Only a leader who has certain business, professional, and personal qualities can be successful. All of them together make it possible to optimize business processes, improve productivity, and, if necessary, increase sales levels. However, knowledge about how to manage people is no less useful in everyday life. After all, the basic techniques work with every person, regardless of his social status, gender and age.
Goals
Often, to achieve a goal, you need the help of other people, but it is not always possible to ask for it directly.
Practical psychologists became interested in the impact on the psyche of another individual. They managed to create techniques that, when applied, any individual will be able to control his interlocutor, a group of people, and even an entire country. Manipulation skills are necessary in all areas of life. They help parents unobtrusively educate and instill in their children norms of behavior. Businessmen need to establish business contacts with partners. A leader who skillfully manages his subordinates reduces the level of conflict in the team and creates a favorable environment. The seller, knowing the peculiarities of the buyer’s psyche, quietly pushes them to buy.
People manipulate each other all the time. But many do this unconsciously, which is why achieving results takes years. If an individual has management skills and uses them wisely, he will manage to manage his life. Such people quickly move up the career ladder and achieve personal goals.
Psychological stability and thinking
One of the key characteristics of good managers is psychological stability and positive thinking. How to learn to manage people is understood by the person who is not embarrassed by doubts or fears and is not burdened by negative emotions. He is confident in himself, as well as in the goods or services that he needs to sell. The ability to control emotions and a positive mood will help such a manager very quickly convince clients and gain their trust.
An equally important aspect for the effectiveness of management decisions is customer focus and the use of the right strategies when working with them. After all, the number of beneficial agreements for the company directly depends on the number of satisfied customers. A good leader is very attentive to people, knows how to listen to them, and also has a subtle instinct.
In addition, it is important that a leader be able to show patience and persistence towards subordinates, partners or clients. However, he must be extremely careful so that his actions do not look too intrusive.
The effectiveness of management decisions also cannot be achieved without the ability to persuade. A good specialist needs to constantly develop this practice, supplementing it with new tools. Understanding the psychological characteristics of a person is of great importance in the implementation of persuasion skills.
Classification
There are many methods of influencing the psyche. They differ in complexity and duration of influence. The only quality that unites all methods is secrecy: a person should not understand that he is being manipulated. Methods of influence:
- Suggestion. The manipulator “puts” the necessary thoughts into a person’s head, leading him to certain conclusions. Suggestion occurs through communication, “random” throwing of facts, unobtrusive discussion of a problematic topic.
- Manipulation. A complex process of influence that requires a combination of several methods of influence. The leader becomes for his subordinates what they want him to be. It combines emotional pressure, offering benefits, and plays on the fear of missed opportunities. The choice of manipulation technique is individual. Influence affects both the crowd and the individual.
- NLP. This technique allows you to program the object of influence. It is the most difficult, requiring deep knowledge of psychology. Manipulation techniques using NLP cannot be overcome. They are similar to hypnosis: the individual is not aware of the control of an outsider, he believes that he himself made the decision.
All methods are effective, but the degree of influence also depends on the abilities of the manipulator, the psyche of the person they are trying to control.
Features of subordination
To understand how and what control methods to choose, you need to know the peculiarities of how the psyche works. The manipulator must:
- Radiate positive energy. A friendly person causes a response - those around him are unconsciously drawn to him. The opinion of a positive person is perceived favorably, even if he expresses controversial things.
- Don't show excitement. Even in a situation of heated dispute, one must remain calm. This will confuse the opponent and show the manipulator as a strong person. If a dispute has witnesses, they will remember who was in a more advantageous position.
- Manage your time, be able to plan things. You cannot learn to influence other people if you cannot manage your own priorities. You need to get rid of meaningless activities.
- Always make eye contact. When an individual hides his eyes, he is treated with suspicion. A leader always looks in the face and does not look away. If you feel uncomfortable looking into your eyes, you can look at the point between your eyebrows.
- Don't be afraid to enter into conflict. Fear of conflict is a serious obstacle to learning management techniques. Conflict is a clash of interests. You need to learn to defend your opinion. Of course, this will displease your opponents, but you cannot adapt to them, otherwise you will not be able to influence the situation.
- Develop strengths. You need to use and develop your advantages. If an individual tries to develop weaknesses, he wastes time on this that he could spend on strengthening strong skills. You need to upgrade the skills you already have - this will allow you to quickly increase your level of efficiency.
- Make a positive first impression. Correcting a bad first impression is difficult and it is better to avoid it. In order for the object of manipulation to form positive associations, you need to prepare for the first meeting. Find out what he likes, choose a cafe with a suitable atmosphere. Give a small gift. It does not oblige you to anything, but will be a good sign of attention.
When confident behavior becomes habitual, you can move on to honing manipulation techniques.
Methods and methods of influence depending on the abilities of the manipulator
The choice of the appropriate method of influence depends on the goal, the character traits of the people who are to be convinced, and the moral values of the manipulator. You can influence through physiological needs and emotions.
Visual influencers
A leader must take care of his appearance. People study and evaluate each other based on their appearance, since the main channel for receiving information is vision. A respectable appearance inspires respect and emphasizes high social status. For men the following are required:
- business suit;
- neat strict haircut;
- no stubble;
- expensive accessories;
- impeccable posture.
Women can wear a business dress instead of a suit. Makeup is light, almost invisible. This type of appearance arouses interest and a desire to listen to words.
Visual aids also include additional materials that accompany the speech: posters, videos, tables and graphs. Presentations and mock-ups are used during negotiations.
Acoustic influences
Impact using speech features also gives good results. You need to watch your voice: speak measuredly. It should sound friendly, but not ingratiating. You can’t speak too quickly - it’s annoying and takes away interest in the words.
