FBI mind attack: the super psychological tactics of the US federal police

Chapter 15 Mysterious, unfathomable——FBI's bluff psychological tactics (2)
Once, Rossi, a famous Italian tragedy performer, was invited abroad to attend a large banquet. The guests at the banquet were all celebrities from all over the world.In the middle of the banquet, many guests wanted to experience the wonderful skills of Rossi's performing arts live, so these guests asked him to perform a tragedy that he was best at.Rossi didn't refuse. He thought for a while, then stood in the middle of the banquet hall and began to recite a "line" in Italian "affectionately".Most of the guests at the scene couldn't understand what he was reciting, but seeing his mournful expression and hearing his painful and deep voice, they all thought he was telling a heartbreaking tragedy in the world, so many people were arrested. Rosie's grief was contagious and she shed tears of sympathy.However, one of the guests, who was also from Italy, tried his best to hold back his laughter from the very beginning, and finally couldn't bear it anymore, so he ran out of the banquet hall and laughed wildly.People felt very strange about his behavior, so they walked over and asked him what he was laughing at, and then the Italian guest told the "truth" about Rossi's performance that made everyone feel helpless—it turned out that the famous The tragic performance artist is not reciting any classic lines, but just reading the menu on the banquet table.

From the above examples, we can clearly see the great role of voice in controlling people's emotions and thinking.In fact, not only tone, rhythm, volume level, etc., but also some sounds without fixed meaning, such as sighs, groans, cries, laughter, etc., are also very contagious to the listener when speaking. Complements the spoken language, making the topic more specific and real.Even the same sentence, if it is spoken in different tones and then added with onomatopoeia with different meanings, it is likely to express completely opposite meanings such as ridicule and praise.

From this point of view, in life and work, if we can correctly use onomatopoeia as an auxiliary language and strengthen the use of tones when speaking, we can improve interpersonal relationships and promote the smooth progress of things.

(2) The use of "communication space"
Investigators of the FBI in the United States found in the process of interrogating cases that many criminal suspects have such a characteristic: when you press the question closely, he will appear nervous and at a loss, and the tighter the question, the more the suspect will feel Uncomfortable, especially when asked about the details of their private lives, they may even appear confused and full of loopholes.Later, after research by psychological experts, it was found that this phenomenon occurred in criminal suspects because the investigators’ questions continued to deepen, approaching their psychological bottom line, and constantly compressing the space in their hearts that could accept others to enter, so that they had nowhere to go. In a situation where he can retreat, he can only give up resistance and bow his head to plead guilty.In response to such a psychological phenomenon, the famous American anthropologist Ed Hall once said: "Space can speak." That is to say, everyone has an independent space that can accept the approach of others, whether psychologically or physically. physically.Hall once did such an interesting experiment-let an enthusiastic and cheerful South American talk with a shy North American at one end of an empty hall.South Americans keep approaching North Americans according to the most suitable distance they think they should keep when getting along with others, while North Americans keep retreating according to the distance they should keep with others.Just like that, when the conversation was over, the two of them had inadvertently moved from one end of the hall to the other.And this is the "communication space" effect in human psychology.

In the process of interacting with others, most people will take the initiative to keep a certain distance.Because each person's personality is different, the standards that meet the appropriate distance in each person's heart are also different.When we have conversations with other people, we inadvertently maintain a fixed distance from each other, which reflects the closeness of a person's existing relationship with other people or what kind of relationship they hope to achieve.The difference in the distance between people shows the degree of mutual understanding between the two.Generally, this distance is divided into four types: intimate zone, personal zone, social zone, and public zone.All over the world, due to the differences in cultural traditions among nations and countries, the independent space required by each person psychologically and physically is also different.For example, when the French talk to the British, the French are more enthusiastic and like to keep a relatively close distance with people. The standard is that their breath can be sprayed on each other's face, and this method makes the relatively cold British very uncomfortable. Step back in order to maintain the distance you need.In this way, it is easy to appear the interesting phenomenon in the conversation between South Americans and North Americans in Hall's experiment: one party is "pressing forward", while the other party is "retreating steadily".

