Posted by Our workplace is made up of people from different backgrounds. Psychology can help you to understand your own and other people’s behaviour better. There are a few ways you can explore psychological life hacks in your career. Some people may call it as life hacks or shortcuts, but they are simply methods to improve your overall communication and relationship with people.
1.Pay attention to peopleās feet.
Interrupting people in the middle of a conversation can be viewed as a rude thing to do as it shows that you are not familiar with social dynamics, which will put you in an unpleasant spot. If you are approaching two people in the middle of a discussion, and they only turn their torsos and not their feet, they do not want you to be part of the conversation. If both turn their torso and feet, it means you are welcome into the discussion.Ā
2.Foot-in-the-door phenomenon.
Your colleagues are more than likely to agree to help you out with a task if you ask them to do something simpler first. Due to the cognitive dissonance in a personās mind. Peopleās minds generally rationalise that they must like you enough first before doing you a favour in the first place. This is also called the Benjamin Franklin Effect.
3.The opposite of foot-in-the-door.
The alternative approach is to ask someone to do an unreasonable task. Once they turn down your request, follow-up with your intended favour with a more reasonable task instead. That person will be more likely to help you with your second request instead.
4.If you ask someone a question and they only partially answer, just wait. They will continue explaining.
A common workplace situation, when you donāt know the person well enough, or your question was not clear enough. If the person finished answering by giving an incomplete answer, remain silent and maintain eye contact. Once the tension becomes unbearable, raise your eyebrows. It puts a fair bit of pressure on them, but it communicates that you show interest to know more.Ā
5.People will remember not what you have said but how you made them feel.
If you want to make a good first impression to people you have just met, there are 3 distinctive emotions that you should invoke, those are excitement, laughter and intrigue. No matter how boring the conversation is, you can still turn it into a memorable one. Switching your tones around helps as well from deep for declarative statements to high tone when you want to leave people intrigued. Learn to paint pictures in their minds with sensory details by describing the colours, sounds, textures, tastes and smell.
6.The key to confidence is walking into a room, and assuming everyone already likes you.
It can be challenging to feel comfortable in most of our social interactions, and it would certainly steer you away from trying to be social. This is why commanding your confidence to feel that you already know the person can put you in an advantageous position. It improves the chances of people showing interest in you and even likes you.
7.Maintaining a clean and organised workplace improves your mood, productivity and other perception of you.
Is your environment clean and well organised? If not, take a few minutes to clean up your work desk and put everything in a tidy manner. Not only will you feel more refreshed, and your productivity levels increase, but you will also come across as a person that is caring and punctual at the workplace.
8.Avoid using the words āI thinkā and āI believe.ā
These words do not inspire confidence when you are conversing at the workplace. Also, the use of these words changes the focus from the subject to yourself. Instead, use words such as āI knowā and āI willā instead. It sounds more confident, and the focus did not divert away from the main subject.
9.Fold your arms if you want to see if the person is paying attention to your conversation.
If you want to avoid wasting time talking to a person who is probably distracted or might not be interested in your talks, fold your arms while talking. If the other party mimicās your stance, it shows that the other person is still observing and paying attention towards you.
10.Nod while you talk if you want to get a positive response from your listeners.
Nodding while you are delivering a message is a great way to get people to agree with you. People tend to follow along, so they will likely nod back while you are talking. This will send a response to their brains that they agreed to your explanation.Ā
What is your take on dealing with peer pressure? Leave us your thoughts on the comment sections below. Head over to Jobstore.com and unveil your next job opportunity.
You Jing is a content writer who writes careerĀ and lifestyle contents to inspireĀ job seekers and employers alike on their journey to work-life balance, empowerment and transformation in their career path.
Reach me at youjing@jobstore.com