17 PSYCHOLOGICAL HACKS YOU’LL FIND USEFUL

The human mind is very tricky, but once you understand and know how to handle it, the rest becomes history.

If you want to be better at relating with people, and have more psychological edge over everyone around you, then you must read and imbibe the following psychological hacks.

1. Refer to people you’ve just met by their name. People love being referred to by their name and that tends to establish a sense of trust and friendship right away.

2. Pay attention to people’s feet. If you approach two people in the middle of a conversation and they only turn their hips and not their feet, it’s likely because they don’t want you to join in the conversation. Body language is always key.

3. Ask people for small favours first, then, make your way up. Starting with small favours is important because it trains people’s brain to make them think you like them.

4. Try to sit next to an aggressor: if you do want to avoid an aggressive confrontation with someone, you just have to take a seat right next to them. The close proximity will make the aggressor less likely to have a go at you, as they will not feel comfortable with showing aggression to someone so close. It’s also important to try not to trigger them.

5. When at a party or a meeting, crack a joke and observe the people who are laughing around you. People who feel close to each other will be looking at each other. This is useful for discerning out friendships and other relationships.

6. If you want people to do what you want, offer them a choice instead of a command. For example, instead of saying “eat your food to a kid”, ask “which plate you’d like to eat from”. This gives the person a sense of control hence produces a higher chance of a better outcome.

7. If you want to be persuasive, try and reduce the use of phrases like, “I think” and “I believe.”

8. If you want to be a leader, never act surprised. In business, act as if everything is a logical consequence of something else that happened. This is extremely useful during crisis situations of all sorts, especially when it may be your job to break bad news to people. Always project that you are in control.

9. Do you want someone to tell you something more? Then stay silent! When in a conversation, keep your silence, even after they have finished speaking. More often than not, they start talking again to avoid the awkward silence. It is also useful in finding loopholes to exploit during negotiations.

10. When you ask a favour, ask something that they will most likely reject. Then after sometime, ask for something less ridiculous – the thing you actually wanted in first place.

The trick here is the person would feel bad for refusing your first request, even though it was unreasonable and will feel obliged to help you this time.

11. If you want your friend or family member to hold your bag for you, keep talking to them naturally whilst handing over your bag. Most people will automatically take the bag without thinking and won’t even realise they’re still holding it.

12. The Earworm Destroyer. Do you have that annoying song constantly stuck in your head? Well, most of us do. One way to get rid of that song out of your mind is to remember the end of that song. As per Zeigarnik effect, our mind tends to think of things left unfinished. So thinking about the end of the song will allow you to close the loop and make your brain stop playing the song in your mind.

13. Nodding your head while answering a question will make the other person more inclined to agree with you.

14. Apply touch when interacting with people. Our brains are hardwired in a way that we are super- sensitive to even the subtlest physical contact. Innocent touching is a highly effective way of building rapport.

Do you need help from someone? Try this trick. Gently place your palm on his/her shoulder, look apologetically into his/her eyes and ask for a favour.

15. Use gestures when you speak: Research has shown that people who use gestures when they give talks are judged to be more efficient and influential.

16. When you’re studying/learning something new, teach a friend how to do it. Let them ask questions. If you’re able to teach something well, you understand it.

17. Finally, if you make the biggest smile you can, you’ll feel happier. You should try it now, and see.

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