It stands to reason that if you have a whole bunch of `D's' (leaders) this can lead to confrontation.'' The research behind the programme, says Mr. Semos, is complex, but the results are refreshingly simple. The Personality Profile System was developed by behavioural scientist and researcher, Dr. John Geier. Its origins are based on a book entitled The Emotions of Normal People by William Marston, creator of the lie-detector test.

"For a long time, his work was largely neglected because his book was published at the same time as Freud's Abnormal Psychology. Who wants to read about normal people when you can read about the effects of incest and all that sensational stuff?'' Mr. Semos is also extremely interested in developing his programme for Bermuda's religious community.

"It dismays me when church people who share the same beliefs become enmeshed in conflict. These would be avoided if people simply took the time to understand each other a little better.'' Reggie Semos became involved in the system after Pam, his wife of 33 years, attended a Personality Profile seminar hosted by the Bermuda Employers Council, for whom she works.

He admits he, an emotional, people-oriented person, was "taken aback'' by his reserved and analytic wife's enthusiasm.

"That's when I became hooked on the system.'' He went to Florida to qualify as an instructor and expects his programme to be in full swing in the Island's hotels by the end of the month. "In the meantime,'' he grins, "I'm praying for rain!'' Anyone interested in receiving further information on the Personality Profile System is asked to telephone 236-6577.

A NEW PERSPECTIVE -- Mr. Reggie Semos hopes that his Personality Profile System will help people to see one another in a new light. He is currently conducting seminars at the Island's hotels.