Buyers Beware: Practitioners May be Manipulating You for Their Personal Benefit

When I was pursuing my diploma in Mass Communications, I got a rare A in one of my school projects on Communications (which surprised even myself). In that module, we were taught to appreciate and understand the difference between verbal and non-verbal communication — and naturally we had the assignment of demonstrating our understanding between and of the two.

I decided to make a study of the verbal and non-verbal communication language/ cues/ signals of people at MRT stations in Singapore. I spent hours doing people watching and herein began my fascination with people watching. I realise there was so much to observe once you start to:

• Actual: What they wore/ carried, their posture, gestures, demeanor etc.
• Perceived: mood; Their energy; personality; relationship with whomever they were with etc

Later when I did people watching in public, I would often find myself wondering and guessing how couples (at least I think they are couples) met and what their sex lives might be like. I was fascinated with not just human behavior, but the inner workshops of their brain — reading books on psychology, philosophy, personal development, dating, horoscopes even.