Most of Titian scholarship alumni who have graduated or are close to graduating from university are now anxious at the prospect of getting good jobs. The interview session, particularly, can be an uneasy experience especially for novices.

While a good GPA can open doors, but it does not warranty a successful interview if the person does not have a matching capability in communication. A study shows that words still count for the highest percentage in our communication at 55%, physiology comes second at 38% and tonality a mere 7%. However, in order to be a successful communicator, one must also be able to adapt to various people, cultures and situations.

The seminar by John Hills started by peeling off what lies beneath our thoughts and reactions – conscious vs unconscious thoughts, prejudices and cultures. These were certainly new concepts to our participants to grasp. They were shown various images and were asked their impression of those images. Why do they have different reactions to different pictures?

Why do we need to be aware of these things? Simply because 95% of our daily physical activities are governed by unconscious thoughts and whilst most of what is in our unconscious is beneficial for us to live more efficiently, it can also result in inconsistencies with who we want to be.

With this new knowledge in hand, Titian hopes that our scholarship alumni will be better equipped when entering groups, whether in the work place or social settings.

(John Hills is currently working on a masters program at INSEAD in Singapore. He spent 33 years as a commercial banker, primarily selling wholesale banking services to commercial banks in SE Asia. His other areas of specialty include: Compliance, Anti-Money Laundering, Foreign Exchange & Treasury, and Sales Training.)