Answers found on Ask Reddit

1. If someone starts getting aggressive with you, say a string of real words in an order that sounds right but doesn’t necessarily make sense in the situation — it’ll throw the person off and they’ll lose adrenaline

2. Wear noise-canceling headphones if you don’t want people to talk to you (even if you’re not listening to music)

3. Instead of thinking about what you want right now, think about what your future self would want — it might give you that extra boost to stop procrastinating and just go to the gym

4. Every time you see someone you know, smile and say hello — they’ll think of you as a nice person and may be more likely to help you out in the future

5. If someone is mad or annoyed at you, give it a few minutes of silence and then ask a seemingly innocent question that has to do with the other person’s interests — it’ll slowly get them talking and you’ll be able to move past the tense moment

6. Listen to the music you’d want to hear if you were in the mood you want to be in — it helps shift your mentality into that state of mind

7. When someone shy is speaking, look at them, make eye contact, and nod — it encourages them to continue talking

8. To avoid drama and be well-liked, say good things about people behind their backs

9. If you’re trying to get someone to put their guard down (or playing a game with someone that requires you to bluff), make them laugh — people are more likely to be honest and vulnerable when they laugh, and less likely to bluff or lie

10. If you want someone to tell you more about something, stay quiet — they’ll usually fill the silence by giving you more information

11. Similarly, if someone is trying to give you an excuse about something, if you stay quiet, they’ll talk themselves into a corner and lose confidence in their story

12. If you want to avoid being called on in class or during a meeting, be sure to make a point of looking at the speaker (even making eye contact if you can) until the end of their question, then look at someone else in the room to divert the speaker’s attention to them

13. If you want to deescalate someone who is distraught and shut down, ask them questions that involve numbers, like their address or phone number — it will oftentimes pull them out of their emotional state and into a better headspace

14. Instead of saying, “I know,” say “You’re right” — it’ll make you look less like an asshole and make them feel smart, which will make them easier to work with

15. If someone asks you a particularly hard question, say, “What a good question!” — it’ll make the person feel so pleased with themselves that they’ll be less critical of the answer (and may not even fully pay attention to it at all)

16. Instead of immediately arguing with a viewpoint you don’t agree with, first validate it and then state your own viewpoint — the interaction will oftentimes end positively

17. If you’re trying to figure out the name of something (or someone), ask a question with a fake information, like, “Is the door code still 7752?” or “Is Kathy still the manager at the restaurant?” — the person will usually correct you with the real information

18. Thanking someone for a trait you want them to display (so instead of saying, “Sorry to keep you waiting,” say, “Thank you for being patient”) will make them more likely to act in accordance with your words

19. If you ask a question and someone’s first response is, “What?” give it a few seconds before repeating the question — oftentimes they heard you, they just need a moment to process what you said

20. If you bump into someone you know in public and don’t want to spend time sharing awkward small talk, tell them exactly where you’re going and why and then ask them the same thing — once they answer, you can say, “Well, I won’t keep you longer, then. Have a good day!”

21. If you want to find out who someone likes the most in a group, pay attention to who they look at after someone says something funny — they tend to look to their favorite person as they laugh

22. Be direct and personal when asking for things — if you direct your concerns toward a certain person instead of a general group, they’re more likely to comply and get things done

23. If someone says they have the hiccups, tell them to prove it — the pressure will usually make the hiccups disappear

24. Instead of saying “It’s okay” when someone apologizes, say, “Thank you for apologizing” — it keeps you from pushing the problem completely under the rug and opens the door for growth and communication

25. Instead of telling kids NOT to do something, tell them to do something else — it’ll distract them from what you don’t want them to be doing and will help them focus on what they should do instead

26. If you want someone who doesn’t normally take your ideas into account to take them more seriously, instead of claiming the ideas as your own, say that successful people or companies — like Bill Gates or Tesla — use them, and explain to the person how they can apply the same ideas to their present situation

27. Alternatively, people will respond to their own ideas better than someone else’s — if you want someone to go with one of your own ideas, lead them to believe they came up with it on their own (you can do this by saying, “I swear you mentioned this in one of our chats”)

28. Smile at everyone you encounter — it’ll make your daily interactions much more pleasant

29. Instead of asking, “Do you have any questions?” ask, “What questions do you have?” — people will be more likely to speak up

30. If someone is doing something obviously wrong, construct the least negative reason they may have done it (i.e. they were trespassing because they didn’t know they weren’t supposed to be there vs. they were breaking the law knowingly) and give them a chance to use it as an excuse — it ensures the situation remains non-confrontational and pleasant

31. If you need to remember something, think about it while doing something noticeably unusual, like moving something in your room out of place — when you notice it later, you’ll be reminded of the thought

32. Ask big knowing your request will be dismissed, and then ask for what you really want — it’ll make your real request seem more reasonable

33. Instead of verbally attacking someone for doing something, say how you feel — they can get angry and defensive if they feel attacked, but they can’t get mad at you for how you feel

34. If you want to trick people into liking you, ask them for a favor, even if it’s as small as just having them hold something for you for a moment — it tricks their brain into thinking more positively of you because they figure they wouldn’t do a favor for you if they didn’t like you

35. If your kid can’t stop asking, “Why?” just look at them and say, “I don’t know, why do you think?” — they’ll come up with their own answers and you can both move on