How real is the public perception of a bodyguard
Many people get their image of a bodyguard from what they see on movies and television. In real life, it is not often that a Kevin Kostner-esque bodyguard and his pop-singer charge fall madly in love and share a torrid romance. Not saying that it doesn’t happen-it’s just not common. Bodyguards are perceived as mindless muscle that is meant to look intimidating and strike fear into the hearts of all that cross them. While it is true that the job of a bodyguard is to be intimidating, there really is much more to it than that.
Most bodyguard placement agencies require that their employees have at least a high school diploma, which is usually followed by advanced degrees in law enforcement, surveillance, investigation or other approved fields of education that feed into personal protection. Once this is accomplished, there are generally bodyguard training courses to be taken. Training courses teach the trainee how to handle the many different circumstances that may come with the role of a bodyguard. These include but are not limited to crowd control, threat assessment, risk assessment and neutralization, psychology courses to know how to profile a threat, and so on.
After a potential bodyguard has been educated in the finer points of the job and has been hired by an agency, the real work begins. Each bodyguard that is assigned to certain clients must know everything about that client to properly serve and protect them. The bodyguard must be familiar with the client’s background and current situation so they know which particular threats to look out for. For example, one may be hired by a business executive and, at first glance, assume that she is concerned about her safety due to her wealth and status in the community. However, upon finding out more about this executive’s life, you may discover that the actual reason she has hired you is because she has recently left her abusive husband and fears for her life.
The job of a bodyguard is not often as exciting as it is portrayed to be on television and in the movies. In fact, it can often be quite boring. The best possible situation is that no potential threats occur and your client has remained completely safe. However, if that is the case, it also means that you probably just spent the majority of your day as a bodyguard doing absolutely nothing but waiting. You wait outside your client’s office, home, car, the restaurant at which they are dining, the school where they are speaking with their son’s teacher, etc.
It is easy to think that the life of a bodyguard is full of exciting car chases and negotiating with kidnappers. The movies make it look like a career of danger and constant thrills. However, the truth is that if it gets to a point where your job is constantly full of excitement and potential dangers to your client, you are doing something wrong. The most important talent of a good bodyguard is the ability to locate and avoid potential threats before they become an issue for your client.
Source: http://www.positivearticles.com/blog