While Lim could communicate via sign language, I, regrettably, do not understand it. I expected my limitations to greatly hinder our rapport.
But to her credit, it didn’t quite matter once I entered her world.
THE “SILENT STUDIO” EXPERIENCE
From the get-go, Lim seemed to share my cardinal rule of interviewing: Model the behaviour you want to draw out in others.
Easing into a high chair, I instinctively turned to my right. She appeared to register my preference for my left profile – and my nerves.
The proverbial “deafening silence” was causing a racket in my head: Where do I put my arm? Does my neck always sit like this? What’s up with my wonky eyes? And since when did breathing suddenly feel like advanced choreography?
Lim seemed to hear it all. Relax, she told me, by pressing her palms gently downward in the universal sign to loosen up. I dropped my shoulders, and she smiled.
