19 Simple Psychological Tricks That Actually Work

There are a lot of psychological tricks and neuro-linguistic programming tips and there are millions of books and articles written about them. Many of these tricks really help professionals manipulate people and avoid being tricked by others. But are there tips that non-professionals can use on a daily basis?

We  really wanted to know the answer to this question, so we searched Reddit where people of completely different professions share simple psychological tricks that really work.

© Bruce Almighty / Spyglass Entertainment  

• Never ask a man anything that begins with the words “Could you...” This way, he will think that this is a theoretical question. For example, never ask “Could you call the neighbors”, because the answer “yes” will mean “Yes, theoretically, I could.” So, rephrase your hidden request to “Please, call the neighbors.”
• If you want someone to feel awkward or uncomfortable, look at the middle of their forehead during the conversation.
• If someone you are talking to is trying to avoid answering a question, just make a pause in the conversation while still looking into their eyes. They will feel uncomfortable and they will keep on talking. Maybe, they will give you more details or tell the truth (if they are lying) thinking that your silence and your look are signs that you already know the truth.

© Inception / Warner Bros.  

• If you want to build a relationship with someone (for example, at work), just ask this person to tell/explain something to you even if you know the answer. This will improve their overall attitude toward you.
• When asking a question, nod subtly. Most likely, you will get an affirmative answer. Be careful: this trick is often used by employees of restaurants to make the clients buy more food.
• If a person is really concentrated on a job (for example, in the middle of a serious phone conversation), you can extend your hand to them and give you whatever they are holding at the moment. They might even not remember it later on. The trick works the other way around too since you can give them something and they won’t even notice.
• You can simply tell someone that they can’t do something and they will try really hard to prove you wrong.

© Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory / Wolper Pictures Ltd.  

• If you start nodding just a little bit during a conversation, the person you are talking to will be more attentive to your words without even realizing why.
• If you generally like a person’s offer but you want to get more, pretend to be a little bit disappointed. For example, this can work with a high price or a low salary.
• At the moment when your alarm clock is ringing, you should get up a little for a second, make fists and yell “Yeah,” as if you are a soccer player who just scored. This is strange but it will give you a sense of freshness and allow you to get up easily.
• If you are always worried whether you locked the door or not or if your iron is off, just say some absolutely absurd phrase when doing these things (the phrase should be different every day.) For example, you say “green rabbit” and turn the iron off, or “oppressive crab” and lock the door. The next time you think about your open/closed door, you will remember that you said this weird phrase and will calm down.
• If a person tries to get you involved in an argument or a scandal, tell them something nice. It will drive them mad.

© The Office / Reveille Productions  

• If you work on a team and you have a really lazy team member, don’t give them tasks with the words “do this.” Replace it with “start with this.” Psychologically, it will seem that there is less work because they should start with something small. And then, after they do it, use the words, “Very good. Continue.” In this case, there is a high probability that they will finish the task successfully because it will appear that there is less work.
• If you have to speak in public, don’t forget to take a bottle of water with you. If you feel that you forgot the text, take a few sips and nobody will notice that the pause was caused by the fact that you forgot the text.
• If someone is staring at you in the subway, look at their shoes. Don’t give up. Trust us, it will drive them crazy.
• If you are really worried every time you see someone you know, in the end, this person will also feel worried every time you meet each other.

© Ocean's Twelve / Warner Bros.  

• If you a problem with someone, but you don’t want to accuse them of something directly, change the way you speak. For example, the phrase “You didn’t close the window” should be replaced with “The window remained open.”
• If you didn’t get a good night’s sleep, tell your brain that you did. This sounds weird but if you are completely sure of your words, it will work 100%.
• People remember what happened in the beginning and at the end of the day. The things that happened between these 2 points in time are blurry. So, when discussing the time of a job interview, choose either a very early time or a very late time to make sure that the employer will remember you among all the other candidates.
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SOURCE : Brightside