Lifehack - Life Pro Tips and Tricks

• When meeting someone for the first time, make a mental note of their eye color. This technique allows you to maximize the amount of eye contact you treat your new acquaintance to, which they will find to signify friendliness and confidence.
• If a song is replaying over and over in your head, and you want to end the loop once and for all. Employ the 'Zeigarnik effect' and think about the ending of the song in question (if you can). The mind usually fixates on unfinished things so this trick may just be enough to help you get that annoying tune out.
• Whenever there is big, communal laughter among a group of friends, people instinctively look towards those they feel the closest to and the most comfortable around.
• If you ask someone for a small favor, you'll trick/train their brain to feel more of a liking towards you (the thought process is something along the lines of - 'Oh, it seems I went out of my way to help this individual, which means I must like them as I only tend to help people that I like'
• Learn to become comfortable in silence, this can be a golden asset. Say you have asked someone a question and no conclusive response seems to be coming right away - ride it out under the silent conditions, they'll cave and add the omitted/missing information soon enough because in general, people despise the perceived awkwardness that comes with social silence, and will eventually do or say anything to bring it to a timely end. Thus, if you ask someone a question and they only partially answer, just wait patiently. If you stay silent and maintain eye contact they will usually continue talking.
• Nodding or shaking your head as appropriate when asking someone a question will often encourage them to instinctively agree with what you are saying, without pondering too deeply over the substance of your question.
• If you want to throw someone off their game whilst talking to them, making them feel uncomfortable and self-conscious - stare semi-intently at their hairline over the course of the conversation.
• A warm handshake makes you seem more friendly and amicable as opposed to a cold one (wear gloves when you can).
• To make a story of yours seem more believable, and less likely to be a lie, add some small yet embarrassing detail to help convince others that the story is in fact true.
• A date that involves adrenaline – roller coasters, a psychological thriller or horror film (in fact any genre of film which features a lot of suspense and excitement), etc. will help simulate arousal in the brain, and psychologically trick the person whose romantic interest you're trying to secure into thinking that the arousal and good feelings can be attributed to you and your company. This phenomenon is known as the 'Misattribution of arousal' in psychology.
• When walking through a busy crowd, keep your eyes intently fixed on the space between the people ahead of you as opposed to the people themselves, in general they will track the direction of your eyes and move in such a way as to let you through.
• People always have the clearest memory of the first and last things that happen, while the middle becomes a vague blur. So if you’re setting the time for an interview, try and be the first or last through the door. This is dubbed the 'Serial position effect'.
• The feet of an individual are powerful indicators of interest in a person, and can swiftly tell you about how comfortable they are in your vicinity, and where they intend on going next. For the former, look to see if their feet are pointed towards you whilst conversing with you, if they are often pointed away from you then you can assume that they don't want to stick around and talk for much longer. This can also be observed say in approaching a pair of people who are talking to each other, if when you try to enter the conversation their torsos point towards you but not their feet - it indicates that they are probably disinterested in talking to you, and are not best pleased with you joining their conversation. As an indicator of proposed direction/anxiety, feet pointed towards the door can mean the person in question would like to leave, fairly soon - often liars in interrogative situations will point their feet towards the door when they have just told a lie and are feeling nervous and anxious, because they just want to get out of there.
• The first name is a great social tool, because people love the sound of their own name. When seeing acquaintances you only recently met, always make a point of including their name, "Hey, NAME!" They'll feel flattered that you took the (frankly minimal) time to learn it.
• Another name trick, if you have forgotten the name of a person you are talking to, and don't want to seem rude by asking them bluntly what it is. Say "What's your name again? Sorry I've forgotten..." They'll respond with the first name, and might display signs that they are a little disappointed and disheartened, now you can snap back with the following line, "Oh, I knew that, I meant your last name!" And so after a little chuckle, you now have the information you wanted (and more), and the amount of offense felt by the other person is minimized. An improvement on this technique has been suggested, if you feel the previous routine was too transparent - simply inquire "What is your full name?" and proceed to wax lyrical about how nice of a middle name they have or ask about their background etc.
• Mirroring the body language of another person is an effective way to build up trust between you. It makes it seem like you fit together better and that you are more compatible. This of course comes with the proviso that you be subtle about it.
• If you know someone is going to have a go at you in a meeting, deliberately sit right next to them. The proximity will make them feel less comfortable with being aggressive, and they should go a lot easier on you.
• When appealing to someone to do a favor for you. Start by asking them to fulfill a relatively small request which they can't refuse, and then ask them to do the bigger task which you had in mind all along. Once someone has committed to helping you, or agreeing to something, they are now more likely to agree to a bigger request. This is known as the 'foot-in-the-door' technique.
• Avoid telling someone outright that they are wrong, it's usually unnecessary and does the opposite of endearing them to you. There is actually a way to show disagreement and turn it into a polite conversation without telling someone they are wrong, which strikes to the core of their ego. This is called the Ransberger Pivot. The idea behind it is pretty simple: instead of arguing, listen to what they have to say, and then seek to understand how they feel and why. Then you explain the common ground that you share with them, and use that as a starting point to explain your position. This makes them much more likely to listen to what you have to say, and allows you to correct them without them losing face.
