Narrator: Being a Social Chameleon means you blend in and adapt to any situation, no matter what’s going on around you. Throughout the day, we find ourselves in many different situations. It’s important that our actions fit each situation. To help us figure out how to act, we tune in and observe what others are doing. We change the way we behave depending on where we are and who is there. 

The skills you need to be a Social Chameleon are: (1) Tune In to our surroundings – observe where we are and who is there; (2) Read people’s moods and try to see how others are feeling; (3) Adjust our actions to fit in with the time and place.

Let’s see what happens when Zack isn’t a social chameleon.

Cole: Ugh! That was a rough day.

Julian: Yeah, man. That test was brutal!

Zack: I thought it was fine.

Cole: Really? My brain feels like mush. I don’t want to do anything.

Julian: Seriously. Let’s just watch a movie or something.

Zack: Aww, come on! That’s so boring. Let’s play basketball.

Cole: Dude, we’re tired.

Zack: Fine! Geez, you guys are so lame. 

Narrator: Was Zack being a social chameleon? Why or why not? Let’s see what Zack and his friends were thinking.

Cole: (internal thought) Zack was acting weird. Couldn’t he see that Julian and I were tired? We just wanted to relax.

Zack: (internal thought) Why are my friends being so boring? I really want to play basketball.

Narrator: Zack wasn’t a social chameleon because he didn’t try to adapt his behavior to fit the situation. Zack should have tuned in and read his friends’ moods. His friends said they were feeling really tired, so it wasn’t the best time to do something active. Even though he wasn’t tired, he should have adjusted his actions to match the group. Let’s watch him try again.

Cole: Ugh! That was a rough day.

Julian: Yeah, man! That test was brutal!

Zack: I thought it was fine.

Cole: Really? I feel like my brain’s mush. I don’t want to do anything.

Julian: Seriously. Let’s just watch a movie or something.

Zack: (internal thought) I really want to play basketball, but it sounds like Cole and Julian are tired. They don’t want to do anything that requires too much energy. I should try to fit in with the group. I can suggest something I like to do that doesn’t require much energy.

Zack: Yeah. I hear you. Hey, I got a cool new basketball video game that we could play. Do you guys want to do that?

Cole: Sure. Let’s check it out.

Julian: Cool. 

Narrator: That time, Zack was able to be a social chameleon. He read peoples’ moods to figure out how they were feeling. Zack knew that his friends wanted to do something relaxing, but they didn’t really care what they did. This helped Zack to think about a new idea of what he wanted to do that the group would also enjoy. Now they all had fun hanging out.

So, what did we learn? Being a social chameleon will help you know how to act in any situation. In order to be a social chameleon, we can: (1) Tune In to our surroundings – observe where we are and who is there; (2) Read people’s moods and try to see how others are feeling; (3) Adjust our actions to fit in with the time and place.