The worst thing about psychology tricks is that you forget them. Want to know why you forget them? Simply because they aren’t interesting enough to remember in the long run. Yeah, looking someone in the eye might make you seem friendlier and thus approachable and honest but that’s probably the last thing you’re thinking of when you’re looking to make friends.
Also, many tactics don’t work because they are too random and vague.
But here are some that are both memorable and practical. Hopefully, these will make your life a little bit easier.
Giving choices
If you want someone to do something for you, always give him/her two choices. You want your kid to go to sleep, ask him if he wants to watch that cartoon for 10 more minutes or 15 more minutes instead of saying, “Go to sleep.” The young one will think you are crazy—of course he wants15 minutes—but their mind is also registering that they will be going to bed after that time is over.
This goes for asking favors as well.
“Hey, could you find a few people to fill up these questionnaires?”
“No? Okay. Then will you fill one up, please? I need all the help I can get.”
When you give someone a choice, they’ll always pick the one where they have advantages, not knowing that not choosing is where they win. Instead, they’ll believe that they had an active participation in the choice when it’s you who is getting the most out of it.
Wrong answers get you more information
People want to prove you wrong more than they want to be right. Whether it’s the internet or real life, if you want more information, give out false information first. For example, you’re considering a job as a teacher and you meet another teacher. Here are the two ways you could go about getting some crucial information.
Eight months on, TU shows no sign of publishing results
You say, “Hey, you’re a teacher, right? Is the job difficult?” And you get a nice, fluffy answer somewhere along the lines of ‘it’s bad but not that bad’.
Instead say, “You’re a teacher? That’s such an easy job. Must be a walk in the park!”
Now imagine which of these will get you the unveiled, desensitized answer you’re looking for.
False assumptions might make you look like an idiot. But not for long. You can thank us later.
That one detail
Let’s be honest. We all lie.
But if you’re one of those who start shaking when a few imaginative lines come out of your mouth, here’s something you can do to make things seem more believable.
Whenever you lie, slip in an unmemorable, but embarrassing detail in it. Say it with confidence, like you own it.
Oh? You couldn’t go to that party because you had an important meeting? And a bird did his business on your new suit on the way to the office!
This way, your story seems more interesting and real. People will also not question it because they don’t want to make you uncomfortable. And you get away with it.
Remembering things
When your to-do list is miles long, it’s easy to forget a few things. Especially when they’re all in your head. But there is a very good trick that can help you with that.
Every time you have something to do, misplace something very obvious in your room. Put your pillow at the foot of the bed. Move the chair to a different corner.
So whenever you go somewhere and come back, these strange things will remind you of something you have to do. Your brain will go, “Wait, how did this get here? Oh right, I had to write the last paragraph of my essay and mail it!”
And this is how you can associate displacement with something you had to do. It’s really very efficient and easy.
Adrenalin association first date
This is a strange one. But when you take someone you like out on a first date, do something adrenalin-filled. It could be something as fun as a roller coaster ride or something as simple as a horror movie. But the chemicals in their brain will make them think that they actually had a lot of fun time with you, even when you’ve only done simple things.
Of course it doesn’t mean that a relationship is guaranteed. It only means that a second date is.
In the end
Ever had a song stuck in your head for days? Just one line, one melody repeating itself over and over again?
Here’s something that can help.
Think of the end of the song. Go through the whole song if you have to. Mumble through the lyrics. Let the melody reach its peak and fall back to the starting tune and end in a slow, decreasing volume.
When the song ends, your brain processes that it’s time to let it go.
