The mind is a minefield. And it is vulnerable to others. So we must be talented at being the tricker and not the trickee. It may not be the ethical or moral thing to do but that doesn't mean it isn't a little funny or necessary. When we know we are right and have to make things right, then we must do what we must do.
Redditor u/secretfudgerecipe_ wanted to know what mind games people are adept at by wondering.... What's a psychology trick you use on others?
With the Eyes...
If someone is being disrespectful to me, and I can tell they're only doing it bc they don't think I'll lose my cool, I just stare at their forehead while they're talking to me and keep my replies short to make them feel intimidated. killerpb-j
Better to stare into their eyes without focus, it feels more intense to them than normal eye contact and they usually can't quite put their finger on why unless they're really observant. ThommasKurbyson
I WIn.
GiphyWhen someone's being rude/impolite, I'm super nice to them. They will either become nicer themselves or very annoyed with me. I win either way. PurrsNpies
Walk the Walk.
You can get people to believe quite a bit if you say it confidently enough. Brinkah
I was going to say Walk with Confidence but wasn't sure if it applied. You can go so many places if you act like you're supposed to be there. overconfidentquartz
Hold Firm.
When somebody interrupts you, look them dead in the eye, and keep looking at them all the time. Neopysiak
This isn't just for eye contact or interruptions, any time a person does/says something to you that you didn't like, make sure you tell/show them that you're displeased, in any way necessary.
People will respect you a lot more it you have boundaries, and more importantly, you'll respect yourself for not being a pushover. night-laughs
In the Shins.
GiphyIf you're standing in the middle of a group and you have some thing to say take a step in. pareto-optimal
When I was at school we had a game where you would slowly try to surround a member of your group in the circle during conversation. Then someone would shout "In the middle," and everyone would kick the surrounded victim in the shins.
14 year old boys are idiots haha. NethereseWyvern
A Touch.
I'm a waitress, and if I sense that someone at my table is going to be rude/mean to me based on our first interaction, I'll go out of my way to say something really kind and pair it with a tiny shoulder/arm touch. It tends to work. erikarew
I'm not down with the touching, though I'm sure it works. But most of those people seem to be extremely entitled, so yeah, If you make them feel super special it usually flips their attitude entirely. I worked as a server for 5+ years and it is so much about hospitality and humility. dont_say_choozday
Being You....
Being a good, radically honest and trustworthy person. People tend to love you. Ozymandias47
It really works. It works even better if you add some situational awareness.
- Not everything needs to be said.
- Suggest improvements instead of pointing out problems.
- Don't get in the middle of other people's interpersonal issues. Offer advice and sympathy, sure. Just don't let yourself be used to continue a fight. kayodelycaon
Share with Smiles....
Only share positive things about your life and you'll lose conversation with a lot of people. Most people only want to hear negatives things or feel involved with drama. Debbiero70
Yeah, people get really weirded out when they tell me about some personal achievement and I cheer them on or get excited about it. I don't get it. Am I suppose to be jealous? dont_say_choozday
Oh Sweetie....
GiphyIf I want someone to like me I give them a sweet or chocolate whenever I see them. I do this until the reaction of excitement and happiness of getting a sweet is associated with me. Then I stop giving them sweets and the reaction is prompted by just seeing me. Learned that in psychology. AofAsgard
"What street did you grow up on?"
Verbal sedation.
Friend is having a panic attack. They aren't breathing steady and in a thought spiral. You ask them easy to and true questions that are easy to remember.
"What street did you grow up on?" "What was the color of your house you grew up in? And similar questions that have easy to recall answers that are just a few words for the answer. Jessica Jones did a great job demonstrating this when she would name off all the streets that were on her home town near her house. Tedbastion
Eyes Locked.
GiphyIf you're moving through a crowd with a lot of people moving the opposite direction (say a crowded sidewalk), keep your eyes up and locked on your general destination. People will subconsciously adjust to give you space. I don't mean just plow into folks, they'll shift on their own. Reverse_Waterfall
Greetings....
Mimic the way they greet you. Over time put your own spin on the greeting. Eventually they'll usually follow suit. Works wonders for making people like you. chillpill9623
"Thanks for the feedback. I'll keep that in mind."
I completely dissociate when being chewed out so they think they have said their piece, but really it's just an hour of invader zim in my head instead. bluntiograph
I do the same and follow it up with, "Thanks for the feedback. I'll keep that in mind." I keep repeating that phrase while they go off on me. I started doing this a few years ago with a supervisor who was a real bully. It drove her crazy because I remained professional but clearly didn't give a crap about what she was saying. It's the little things! onebeaner
Group Efforts.
