Acting Like You Belong

DAY 6

Around 3 years ago two friends and I had decided to watch a movie on a weekend. I don't remember what movie we watched but there was an event that really stuck in my mind. I was in Macau at the time and the movie theatre was inside a fancy hotel. Keep in mind that every fancy hotel in Macau has a casino.

So a friend drove us to the hotel but had parked at an alternative car park for whatever reason. This car park was closer to the east entrance of the hotel and was farther away from the theatre. Normally we would go through the north entrance and arrive straight at the theatre, but the east entrance required going through the casino.

At that time the age to enter the casino area was 18 and I was only 16. So my friends both 18 and with no fear go through the guards towards the great mystery. What'd I do next? I followed them and was not questioned nor given a second glance. I had a mohawk and really looked like a kid at that time, but no one stopped me while I was walking through the casino grounds. 

Fast-forward after the movie we had to cross the casino again to get back to our friends car. Again my friends go through confidently and this time I kind of choked and hesitated for a bit. Like a eagle spotting it's prey the guard noticed my moment of hesitation and stopped me. "ID, please" - I didn't have my ID and even if I did I wouldn't be able to justify my case. I couldn't go pass and had to wait for my friend to drive to the north entrance to pick me up.

My high school physics teacher used to preach this: "if you act like you belong then no one would question you". That experience was a taste of what he was talking about. Since then it has been a hobby of mine to sneak around places where I shouldn't be. It's thrilling and fun you should try it. From experience, I have thought a lot about what makes this work and have come up with some tips.

Accept Yourself

As cliche as it sounds you need to believe in yourself first before you can get others to believe in you. Be able to convince yourself with whatever role you are playing. This means that you need to confidently display that you belong. Confidence means that you won't be questioned because it looks like you know what you are doing. 

Know Your Role

What does the persona you are playing do? What are the core actions that define that persona? What would make someone question you? What kind of clothing can disguise you? For example, if you're sneaking around a construction site you would need to look like one of the workers. You would need to carry construction materials around and wear a hard hat. Sometimes you would need to stop and perform some actual work to really sell your disguise.

Keep Moving

I can't stress this enough. This makes you look like you are busy and does not give people enough time to question you. You can be really confident and still look out of the ordinary if they question or talk to you. Keep in mind that these people are also hesitant to question strangers. Especially if you displayed confidence for the few seconds that they saw you. Keep moving so they don't have the chance or time to analyse you.

If you get lost or reach a dead end, act like you were meant to reach that point and keep moving.

Avoid Eye Contact

When you make eye contact you invite someone to start a conversation. You don't want that because it raises your chance of being caught. If you do make eye contact, try to play it off and give that person a confident smile and keep moving.

Don't Act Suspicious

This goes without saying. It's part of knowing your role, but it's important enough to be it's own point. Don't do anything that raises peoples curiosity. This includes sneaking around and nervously looking around. You 'are' someone that belongs, you don't need to hide or run. Doing something suspicious gives someone reason to question you. If you need to do something suspicious do it when no one's watching.