Therefore, the FBI reminds people to pay attention to observing and respecting the space needed by others in daily interpersonal communication, and to determine the appropriate distance to maintain during conversations based on the close relationship with others.If the distance is too far, it is likely to make the other party mistakenly think that you are unwilling to get close or further communication, leaving the impression of indifference, withdrawn, and difficult to get along with others; but if the distance is too close, it may also make the other party feel uncomfortable. Think that you are not polite enough and disrespectful to others.Especially when conducting business negotiations, the distance between you and the other party should be properly grasped. Not only should you maintain an appropriate physical distance, but you should also pay attention to the choice of words during the conversation, so as not to leave a frivolous impression on the other party. , especially not involving personal matters when speaking.Otherwise, it will often make the other party unable to accept your words and deeds psychologically, and then find it difficult to accept your request, which is not conducive to the smooth development of the matter discussed.

If you want to know some information that others are unwilling to disclose, you can also use this method of compressing the other party's "independent space" to make the other party submit.When your questioning touches the psychological bottom line that the other party can accept, the other party will have symptoms such as anxiety and irritability, and even perform some inappropriate behaviors due to emotional impulsiveness, and the flaws in these behaviors are likely to be indirect. Disclose the information you need.

From this point of view, being able to understand and master the skills of using "communication space" is of great significance for improving interpersonal relationships and handling various problems smoothly.

(3) Apply pressure to persuade stubborn objects
In daily interpersonal communication, people sometimes encounter people who are completely disinterested in what they say, or even disgusted, and once these people become stubborn, no matter how much you persuade them, they will find it difficult to listen to them or act accordingly move. The FBI believes that when you face such a person, it is necessary to start from the other party's psychological point of view to figure out the other party's true intentions, and then use psychological tactics to put pressure on the other party to prompt them to change.

Setting a time limit to put pressure on the opponent is one of the methods often used by the FBI.When you encounter obstacles in communication with others and things cannot go smoothly, you can try to use the method of "putting pressure" to solve the problem.For example, you can say to the other party, "It's almost time, I think we'll end the conversation in 5 minutes", "Think about it, please give me an answer in an hour" or "Put this matter on hold for now, and we'll talk about it in a month." Let's re-discuss" and so on, by giving the other party a certain time limit, let them feel the pressure, and then re-examine and judge the value of the conversation with you, and seriously consider your opinions.

There is another situation, that is, when the conversation is deadlocked, if you still insist on asking the other party to give a reply in a short time at this time, it is likely to make him more dissatisfied with you or even become angry with you, making things even more embarrassing. Even intractable states. The FBI believes that at this time, it is necessary to learn to back down and give the other party a certain amount of space and time.At this time, you can say: "Let's not discuss this topic for the time being. Both parties should think carefully before making a decision." Smooth development.

When people communicate, especially in business negotiations, they often have differences due to different starting points of interests between the two parties, which leads to a stalemate in the negotiations. At this time, pressing every step of the way will not bring good results.If you can change the method, for example: "Since we can't reach an agreement now, let's cooperate later", or say "My colleagues will continue to negotiate with you on this issue another day".Using this method not only exerts a certain amount of pressure on the other party in a relatively soft way, but also leaves room for buffering for the negotiation, which is conducive to the smooth start of the negotiation in the future.

In addition to the method of putting pressure on the other party, the FBI also reminds people to learn to consciously mention to the other party the consensus reached or the common interests of both parties during the conversation.In many cases, the two parties may have reached a consensus on a certain matter in the early stage of the conversation, but after a period of time, because one of the parties backtracks and may disagree with the previous opinion, in this case, it is necessary to constantly remind the other party.Moreover, when the two sides reach an agreement, they should sign an agreement as soon as possible or fulfill the obligations reached - only in this way can the direction and process of the development of the situation be controlled and the goal achieved as soon as possible.

(4) Control the dialogue and go straight to the topic
People usually have this kind of experience. When you are talking with others, if you come to a topic that you are not interested in, you will show emotional impatience with facial expressions or body movements.In fact, this is an effective psychological hint, through which the process of dialogue can be effectively controlled.

The FBI believes that when the dialogue enters a stalemate, it is like a football match. During this competitive process, if you always miss the goal, it is easy to cause dissatisfaction because your teammates cannot catch the ball; If you have outstanding skills and don't pay attention to the cooperation with the team, it will be difficult to win the game.The same is true for conversations with other people in daily life. The FBI believes that it is necessary to adjust and control the content of the conversation during the conversation, so that the required information can be obtained between the conversations.

