Every day, we have to interact with people in our society, including at universities, work, and public places. There are many psychological hacks that will help you gain an advantage in social situations. In this article, we have compiled fourteen such psychological hacks that will help you gain an advantage in social situations.
Psychological Hacks For Winning Social Situations:
1. Feel comfortable during social interactions
Our brain dictates many of our actions. In many of our social interactions with new people, we find ourselves feeling uncomfortable. This is because our brain is trying us to protect us from exposure to strangers. However, this does not help in building conversations and eventually relationships with people.
For overcoming this, you can use one very simple psychological tip. Just command your brain to feel comfortable during social interactions. Feel as if you already know the person you are about to interact with. This will put you in a position of advantage and will increase the probability of the other person liking and showing interest in you.
2. The secret to feeling confident
We all feel anxious when encountering large groups of people. It could be when we are walking into a room to deliver a presentation, or when we need to interact with new people. This anxiety and uneasiness arise because we are unsure whether people will like us and approve of us.
The psychological hack to feeling confident in all sorts of social situations is to assume that everyone already likes you.
3. Differentiate between a fake smile and a real one
Look at people’s eyes to know whether people are genuinely smiling or just faking it. When the smile is genuine, wrinkles form near the corners of the eyes.
4. When you want to convince others
Want to convince someone but no success? Then you can use this psychological hack. When you are trying to convince other people of something, it is best if you are standing and the other person is sitting. This will make them believe you sooner.
5. When you want to know something about other people
In such situations, when you ask other people questions, and they only provide partial answers, do not jump to other questions. Instead, they remain silent and maintain eye contact.
It puts a bit of pressure on them, and it communicates that you show interest. The person will tell you more and may even tell you everything. Trust us, this is a proven psychological trick to know someone more in detail.
6. To find out whether people are paying attention to you
During many conversations, people tend to lose focus and drift into their own thoughts. It is important to know whether a person is actually listening to you so that you may not waste time talking to them. While talking, fold your arms and see if the other person follows your move.
If the other person is paying attention to the conversation, he/she will mostly observe and mimic your movement.
7. Repeat names to help you remember them
It is common to forget names after our initial introductions with new people. Remembering names is very important for social interactions because we feel important when someone mentions us. But, this not always easy.
Luckily, we have a psychological hack for that. Just, repeat names when people introduce themselves to remember them. For instance:
“Hello, my name is Richard.”
“Nice to meet you, Richard. Do you know where our class is, Richard?”
Similarly, continue to repeat the name during the conversation.
8. Sit next to an aggressor
If you want to avoid an aggressive confrontation with someone, simply try to sit next to them. This close proximity will decrease the chances of the aggressor attacking you. They will not feel comfortable in showing aggression to someone so near to them.
9. Observe people when they are laughing
When in a group of people, for example in a meeting or a party, observe people when laughter breaks out. People look at the ones they will feel close to. This trick can help you discern relationships and friendships.
10. Pay attention to a person’s feet
The feet of a person can give you hints as to what he/she is thinking. While talking to people, observe their feet to tell how interested and comfortable they are in the conversation.
For instance, if you’re talking to someone whose feet are pointed towards you, it mostly means that they are interested in the conversation. And if a person’s feet are pointed away from you, they are communicating that they don’t want to continue the conversation.
Also, observe when the feet of a person you are talking is pointed towards the door. This could mean that they intend to leave, and you are holding them back. But it could also mean that they just told you a lie and want to get out of the room as soon as possible.
11. Match body language with other people to build a rapport
Subtly match your body language with other people to build up trust. For instance, if a person is talking to with excitement and enthusiasm, do not respond in a shy manner. When you mirror people’s actions and tones, they like you more and view you as more compatible.
This is called the ‘chameleon effect” and researchers have found in different experiments that it can help in increasing the smoothness of social interactions.
Moreover, it can also increase liking between the people who interact. We all enjoy speaking to people who share our postures, facial expressions, and other behaviors.
12. Make others agree with you
Use subliminal signals to increase the chances of others agreeing with you. For example, when asking someone a question, nod or shake your head while doing so. This trick can make them agree with you almost immediately.
13. If you need favors, asking someone for help
Human beings are sensitive creatures who respond to requests positively. When you require favors from someone, instead of saying “I need you to do this”, say, “I need your help”. In most cases, people will accept your requests.
14. Never lose your temper
When someone insults or mocks you, be tactful and control the situation. Mock them back or ignore them, but do not lose control of your temper, which will only provide satisfaction to you mockers.
We hope that these psychological hacks will help you tactfully manage and gain an advantage in any social situation.
