It takes a sharp and an intelligent mind to pull something so complex and deliberate as a manipulation trick. Therefore, it can be only achieved by someone who possesses a thorough knowledge of the human psyche.
Manipulators are usually people with many years of experience and numerous tricks up their sleeves. So, revealing their intentions might not be the easiest thing to do.
But, it is very important to understand that our “gut feeling” has the power to take us anywhere. It’s a sensation, an unmistakable feeling when something is right or wrong. You feel it in you. And you immediately know it.
So, here are 8 caution signs that someone you know might be trying to manipulate you:
1. THEY WILL ALWAYS LET YOU SPEAK FIRST
Why? It is the perfect way to carefully examine your personality and extract everything they need to know.
By asking you general questions, they start creating a psychological profile of you. They look for your strengths and weaknesses. Anything that makes your heart pound, your hands sweat or your smile glisten.
The information they eventually extract is usually used against you.
2. THEY DISPLAY NEGATIVE EMOTIONS
Some of these individuals prefer to use the technique where they intimidate their victims. They usually raise their voice and behave aggressively in order to scare the victim away and get everything they want.
The aggressive tone is usually combined with a strong and intimidating body language in order to increase the victim’s fear.
3. THEY PLAY ON YOUR INSECURITIES
These people will do anything to disempower you. Anything to bring you down. So, what would be the easiest, yet the most unrecognizable way to do that?
Dark humor, sarcastic jokes, and insults, all on your account.
Their ultimate goal is making you even more insecure and miserable. By getting you to feel bad, they hope to impose their fake superiority over you.
4. THEY ENJOY PRETENDING TO BE IGNORANT
The oldest trick in the book. The “playing dumb” tactic.
When a person pulls an “I-don’t-understand-you” kind behavior, even though it is pretty clear that they aren’t so dumb as they appear to be, they are desperately trying to make you take on something that is clearly their responsibility.
Just like a kid that pretends to be incapable in order to get an adult to do something for them.
Watch out, because adults do the same.
5. THEY DISTORT THE TRUTH AND MANIPULATE THE FACTS
Where should I even begin? Lying. Excuse making. Blaming the victim for being victimized. Withholding information. Exaggerating. Presenting themselves as the victim. Judging. Criticizing.
These are all a part of the manipulator’s arsenal. Their most powerful weapons.
6. THEY WILL PRESSURE YOU UNTIL YOU CRACK
Manipulators want everything. And they want it now.
So, you should know that in order to get it, they won’t think twice before they apply an excessive amount of pressure on someone. They’ll even create a fake urgency, just to increase the tension.
7. THEY OVERWHELM YOU WITH STATISTICS IN ORDER TO CONFUSE YOU
Some of these individuals enjoy bullying people by overwhelming them with knowledge from certain areas.
They take advantage of the things you might not know of and attack you with certain statistics, facts or data.
That way, you’ll be left speechless, lacking the ability to control the course of your conversation.
8. THEY WILL JUDGE AND CRITICIZE YOU
In addition to “intellectual bullying”, manipulators will constantly judge every opinion you have and criticize every move you make.
Their goal here is to convince you that there’s something wrong with you, and no matter how hard you try to achieve something, you’ll never be able to make it. They’ll do anything to keep you off balance in order to remain superior to you.
Image: Maou Bertrand