Want to find out who someone likes most in a group? Keep an eye on who they look at when laughing. Moostcho
It's a measure of feeling connected with someone, more than specifically crushing on them. After hearing this some time ago I started paying attention to who I look at when laughing.
Often it's someone I just had a good conversation with. Or someone who's new to the group and I'm curious about how they're reacting to the joke. If I'm with family, it's usually my dad that I look at because I get along best with him. scrumplic
Grab.
GiphyThere's no real use for this but it's just funny, and it actually works, try handing something to a person when you're talking and looking at them, most of the time they'll just grab it for no reason haha. _LFKrebs_
You literally only have to say hi.
Say hello and greet them by name in the morning.
It's like the cheat code for working in an office. You literally only have to say hi. Just look busy, like you have something to do. People will both think you are productive and busy and also a nice person. That will pay off in spades in the future.
Also, make sure you ACTUALLY ARE a productive worker. Suuperdad
All Good.
Talk good stuff about friends behind their back. muhtasim7
Hush.
Staying silent and giving short answers can get you out of a lot of crap. I deal with millions of dollars worth of equipment and if something goes wrong, it turns into an interrogation with the client.
Best thing you can do is shut your mouth. Don't give descriptive answers because that opens doors to other questions. If you give short answers, people might end up talking themselves in a circle. Ultimately answering their own question and giving you ammo to use against them. This has got me out of a couple tense situations where a lot of finger pointing occurs. DrGiggleFr1tz
The Intros....
Stand up while talking if you want to wrap up a dragging conversation. The other person(s) will do the same unconsciously and you'll be able to bid your farewells and part ways. Useful for introverts like me. dizzypretzel
I know too many people who will keep talking to me even as I walk away from them. MyTurtleRanAway716
Curious to hear from strangers online about their developmental growth, Redditor 1234kyou_ asked:
"What did you swear in your childhood you would never do, but ended up doing anyways?"
Some hobbies that delighted us as kids never really go away as these Redditors have experienced.
The "Bird Creep"
"Birdwatching. I used to think it was the lamest way someone could spend their time when I was a kid. How could anyone just sit around and look at birds? What are you, some kind of bird creep? ... 20 years later and I'm obsessed with birds. Love hearing their songs and seeing all the beautiful colors."
– Koala-teas
Unfilled Dream
"Give up drawing."
"I actually broke my own heart when I recently found a school project we did back when I was a kid. We had to write a letter for our future selves and mine starts with: 'Hey, did you become an artist already? I really hope you did not become a boring adult with a boring job who gave up on his dreams and passions.'"
"Well, sorry little me, but I kinda did."
– Aesma_
Tending To One's Garden
"Gardening. We had a large garden. We raised and preserved what we grew. It was me and my sister's job to care for this garden. This was back when whipping your child was acceptable punishment. I was whipped sooo many times, because I hated that I had to grew and preserved vegetables I did not like. I hated it! Swore I'd never have a garden. Never do THAT to my kids. Then I had kids. A switch flipped in my head. I had to have a garden! I never made my kids take care of it. Gardening was my 'me' time. But being little kids, they wanted to be with mom and 'help' with the garden. I 'gave' them an area and they were allowed to grow whatever they wanted. If it was a fruit or vegetables , they had to eat it. As a result, they both love gardening and neither are picky eaters."
– Eogh21
When it comes to keeping it in the family, it's not always the goal.
Like Father...
"I have become my father."
– jer1303
Like Mother...
"I have become my mom.... even the voice is similar."
– rogue1206
Dad's Cynicism
"I've taken on a lot more of my dad's cynicism than I would like, but mostly I have my mom's wonder and carefreeness."
"But my dad is rich and mom is poor."
"He does not share the wealth he just shares 'you should've done X like this'. But his advice is the level of 'tear down the sign punch them in the face and say you're looking at your new employee'. I've also never heard a single dad joke from him."
– BugTester350
Posthumous Disapproval
"When I was touring houses to buy before the pandemic, my mother's spirit must have possessed me because I opened my mouth and her voice said 'i don't know, i don't think I could live in a house without both a coat closet and a linen closet.'"
– TJtherock
Adulting is hard.
The Financial Hole
"Get into debt I can't pay off."
– lilviviv
Potty-Mouth
"I said I wouldn’t curse unless a nuke was dropped on my house. That was a f'king lie."
– -notjosh-
Can't Wait, Don't Hate
"Have sex before marriage. Thank f'k I never made good on that one since I'm 41 and have never been married."
– squid1891
I'm a pretty fussy eater. Always have been.
I grew up in a Japanese family where regularly eating natto was a thing.
Natto is a Japanese dish made from Bacillus subtilis-fermented soybeans. It's known to have magical health benefits but the smell is overwhelmingly powerful, and the nutty taste leaves little to be desired.
