Now let’s be clear from the start — it’s not about that type of liking. It’s about winning friends and getting a job. It can be helpful for that type too, but that’s not what we are about here. There are many other ways to appeal to people, but, as the title suggests, we want to cover three weird ways to make yourself more likable. Here you go!
Mirror them!
When you mirror someone’s posture, movements and speech, it’s like you are saying “I am like you. I feel the same.” This builds a psychological bridge between you and that person, making them more inclined to like you and accept what you are saying. This includes vocabulary, intonations, accents, speed of your speech as well as movements. You can learn more about mirroring technique here.
Become the bearer of good news
A number of psychological studies stresses the importance of primacy effect. This refers to the fact that people will typically see you through the filter of their first impression about you. So if you were unfortunate enough to give a bad impression, everything you do afterwards is seen through that filter.
This is not to say that there is no hope. In fact, if someone disliked you in the beginning, then gradually came around to liking you, they will actually like you more than if they had liked you right from the beginning (according to some studies anyway). However, you probably don’t want that risk so make everything possible to give a good impression from day one.
While smiling and being positive is always great, perhaps you could strategize a little and present yourself as a bearer of good news or perhaps a long-awaited problem-solver.
Get them do a favor for you
This one is my favorite. We tend to think if we do a lot of favors for others they will see us as more likable, but psychologists suggest you can get them like you by asking them to do a favor for you. The reasoning behind it is that once they do a favor for you, they become more emotionally involved. So go ahead and ask for a small favor, and hopefully they will like you more.
Online CBT Platform to Help Deal with Relationship Problems, Anxiety, Depression, Addiction and More. Includes professional follow-up by a CBT therapist. Click here to get started.
Follow the author Follow @elgorsvan