The Art of the Hustle 2 (Complete)

Chapter Twenty-Four

Deon's second session with Dr. Chang went a little bit better than the first. Already, his body language and posture was different. He greeted the receptionist with a smile and then patiently waited in the lounge.

"Hi Deon, it's nice to see you again," Dr. Chang said, sitting opposite to Deon.

"Yeah, you too," Deon said, still adjusting himself on the couch to get comfortable.

"How are you today?" she asked.

"I'm fine."

"Great. So, do you recall what we discussed during our last session?"

"Yes."

"Good. So, tell me what happened?" Dr. Chang asked eagerly.

"I tried smiling at people, but it didn't really work. They just looked at me like they thought I was going to rob them. And those are the ones who looked at me. Most people just ignored me."

"People are really fascinating, aren't they?" she said with a smile. "This is one of the reasons why I got into this profession. You try to smile and be nice, and they ignore you."

"Yeah."

"Why do you think you received that response?"

"I don't know."

"Is there anything you could have done differently to elicit a different reaction?"

"I'm not sure."

"You know, people can be really judgemental. Often we make snap judgements about people based on a number of factors from skin tone, body language, the way they dress and communicate."

"It's not fair."

"It really isn't," Dr. Chang said. "But there is an evolutionary reason why we do this. You see, back in the days when our ancestors lived in small tribes, they would encounter different threats. It could be an animal or an outsider entering their village. It served a great benefit to be able to spot danger quickly and assess the level of threat. Over thousands of years, this has been hardwired into us.

In some ways, it still serves the same benefit today. We live in a world where we're bombarded with sensory input. There is so much data around us that our brains would get overwhelmed with constantly processing all this information. So instead, we create stereotypes and judgements as a way to chunk this data. In other words, we create neat categories for everything. But not everything fits in a neat category, does it?"

"I guess not."

"Sometimes we make mistakes. We oversimplify complex situations."

Deon nodded.

"People are quite complex too, huh? It isn't always easy to sum up a person with a few simple phrases. Take you for instance. People may see the way you dress, and your body language, listen to the way you speak, and so on. Whether you know it or not, you're putting out a vibe. Does that vibe attract people, or repel them? Is it warm and inviting, or does it make people afraid of you and uncomfortable. Do you see what I'm saying?"

"I guess so."

"There is a lot that goes into a person's judgement, whether it's right or wrong. So changing one thing is a start, but there are many other factors that would need to change as well. What do you suppose some of those things are?"

"Dress differently?" Deon replied.

"Do you feel that would make a difference?" she asked.

"I don't know. People look at me like I'm a thug."

"So if you looked less like a thug, then people may not be so intimidated by you, right?"

"I guess so."

"That's interesting. Perhaps you should try it and see what happens."

"Okay," Deon said with a smile.

"Is that a smile I see?" Dr. Chang said, showing a large toothy smile of her own.

Deon felt a little embarrassed, but couldn't help but smile back. She was getting through to him.

"I think under this rugged persona, you're a really nice guy. You should smile more often. It suits you."