‘What’s a psychological ‘cheat code’ you use in social situations that works?’ – 22 mind hacks that would make Derren Brown proud

12.

‘I’m not a native speaker of English, and I live in the UK. I tend to ask native speakers what a ‘cheeky Nando’s with the lads’ means, and ask them to explain why it is cheeky. For some reason this always fixes the situation when conversation is slow.’
–Previous_Original_30

13.

‘Raise my eyebrows when I smile hello. Usually we only do that for people we recognize so it makes people feel like they are already accepted.’
–auntiepink007

14.

‘I tell myself ‘social mode: on’ when going into social situations. It works surprisingly well in getting me to talk more and be more of a part of conversations.’
–my_son_is_a_box

15.

‘Always learn the names of the front office receptionists, custodians, maintenance crew at your place of work/volunteering/etc. Always say hello to them and treat them like human beings. You would be surprised at how nice they treat you and help you out.

And it’s the right thing to do anyway, since they are human beings who deserve to be treated with respect.’
–Common_Alfalfa_3670

16.

‘When you want to learn something – facts, rumors, gossip, etc. State the fact but leave one detail intentionally wrong. The other person will love to correct you and give you ALL the information. It feeds their ego, you learn what you wanted, everyone is happy with the result.

It works when I use it. I know it works on me as well.’
–TacticalDefeated

17.

‘Just ask people about themselves. People love to talk about themselves.’
–daintybanana729

18.

‘If you’re in a group of 3+ and someone is talking to you and you don’t want to participate / respond / lead the conversation, rather than looking at the speaker, look at the other person. The speaker won’t be able to keep talking at you whilst you’re looking at the third person, they’ll have to quickly switch and address their speech to that third person. You’re then free to slink away quietly. Works every time.’
–treeshadsouls

19.

‘Ask way more questions than sharing about myself. I make it a little game to see if I can keep from telling anything at all about myself, remaining a man of mystery.’
–DefiantTorch47

20.

‘If you act a mood, then your actual mood will follow. Feeling bad but need to get it together for some event? Just smile, and your mood will follow. It doesn’t cure depression, but it’s a good way to get in the zone for something temporary,

Mostly useful if you’re at a party and you want to be having fun but you’re just not feeling it at the moment.’
–alex_quine

21.

‘An effective way to deal with passive-aggressive comments is ‘stupid and cheerful’. Don’t read into their comment, rise above it.’
–virtually_toothless

22.

‘Remembering that everyone is a human being and you don’t have to manipulate them. Sometimes you can just be honest.’
–ladyalot

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