Pickpocket - Jul 2012

If you did not notice any specific or major changes in your friends or family members, you should consider this a good thing because it means they probably did not undergo shocking or miserable events.

The Introduction of Principles, Reading NVB

Previously, you were introduced to some of the more advanced principles about the importance of identifying more than one NVB at a time and sudden changes in behavior. This skill is important whether it is for observing people’s behavior or caring about your close ones.

No.8 －Identify Truth and Misdirection
       
Sometimes, it is very easy to misjudge behavior and expressions and miss out crucial details.

Photo: skinnyrunner.com

People who are good liars know how to “convince” you and make you believe their lies, so usually when they lie, you instantly fall into their trap. For example, when you ask a friend, “oh, what do you think about him?”, he smiled to you and said “I like him.” You would definitely believe him if you were blinded by his smile and missed out on the subtle expansion of his nostrils. If you want to become a good “mind” reader, do not miss out any details, just like my favorite, Sherlock Homes.

No.9 －Foundation: Judging of Relaxation and Nervousness 

Photo: hbo.com

A lot of principles have been talked about. To different extents, they would be difficult to understand but in this No.9 one, we give you basic knowledge to practice your mind picking skills by differentiating between relaxed and nervous.

This skill is easy to carry out but very difficult to digest. To make it simple, consider the paradigms 'negative' and 'positive'. The only thing you need to do is to look at a person’s expressions and judge whether it is positive or negative. It can help you to truly decode people’s mind and body. When you are not sure what the meaning of the expression is, try to ask yourself if it looks like a relaxed expression (etc: satisfied, happy or relaxed) or nervous (etc: unsatisfied, unhappy, stressed, nervous or anxious). Most expressions can be classified into these two categories.

No.10 －Become Invisible while Observing

When you 'observe' people by staring at their face, it could be quite offensive to them, especially when you are just a learner and you do not know how to observe under the radar. Train yourself to be inconspicuous.

Photo: commons.wikimedia.org

Imagine you are a detective like Sherlock Homes, how can you keep your target in your eyes without his knowledge? Reflections! If you are in the MTR (metro), the best way to observe is using the reflections on the glasses or your phone or even your watch! You've seen it in the movies, but it actually does work!

I am sure after these ten principles of observing, you now have the basics to do well at observation. In the coming issue, I will give you a brief introduction of how our physiology relates to NVB and share a law case in America with you about reading NVB.

Practice makes perfect!

Pick their thoughts! They cannot hide their expression and hold their intentions from your eyes!

Jason Lam

Reference:
Navarro, J., &cKarlins, M. (2009).What every BODY is saying an ex-FBI agent's guide to speed reading people (Kindle ed.). S.I.: William Morrow Paperbacks