During the conversation, if you encounter language that conflicts with your own way of thinking, you should use facial expressions or body movements to give hints to the other party, or deliberately slow down or lower the tone of the conversation in the following conversation, causing The attention of the other party, in this way, let the other party change the content of the conversation or end the conversation directly.So, what exactly can people do to effectively control the content and process of conversations? On the basis of summarizing the interrogation experience, the FBI proposed several methods of using facial expressions and body postures to control conversations under different circumstances, providing examples for people's effective conversations.

①Speed ​​up the conversation and make the conversation straight to the point.

Due to their personalities, many people are always slow in their conversations, and even keep changing the content of the conversation, unable to get straight to the point, wasting time in vain and making people feel helpless.Because people don't have too much energy to listen to useless nonsense or polite words.When encountering this situation, you can use the way of quickly nodding to the other party to convey the signal.When the speaker sees this kind of action you make, he will also unconsciously feel that he should speed up his speech, rush directly to the topic, and end the conversation as soon as possible.

There are also some people who will speak faster and faster during the conversation, and the content of the speech will become more and more extensive, making it difficult to figure out what the other party wants to say.Most people of this type have a strong sense of self-superiority and do not know how to respect the feelings of others.They are often selfish and vain, and they consider their own interests first in everything they do, regardless of other people's feelings and gains and losses, and they are also very jealous. When they see others making progress or getting good grades, It is often overwhelming to say challenging things.Therefore, in the process of talking with others, they often talk endlessly, saliva, and talk a lot, but in fact, they just want to get more benefits for themselves, regardless of whether others are willing to continue listening.When this happens, you can make an impatient expression, or check the time on your watch or phone frequently.Although the other party is extremely selfish and disrespectful to others, in fact, this type of person is extremely concerned about what others think of them, so when they find that you are impatient, they will know that they should take the initiative to slow down the pace of the conversation, or temporarily suspend it. The content of the conversation leaves room for buffering.In this way, once the other party stops talking, you can take over the right to speak and start to express your opinion.But it should be noted that you can't continue the conversation according to the other party's wishes, but you should start a new stove, change the content of the conversation, and let the other party know that you don't care or are not interested in the content of the conversation just now, and you don't want to continue.

There are also some people who are naturally smart and dexterous, have a cheerful personality, love the limelight, and have certain leadership skills.But because he is overconfident in his own talents, he often shows his sharpness and shows arrogance and hypocrisy, which can easily arouse the resentment of the people around him.Especially when this type of person is talking with others, it is difficult to grasp the time and content of the conversation, but they will always express their opinions, which will leave others with a self-righteous impression. The FBI believes that when this kind of person has no intention of stopping talking at all, you must give a clear action or expression to let the other person know that you are not interested in the conversation and want to end the conversation, or you can even speak directly to the other person. your thoughts.For example: "I'm sorry to interrupt, I'm not interested in what you said at all, let's change the subject or talk another day." Maybe many people will think this is very rude, but if you don't give the right to control the conversation If there are no actions or behaviors, then others will not want to take the initiative to stop or listen to your opinions, but think that the content of the conversation is very attractive, and others are willing to continue listening.Therefore, in order not to wrong your heart and ruin your ears, it is better not to worry about your face when you meet this kind of person, but directly find a way to let the other person clearly understand your "do not want to listen" wishes.

② When the other party expresses too many opinions, the skill of making him stop talking.

According to the observation of the FBI, there is such a kind of people who have a strong sense of social responsibility, have their own viewpoints and opinions on many things, and think that they have thoughts and depths, but in fact, those viewpoints and opinions have nothing to do with others. No practical significance.This kind of person basically has two kinds of performances when talking with others: one is extremely talkative, and keeps expressing opinions on the topic of the conversation; Too perfunctory and obedient.So generally speaking, the characters and performances of these two types of people are difficult to be accepted by others, and the most disgusting thing is their nagging and endless suggestions.

For this type of people, the FBI believes that if you want them to stop expressing their opinions endlessly, you can clearly put on the action of "you should stop talking, I'm impatient" to convey the message.For example, put your finger in front of your lips, extend your middle finger, or deliberately adjust the time on your watch.Such gestures or gestures send a message to the other person that the ongoing conversation should stop.

(End of this chapter)