Many people not used to eating exotic foods can't stand the flavor and slimy, sticky texture–let alone the pungent aroma.
I swore as a child that would be the one food I would never eat again after having a bad experience.
And yet, here I am as an adult, eating it for breakfast 2-3 times a week after truly understanding the health benefits.
Natto–which is rich in protein, vitamins, and minerals– helps maintain healthy cholesterol levels, reduces blood pressure, and can prevent heart disease. Some studies have suggested it can prevent certain cancers.
Once I trained myself to get used to flavor and smell, I actually crave it now.
It's definitely an acquired taste, but it's crazy to know that we are all capable of liking or appreciating something previously thought of as repulsive once we set our mind to it.
"Hiring managers of Reddit: What makes you immediately throw out a résumé?"
Not In It For The Long Run
"I once received an application from a man in his 60s."
"Solid CV, lots of experience."
"In his cover letter he wrote 'I'm applying because the Job Centre asked me to'."
"Please note that I intend to retire in 6 months time'."
"We had a good laugh, then sent him a very polite rejection letter and wished him a great retirement."-BeerPoweredNonsense
Season 1 Lol GIF by NBCGiphyMake Sure They Actually Get The Right Document...
"One time I had someone upload how to upload their resume from Dropbox instead of their resume."- rabidwhale
Always Proof Read!
"I'll usually still interview unless there is no relevant experience, but I've seen some atrocious resumes."
"I've seen people use crutch words like 'uh' in writing for a job description."
"I've also seen a sentence 4 lines long with zero punctuation."
"The same resume will have 'attention to detail' as a skill set."
"I've interviewed for one of those resumes, and the applicant said 'I dunno" to about 80% of my questions, and it turned out he didn't even know what job he applied for'."
"It's not that I'm overly picky, but if someone can't spend the 20 minutes or less that it takes to proof read their resume, are they going to put a lot of effort into their job?"
"Maybe, but it's hard to know."- ChristyM4ck
Read Book Club GIFMake Sure It's Legible
"The only time I have ever had to throw out a resume was because someone possibly had it in a bag with their lunch and the paper was soaking wet and dissolving as I tried to unfold it."
"It was just unacceptable to process."
"The application was left in a drop box so I don’t know if it was a prank or an actual applicant."- 416unknown
Unprofessional Email Address
"Back in 98 I asked a new group of hires at GIECO to write their email addresses on a list that was passed around."
"Remember email was kinda new back then.. "
"One young female employee's email address included 'mybaldc**tchie'."- catjugglinpimp
the messengers aol GIFNever Send Someone In Your Place
"It’s been a long time but I used to do hiring for a cinema."
"Staff were often young, for many it was a first job, making popcorn and selling tickets type of gig."
"I would not pursue anything where parents came in with a CV for their teenager or if parents were contacting me on behalf of their teen."
"Big red flag."
"Either their kid didn’t want he job in the first place or they’re incapable of taking initiative and it doesn’t bode well for how they’d be as an employee."- FigJamAndCitrus
"Having your parents submit your resume while you stand silently beside them."- krim2182
It's Pure, Dumb Luck!
"I remember a meme or maybe a tv skit from a while back."
"The hiring manager had a huge pile of resumes on his desk."
"Someone asked how he was going to sift through them all."
"He took 2/3rds of the pile, threw them in the trash, and remarked 'I don't hire unlucky people'."
"Lol."- SpecialSpite7115
Im Out Breaking News GIF by Homes.comGiphyAll About The Formatting
"This doesn’t matter 100% of the time but bad formatting."
"If it’s hard to read I probably won’t read it."- Far-Gain-3081
Depends On The Job
"If it's a professional position, significant spelling errors will make me pass on a resume."
"If it's a warehouse job or something, I'm less concerned."- staffsargent
Don't Treat It Like A Text Message!
"Former hiring manager here."
"I tossed MULTIPLE resumes that used text message abbreviations throughout the resume and cover letter and one that included emojis."
"While you can do pretty much anything from your phone, it doesn’t mean you should."- spectacularuhoh
text texting GIF by Fifth HarmonyGiphyChoose Your References Wisely
"Not me, but a friend who checks resumes/CVs had a belter."
"Candidate had a conviction and his reference was his friend 'Baz'."- LexiRae24
Make Sure You Have The Relevant Skills
"I know it’s pretty specific but If your looking for a scheduling job make sure you know how to use Excel and clearly state it on your resume."
"It will probably get thrown out otherwise."- LoyalPlanets
As stated before, no two hiring departments will have exactly the same prerequisites and red flags, so no matter how hard you work, your resume is never going to please everyone.
That being said, multiple misspellings and a cheeky e-mail address are a surefire guarantee of not pleasing anyone.