Popular speech techniques of influence:
- repeating the last phrase after the interlocutor;
- offering two options to choose from, both of which are beneficial to the manipulator;
- leading questions that encourage you to express your true desires.
To get a positive response from a skeptical interlocutor, you need to create or wait for the right situation. A noisy place with a large crowd of people is suitable for conversation. In such a situation, the object of manipulation will want to end the conversation as quickly as possible and will quickly agree to the proposed conditions.
Business qualities
When studying how to properly manage a team, special attention should be paid to the business characteristics of a person’s character. Some of them are able to compensate for even rather modest work experience or lack of specialized education. Important personal qualities of a leader, first of all, are the ability to organize the work of subordinates and quickly solve emerging difficulties.
At the same time, the effectiveness of management decisions depends on a systematic approach to work. Every successful leader must perceive the organization as a collection of interconnected elements. Each component (people, technology, tasks, organizational structure) is aimed at achieving different goals. Therefore, the key skills of a manager include the ability to organize work in such a way that all elements work harmoniously.
In addition, you need to remember the need to develop the following qualities:
- the desire to maintain a leadership position in all situations;
- ambition and ability to defend one’s opinion;
- Also, the effectiveness of management decisions largely depends on the ability to win over and convince interlocutors;
- enterprise;
- flexibility in solving work problems;
- strict self-control and restraint;
- the personality of the manager requires the ability to correctly distribute work processes between subordinates;
- lack of fear of innovation.
How are self-control and influence on others related?
Manipulation requires strong willpower and the ability to control your emotions. When directing another person, a leader must be in control of the situation. Otherwise, the object will seize the initiative and you will not be able to influence it.
When self-control has been mastered at a sufficient level, you need to start working on your reputation. It is important to evoke the right impression, trust, and establish an emotional connection.
At first, you need to take the position of an observer: learn to evaluate people from afar, try to guess what they are thinking about. In dialogue, take the position of an active listener: do not impose an opinion, agree with the interlocutor. And only when it opens can you move on to suggestion.
An experienced manipulator can assess at first glance how he should behave with an object. It will take years of continuous training to develop this level of skill. To understand how to manage yourself and people, build relationships, influence the situation from the outside and from the inside, you need to study at least the basics of human psychology.
Vadim Shlakhter, Sergey Kholnov – “The Art of Dominance”
Technologies and manipulation techniques have always been a secret and extremely powerful weapon of power. Today, in connection with the development of mass media and information, the role of these methods in the life of an individual and society as a whole has only increased. The book “The Art of Dominance” talks about them. And it doesn’t just tell, since it attempts not only to describe the most important techniques of mental manipulation, but also to convey the skills of using them to everyone who reads this book with all attention and seriously decides to follow the recommendations outlined in it.
Why do influence methods fail to produce results?
Even experienced psychologists are not always able to choose a method of influencing a person. The reason for this may be:
- Depleted personal resource. If the manipulator is tired, irritated, and cannot concentrate, he will not be able to maintain a leadership position. In such a situation, he himself may become an object of influence. It is better to reschedule the conversation, otherwise it may lead to irreparable results.
- Psycho-emotional instability. If the target has mental illness, manipulation may backfire. Instead of calming down, a mentally unstable person will experience an attack of aggression. This must be taken into account when choosing a management technique. It is important to remember that a sociopath cannot be controlled because he himself has an innate ability to manipulate.
- Lack of self-confidence. When a leader does not believe in himself, the target feels it too. Then the desire to subjugate will lead to the manipulator becoming more disappointed in his abilities.
- Incorrectly selected method of influence. If the technique does not work, the exposure must be stopped.
- The target is not defined. When a manager does not see the result and uses influence techniques just like that, they will be ineffective.
The main thing a manipulator should strive for is not to allow the objects of influence to understand what is happening. If a person notices that he is being used, the consequences can be dire.
Useful literature
You can learn to manipulate people on your own by reading special books. For beginners, it is better to choose authors who clearly explain control techniques without delving into complex terminology:
- Z. Freud “Analysis of the human self and mass psychology.” The father of psychoanalytic theory examines in detail the features of relationships between relatives, friends, and colleagues. The author also gives characteristics of the leader, describing his outstanding qualities.
- S. Kholnov and V. Shlakhter “The Art of Dominance.” A set of ready-made techniques that can be used in work and personal life.
- V. Sheinov “The Art of Managing People.” The author uses examples from life to examine hidden techniques of manipulation and protection against them. Provides ready-made methods for conducting negotiations and ways out of conflict situations.
- R. Cialdini “Psychology of Persuasion.” In the book, the author collected 50 persuasion techniques based on the results of psychological research.
- H. Fexeus “How to read and control other people’s thoughts.” This book will help you learn to predict the behavior and desires of others and, based on this, build your behavior.
- R. Levin “Mechanisms of manipulation.” This book contains tips that are suitable for people whose lives are connected with advertising and business: negotiating, signing an agreement, increasing sales.
Learning how to manage people will take time, but with constant practice, selecting the appropriate influence technique will be easy.
Manipulation Ability Training
To understand and study human psychology, how to manage people, it is important to become imbued with a thirst for manipulation. Obtaining the necessary knowledge is impossible without desire. It can in itself “instill” the appropriate skills in a person. The initial step is to study yourself, your “I”, personality, character. Due to the significant emotional and mental stress that accompanies the application of psychological theoretical foundations in practice, you first need to learn how to manage yourself.
The following goals of studying the psychology of people and how to manage them are based on several sequential steps:
- studying specialized literature presenting manipulation techniques and control methods;
- establishing contact with the environment;
- creating authority, gaining trust through emotional and psychological influence;
- development of theoretical knowledge, practical use of management methods.
