What are some dark psychology tricks that really work?

Story One: You have a certified hypnotist here. Want a dark trick? Here it is. Lead the topic by bringing up something you know the interviewee will agree with, move on to restating or whatever it is they agreed with, and change it up a bit with a rhetorical question that leads to agreement. Isn't that right? If you're slow and careful about it, you can get people to admit or agree to almost anything without them even noticing.

Number Two: This one is extremely simple. Constantly thank someone for very basic things, things you might not even thank someone for. For example, getting out of your way or handing you a bottle of water from a few steps away. Once you create a consistent enough interaction, they'll get used to the praise and feel left out if you don't thank them for one or two things, so they'll often go above and beyond to earn your thanks.

Story Two: Silence. If you want to know something, ask a question, then wait. People want to fill the silence and will talk and talk. This works so well that you don't even have to want to know anything. If you're just too lazy, tired, bored, or uninterested to participate, you can just make the other person do all the work by staying quiet. I like to nod occasionally knowing I'm thinking about something else.

Story Three: If someone doesn't want to give you certain information, like tuition costs or expected hours, give them an example that's completely unrealistic. They will usually give you the correct number right away and feel embarrassed that they pretended not to know.

Example: Me: "How much is your C++ course?" Them: "It depends on your goals." Me: "Hey, do you have a beginner's course? Can you give me a price range?" Them: "We can accommodate your individual needs." Me: "Okay, fine. So is it ten bucks to access your courses?" Them: "Oh, no, we have a $99/month subscription. You can buy beginner courses for $120." It's not often useful, but it always works.

Story Four: One thing my dad does that he may not even realize is that when I tell him good news, he always exaggerates it, forcing me to downplay my own accomplishment. I honestly don't think he does it consciously, but it absolutely drives me nuts.

Example: Me: "Hey, I have amazing news. I've been elected vice president." Dad: "That's great! Wow, so a senior vice president?" Me: "No, just the vice president." Dad: "Oh, well that's good after all." And now all my joy is gone.

When I was a kid, I'd try to tell my mom something I was excited or passionate about, and all I'd get was, "I wish you were this passionate about school." I hated it every time.

Story Five: Not exactly a dark trick, but an effective one. If someone is rude to you, stay completely quiet and watch them. Make them extremely uncomfortable and they will usually behave themselves after a few moments.

Edit Note: Do not do this to people who are exhibiting aggressive behavior and/or when it is unsafe in a public setting. This won't work on the local bully on the street and will probably hurt you. This tactic is intended to be used on otherwise mature adults in safe environments.

Story Six: If you want to be an effective liar, build a reputation for being honest. The more you are known as trustworthy, the easier it is to deceive and manipulate. It's not very complicated, I know.

Story Seven: People come to believe something if it is repeated to them over and over again, even if it goes against everything they know. That's why the news is so important to almost every government on Earth; they decide what we will hear over and over again.

Story Eight: Don't react when someone gets unnecessarily angry. It drives them crazy. I like to call it "turning off the face". Just give them a dead, completely neutral look and stay quiet. Eventually, they stop talking or get so excited that they turn to a completely unrelated topic. If they stop talking, I can calmly chime in with "So, what I understand is..." and echo their concern. If they go off topic, I cut them off with "We're getting off topic. Your concern was..." If they cut me off, I cut them off with "No, you've just been talking for 15 minutes. Now it's my turn." That last part, "Now it's my turn," always makes them pause and become strangely docile. It's something we're taught to respond to as children, and it still works when you're 40.

Story nine: The wording of the question often affects the answer. For example, when asked "How fast were you going when they collided?" People give, on average, an estimated speed that is greater than the speed formulated in the question "How fast were the cars going when they collided?"

Story ten: My boss likes to have meetings after 5 pm. Although I can technically be present, I don't want to. So I tell him that I have an important class that starts at exactly 5:54 p.m. I show up to the meeting for about five to ten minutes and then leave. Thanks, I'm a great member of the team for going out of my way to pitch in just for a few minutes. Even though I don't actually have a class and I hate those meetings.

Story Eleven: It's not so dark, but people have predictable patterns when choosing things at random. If you ask 100 people to choose a number from 1 to 10, a large number of them will choose three or seven. Even numbers are more common, the smallest are 1 and 10, and the middle number 5 does not seem random enough. That's why when I play board games like Catan or card games where others have to pick a random number from my hand, I always put my most valuable cards on the side instead of in the middle because the middle seems more random.

Story Twelve: Mirroring is amazing. You can achieve this by simply rocking in your chair or smiling gently. You can actually control their presence. I once applied reverse mirroring to a salesman at the door. I leaned against the door frame, he leaned against a post on my patio. As soon as he did, I straightened up. He corrected himself. I leaned against the door frame again, rinsed and repeated for about a minute. He lost his train of thought, became nervous and said he had to go. It was pretty funny.

Story thirteen: Sunk cost. Essentially, any time or effort or money that has already been spent tends to be factored into decision-making, even though it shouldn't be. When I met my wife, she would always finish her drink, even if she didn't like it, because she paid for it. I asked her, "If you've already paid, the money's already spent. Why bother with a drink you don't like, if there's no change in the outcome compared to not drinking it, other than not enjoying it?" That's why buying a car takes so long; you've already spent so much time that you almost feel like you have to buy it. "I've invested time and I need something for that investment. Oh, God, I don't want to go through this again."

Story Fourteen: Waiting a few seconds or up to a minute before speaking after someone offers or asks you something will make what you say next more likely to be accepted. Most people don't like awkward silence, especially salespeople.

Story fifteen: People want to be noticed, accepted and appreciated. It takes next to nothing to give it to them, but empires have risen and fallen because of it. People will be so happy that you gave it to them, even if they know they are being manipulated. They will ignore the manipulation because of what you are giving them.

Story Sixteen: It depends on what you give them. Working in a grocery store, I learned that if you hand something to someone while they're talking, they'll take it, put it in their pocket, bag, etc., and then they won't remember you gave them anything in the first place. It worked with every person I tried it with.

Story Seventeen: If you want someone to love you, ask them to do you small favors and be very grateful when they do. Positive reinforcement for your tasks, just like training a dog. Even better if you actually give them treats, like dog food, that's very basic reinforcement.

Story Eighteen: When I want to help someone with something, but I know their pride is in the way or they don't want to impose, I ask them for a favor first, even if I don't really need it. Examples would be asking them how they came up with the solution to XYZ and then returning the favor by showing them how to do something more efficiently or accurately. Or when you know your parent's heater is broken, but they insist on calling a handyman instead of burdening you, and you suddenly need sugar while you're there, you can check that heater. People like to feel useful and like to give unsolicited advice. It works.