The brain works in strange ways and often the things we do and decisions we make are down to unconscious factors that we are hardly even aware of. While this might sound alarming, it’s good news for anyone who understands these workings and how to use them to their advantage. If you can fathom the things that make the brain tick, then you can influence others and change the way they think about certain matters.
One example of doing this then may be to try and influence someone to make yourself look more confident or more capable. This might be a prospective date, it might be a potential employer, or it might be a client you are trying to ‘woo’. In any rate, if you can demonstrate to them that you have confidence in yourself, and that you know what you’re doing, then it’s more likely that they too will have confidence in you and think that you have something to offer. Which in turn means more hiring and dating…
And the good news is that there’s one simple little trick that can help you to do just that…
Repetition
That’s right – simply repeating things can help you to sound more confident, and particularly repeating what someone else has said to you. By repeating something you affirm that you’ve listened and heard and that puts faith in a client or customer right away that you are switched on and paying attention. At the same time though, when we hear things repeated it affirms that statement thus making it seem more true each time.
In one study looking at waitresses in a bar, it was found that by simply repeating a customer’s order back to them, a waitress could increase their tip by around 10%. This was even found to be more effective than paying complements, making jokes, looking attractive or giving sound advice. The simple message? Repeating things makes you sound like you know what you’re doing.
Another situation this could be useful in is meeting people, and particularly when trying to impress members of the opposite sex. Next time someone introduces themselves and you shake hands, try repeating the name they give back to them and you will be able to demonstrate you’ve listened (and clear up confusions early) while at the same time sounding confident. Something else that will help here too is the simple fact that we warm quickly to people who say our names. Repeating their name right from the start then will win you early brownie points and may help to make people more fond of you.