Social Engineering

If your pretext is that you have an upcoming interview with HR, which would probably stress you out, it wouldn't really match if you seemed as calm as can be and were speaking overconfidently.

People like people who are like them. People like people who like them. As tongue- or brain-twisting as those two statements are, it's important to understand the deeper meaning of each.

Another factor in the successful application of this principle is having some knowledge about the topic and the ability to ask good questions.

Check out these two alternatives. The detective could ask, “Were you at Lee's bar at 11 p.m. during the robbery?” And the perp could easily answer with, “Nope, I was never there.” Or the detective could ask, “So, at 11 p.m., what did you see during the robbery at Lee's bar?” To which the perp might reply, “Well, I didn't see anything at all. It was

This one principle of rapport is so powerful, if you can master it, you might be unstoppable. But it's not nearly as easy to do as you might think. To understand why mastering this principle can be difficult, let me first define ego suspension.

Questions are a natural part of conversation. From the moment we begin to speak, we use questions to send and receive data. This is why understanding the four different types of questions—as well as how to use them—is essential to becoming a good elicitor. That is what this next section will cover.

What happens if you try to talk too fast about a topic that you are unfamiliar or uncomfortable with? You may stutter or stumble over words. Additionally, you may find yourself using word whiskers, which are expressions like “um,” “like,” and other short, filler words. This can cause your listeners to think you lack knowledge and confidence.

The running theme of all these things is that your expression of liking must be genuine. My good friend Robin Dreeke accomplishes this by looking at each person as his or her own reality TV show. He doesn't have to like your life, or the things you do, but he has enough interest to want to find out the plot and how it unfolds. That desire to find o

If you open the door for someone as they walk toward an entryway that has two sets doors to pass through, what will they almost always do? Hold the second door open for you. This is reciprocal altruism. How can you apply this to social engineering? If you give something of value to a person, he or she will feel indebted and want to repay that gift.