The human brain is essentially a small, squishy computer in your skull. If it is, then you should be able to hack your brain computer to do cool things, right? It’s not only possible, but it’s a common practice for a lot of people.
Not only can you hack your own brain to help you remember things, but you can hack other people’s brains. That may be a little too Orwellian for you, but these 10 brain hacking tricks are actually practical. You can thank me later.
1.) People are singled minded.
People who are looking for or focused on a single thing tend to ignore pretty much everything else. Use this to your advantage if you’re trying to sneak something past someone.
For example, there’s the story of the smuggler in West Berlin. Every day he would ride his bike to the east with a bag of sand on his back. The guards always searched the bag for contraband, but never found anything. They let him go every time. The guards never figured out he was smuggling bicycles.
2.) Watch your posture.
When you’re talking to someone match their posture. If you do they’ll unwittingly see you as friendlier. This could be a life saver if you’re asking for a favor.
3.) Eye contact.
It’s a lot harder for people to access memories without moving their eyes. This one sadly doesn’t have much practical use. However, it could certainly be fun to mess with people by not breaking eye contact and asking questions. Let the hilarity ensue.
4.) Pause before you ask questions.
This one’s an old tactic, but a golden one for negotiations. When you’re at the negotiating table, taking long (and I mean very long) pauses before you ask a question is a sure fire way to get people to spill the truth.
5.) Nod your head.
Help your friends giving presentations by nodding along as they speak. It works best if you do it at the end of every sentence.
For whatever reason, this technique works and helps them get through the presentation without messing up. It works for 9 out of 10 flustered presenters.
6.) Use silence for better answers.
The next time you get a half answer from someone, just wait them out. Sit there quietly and politely. Then, sure enough you’ll get your full answer. A lot of people have a problem with silence.
7.) Options for getting what you want.
It’s not easy for humans to avoid being drawn in by a choice of something. Pick two options that are both fine with you and then offer them as a choice to someone you’re trying to convince. Most of the time, they’ll feel bound by the options you’ve given them.
8.) Be confident.
The next time you’re looking to do something that might be frowned upon, but not illegal, just walk in completely confident. Strut like you were born to be there, like you own the place. It’s surprising how much you can get away with this way.
BUT PLEASE do not use this trick for evil.
9.) Humans love their names.
If you give someone a pen and paper and ask them to write something, they’ll probably just write their name. The more you know right?
10.) Open ended questions.
In marketing, using open ended questions instead of closed “yes” or “no” questions can result in a lot more sales.
An example might be: “Why don’t you grab two more boxes to get the sales price?” versus, “Do you want to grab to more boxes to get the sales price?” Your accountant can thank me later.
(Via: Full Punch)
I love these tricks! I’m going to try #3 later today to mess with people. Share these awesome brain hacks with your friends on Facebook by clicking below.
