8 Psychological Tricks That Can Work With Anyone

The key to success is believing in yourself. There are a lot of books and movies about this topic but the reality often shows us that in most cases, self-confidence is not all we need (and sometimes, high self-esteem can even be dangerous). But being disciplined and able to communicate with people is always important. Unfortunately, very few people have these skills.

We at Bright Side are convinced that hard work and success always accompany each other. And in order to achieve some things more easily, use these psychological tricks from this list.

8. Remember the recency effect

Everyone knows that the last phrase spoken is memorized better than the conversation as a whole. In fact, this effect doesn’t just work for conversations. For example, you have a really important job interview where you’re competing with other people. You’ll have an advantage if you can manage to see the hiring manager first or last: there is a greater chance that they will memorize and hire you. Of course, you’ll have to be as good as the other candidates.

7. Simulate

Imitating the behavior of a person you want to be like is actually a way to have the same character traits. It works the same way as the placebo effect — you basically make yourself think that you have a certain character trait, and over time, you really will. The most important thing is to do it as often as possible — if you do it only once a month, it won’t work.

By the way, the same works for emotions. In order to get yourself in a certain mood, start doing some things that are connected with this feeling. This means, for example, that in order to get yourself in a better mood, you just need to smile more often.

6. Demonstrate sincere happiness

Of course, this doesn’t mean you should hug people you barely know. But if you greet people with a smile and sincere warmth, sooner or later, they will feel the same toward you. The trick is, that you use positive emotions to make the other person feel that you are happy to see them. The other person will start with smiling back at you and over time, they will start to really like you.

5. Discuss secondary issues

Imagine this: you are suggesting an idea at a business meeting and you want it to be accepted. Try to lead the conversation not in the direction of discussing the viability of the idea, but the details of its realization. For example, you want to plant trees in the neighborhood? Ask which kinds of trees are more preferable. You want to build a playground for children? Discuss the materials. This way, there is a bigger probability that the people will start to treat the idea as if it is already accepted and they are more inclined to agree with you.

4. Don’t postpone things you have to do

Procrastination is a really dangerous thing because “later” often turns into “never.” There is a really simple trick that helps to combat laziness: start doing something as soon as you remember it. The thing is, on a subconscious level, we always try to finish things. Make yourself do something and you will thank yourself later: even if you don’t complete it, at least you will do something which is definitely better than doing nothing.

3. Use the right motivation

According to the theory proposed by psychologist Frederick Herzberg, dissatisfaction and satisfaction with a job depend on completely different factors. A comfortable environment and medical insurance, of course, make employees more loyal, but they don’t motivate them enough. If you want to make an employee more effective, it is not enough to just raise their salary: notice the success of their colleagues, create opportunities for professional growth, and make the job itself as interesting as possible.

2. Use decoys

Marketers love this trick so much, but you can also use it in real life in order to get what you want. In sales, the least profitable price becomes the decoy. For example, you are faced with a choice: a small cup of coffee for $1 and a bigger one for $1.50. The difference is not really that much, so a lot people will choose the smaller one because it’s cheaper. But if they are offered a third option, the one that is twice as big as the first one not for $2, but for only $1.75, the picture becomes completely different: the biggest price will seem the best. Remember this trick when you are asking someone for a favor or trying to suggest your idea at a business meeting.

1. Don’t jump to conclusions

Taking someone else’s position quickly in a conflict is not the best decision. You should be calm and reasonable. Stay neutral until you hear the arguments from both sides. This way you will demonstrate your ability to analyze things in an unbiased way. People will notice this and trust you more.

We hope that you will find these tricks useful. And which glass did you really choose? Tell us in the comment section below.