20 Psychological Life Hacks that Will Help You Gain The Advantage In Social Situation

Social interactions can be a bit awkward if we aren’t sure how to handle them. So, here are 20 psychological life hacks that will help you gain the advantage in any social situation.

1. Relax. Easier said than done, right? It is quite common to feel uneasy during social interactions with strangers. That’s because our brains have been conditioned to protect us (remember being told “don’t speak to strangers”?) from harmful predators. So, one useful trick is to relax and tell your brain that you already know the person you are about to meet. This will help draw their interest in you and get them to like you.

2. Resist the urge to judge. If you are too busy judging someone, it’s difficult to show your compassion toward him or her. Negative thoughts are expressed through your body language and others can usually pick up on it. Or, they may even mirror your body language. Instead, think positive about them and expect the best in them. You may be surprised what happens.

3. Let them know that you need them. Whenever you need a favor, start with “I need your help.” In most situations, people will like to help you. That’s because we all like to feel needed.

4. Create a positive boundary around you. When dealing with a difficult person, you may want to try these two tricks:
• Protect your positive space around you. If their negativity is too strong, you may need excuse yourself and simply walk away.
• Help them feel more positive. Compliment them or look for ways to help them see the positive.

5. Disarm their negativity. When someone is being a “Debbie Downer,” listen to them compassionately for a while and then help him or her focus on something positive that’s in the moment. Ask them about their upcoming birthday or another special event. You don’t have to solve their problems for them. You can just focus on helping them in the moment.

6. Give them validation. Everybody likes validation. So, if a friend needs to feel good about herself, make her feel better by rephrasing what she just said in your own words. She will think you are a good listener and that you are genuinely interested in her. Make her feel like she’s the center of attention and she will greatly appreciate you.

7. Nod while you are talking. One way to get a positive response from another person is to nod while you are talking to them. You will find this person agreeing with you and copying your body language. This little hack tells their brains to agree with you.

8. Repeat the other person’s name during the conversation. This is a great psychological hack if you are bad at remembering names. The moment you meet someone, repeat his name immediately. “Hi John, nice to meet you.” And continue to repeat his name throughout the conversation.

9. It’s personal. When dealing with a negative or overly critical person, try to listen to their comments with a willingness to learn. While their tone may be rude and inappropriate, they may have some useful lessons or valid points to make.

10. Focus on confidence. You may havea PhD and two Master’s degrees. But if you walk into an interview, acting shy and have negative body language, you are not going to impress your interviewers. Instead, walk into the interview office with upright posture, showing a lot of interest, and positive body language.

11. Act as if. You will act on what you believe about yourself. You will act confident if you believe that you are confident. You are smart if you believe that you are smart. You are beautiful when you believe that you are beautiful.Just believe it and you will start acting as if.

12. Temper your response. Negative people will often gravitate toward others who react strongly. They will be drawn to those who offer compassion easily or easily become outraged or offended. However, they remember and learn more from what you do than what you say. So, if you feed them emotions with emotions, they know they can count on you to give them a reaction. Instead, try to respond as calmly as possible with a simple line or fact.

13. Strike a pose. Stand in front of a mirror, put your hands on your hips, open your chest, tilt your head up and smile big. Your brain can’t tell the difference whether you are faking it or not, but you will still release endorphins that will boost your confidence.

14. Show excitement. Excitement is contagious. So, when you show excitement, others will love it and want to jump on the train with you.

15. Don’t lose your temper. When someone insults you, just ignore them. As the saying goes, ‘haters are gonna hate.’ So, don’t even give them your power by responding to them in anyway.

16. The power of touch. Positive touch creates a powerful emotional and physical bond. So, don’t be afraid to touch someone on the shoulder or arm.

17. Take action rather than reaction. If you are around someone who tends to become negative, take action to pour positivity into that person before they have a chance to bring you down with their negativity. Give them a compliment for something they did well. Remind them of a moment that made them feel happy. This will help give them a boost. You may also help them forget about their pain for a little while.

18. Notice their feet. It’s extremely rude to interrupt people when they are in the middle of an important conversation. So, pay attention to their feet. If you are approaching them and they turn both their torso and their feet, you are welcome to chime in. However, if they only turn their torso, it’s not a good time to interrupt.

19. Step aside. If you are in a conversation that is becoming heated, move next to the person instead of standing directing in front of them. This usually helps calm things down and makes the other person feel less threatened.

20. Question yourself. If you are in a relationship with a negative person, ask yourself what you are getting out of the relationship. Do you like being a caretaker? Does it make you feel needed? Be honest with yourself. We often get something out of these relationships. What kind of stake do you have in keeping things the way they are? When you question yourself, it will help you change the way you respond. You may not be able to control the other person, but you can control your own thoughts and actions.