• One of the most positive ways to influence others is to show them that you really understand how they feel, that you have real empathy for them. One of the most effective ways to do this is by paraphrasing what they say and repeating it back to them, also known as reflective listening. Studies have shown that when therapists used reflective listening, people were likely to disclose more emotion and have a much better therapeutic relationship with the therapist. This easily transfers over to talking to your friends. If you listen to what they say, and rephrase it as a question to confirm that you understood it, they are going to be more comfortable talking with you. They are also going to have a better friendship with you and be more likely to listen to what you have to say, because you showed that you care about them.
• This is known as the 'Door-in-the-face technique'. You start by throwing a really ridiculous request at someone—a request they will most likely reject. You then come back shortly thereafter and ask for something much less ridiculous—the thing you actually wanted in the first place. This trick may also sound counter-intuitive, but the idea behind it is that the person will feel bad for refusing your first request, even though it was unreasonable, so when you ask for something reasonable they will feel obliged to help you out this time.
• If you want to be tactical about it, offer someone a choice as opposed to a demand. For example, instead of saying "Drink your milk" to a toddler, ask which mug would he/she like to drink milk from. This gives the person a sense of control and hence produces a higher chance of a better outcome.
• In a sporting situation, to throw someone off of their game when they are doing really well, ask them a couple of questions like "Hey, you're doing great today, what elements of your game did you change?" or "How are you playing so well today?" They'll feel the added pressure and will start to over-think what they are doing a lot more, making them more prone to messing up.
• When you're approaching a situation that would make you nervous like public speaking or bungee jumping, chew on some gum. If we are 'eating' something, our brain goes through the following thought process: 'I would not be eating if I were in danger. So I must not be in danger'.
• This is an interesting video about a technique you can use - called 'power posing' - to make yourself feel more comfortable and relieve some anxiety before a challenging social situation or entering a high-pressure environment, watch it if you have the time: 
• If you want to find out whether someone is observing you or staring at you with a lot of interest, try briefly glancing at your phone or staging a yawn and seeing if they instinctively mirror these actions.
• To confuse someone and stop them from memorizing a number, shout out a logical sequence of numbers (2, 4, 6, 8...) instead of a randomized selection - here you are utilizing the fact that the mind latches onto patterns and so you are more likely to screw things up for them if you opt for the sequential route.
• If you want to get rid of an object that you're carrying while walking with someone simply keep talking to that person while handling them the object, most of the times they will take the object without even thinking.
• If you get yourself to be really happy and excited to see other people, they will react the same to you. It doesn't always happen the first time, but it will definitely happen next time.
• A couple of confidence instilling tricks... the key to confidence is walking into a room, and assuming everyone there already likes and respects you. Make a habit of smiling at people... smile more and see how good you will feel about yourself, in the process you will make others feel good, and you will render yourself open to making more friends/associates. When alone, try making the biggest smile possible, you'll automatically feel happier and more outgoing. Also, if you start acting like you’re a confident and assertive person, people will believe you are indeed that - 'fake it until you make it'.
• With a serious outward appearance of purpose, you can get just about anywhere. Take long, confident strides, and be completely unwavering in the direction in which you are looking and moving. You'll improve your odds of this working if you utilize a clipboard and professional-looking apparel such as typical office/business wear, or a high-visibility jacket.
• Flattery is ubiquitous. For starters, learn to understand that flattery should look natural, otherwise it may bring more negative outcomes than positive. If you try to play along with someone who has a high self-esteem, then you have better chances in succeeding. People of this type love themselves and love flattery, and they do not seem to notice it. But those who have low self-esteem may see trickery and deceit when you try to make them feel better. In essence, try to acquire an understanding of an individuals self-worth - there is nothing more important to people than their self-image. Figure out how people like to think of themselves, and then challenge or reinforce it to your advantage.
• I recently found an important and interesting phenomenon studied in social psychology known as the 'Pratfall effect'. The pratfall effect is the tendency for attractiveness/likability to increase or decrease after an individual makes a mistake, depending on the individual's perceived competence, or ability to perform well in a general sense. A perceived competent individual would be, on average, more likable after committing a blunder, while the opposite would occur if a perceived average person makes a mistake. I'm not sure whether this effect can really be used to acquire an advantage in a social scenario (it probably can be), but it's fascinating nonetheless. Here's a nice quick excerpt from a lecture at Yale on it: 
• If you want people to take you seriously, tell them what you say is what your father taught you. People tend to believe fatherly advice inherently.
• To appear more confident, self-assured, thoughtful and knowledgeable - don't use too many filler words like 'uh' 'umm' 'err' etc. Instead, use the silence (but not with too dramatic a delay) to order your thoughts and more coherently communicate whatever it is you are trying to get across.
• A customer service tip - place a mirror behind you at the counter. This way angry customers who approach you will have to see themselves in the mirror behind you and the chance of them behaving irrationally lowers significantly. This is because no one wishes to see themselves acting like a ridiculous hothead.
• One for the ladies, concerning attractiveness and the wearing of red clothing. For women, the color red makes them exponentially more attractive. Research has shown that men will go to great lengths to do things for a woman in red that they would not do otherwise like give her money or even carry her across the street.
• Get people to talk about themselves. People are selfish and they love talking about what they do. Ask your interviewer some questions about what they do for work and really listen. They will walk away from the interview in a good mood because they got to talk about themselves and they will then think that the interview went well.

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