Psychological Tricks to Increase Social Interaction

Befriending social butterflies is one of the effective ways to enhance your behavior in social situations. Model others, observe them, interact with them, and who knows, you may even start mimicking them. This Buzzle post has jotted down psychological tactics that will help you increase social interaction, and lessen the feeling of being left out when in a crowd

True that! It's like when you look good, you feel good. And when you feel good, you tend to be good, socially! Working on your habits and mannerism, developing good hygiene, are some of the ways to supercharge oneself. But are these enough?

Not everyone is born an extrovert with a savvy nature. There are those who blend in like a chameleon, are really comfortable amidst a crowd, fly away to gatherings, and may even end up being leaders. And then there are those, who are really introvertish. They may not be comfortable in facing strangers, making new friends, and more importantly, talking to them. Feeling left out when in a group of friends, not just in parties or social gatherings, but generally―is totally fine! A lot of us feel the same way. To improvise in times such, we've got some hacks that will sail your boat through socially awkward situations. Read on.

Feign Everything To Be Comfy
To tell you, everyone gets anxious. Our brain is programmed in a way that it tries to protect us from exposure. It's high time we program our brains to behave the way we want it to. Assume that meeting strangers is the easiest thing to do. Assume, you already know who you're going to meet, what's gonna happen there; assume comfort in every situation.

You're Welcome if Their Feet Turn Towards You
You don't wanna interrupt people in the middle of a conversation, and put a bad first impression. Notice, not just their torso, but their feet. If you find them turning towards you, you've got the entrance! They are open to welcoming you. Maybe, it's time you hit the conversation and come into notice.

Start With Compliments
Who doesn't love compliments? People crave for praises, appreciation, and positive feedback. Learn the art of flattery. Say something nice to people (and they'll be nice to you.) Start up by observing their appearance, select features that attract you. No brown-nosing (or at least don't make it look obvious). It's better if you go specific about complimenting, but you can start off with anything like―you have a great smile, nice shirt, cool pair of jeans, lovely bag, and so on ...

Enter The Question Mark
After all the compliments generously being conferred to the world by you, it's time you hear something in return. Add relevant questions to your compliments. For instance, Nice shirt! Where did you get it from? Cool pair of jeans. Are they new? and so on ...

Nod and Talk
When we talk to someone, what do we expect in return? A positive response, don't we? So, inculcate the habit of nodding when someone's talking to you. This will tell them that you're interested in knowing stuff, and that your thoughts are in sync with them. And since people tend to mimic, eventually, you can expect nods of agreement when you talk.

Validate!
Want people to like you instantly? Give them what they need. Start rephrasing their statements. This will make them feel good. And your job is done.

Raise Your Eyebrows
Many times, people only partially answer your question, mostly the last part. In such situations, raise your eyebrows while you maintain eye contact. This would project your interest in knowing the complete answer, and they would continue giving one.

Laughing Opens Doors
Nothing connects people faster than smiles! A pleasant smile, a genuine laughter, an inviting look, and the magic is done. This is an act of inviting contact. When people smile back, you know the trick has worked. It's time you find the right conversational topic, and "win" this person.

Fold Your Arms; Notice If They Mimic You
As we told you earlier, we humans have the habit of mimicking. To find out who's been attentive to your talks, do some gestures like folding your hands. You'll see the person following you, if he's been paying heed to your talks.

A LITTLE Touch Does No Harm
This is applicable only during early development and is more a matter of preference. Studies say, you're more liked by a person if your conversation involves some kind of touch (contact) with the person in front. Like, keeping your hand over his shoulder would show your support.

Everything's In A Name
You've probably read about this one. People feel important when their name is being mentioned. After you've been introduced to someone, make an effort to include their name in conversations that bridge up. For instance, it's a pleasure to meet you, Rose.

The Cycle of Body Language and Respect
Body language experts opine, to gain respect, you must match your body language to a person with high social value. Observe their speaking patterns, their greeting gestures; approach them and imitate them. Understand this cycle―if you're a man of high value, you're being admired; if people admire you, you must be a high value man.

Ruminate in The True Sense
Research has uncovered that chewing gum in times of stress helps people reduce anxiety, show more promptness, and enhance multitasking capabilities. Another research confirms that when hogging on food, our brain feels more relaxed and out of danger. So when anxiety knocks you in social interactions, seek something to eat!

Paint Their Minds
It's the little things that leave a greater impression. While conversing, take people around you to a beautiful journey. Make actions while you talk; describe colors, fragrances, shapes, with supportive sounds. Let them get the feel of actually being present with you. Making them fantasize stuff will hook them to your topic.

Cut Down on "I think"
We do remember the age when things like "I think", "I believe", "I guess" sounded cool. But if you wanna leave an impact, reduce the use of such words. Make your words weighty by using "I will."

Push The Pause Button
You know, with most people, when trying to keep the conversation going, we tend to talk speedily. This will revert things for you. Learn to take appropriate pauses to add weight to your words.

Act Like Sherlock ... Sometimes!
Now, things are getting trickier. To better your interaction, find the factionalism in groupism! Or should I say, groupism within a group? All we mean, is find out people in the group who are closer to each other (more than others). An easy trick would be to crack a joke―pay attention to those looking at each other―exchanging expressions when laughing.

Avoid Trash Talking
Want to be heard more? Avoid verbal diarrhea. Keep it mysterious so that people feel the need to hear the entire story, hear you more ...

Stand Next To The Fire
No, we don't intend it to be taken literally! Avoid situations that drag you to arguments, but if you've already got caught, don't make the mistake of standing in front of the person who's furious. Instead, stand beside him. This will have a calming effect on them, making them believe they have your support.

You Are What You Believe You Are

If you aren't born with it, fake it! And the process of faking it, will make you fetch it! Start commanding your brain about things you want to be. For instance, in social meetings, if you feel low-esteemed to talk to people, start commanding your brain to be more confident. This is a slow but an effective way to enhance your social skills. Believe, that you are no different, and can manage social interactions without a feeling of awkwardness, and eventually, you'll become what you believed in.