Like the title says, I am so glad that I am able to
read simple body language (non-verbal communication). Had I not been able to
pick up signs from that particular person’s body language, there was a great
likelihood that I would have been robbed. As a Mediator, I find picking cues from
body gestures go a long way when mediating. By learning to read simple body
language not only helps in mediating but also in my everyday life!
This incident took place on a Sunday, 6th
May 2012 in Klang. I was in Klang with Catherine Eu (former Executive Director
of Bar Council), Mike Kuek (Counsellor with the Singapore High Commission) and
my father. Mike was kind enough to have his driver pick up all of us in the
Embassy’s car. I must say that was my first time being inside an official
Diplomat’s car and to be driven by an official chauffer, that was like the
icing on the cake! Anyway, we went to this little coffee shop for breakfast in
Bukit Tinggi, Klang. After breakfast, we found Mike’s car but we couldn’t locate
the driver. My father and Catherine decided to stay near the car in case the
driver turns up while Mike and I decided to split up and try to locate the
driver.
While walking towards some shops (mind you, it was a
Sunday so most shops were closed), I saw this tanned skinny looking guy with a
cap pulled down so low almost touching his eyes walking towards me in a rather
fast pace. He was wearing an old shirt and torn jeans. As he was approaching
me, he actually made eye contact with me. He had this hard and cold eyes
staring at me and he did not even blink. His body gestures and movements indicated
to me that this person was taking a hard stance and moving aggressively towards
me. The manner that the person was moving towards me was pretty threatening.
One thing I learned through this experience is that contrary to what most
people believe, an aggressive person does not shy away from his/her potential victim
but rather they prefer to stare into the eyes of their potential victim by intimidating the potential victim and psyching themselves to take that aggressive action.
So, what did I do? Well, it was too late for me to run
away, and for me to shout “help” would be rather hopeless, as there was nobody
around who could come to my aid on time, so I did what I have learned in my
hypnosis class. I tried to shock and awe him. I stopped and positioned my body
with my shoulder pointed towards him and looking at him as if I was in a ready
mode to move either direction. I could see the aggressive guy was rather
confused with that body posture that I was demonstrating. Before he could come
out from that daze, I started to talk pretty loudly as if there were people
behind me and before he could even take his next step, I was making all sort of
body gestures by moving hands animatedly as if I was talking and giving orders
to a group of people. Suddenly, he just turned around and walked away. As he was walking away, another guy with a similar appearance walked towards him. He
seemed to be telling the guy “to abort” their plan to rob me. His hand gesture was a clear tell-tale sign.
As he was walking away from me, I silently thank God
and gave a sigh of relief. As I was walking towards Catherine, she informed me
that the guy was going to rob me. Catherine said that from where she was
standing, she actually saw the whole thing. The guy and his friend were waiting
at the field near by and when he saw me walking alone, he decided to make his
move. Catherine couldn’t warn me as she was quite a distance from me. Catherine
also confirmed that the second guy was an accomplice and we can assume that
they were going to attack and rob me. Two things I have learned from this
experience. One, always be alert and observant and two, be prepared to shock
and awe the person so as to throw the person off his/her track. I am so glad
that my hypnosis lessons and my basic body language skills helped me in my time of need.
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