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Psychology
5 Mind Tricks Everyone Should Know When Dealing With People
Psychological tricks for influencing the behavior of others can be an effective way to reinforce boundaries or get your way. Let’s take a look at a few:
“Sicilian Gap”
Aptly named from chess, this strategy uses personal space to control others’ movements. People like to conversate within a comfort zone, not too far or close, so if you were to move during an encounter, you can influence where the other person moves.
Walking towards someone's personal space can influence them to move away, but that can come off aggressive. The beauty of the Sicilian Gap is that you can have the same effect by moving farther away. If you move away from the comfortable distance of conversation, someone will move closer to you in order to hear you and be heard again.
The best use of this is getting someone to leave. If you move towards the door and talk softly, the other person will follow in order to be heard. It would seem awkward for you to move 20 feet towards the door and for them to stay where they are standing, it’s almost 100% certain they will move closer to you, and where you are moving is where you want them to go.
