Psychological tricks that will get anyone to like you
You only get one chance to make a first impression. So if you want to make sure that it’s going to show you in the most favourable light, you can employ a little bit of science to help you out. That’s right, you can trick people into liking you.
1. Find common ground
The first tip is based on research from New York University. This showed that the best way to get someone to think highly of you is to give them a reason to trust you in the first place. This can be as simple as mentioning the names of some friends that you have in common, finding a shared hobby, or working out that your husbands both used to be plumbers. This gives the other person a fast reason to believe that you are a good person who is worth getting to know.
2. Pull out the Duchenne smile
Smiling sounds obvious, but it’s the type of smile that you give that pays off. The Duchenne smile involves having the corners of your mouth raised, as well as smiling hard enough to form crow’s feet around your eyes.
While you don’t want to look like a grinning lunatic from the moment you’re introduced, the Duchenne can be pulled out at the right time after you’ve been chatting for a while. It makes people see that you are a sincere and happy person, someone that they want to get to know.
3. Know your icebreakers
We’ve all been stuck at functions or dinner parties where you are literally forced to make small talk. But before you resort to a classically dull line such as “Nice weather we’re having…” try going down the current affairs, films or sport route instead, depending on your audience. If the other person understands what you’re talking about and responds – boom – this will give you an instant connection.
4. Ask a favour
No, don’t ask them if they can help you move house, but asking a very small favour can end up having the other person like you more. It could be as simple as “Can you pass the potatoes?” or “Have you got the time?”
The research shows that doing a small favour for someone tends to cause you to like them more afterwards. This is because we try to justify our actions in our head – so we tell ourselves that we did the favour because we like them.
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